Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

culture, practices of worship and of the separation of these congregations from the
Synagogen-Gemeinde. The majority did not recall the locations of these smaller
congregations.
The majority of community members belonged to the Synagogen-Gemeinde
and somewhere between 30% and 50% 15 of the community were members of the
Shtiblech. Whilst the Synagogen-Gemeinde conformed to the practice and
observance of the liberal form of Judaism, it could also be characterised as an
Einheitsgemeinde. 16 When the Nazis took power in 1933, Rabbi Dr Wilde
occupied the position of rabbi at the Synagogen-Gemeinde, remaining in this
position up until his immigration to England in 1939. 17 The synagogue’s cantor
was Max (Meier) Teller, the sexton was Max Arensberg 18 and the teachers at the
Religionsschule were Rabbi Dr Wilde and Rudolf Rosenberg. 19
In contrast, the members of the Shtiblech practised their Judaism in
accordance with the strict codes of Eastern European Orthodoxy. However, these
religious divisions were sometimes only a generational occurrence. One
interviewee, Hemmi Freeman (born Hermann Frühman) recalled:
There were about 600 families all up and at a maximum, half that number
were German-born. The temple had at least 300 families and the rest used to
go to one or two little Shtibls. 20
15
Personal interview with Gerry Levy AM (recorded), Sydney, 10 July 1997.
16
The concept of the Einheitsgemeinde arose out of numerical necessity in smaller
communities in Germany. This permitted all acculturated German Jews to practise
their Judaism according to their own wishes and levels of observance in a unified,
culturally German-Jewish ethos, irrespective of their rabbi’s religious affiliation. At
the Synagogen-Gemeinde in Magdeburg, this expression and practice ranged from
Liberal Judaism to Neo-Orthodoxy.
17
Personal file on Rabbi Dr Georg and Mrs Martha Wilde, Bestand Pe, Signatur Nr.
50, ASGM.
18
Personal interview with Gerry Levy AM (recorded), Sydney, 16 December 1997.
19
Personal interview with Sigrid Freeman (recorded), Sydney, 13 May 1998.
20
Personal interview with Hemmi Freeman (recorded), Sydney, 13 May 1998.
23