Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

Chapter Seven:
The Jewish Community during World War Two
Judenhäuser and Stigmatisation
305
By the end of 1939 the Synagogen-Gemeinde was the only Jewish organisation
operating in Magdeburg. Under the leadership of Hermann Spier, the various
religious congregations had merged into one body and regular religious services
continued to be held. With the outbreak of World War Two, even though
emigration was still permitted, there were no documented successful attempts. By
this time the majority of Jews had been evicted from their homes and herded
together into ‘Judenhäuser’ in cramped conditions with few facilities for all to
share. Stigmatisation reached new levels in autumn 1941 when Jews were ordered
to wear a sewn-on, yellow Star of David. All remaining Jewish property was
appropriated, completing the process of ‘aryanisation.’ Life in the public domain
further deteriorated and most Jews avoided being outdoors altogether, unless it
was absolutely necessary. Jews were subjected to curfews, faced total bans from
all public venues and public transportation, and were ordered to surrender the
majority of their remaining possessions. Even articles of clothing deemed
‘unnecessary’ were confiscated. The community’s sense of isolation and
stigmatisation increased rapidly, but they attempted to maintain their dignity in
spite of their daily humiliation. This phase marked the beginning of the physical
ghettoisation of the Jews of Magdeburg.
Between the pogrom of November 1938 and the end of 1939, the remaining
Jewish organisations in Magdeburg were dissolved or were incorporated into the
Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland, and their survival was directly
linked to the nature of their work. On 19 January 1939, the Jüdischer Hilfsverein