But the Story. Didn't End. that Way

Transcription

1 But the Story Didn't End that Way This Educational Kit was Originally Produced to Commemorate the 60 th anniversary of the Kristallnacht Pogrom The International School for Holocaust Studies Yad Vashem Information Systems Yad Vashem 2000

2 Production: Coordinator Writers Didactic Adaptation Academic Advisor Visual Research Technical Research Critical Reading Production Manager Tehnical Assistance Graphics Language Editor Internet Version Avraham Milgram Batya Dvir, Avraham Milgram, Guy Miron, Hadas Steuer Shulamit Imber, Avraham Milgram (Yad Vashem); Yael Barenholz, Hava Fono (Youth & Society Administration) Dr. Daniel Fraenkel Orit Adorian, Avraham Milgram, Hadas Steuer Doron Avraham, Orit Adurian, Batya Dvir, Avraham Milgram, Guy Miron, Hadas Steuer, Irena Steinfeldt Chaya Regev Ayala Appelbaum Effi Neumann Einat Berlin Arieh Saposnik Yad Vashem Information Systems

3 Table of Contents Teachers Preface...4 Historical Overview...6 The Jews of Germany The Jews of Germany in the Weimar Republic...8 Anti-Jewish Policy, Explanations and Brief Readings for the Posters A Visit to the Exhibition: And the Story Did Not End There Chronological Table of Events,

4 Teachers Preface Kristallnacht was a series of riots that took place throughout the German Reich (Germany and Austria) on the 9 th and 10 th of November 1938, and represented an important turning point in the history of the Jews of Germany. Over 1,000 synagogues were destroyed during the pogrom throughout Germany and Austria. A great deal of damage was done to Jewish property, and for the first time, tens of thousands of Jews were sent to concentration camps simply because they were Jews. The International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem considers the production of an educational kit to promote familiarity with the fate of German Jewry in the 1930 s, to be of great importance. The kit is meant to provide teachers and students with up to date and readily available didactic tools, adapted for educational needs. Target audience: Middle school and high school students in formal and informal educational frameworks. The kit is composed of three sections: 18 posters which tell the story of German Jewry from the Weimar Republic through the late 1930 s. The posters are arranged in chronological order and allow the observer to understand the process by which anti-jewish policy in the German Reich was crystallized, reaching a peak in the vast pogrom of 9-10 November The pictures incorporate quotations from some of the period s central figures Jews and non-jews which provide the viewer with a further level of understanding. The combination of pictures and quotations aids in a comprehensive and in-depth view of the human drama and its participants. The posters can be used on their own, as an exhibition, or as an educational tool for the study of the period in formal and informal educational frameworks. A didactic booklet which includes: 1. A historical survey and overview 2. Short readings to accompany each poster 1

5 3. A visit to the exhibition And the Story Did Not End There with suggestions for activities with young participants. The activities take place as a guided tour through the exhibition, with a discussion of the meanings which arise from the Kristallnacht pogrom. 4. A chronological table of events for the years A bibliographical list of recommended reading. A documentary video movie which focuses on the events of Kristallnacht and its implications. The film, which is based on survivors testimonies and documentary visual materials from the period itself, contributes to an understanding of the events and allows disparate groups to relate to the survivors stories. This kit can contribute to a greater familiarity with the unique history of German Jewry in the 1930 s, with an emphasis on the events preceding the Kristallnacht pogrom. The 9-10 November pogrom constitutes a turning point and in many senses the climax of a process. It therefore cannot be understood separately from the historical context in which it took place. The kit can also be used on Holocaust Memorial Day, and as a helpful tool for history teachers teaching about the history of German Jewry during the first half of the twentieth century. The posters can be divided into four topics: A. Posters 1 and 3 relate to the Jews of the Weimar Republic: questions of identity, legal, economic and social status, and the appearance of a racist antisemitic movement in the form of the National Socialist Party on the Republic s political scene. B. Posters 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14 relate to Nazi policy in Germany, C. Posters 8, 9, 11, 13 relate to the Jewish response to Nazi policy. D. Posters relate to the events of Kristallnacht, 9-10 November

