Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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205 (Meier) Teller, taught classes as well. All three men were in these positions in 1933 and continued to perform their duties until the Reichskristallnacht. 10 Pupils studied the following subjects: Religious Studies; Biblical History; Jewish History and Literature; Hebrew; and Jewish Prayer and Scriptures. 11 Between two and three classes existed and lessons were conducted between once and twice per week after regular school hours. On 25 May 1937, when mandatory registration of all Jewish schools occurred, the school was composed of three classes, consisting of fifty-nine pupils and three teaching staff. 12 The Religionsschule awarded pupils annual report cards with grades, which were forwarded on to their relevant public schools. Interviewees’ recollections of the Religionsschule were always highly complimentary of the personal qualities of the teachers, the quality of the actual teaching and the teaching environment. However, the majority were not over- enthusiastic about having to attend the lessons, particularly as they were after regular school hours. Gisela Kent’s opinion represented the views held by the majority of the interviewees: I didn’t like it at all. I wasn’t very good at it. It was on an afternoon when I wanted to play. I quite liked the Biblical stories, because they were interesting. The Hebrew I never understood, never……the teachers were very good, it was just me! 13 Gerry Levy recalled, with some amusement, his shock at the time to learn that one of his friends actually enjoyed classes: 10 Synagogen-Gemeinde zu Magdeburg Haushaltsplan für 1933/1934, 1934/1935, 1935/1936, 1936/1937, Bestand Rep. A II, Signatur Nr. 2478 J 13a, Band 7, STAM, op. cit. 11 Zeugnis für Hansgünter Jeruchem, Religionschule der Synagogen-Gemeinde zu Magdeburg, Schuljahr 1935/1936, Private Archive of Hans Jensen. 12 Nachweisung über das jüdische Volksschulwesen, 25. Mai 1937, Bestand Rep. C 28 II, Signatur Nr. 88, Band 2, LHASA MD, pp. 59–60. 13 Kent, op. cit., 12 January 1998.
206 I went to Cheder with Hanni Wurmser. Hannelore was a beautiful girl and her mother really watched over her. Her mother always collected her in order that none of the boys had the opportunity to fraternise with her. I recall one afternoon, when her mother collected her and said: “Wie war es Hanni?” [“How was it Hanni?”] To which she replied: “Mutti, es war fabelhaft!” [Mummy, it was splendid!”] I had never heard that word before! Ever since that event, to the other children, she was always ‘fabelhaft.’ She must have been about twelve years old; she wore white gloves to Cheder, because she was so refined. Nothing could be further from my mind than to refer to Cheder as ‘fabelhaft.’ If anything, ‘furchtbar’ [‘dreadful’] would have been a better expression for me! 14 Whilst the opinions of interviewees may have been mixed about their feelings on their compulsory attendance of the Religionsschule, their views on the safety and security of their learning environment were unanimous. For the vast majority of pupils, this was the only learning space where they were not potential targets for humiliation and exclusion. Jewish pupils in the city were represented in the various school strands from the comprehensive-style Volksschule and Mittelschule to the academic Gymnasium. In the years between 1933 and 1935 most Jewish children were initially confused as to why they were being singled out. When the teenager Gisela Jankelowitz wore a black armband to school as a mark of respect when President von Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, she was totally unprepared for a comment made to her by a non-Jewish peer from her class. She recalled this and a number of other incidents prior to 1935 at her girls’ high school: We were told to wear a black armband as a sign of respect, and one girl said to me: “Why have you got one on, you’re Jewish!” And I said that we had a member of the family die. It wasn’t true, but I felt instinctively, I’ve got to defend myself. That was the first time that I ever felt different. I can still remember it! All of a sudden it sort of crept in. We went on holidays, I think, with the school, and one day the teacher told me to stay back, and he said: “I am sorry but you can’t go.” And I said: “My parents said I could.” 14 Levy, op. cit., 16 December 1997. In his interview Gerry Levy referred to ‘Cheder,’ but in fact he is talking about the Religionsschule.
