Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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painful consequences. For some Jews the fear of the unknown and leaving their
family members behind was enough to keep them in Germany; for others, the
violence of the events made the decision to emigrate easier. On a communal level,
the ethnic, political and religious differences that existed between the Synagogen-
Gemeinde and the Shtiblech dissolved, as the seriousness of the situation forced
the congregations to unify. 140
The reaction of the perpetrators was to apportion blame onto the victims and
then make them accountable. In the weeks leading up to the end of 1938, Jews in
the city experienced further exclusion and segregation and the government
commenced the complete removal of Jews from the German economy. In
Magdeburg whilst this was occurring, both the city and the provincial authorities
also prioritised the restoration of the cityscape, the levying of the Jewish
community and the exclusion of Jewish children from public schools. The
intensification of persecution in all avenues of life represented the commencement
of the second phase of the Shoah. Complete exclusion and de-facto ghettoisation
became policy for the Jews of the Reich.
The Post-Reichskristallnacht and Pre-War Persecutions
By the beginning of 1939, the only Jewish institutions operating in Magdeburg
were the Synagogen-Gemeinde and its associated welfare organisations. By the
outbreak of World War Two, Jews could no longer own or drive cars, whilst
theatres, cinemas and sporting stadiums were closed to them. Jews were also
moved into ‘Judenhäuser.’ They were extricated from the economy and only a
140 H. Freeman, op. cit., 13 May 1998.