6 Historical Overview The Jews of Germany Throughout the nineteenth century, Jews in the various German states gradually advanced toward greater equality and emancipation. This process was completed with the establishment of the unified German state in As early as the late eighteenth century, thinkers associated with the German enlightenment had expressed views calling for the incorporation of Jews into the political and social life of the state in return for Jewish willingness to forego their differences and their separation from the society around them, and their transformation into productive citizens. The Jews agreed to this principle in large part: They adopted the German language and strove to be integrated into German culture. They took part in the general processes of modernization, and above all viewed Germany as their homeland. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Jews of Germany underwent a process of accelerated urbanization, found their way into the German middle class, and some even became central figures in German economic life bankers, merchants, owners of department stores, industrialists, etc. The Jews successful integration into German economic life did not go unnoticed by their opponents, and contributed to the formulation of antisemitic stereotypes. Based on their desire to be integrated into German society, the Jews were willing to make changes in their religious life and to modify their tradition. Some of the new religious trends in modern Judaism began to mature in Germany toward the mid nineteenth century. The Reform Movement sought to make far-reaching changes in Jewish tradition. Its members believed that it was only by defining Judaism in exclusively confessional terms, devoid of any nationalistic elements, that Judaism would be able to continue to exist in the modern world. The neo-orthodox also supported modernization and integration into the German state, but sought to preserve a commitment to halacha Jewish law. The process of Jewish integration into German society was complex and multifarious. Alongside a weakening of religious bonds, conversions and inter- 3

7 marriage, which became increasingly ubiquitous during the first three decades of the twentieth century, modern Jewish cultural creativity blossomed, as is reflected in the Jewish press and in Jewish literature of the period. The economic success of many German Jews was also expressed in their strength as a community, and could be seen in the lavish synagogues that were built in the large cities, most notably in Berlin. One phenomenon which had a profound impact on the Jews of Germany was the immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe, which began to take place in considerable numbers in the late nineteenth century. The presence of these Eastern European Jews was seen by many German Jews as posing a threat to their own integration in their homeland, and as a potential catalyst to antisemitism. German Jewish organizations sought to encourage the Eastern European Jews emigration overseas, or, alternatively, to encourage their Germanization so as to minimize their conspicuousness. New patterns of organization began to appear among German Jews in the late nineteenth century. Jews organized in order to counter the antisemitic movements that had appeared. The Central Organization of German Citizens of the Mosaic Faith was established in 1893, and quickly became the largest Jewish organization in Germany. The organization called for a deepening of Jewish equality and emphasized that, in the eyes of its leaders, Judaism was a religious belief only, which does not conflict with the Jews profound sense of belonging to their German homeland. The Zionist Organization of Germany was established in German Zionism represented a different kind of reaction to German antisemitism. At first, the organization s activity focused on assistance to the Jews of Eastern Europe, the victims of Czarist Russia s antisemitism and pogroms. However, it also sought to redefine the status of German Jews. The Zionists claimed that Jews, and the Jews of Germany among them, were not only members of one religion, but a people as well. They therefore saw their integration into the German state in a more limited manner loyal citizenship, but not integration into the German people. Zionism had but very limited influence on the Jews of Germany. With the outbreak of the First World War, the vast majority of German Jews, including most Zionists, joined in the German patriotic fervor. Kaiser Wilhelm s pronouncement that all citizens constituted a unified national body, whose different sections must live in peace with one another echoed loudly among the Jews of Germany. Many volunteered to serve in the German army even before being called to 4

8 service, and approximately 12,000 Jews fell in the line of duty on the battlefields of the World War. Nevertheless, the war led to a resurgence of antisemitic stereotypes in Germany, and to an escalation in the vehemence of that antisemitism. In late 1916, accusations according to which Jewish soldiers shirked their duty and avoided combat service led to a census of Jewish soldiers in the German army. For German Jews, This was a profoundly humiliating experience. The results of the census were never made public. The Jews of Germany in the Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, which was established in November 1918 in the wake of the German defeat in the war, was seen by many Germans as a form of government imposed upon them from the outside. The fact that Jews could be noted among the founders of the republic led anti-liberal and antisemitic political movements and trends to identify the republic with the Jews. Jews were also conspicuously present among the leaders of the radical left, who also did not support the republic. The presence of such Jewish leftist leaders as Rosa Luxembourg, Kurt Eisner and Ernst Toller contributed to the image of Jews as a subversive element. The Weimar period was the first time Jews were given nearly full equality. They began to make their way into many of the state s organizations which had previously been closed to them public service, universities, the legal system, and even the German government itself. Their contribution to German culture reached unprecedented heights: Jews stood out in literature and the arts, in philosophy and in science (scientists such as Albert Einstein). Their numbers among German recipients of the Nobel Prize was far beyond their proportion in the population. On the other hand, this period, which was rife with economic crises, was also characterized by new peaks of antisemitism. Walter Rathenau was assassinated in 1922, a few months after having been appointed to Foreign Minister. The assassins were motivated in large part by the fact that Rathenau was a Jew. Radical antisemitic parties grew in strength, and the activities of extreme nationalist organizations often reached the point of open violence. The Weimar period was witness to a new Jewish cultural efflorescence, and there are those who see it as a veritable renaissance. Young Jews, some of whom were 5

