Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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Jewish community. Both non-Zionist and Zionist groups operated in the city.
Apart from family life, youth groups became the focal point of their social and
sporting lives, until all groups were dissolved or the members emigrated. Until
that point, for a large number of Jewish youth, these groups and their respective
activities were of more importance than the synagogue. Youth groups not only
provided a relatively safe environment for informal Jewish education, social
activities and sporting competitions, but also provided young Jews with the
opportunity to mix and enjoy the company of other young Jews. Youth groups
also provided an opportunity for education according to the values of the
movements, be they non-Zionist or Zionist. In this sense, the role the youth groups
played in the lives of young Jews was highly valued. The dissolution of such
groups commenced as early as August 1935. Prior to the pogrom of November
1938, one of the three documented non-Zionist youth groups 64 was still operating
and all four documented Zionist youth groups had been dissolved. 65 After the
Reichskristallnacht there is no evidence to indicate the continued operation of the
sole remaining youth group in Magdeburg, the sports group Der Schild.
Membership of Jewish youth groups in Magdeburg generally corresponded to
the religious affiliations and identities of parents. 66 As a general rule, the children
of members of the Synagogen-Gemeinde belonged to one or even all of the non-
Zionist groups. These were represented by the Jüdisch-liberaler Jugendbund
64
Very limited archival documentation exists on these organisations and their
dissolutions. The majority of evidence detailing their roles and activities emanates
from oral history material.
65
Very limited archival documentation and oral history material exist on these
organisations and their dissolutions.
66
This pattern in Magdeburg conforms to the general pattern of the youth group
affiliations of Jewish youth in both Weimar and Nazi Germany. See Herbert A.
Strauss, Über dem Abgrund. Eine jüdische Jugend in Deutschland 1918–1943 Berlin:
Ullstein Verlag, 1999. For a discussion on both non-Zionist and Zionist youth groups
in Nazi Germany see also Schatzker, op. cit.