Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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whether one Jewish grandparent would suffice; whether or not the religious
knowledge of the applicant or the parents would play a role; and what the age and
training requirements of the applicants needed to be. 114
On 29 March 1938, the Magdeburg office responded that the scheme was in its
early stages. However, it confirmed that the religious knowledge of the applicants
would play ‘a decisive role as the organisation was a Jewish one and its concern
was for Jewish children.’ 115 It also indicated that applications could only be
considered from ‘Mischlinge’ of the first degree, who were between the ages of
fifteen and seventeen years of age in the case of males and between the ages of
fifteen and nineteen years of age in the case of females. Knowledge of English
was mandatory. In May 1938, applications were still being accepted as the
Magdeburg office waited for further details on the execution of the scheme from
Berlin and London. 116 It is not known how the scheme unfolded. What can be
confirmed, however, is that couples of mixed marriage and their children, from
Magdeburg, did emigrate to Australia. When Gisela Kent arrived in Adelaide in
September 1938, she stayed there for one month and took comfort in her
friendship with a girlfriend from Magdeburg, who was of mixed parentage. She
relayed the sad series of events that unfolded for this girl, who after being rejected
and excluded in Magdeburg on account of her Jewishness, was to suffer the same
fate in Adelaide, only this time at the hands of the local Jewish community there:
I had a friend who settled in Adelaide with her parents. Her name was Ursula
Rosenberg. Her father was Jewish, her mother not. Although she had been
raised Jewish and attended Jewish scripture in Magdeburg, she was not
distinguished from Jews and were not to be subjected to deportation and
extermination.
114 Betr.: Unterbringung von Mischlingen in Neuseeland, 25. März 1938 – 28. März
1938, Bestand 2A2, Signatur Nr. 1315, CJA, op. cit., p. 301.
115 Betr.: Unterbringung von Mischlingen in Neuseeland, 29. März 1938, ibid., p. 302.
116 Betr.: Unterbringung von Mischlingen in Neuseeland, 6. Mai 1938, ibid., p. 309.