9 influenced by their intense encounter with the Jews of Eastern Europe during the First World War, sought to rediscover their Jewish roots. Writers, poets and painters turned to Jewish subject matter. Broad sections of the public expressed an increased interest in Jewish studies in a variety of associations established for this purpose, and in the free school for Jewish studies which operated in Frankfurt in the 1920 s under the management of Franz Rosenzweig and Martin Buber. Alongside the achievement of full equality of rights and the creative cultural vitality that characterized the Jews of the Weimar Republic, the Jewish community was in the midst of a long-range crisis which posed forbidding economic and demographic threats. Demographically, this was a Jewish community in a process of decline, characterized by a death rate which was larger than the birth rate. The direct cause of this phenomenon was the reversed age pyramid of German Jewry, with its large proportion of elderly. Economically, this was a structural crisis in which the majority of Germany s Jews remained stuck in the old middle class without fulfilling the paths to promotion and advancement that had been opened up to the general populace by the processes of industrialization. A particularly large percentage of Jews had suffered economic blows during the war years and the general economic crises of 1923 and 1929, which hit the middle class, to which most Jews belonged. Anti-Jewish Policy, There were approximately 525,000 Jews living in Germany in 1933, when the Nazi party attained power and put an end to the Weimar Republic. The Nazi party was guided by a racist and antisemitic ideology, which served to mold its policies in general, and its anti-jewish policy in particular. The anti-jewish policy developed gradually. It was forced to contend not only with ideological considerations, but also with political and economic factors, which impacted upon the fulfillment of ideological goals. The first directed anti-jewish action, which represented the initial steps toward implementing a nation-wide anti-jewish policy, took place in April Hitler s government, motivated principally by Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbeles, decided to initiate a boycott of Jewish businesses in response to the anti-german atrocity propaganda supposedly being disseminated abroad by Jews. Responsibility for the action was not placed on a governmental body, but rather on a Nazi party 6

10 body, and was headed by Julius Streicher, editor of the antisemitic journal Der Stürmer. A gradual process of anti-jewish legislation followed the boycott, with the aim of removing Jews from most fields of life, such as the public service, arts and culture, the media and the press in particular. It was decided at this stage not to touch private Jewish businesses since this might result in damage to the German economy. One important law was the law for the restoration of the professional civil service, which was aimed at removing all civil servants who were not Aryan i.e. Jews. The civil service included hospitals, universities, government offices and all areas of public service. The height of anti-jewish legislation was reached on September , with the ratification of the Nuremburg Laws. This set of laws was a considerable step further, as it defined Jews as members of a separate race, of a different blood, who can in no way belong to German society or be citizens of the German state. In the spirit of this legislation, a Jew was defined as anyone who had three grandparents who were racially pure Jews. A Mischling, or member of a mixed race, was defined as anybody who had either one or two Jewish grandparents. Notwithstanding the Nazis belief in pseudo-scientific racial doctrines and their insistence that Jews are to be defined racially rather than religiously, in practice they were forced to revert to an individual s belonging to the community when attempting to identify who is a Jew. Many Jews hoped that the Nuremberg Laws might bring the process of anti- Jewish escalation to an end, since they provided a legal foundation for the Jews status as second class citizens. In contrast with popular notions, the number of Jewish emigrants from Germany in the wake of the Nuremberg Laws decreased rather than increased. Anti-Jewish policy, which was characterized by rising and falling violence at different times, had a profound impact on patterns of Jewish emigration from Germany. Approximately 37,000 Jews emigrated from Germany in In 1934, some 24,000 Jews emigrated, and in 1935, 21,000 Jews emigrated. A relative lull in outward expressions of antisemitism was felt after the Nuremberg Laws, and in preparation for the 1935 winter Olympics and 1936 summer games. Anti-Jewish slogans disappeared from public places and there was a decrease in anti-jewish attacks. 7

