Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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Declaration I certify that the contents of this thesis have not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution. The extent to which I have availed myself of the work of others is acknowledged in the text of this thesis. iv
Abstract This regional study documents the life and the destruction of the Jewish community of Magdeburg, in the Prussian province of Saxony, between 1933 and 1945. As this is the first comprehensive and academic study of this community during the Nazi period, it has contributed to both the regional historiography of German Jewry and the historiography of the Shoah in Germany. In both respects it affords a further understanding of Jewish life in Nazi Germany. Commencing this study at the beginning of 1933 enables a comprehensive view to emerge of the community as it was on the eve of the Nazi assault. The study then analyses the spiralling events that led to its eventual destruction. The story of the Magdeburg Jewish community in both the public and private domains has been explored from the Nazi accession to power in 1933 up until April 1945, when only a handful of Jews in the city witnessed liberation. This study has combined both archival material and oral history to reconstruct the period. Secondary literature has largely been incorporated and used in a comparative sense and as reference material. This study has interpreted and viewed the period from an essentially Jewish perspective. That is to say, in documenting the experiences of the Jews of Magdeburg, this study has focused almost exclusively on how this population simultaneously lived and grappled with the deteriorating situation. Much attention has been placed on how it reacted and responded at key junctures in the processes of disenfranchisement, exclusion and finally destruction. This discussion also includes how and why Jews reached decisions to abandon their Heimat and what their experiences with departure were. In the final chapter of the community’s story, an exploration has been made of how the majority of those Jews who v
Page 1 and 2: Life under Siege: The Jews of Magde
Page 3: Chapter Five: Daily Lives of Childr
Page 7 and 8: Dedication This thesis is dedicated
Page 9 and 10: RM Reichsmark. Unit of currency in
Page 11 and 12: Bund Nationalsozialistscher Deutsch
Page 13 and 14: Jüdische Kultusvereinigung - Jewis
Page 15 and 16: Polnische Juden (literally ‘Polis
Page 17 and 18: Union der Zionisten Revisionisten,
Page 19 and 20: In Magdeburg, Peter Ledermann and t
Page 21 and 22: xxi
Page 23 and 24: Concentration Camp. 2 Prior to this
Page 25 and 26: The History of the Community until
Page 27 and 28: during this period. In 1492 an argu
Page 29 and 30: 2,356 in 1925, 20 and then dropped
Page 31 and 32: esmirch the Jewish effort during th
Page 33 and 34: possible to combine archival source
Page 35 and 36: surviving material with which to at
Page 37 and 38: In the case of reconstructing the h
Page 39 and 40: This thesis does not purport to she
Page 41 and 42: Chapter One: The Structure of the J
Page 43 and 44: immigrants. 8 Of this figure, 976 w
Page 45 and 46: Not atypically, Hemmi Freeman’s f
Page 47 and 48: one of the later versions of the do
Page 49 and 50: Magdeburg. 35 The former Synagogen-
Page 51 and 52: streets.’ 44 There existed, never
Page 53 and 54: varying periods of their own famili
Page 55 and 56:
Wilde must be placed at the centre
Page 57 and 58:
een Magdeburg-based, were the youth
Page 59 and 60:
forms of bank deposits and fixed in
Page 61 and 62:
The expenditure for social welfare
Page 63 and 64:
quarter were still relatively low,
Page 65 and 66:
details the financial hardship of c
Page 67 and 68:
activities of all Jewish organisati
Page 69 and 70:
On 23 May 1936, the Gestapa issued
Page 71 and 72:
September 1938. 118 All property be
Page 73 and 74:
Jüdische Bezirksdarlehnskasse on 5
Page 75 and 76:
These dissolutions led to a number
Page 77 and 78:
where he remained until his emigrat
Page 79 and 80:
Wilde was also widely recognised as
Page 81 and 82:
of synagogue sexton and was still i
Page 83 and 84:
Not surprisingly, the social elemen
Page 85 and 86:
every Shabbes. These people, some o
Page 87 and 88:
ensure physical survival in the cit
Page 89 and 90:
Regular meetings of the Magdeburg b
Page 91 and 92:
temporary removal of antisemitic si
Page 93 and 94:
equest and the remains were interre
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Hachsharah camps. In March 1934 app
Page 97 and 98:
HAGO’s Kreisamtsleiter, neither t
Page 99 and 100:
Chapter Two: The Destruction of Jew
Page 101 and 102:
