Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

Chapter One:
The Structure of the Jewish Community
Religious, Social, Cultural and Economic Structures
From Moritz Spanier’s 1 history of the Jewish community, it is clear that the
Magdeburg Jewish community was highly organised and effectively financed,
with a large allocation of funds to foundations providing every type of service to a
variety of sectors of the community. 2 It catered for every aspect in the areas of
religious, social, cultural and economic welfare, contributing to a richly diverse
and well-organised community.
Spanier’s detailed insight remains the most recent history of the community.
There exists neither a comprehensive report nor a study into the workings of the
community beyond 1923. What does exist, however, are two reports, similar in
content, authored by the board of the reconstructed community immediately after
the Shoah. The first is dated 22 January 1947 3 and the second dates from 1 March
1948. 4 Both reports provide useful data on the situation of the community when
the Nazis took power in 1933.
A limited picture is also presented for the period up until the beginning of
1933 in the Jewish community’s newsletter, the Jüdisches Wochenblatt für
1 Spanier, op. cit.
2 Ibid., pp. 39–46.
3 Report to the Landesverband der jüdischen Gemeinden in der Russischen
Okkupationszone, Berlin from the president of the Synagogen-Gemeinde zu
Magdeburg, Otto (Ismar) Horst Karliner detailing the destruction of the Jewish
community of Magdeburg under Nazism, 22 January 1947, Bestand 5B1, Signatur Nr.
65, Archiv der Stiftung ‘Neue Synagoge Berlin – Centrum Judaicum’, Berlin (CJA),
pp. 238–253.
4 Correspondence and report from the president of the Synagogen-Gemeinde zu
Magdeburg, Otto (Ismar) Horst Karliner, to Director Fink, American Joint
Distribution Committee, Berlin detailing the historical development of the Jewish
community of Magdeburg and reporting on the post-war situation and future
developmental aspirations of the community, 1 March 1948, ibid., pp. 208–214.
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