11 Germany s improved international position and the crystallization of the four year plan the economic plan designed to prepare Germany for war led to an economic assault on the Jews, which had been avoided previously. This policy was expressed in an accelerated process of Aryanization takeover of Jewish property by Aryans. The process of Aryanization coincided with German foreign policy: the more aggressive Germany grew in its foreign policy, the greater the force given to Aryanization practices. In 1938, anti-jewish policy in the German Reich reached a peak. The policy of Aryanization was accelerated. The SS, which had become the leading factor in the implementation of anti-jewish policy, orchestrated a number of actions most notably the forced emigration of the Jews of Austria, which had been annexed to the Reich. The atmosphere of anti-jewish violence, which intensified from day to day, was given full expression in the November pogrom, known as Kristallnacht. 8

12 Explanations and Brief Readings for the Posters Posters 1-2: Jews in the Weimar Republic Jews in Weimar Republic, With the establishment of the Weimar Republic in November 1918, a new era began in the history of German Jewry. It appeared that the emancipation of the Jews had come to full fruition. All of the restrictions that still existed on Jews were annulled, and Jews could now take part in all aspects of public life. Jews made important contributions to culture, economics and science. Along with the Jews unprecedented and intensive integration into German society, antisemitism also intensified. Political antisemitism grew increasingly violent. One of the peaks of antisemitic escalation during the Weimar Republic was the assassination of Walter Rathenau, the republic s Jewish foreign minister. His assassins did not conceal the fact that Rathenau s Jewish origins stood at the base of their motivation to murder him. German Jewry during the Weimar period was not uniform. It was composed of Zionists alongside assimilationists, long-time German Jews alongside newcomers (Ostjuden Eastern European Jews). The various trends were engaged in ongoing cultural and ideological struggles. The meaning and practical importance of the old distinction between Eastern and Western Jews grew more pronounced after

13 Jewish immigration into Germany from Eastern Europe increased considerably in the wake of the world war and the revolutionary convulsions which followed it. Jewish organizations in Germany worked for the absorption of the immigrants, but did not encourage them to remain in Germany. They were not so much concerned with the economic burden of caring for the immigrants as they were with the potential risk they posed to Jewish integration into the surrounding German society. The immigrants stood out in their different dress and behavior, which were foreign and even repulsive to many Germans. The Jews of Germany appeared to have internalized their Christian neighbors feelings of rejection and disaffection with these Eastern European Jewish immigrants. The term Ostjuden (Eastern Jews) which was attached to the immigrants contained more than a grain of derision and contempt. The activities of the various Jewish political, religious and social organizations increased during the Weimar era. These included the Centralverein, the Union of German Jews, the organizations of liberal and Orthodox Jewry, and the Hilfsverein. New social and political organizations also came into being. One important new organization was the Union of Jewish War Veterans, which sought to safeguard the rights of Jewish veterans and to defend their honor. The veterans union was at first open to Jews of varying political points of view. With time, however, it adopted a German nationalistic ideology, which made it difficult for Zionists to maintain their membership in the organization. Reading for Poster Number 1: A Bridegroom describes his marriage ceremony in the Liberal (Reform) Temple in 1924 [The first sentences describe the groom s patriotic feelings which stemmed from his education and his experiences as a soldier during the First World War]. Immersed in the humanistic education of the Royal Prussian Gymnasium, fellow soldier to German soldiers in the ditches, in the bunkers and in the artillery craters graduate of four universities in the best German tradition, member of the German Theatrical Association since I worked as a beginning playwright and director in Würzburg, son of a German patriot (in every inch of his being) and a leading 10

14 economic figure. I myself had been for years a partner in the P. W. Grünfeld textile company, which had been established by my grandfather [and here he describes his marriage ceremony]. I strode through a silent snow storm on the morning of New Year s Day 1924 next to my bride. I was dressed in a tuxedo and top hat, amongst the hundreds of people who filled the Lützowstrasse Synagogue. Leo Baeck blessed our union in a venerable and unforgettable manner. This liberal synagogue, where I had been accustomed to hearing the prayer for the state in the German language since my Bar Mitzvah, could claim many famous German-Jewish members. This synagogue had been the place to which I had come from the front during the First World War on the final Yom Kippur of the war, and it was there that I had been called to the Torah together with my comrades in arms. On my wedding day, singer Olga Eisner sang prayer songs and Beethoven s I Love You, accompanied by an organ. Up to this day, I am still not certain if fewer than half of those present at my wedding were non-jews. Nobody imagined at that time, on January , that a decade later so many good Germans would be expelled from German society under the racist Aryan clauses. Fritz V. Grünfeld, Heimgesucht Heimgefunden, Betrachtung und Bericht, Arani-Verlag, Berlin, 1979, pp Reading for Poster Number 2: A. Following is the story of the people photographed floating in the river, as told by Rebbeca Piron (to the authors of the program), daughter of the young boy in the center of the poster. The poster shows a group of boys sitting in a row-boat. The boys are cousins who went on a Sunday outing in The two children in the center of the poster are two of the three Selinger brothers. The boy on the right is the eldest Izzi (Israel) Selinger. To his left, the younger one, is Menahem Selinger (Rebecca Piron s father). The boy on the right, sitting behind Menahem (second from the left) is unknown. The boy to the left is Mendel Selinger. Izzi and Menahem were born and raised in Leipzig, Germany. Their parents had emigrated from Poland a number of years earlier. They owned a chain of shoe stores in Leipzig and were fairly prosperous. The mother also took part in running the 11