confirmed that prior to 1933, their
Page 103 and 104:
though a local member of the SA sto
Page 105 and 106:
that the number of shops willing to
Page 107 and 108:
day-to-day goods and services. The
Page 109 and 110:
each day and report his findings. 3
Page 111 and 112:
usiness in Magdeburg is further con
Page 113 and 114:
gave up the old shop and rented a c
Page 115 and 116:
cycle up there and get the key and
Page 117 and 118:
professionals were targeted by the
Page 119 and 120:
children Werner and Jutta. Due to t
Page 121 and 122:
100 public. In addition to this abu
Page 123 and 124:
102 1938 that after 30 November 193
Page 125 and 126:
104 were ‘non-Aryan and enemies o
Page 127 and 128:
106 be trusted. 102 From September
Page 129 and 130:
108 of the Reichsbürgergesetz of 1
Page 131 and 132:
110 senior civil servant failed to
Page 133 and 134:
112 Reichsführer SS und Chef der D
Page 135 and 136:
114 just fewer than 50% of its orig
Page 137 and 138:
116 Jewish business owners, either
Page 139 and 140:
118 before experienced investment o
Page 141 and 142:
120 Weg 73-74. They had taken over
Page 143 and 144:
122 the knowledge of the mayor’s
Page 145 and 146:
124 sought by all non-Jewish partie
Page 147 and 148:
126 As the application of these rac
Page 149 and 150:
128 far too many Jewish organisatio
Page 151 and 152:
130 District 16 instructed that in
Page 153 and 154:
132 On 25 September 1935, the Reich
Page 155 and 156:
134 Reichstag had taken place. The
Page 157 and 158:
136 reason were to be taken into cu
Page 159 and 160:
138 In further confirmation of the
Page 161 and 162:
140 and snowballing effects of excl
Page 163 and 164:
142 daily affairs as though life ha
Page 165 and 166:
144 behaviour would not be tolerate
Page 167 and 168:
146 Rellum’s depiction of the sit
Page 169 and 170:
148 day the Gestapa ruled that only
Page 171 and 172:
150 licences to Jews on account of
Page 173 and 174:
152 By the time of the pogrom their
Page 175 and 176:
154 adult level, but seldom on the
Page 177 and 178:
156 daughter, Inge-Ruth, had left o
Page 179 and 180:
158 Jewish friends that ‘they [th
Page 181 and 182:
160 In the instances where Jewish y
Page 183 and 184:
162 from Worms to Trier over the mo
Page 185 and 186:
164 temptations. 123 Even prior to
Page 187 and 188:
166 Der Stürmer dedicated solely t
Page 189 and 190:
168 Der Stürmer addressed the mass
Page 191 and 192:
170 position of trust at the colleg
Page 193 and 194:
172 instances this was for what wou
Page 195 and 196:
174 article in Der Stürmer entitle
Page 197 and 198:
176 other and capable of racial pol
Page 199 and 200:
178 until 1938, the community felt
Page 201 and 202:
180 Dr Kulmey, insisted that Fliess
Page 203 and 204:
Chapter Four: Daily Life in the Pri
Page 205 and 206:
184 the Iron Cross!” The next day
Page 207 and 208:
186 Two. 17 The only other opportun
Page 209 and 210:
188 I went once to Wyk auf Föhr [W
Page 211 and 212:
190 in order to make some extra mon
Page 213 and 214:
192 were forced to, owing to their
Page 215 and 216:
194 emigration. 44 Jews in Magdebur
Page 217 and 218:
196 This practice of investigation
Page 219 and 220:
198 countries of migration. The two
Page 221 and 222:
200 elsewhere, unmarried adult chil
Page 223 and 224:
Chapter Five: Daily Lives of Childr
Page 225 and 226:
204 authorities would bear no respo
Page 227 and 228:
206 I went to Cheder with Hanni Wur
Page 229 and 230:
208 otherwise they generally felt
Page 231 and 232:
210 and/or gymnastics teacher had e
Page 233 and 234:
212 Pupils were often degraded in s
Page 235 and 236:
214 The duress of school life did n
Page 237 and 238:
216 By the time the mayor’s offic
Page 239 and 240:
218 Jews.’ 55 The approval for th
Page 241 and 242:
220 emigration, the remaining Jewis
Page 243 and 244:
222 ‘Heimat’, which had renamed
Page 245 and 246:
224 hiking. 73 At the time of regis
Page 247 and 248:
226 This organisation was numerical
Page 249 and 250:
228 Despite the ideological differe
Page 251 and 252:
230 Jewish youth in Magdeburg were
Page 253 and 254:
232 time, the demand of the two kno
Page 255 and 256:
234 No, I didn’t think it would e
Page 257 and 258:
236 for emigration, the Magdeburg-b
Page 259 and 260:
238 accepted as a Jewess in Adelaid
Page 261 and 262:
240 A few months before I left my p
Page 263 and 264:
242 the chaos and panic that follow
Page 265 and 266:
244 travelling companion recalled t
Page 267 and 268:
246 her mother was in 1942. 140 Thi
Page 269 and 270:
248 Southampton. 154 His recollecti
Page 271 and 272:
250 extermination camp. Approximate
Page 273 and 274:
Chapter Six: The Reichskristallnach
Page 275 and 276:
254 The majority of interviewees re
Page 277 and 278:
