Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

esponsibilities continually increased in burden, particularly after the Nuremberg
Laws. In observing the activities of the organisations involved in welfare in the
city, what becomes clear is the transition from attempting to remodel life in
Germany under the new conditions to the realisation that this was not possible.
This is made clear in the strategies of all organisations, with the exception of the
Zionist organisations. The main focus up until the middle of 1937 remained
adapting to the new ‘pre-emancipation’ conditions of discrimination and
defamation. This is most obvious in the area of employment and retraining. This
also found expression in the cultural and educational domains. The reality and the
ramifications of the Nuremberg Laws appear to have caught up with the
community from the middle of 1937, when the emigration of children and youth
became a priority. This marked the period when Jews began to lose hope and re-
assessed their situation. The destruction of the very foundations of Jewish
existence in Magdeburg surrounded them. For a great number of them, one of the
key issues that had brought them to this realisation was the perceived lack of a
sustainable financial future, as economic strangulation had reduced them to
impoverishment by this stage.
77