Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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labour in the city the majority of Jews, both male and female, were involved in
war-related industry. One of Joachim Freiberg’s sons recalled his father’s work:
He was obliged to work in one of the factories, which in the main made
tarpaulins, tents and so on for the Africa army. That factory later established a
branch in the Warsaw ghetto – it was called ‘Röhricht’. The factory might
have been close because on the weekend they used to send stuff home. With
the tarpaulins, the ropes had to be treated and we would be sitting at home
doing this. 191
Joachim Freiberg worked as a forced labourer at ‘Röhricht & Company’ from
1941 until 1942. 192 Freiberg’s sister, Lilli, was also employed by the same
company until her deportation in February 1943. 193 Freiberg’s youngest son also
recalled his father’s work and that his father was so valued by his employer that
when he was ordered to work elsewhere, his employer intervened. 194
Between April and July 1942, Freiberg attended to the needs of the
‘Judenschule,’ in the wake of the deportation of all of its staff. When the school
was officially dissolved at the end of June 1942, he was ordered to work as a
garbage collector for the company ‘Franz Kühne’ in a Jewish work detail. Otto
Horst Karliner and his son Werner were also a part of this work detail, 195 as were
the brothers Bernhard and Leo Augenreich. 196 Karliner had worked as the
caretaker at the Jewish cemetery until the dissolution of the Reichsvereinigung der
Juden in Deutschland in June 1943. When this occurred he was inducted into the
Jewish labour detail.
One of Freiberg’s sons recalled the exact details of this unpleasant work:
191 M. F., op. cit., 27 June 1999.
192 Personal file on the Freiberg family, Bestand Pe, Signatur Nr. 14, ASGM, op. cit.
193 Name withheld, op. cit., 23 July 1999.
194 Name withheld, op. cit., 18 June 1999.
195 Lebenslauf des Vorsitzenden der Synagogen-Gemeinde zu Magdeburg, Otto Horst
Karliner, genannt Ismar Karliner, 22. Januar 1947, Bestand 5B1, Signatur Nr. 65,
CJA, op. cit., p. 252.
196 Personal file on the Freiberg family, Bestand Pe, Signatur Nr. 14, ASGM, op. cit.