Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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Jews, German Jews. There were also quite a number of children and we had a
small yard. 21
Jews from all backgrounds, often unknown to one another, were forced to share
limited facilities. Pre-existing divisions and differences between Jews only
exacerbated the already prevailing tensions in daily life. In this particular
‘Judenhaus,’ social contact on the adult level seldom occurred and relations
between Jews were poor. Arguments and complaints were normal, owing to so
many people living in such a confined space. The greatest source of aggravation
surrounded the use of the communal toilet. In forcing Jews to live under these new
dehumanising conditions, tensions reached new heights, as Jews attempted to
adapt to this new repressive measure.
Adding to their humiliation and stigmatisation, all Jews were ordered, in
March 1942, to display a Star of David on the front door of their apartments, as
recalled by an interviewee:
You had to put a ‘star’ on the door of where you lived. The same star [as the
sewn-on, yellow Star of David], but in white. They were on white paper with
black print, same size, everything – the exact copy of the yellow star. 22
Coupled with this, was the tension created by regular contact with the Gestapo:
The Gestapo came around every now and then. Usually, there was some sort
of reason, like when my aunt got the orders to go [that is, when she received
notification of her imminent deportation]. The early morning door knock. It
happened like that. 23
Sometime after February 1943 the Freiberg family were ordered again to relocate
to another ‘Judenhaus’ located at Große Schulstraße 2b. Comparatively, their new
‘home’ was an improvement, as one of their sons recalled:
Things were a lot better. There were quite a few families there. We had two
rooms; I think we had a small apartment there, because I don’t remember
21 Name withheld, op. cit., 18 June 1999.
22 M. F., op. cit., 27 June 1999.
23 Name withheld, op. cit., 18 June 1999.