Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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was felt so keenly by some of the accused, that they could not bear the daily strain
of incrimination and degradation anymore and committed suicide. 170 For the Jews
who accepted this forced separation a renewal or (re-) discovery of their
Jewishness took place. 171 For those who did not, a gaping void emerged as they
were thrown into an identity crisis and often remained in a vacuum.
The unanimous opinion of all interviewees when the subject of identities was
raised was of the absolute and irresolute Germanness of the adult generation in
their social circle. Countless male members of their families had served with
honour and pride in World War One. Their family pedigrees were thoroughly
rooted in the German-speaking lands. One interviewee expressed the attitude
prevalent in his own home, which could easily be applied to all of the
interviewees. He remarked:
I remember my father describing himself as a deutscher Bürger jüdischen
Glaubens [German citizen of the Jewish faith]. I also remember very well my
father’s father having a picture of the Kaiser [Emperor] on the wall. He
didn’t have too many religious things around, but he had a picture of the
Kaiser! 172
Gisela Kent expressed similar sentiments indicating the level of nationalism in
this small community, when she remarked that her family was ‘very liberal, very
German. They were Germans with a Jewish religion.’ 173
Conversely, whilst social contact with non-Jews in the city was limited, the
Jews of Magdeburg felt perfectly equal and fully accepted into the city’s fabric.
For this reason alone, particularly in the early years, and for some Jews even up
170 For a detailed discussion on the position of suicide in the Jewish community of
Germany under Nazism, see Konrad Kwiet, “The Ultimate Refuge – Suicide in the
Jewish Community under Nazism,” Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, vol. XXIX, 1984,
pp. 173–198.
171 Jehuda Reinharz, “Jewish Nationalism and Jewish Identity in Central Europe,” Leo
Baeck Institute Year Book, vol. XXXVII, 1992, pp. 147–167.
172 Personal interview, name withheld on request (recorded), Sydney, 13 July 2004.
173 Kent, op. cit., 5 January 1998.