Page 1 and 2:
Life under Siege: The Jews of Magde
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Chapter Five: Daily Lives of Childr
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Abstract This regional study docume
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Dedication This thesis is dedicated
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RM Reichsmark. Unit of currency in
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Bund Nationalsozialistscher Deutsch
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Jüdische Kultusvereinigung - Jewis
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Polnische Juden (literally ‘Polis
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Union der Zionisten Revisionisten,
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In Magdeburg, Peter Ledermann and t
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xxi
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Concentration Camp. 2 Prior to this
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The History of the Community until
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during this period. In 1492 an argu
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2,356 in 1925, 20 and then dropped
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esmirch the Jewish effort during th
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possible to combine archival source
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surviving material with which to at
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In the case of reconstructing the h
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This thesis does not purport to she
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Chapter One: The Structure of the J
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immigrants. 8 Of this figure, 976 w
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Not atypically, Hemmi Freeman’s f
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one of the later versions of the do
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Magdeburg. 35 The former Synagogen-
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streets.’ 44 There existed, never
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varying periods of their own famili
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Wilde must be placed at the centre
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een Magdeburg-based, were the youth
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forms of bank deposits and fixed in
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The expenditure for social welfare
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quarter were still relatively low,
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details the financial hardship of c
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activities of all Jewish organisati
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On 23 May 1936, the Gestapa issued
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September 1938. 118 All property be
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Jüdische Bezirksdarlehnskasse on 5
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These dissolutions led to a number
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where he remained until his emigrat
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Wilde was also widely recognised as
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of synagogue sexton and was still i
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Not surprisingly, the social elemen
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every Shabbes. These people, some o
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ensure physical survival in the cit
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Regular meetings of the Magdeburg b
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temporary removal of antisemitic si
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equest and the remains were interre
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Hachsharah camps. In March 1934 app
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HAGO’s Kreisamtsleiter, neither t
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Chapter Two: The Destruction of Jew
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confirmed that prior to 1933, their
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though a local member of the SA sto
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that the number of shops willing to
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day-to-day goods and services. The
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each day and report his findings. 3
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usiness in Magdeburg is further con
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gave up the old shop and rented a c
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cycle up there and get the key and
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professionals were targeted by the
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children Werner and Jutta. Due to t
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100 public. In addition to this abu
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102 1938 that after 30 November 193
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104 were ‘non-Aryan and enemies o
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106 be trusted. 102 From September
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108 of the Reichsbürgergesetz of 1
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110 senior civil servant failed to
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112 Reichsführer SS und Chef der D
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114 just fewer than 50% of its orig
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116 Jewish business owners, either
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118 before experienced investment o
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120 Weg 73-74. They had taken over
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122 the knowledge of the mayor’s
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124 sought by all non-Jewish partie
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126 As the application of these rac
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128 far too many Jewish organisatio
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130 District 16 instructed that in
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132 On 25 September 1935, the Reich
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134 Reichstag had taken place. The
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136 reason were to be taken into cu
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138 In further confirmation of the
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140 and snowballing effects of excl
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142 daily affairs as though life ha
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144 behaviour would not be tolerate
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146 Rellum’s depiction of the sit
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148 day the Gestapa ruled that only
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150 licences to Jews on account of
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152 By the time of the pogrom their
Page 175 and 176: 154 adult level, but seldom on the
Page 177 and 178: 156 daughter, Inge-Ruth, had left o
Page 179 and 180: 158 Jewish friends that ‘they [th
Page 181 and 182: 160 In the instances where Jewish y
Page 183 and 184: 162 from Worms to Trier over the mo
Page 185 and 186: 164 temptations. 123 Even prior to
Page 187 and 188: 166 Der Stürmer dedicated solely t
Page 189 and 190: 168 Der Stürmer addressed the mass
Page 191 and 192: 170 position of trust at the colleg
Page 193 and 194: 172 instances this was for what wou
Page 195 and 196: 174 article in Der Stürmer entitle
Page 197 and 198: 176 other and capable of racial pol
Page 199 and 200: 178 until 1938, the community felt
Page 201 and 202: 180 Dr Kulmey, insisted that Fliess
Page 203 and 204: Chapter Four: Daily Life in the Pri
Page 205 and 206: 184 the Iron Cross!” The next day
Page 207 and 208: 186 Two. 17 The only other opportun
Page 209 and 210: 188 I went once to Wyk auf Föhr [W
Page 211 and 212: 190 in order to make some extra mon
Page 213 and 214: 192 were forced to, owing to their
Page 215 and 216: 194 emigration. 44 Jews in Magdebur
Page 217 and 218: 196 This practice of investigation
