Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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common thread, however, was the strong emotional scarring that occurred when
these relationships became casualties of Nazism.
In 1933, all of the families of the interviewees were typical acculturated
Jews. Parents and grandparents of the interviewees mixed in predominantly
Jewish social circles. However, a significant number had both friends and
acquaintances who were non-Jews. These relationships had resulted from war
service; lasting friendships at school; political connections prior to 1933;
involvement in recreational activities such as sports and cards; mixed marriages;
and most obviously from business lives. Few of these relationships continued to
exist beyond 1935. In the case of the interviewees who were children and
teenagers at the time, the same pattern applied. However, as a general rule, the
majority did not even have the opportunity to develop relationships with non-
Jewish children and teenagers, as the full effects of antisemitic propaganda at both
school and in the youth movements ended any of these potentialities. A minority
of young Jews did manage to maintain contacts with non-Jews; but these were the
exceptions.
Gerry Levy recalled that his mother had non-Jewish friends, even though his
parents as a couple possessed no non-Jewish friends. As a family the same
applied. However, with regard to his parents’ separate social circles he recalled:
My mother still had her Kränzchen [circle of friends] until the very end. But
the friendships did cool off toward the end. My father had no such similar
contacts. He had served in World War One, but never saw anyone from that
group. However, there were one or two exceptions with whom he played
football. 99
The situation of the Levy family appeared to have been a common one in the
Magdeburg community. Social interaction with non-Jews existed on a singular
99 Levy, op. cit., 10 July 1997.