Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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Family life at home continued and parents attempted to shield their children
from the reality of many of the situations that befell them. Children recalled
reading voraciously, particularly in the winter months. In one household, there
were fond memories of being able to participate in their father’s work as a forced
labourer for a company making military equipment. Their father regularly brought
work home. 155 There was also a recollection of pride in this work. Like all
children, they were happy at being able to assist their father. No doubt, they were
also pleased at having the opportunity of performing constructive and useful tasks.
Given the intensity of the persecutions and the size of the small community of
children, all knew one another and formed close relationships. The majority of
these ended in sad farewells. Once deportations commenced in April 1942, the
number of children steadily dwindled. One interviewee recalled: ‘I met all these
wonderful kids and formed friendships, but then they started disappearing.’ 156 At
that time children discussed what was taking place, irrespective of their
comprehension of the real situation:
With the deportation of my school friends it was very obvious. It was
obvious to me and to my brother that this was happening, despite that our
parents were shielding this from us or not. Because we did discuss it. When
the teacher, Spier, was deported and my father took over, this was a major
thing happening in a child’s life. Suddenly the teacher goes and your own
father becomes the teacher. By that time there weren’t many left. I think by the
time my father took over there were between ten and fifteen. 157
After the commencement of deportations and the dissolution of the ‘Judenschule’
in June 1942, for the majority of the few remaining children, life eventually
became centred on activities within Jewish space:
We weren’t allowed to go on the trams; we weren’t allowed to go to the
movies; we obviously weren’t allowed to go to school; we didn’t belong to
155
Name withheld, op. cit., 13 July 2004.
156
Ibid.
157
Name withheld, op. cit., 23 July 1999.