Page 219 and 220: 198 countries of migration. The two
Page 221 and 222: 200 elsewhere, unmarried adult chil
Page 223 and 224: Chapter Five: Daily Lives of Childr
Page 225: 204 authorities would bear no respo
Page 229 and 230: 208 otherwise they generally felt
Page 231 and 232: 210 and/or gymnastics teacher had e
Page 233 and 234: 212 Pupils were often degraded in s
Page 235 and 236: 214 The duress of school life did n
Page 237 and 238: 216 By the time the mayor’s offic
Page 239 and 240: 218 Jews.’ 55 The approval for th
Page 241 and 242: 220 emigration, the remaining Jewis
Page 243 and 244: 222 ‘Heimat’, which had renamed
Page 245 and 246: 224 hiking. 73 At the time of regis
Page 247 and 248: 226 This organisation was numerical
Page 249 and 250: 228 Despite the ideological differe
Page 251 and 252: 230 Jewish youth in Magdeburg were
Page 253 and 254: 232 time, the demand of the two kno
Page 255 and 256: 234 No, I didn’t think it would e
Page 257 and 258: 236 for emigration, the Magdeburg-b
Page 259 and 260: 238 accepted as a Jewess in Adelaid
Page 261 and 262: 240 A few months before I left my p
Page 263 and 264: 242 the chaos and panic that follow
Page 265 and 266: 244 travelling companion recalled t
Page 267 and 268: 246 her mother was in 1942. 140 Thi
Page 269 and 270: 248 Southampton. 154 His recollecti
Page 271 and 272: 250 extermination camp. Approximate
Page 273 and 274: Chapter Six: The Reichskristallnach
Page 275 and 276: 254 The majority of interviewees re
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The Pogrom in Magdeburg 256 On the
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258 Marianne, and son, Gerhard (Ger
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260 arrests on 10 November, his wif
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262 Rabbi Dr Wilde along with the m
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264 shawl; when he realised it was
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266 ‘Elsaß’ and a paint and wa
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268 was to be completed prior to th
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270 The Reichskristallnacht was a c
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272 were ordered to clean up the de
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274 Australian government had recei
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276 applications for emigration for
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278 Samuel Freiberg’s daughter re
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280 woman in Magdeburg, survived th
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282 my parents suddenly began to we
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284 The entire community also worke
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286 premises. Expedited economic ex
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288 out of the question. 130 The mi
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290 In the wake of the pogrom and t
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292 small number of professionals w
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294 majority of Jews in Magdeburg h
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296 the exhibition, a commemorative
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298 Jewish patients only on 1 April
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300 the process of procuring the ne
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302 objects containing gold, platin
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304 public eye became policy. Now t
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Chapter Seven: The Jewish Community
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307 the agent for Jewish emigration
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309 ‘Judenhäuser.’ 15 Prior to
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311 Jews, German Jews. There were a
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313 Interviewees also recalled that
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315 members to the community; the m
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317 41,434.95. 42 Additionally, twe
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319 By the end of 1939 all of the f
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321 outstanding communal work. 56 T
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323 In attempting to expedite the c
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325 In consort with those measures,
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327 he had escaped most abusive sit
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329 and conducted at the premises o
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331 bemoaned that breaches of the p
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333 quadruplicate with the owner’
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335 community members were reminded
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337 Riese née Kochmann had already
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339 developed a positive attitude t
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341 should not expect the school to
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343 ‘German school.’ One such e
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345 Owing to the pervasive hostile
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347 any organisation……I still m
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349 little doubt that there were th
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351 reply, on 3 July 1942, the Magd
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353 whose name was Ilse, and Klemm
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355 was not restricted in her movem
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357 were to lose their lives in the
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359 labour in the city the majority
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361 the exact procedures to be foll
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363 normal practice and as many as
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365 the now enlarged Reich. Unlike
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367 commencement of transferring ti
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369 On 26 February 1943, at least f
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371 the city. At that time, of the
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373 of that. They did their best. T
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375 This approximate total figure i
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377 approximately one thousand year
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Conclusion 378 On the eve of the Na
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380 spite of an effective and ongoi
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382 increasingly onerous as the yea
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384 Nuremberg Laws, this separation
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386 inception of the Nazi regime. N
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388 Reichskristallnacht, it was env
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390 them in Germany; for the others
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392 of the Jews from the city occur
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394 who relocated to elsewhere in G
Page 419 and 420:
396 communal life in Magdeburg and
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398
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Archiv des Internationalen Suchdien
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their subsequent dissolutions; the
Page 427 and 428:
Individual Interviews by the Author
Page 429 and 430:
Bauer, Yehuda The Holocaust in Hist
Page 431 and 432:
Bundesarchiv, Koblenz and der Inter
Page 433 and 434:
Emanuel, Muriel and Vera Gissing Ni
Page 435 and 436:
Herbert, Ulrich Best. Biographische
Page 437 and 438:
Kundrus, Birthe and Beate Meyer, ed
Page 439 and 440:
Nova, Fritz Alfred Rosenberg: Nazi
Page 441 and 442:
Schmidt, Herbert ‘Rassenschande
Page 443 and 444:
Yahil, Leni The Holocaust: The Fate
Page 445 and 446:
Cohn, Werner “Bearers of a Common
Page 447 and 448:
Kwiet, Konrad “The Second Time Ar
Page 449 and 450:
Schiffres, Paul “Australia Bound:
Page 451:
Theses and Unpublished Manuscripts
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