The Pogrom in Magdeburg 256 On the
Page 279 and 280:
258 Marianne, and son, Gerhard (Ger
Page 281 and 282:
260 arrests on 10 November, his wif
Page 283 and 284:
262 Rabbi Dr Wilde along with the m
Page 285 and 286:
264 shawl; when he realised it was
Page 287 and 288:
266 ‘Elsaß’ and a paint and wa
Page 289 and 290:
268 was to be completed prior to th
Page 291 and 292:
270 The Reichskristallnacht was a c
Page 293 and 294:
272 were ordered to clean up the de
Page 295 and 296:
274 Australian government had recei
Page 297 and 298:
276 applications for emigration for
Page 299 and 300:
278 Samuel Freiberg’s daughter re
Page 301 and 302:
280 woman in Magdeburg, survived th
Page 303 and 304:
282 my parents suddenly began to we
Page 305 and 306:
284 The entire community also worke
Page 307 and 308:
286 premises. Expedited economic ex
Page 309 and 310:
288 out of the question. 130 The mi
Page 311 and 312:
290 In the wake of the pogrom and t
Page 313 and 314:
292 small number of professionals w
Page 315 and 316:
294 majority of Jews in Magdeburg h
Page 317 and 318:
296 the exhibition, a commemorative
Page 319 and 320:
298 Jewish patients only on 1 April
Page 321 and 322:
300 the process of procuring the ne
Page 323 and 324:
302 objects containing gold, platin
Page 325 and 326:
304 public eye became policy. Now t
Page 327 and 328:
Chapter Seven: The Jewish Community
Page 329 and 330:
307 the agent for Jewish emigration
Page 331 and 332:
309 ‘Judenhäuser.’ 15 Prior to
Page 333 and 334:
311 Jews, German Jews. There were a
Page 335 and 336:
313 Interviewees also recalled that
Page 337 and 338:
315 members to the community; the m
Page 339 and 340:
317 41,434.95. 42 Additionally, twe
Page 341 and 342:
319 By the end of 1939 all of the f
Page 343 and 344:
321 outstanding communal work. 56 T
Page 345 and 346:
323 In attempting to expedite the c
Page 347 and 348:
325 In consort with those measures,
Page 349 and 350:
327 he had escaped most abusive sit
Page 351 and 352:
329 and conducted at the premises o
Page 353 and 354:
331 bemoaned that breaches of the p
Page 355 and 356:
333 quadruplicate with the owner’
Page 357 and 358:
335 community members were reminded
Page 359 and 360:
337 Riese née Kochmann had already
Page 361 and 362:
339 developed a positive attitude t
Page 363 and 364:
341 should not expect the school to
Page 365 and 366:
343 ‘German school.’ One such e
Page 367 and 368:
345 Owing to the pervasive hostile
Page 369 and 370:
347 any organisation……I still m
Page 371 and 372:
349 little doubt that there were th
Page 373 and 374:
351 reply, on 3 July 1942, the Magd
Page 375 and 376:
353 whose name was Ilse, and Klemm
Page 377 and 378:
355 was not restricted in her movem
Page 379 and 380:
357 were to lose their lives in the
Page 381 and 382:
359 labour in the city the majority
Page 383 and 384:
361 the exact procedures to be foll
Page 385 and 386:
363 normal practice and as many as
Page 387 and 388:
365 the now enlarged Reich. Unlike
Page 389 and 390:
367 commencement of transferring ti
Page 391 and 392:
369 On 26 February 1943, at least f
Page 393 and 394:
371 the city. At that time, of the
Page 395 and 396:
373 of that. They did their best. T
Page 397 and 398:
375 This approximate total figure i
Page 399 and 400:
377 approximately one thousand year
Page 401 and 402:
Conclusion 378 On the eve of the Na
Page 403 and 404:
380 spite of an effective and ongoi
Page 405 and 406:
382 increasingly onerous as the yea
Page 407 and 408:
384 Nuremberg Laws, this separation
Page 409 and 410:
386 inception of the Nazi regime. N
Page 411 and 412:
388 Reichskristallnacht, it was env
Page 413 and 414:
390 them in Germany; for the others
Page 415 and 416:
392 of the Jews from the city occur
Page 417 and 418:
394 who relocated to elsewhere in G
Page 419 and 420:
396 communal life in Magdeburg and
Page 421 and 422:
398
Page 423 and 424:
Archiv des Internationalen Suchdien
Page 425 and 426:
their subsequent dissolutions; the
Page 427 and 428:
Individual Interviews by the Author
Page 429 and 430:
Bauer, Yehuda The Holocaust in Hist
Page 431 and 432:
Bundesarchiv, Koblenz and der Inter
Page 433 and 434:
Emanuel, Muriel and Vera Gissing Ni
Page 435 and 436:
Herbert, Ulrich Best. Biographische
Page 437 and 438:
Kundrus, Birthe and Beate Meyer, ed
Page 439 and 440:
Nova, Fritz Alfred Rosenberg: Nazi
Page 441 and 442:
Schmidt, Herbert ‘Rassenschande
Page 443 and 444:
Yahil, Leni The Holocaust: The Fate
Page 445 and 446:
Cohn, Werner “Bearers of a Common
Page 447 and 448:
Kwiet, Konrad “The Second Time Ar
Page 449 and 450:
Schiffres, Paul “Australia Bound:
Page 451:
Theses and Unpublished Manuscripts
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