15 business. The family employed a young Christian maid from the countryside to help in running the household and in raising the children. She lived in their house for sixteen years. The Selingers were a traditional family. They celebrated Jewish holidays in a traditional manner, went to synagogue on Saturdays and holidays and sent their children to a Jewish school (at least for elementary school). However, the parents did not refrain from opening the store on the Sabbath. They employed a melamed [a traditional Jewish teacher] to enrich the children s Jewish education. He provided them with a religious education in their home. In addition, Menahem spent a number of years studying with a much-admired Hebrew teacher (Dr. Weskin, who was murdered in the Holocaust). Later, when they arrived in Palestine, he already spoke Hebrew quite well. The photograph tells of a serene and comfortable life. And indeed that is what their life was. Izzi and Menahem were members of Jewish youth movements. At a later age they developed Zionist tendencies, and prepared themselves for immigration to Palestine. This was also true of their younger brother, Pinhas. Izzi immigrated to Palestine in 1933, and began his life in the new homeland as a member of Kibbutz Ein Harod. He later moved to the city and served for many years in the army. He passed away a number of years ago. Menahem was about 22 years old in 1936, when the atmosphere in Germany began to be filled with evil portends. One day he received the certificate he so longed for, which constituted an entry visa into Palestine. The certificate could be used either by a single person or by a married couple. He had had a steady girlfriend, and he now had a dilemma whether to go to Palestine or to remain in Germany, get married, and then go together. The decision had to be made within 24 hours, since many people awaited such certificates. The couple decided to marry and emigrate to Palestine. Preparations were made in haste, and approximately one month after their wedding, they parted from their parents and set off for the longed-for yet unfamiliar country. They never again saw Menahem s parents (Zvi and Dina Selinger). They were murdered in the Holocaust. They were fortunate enough to see the parents of his wife, Shulamit A certificate permitting immigration into Palestine within the framework of the British Mandate s immigration policies. 12

16 (Pritzi) a number of years later. (They had been able to escape to the United States, and were then able to immigrate to Israel in 1949). Menahem and Pritzi (Shulamit) settled in Kefar Haroeh, a religious workers moshav. It was in this spirit that they raised their children. They lived together for 61 years and lived to see children and grandchildren. They worked hard, but always maintained an air of optimism, joy and a strong bond to the land and to their people. Ms. Pritzi (Shulamit) still lives in their Kefar Haroeh home. B. My mother, who had a beautiful and very cultivated voice, encouraged young female artists. One singer, whom I used to amaze, invited me to accompany her on a stroll. This all took place in Insterburg, in Eastern Prussia. We met a Russian or Polish Jew, who asked me a question. I did not respond. The man spoke Yiddish. Although I did not know Yiddish, I did understand the address about which he had asked. Why don t you answer that man? the woman asked me. Are you ashamed perhaps? I felt hurt and destroyed. I showed the man the way, and then ran off without even saying goodbye. Kurt Blumenfeld, The Jewish Question as an Experience (Hebrew), Jerusalem, Discussion questions for poster 1 and 2 1. I am a German and a Jew in equal measure one cannot be separated from the other (Jakob Wassermann, writer, 1921). In your opinion, do the photographs and readings in the booklet reflect this writer s words? 2. Point to expressions which characterize the cultural world of German Jewry in the description of the wedding in the liberal synagogue. 13

17 Poster Number 3: Racial Antisemitism During the Weimar Era Racial Antisemitism During the Weimar Era The caricature and the accompanying citation both date from 1924, the year in which Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle), while in prison. Racial antisemitism in its Nazi version stood out in its extremity as early as the very initial stages of the Weimar Republic. It had adopted the mythological image of the omnipotent Jew, who rules social and economic forces from his dark recesses. The misleading nature of the caricature is particularly manifest given the fact that Jews were not at all a dominant force in German industry. Moreover, since most Jews belonged to the middle class, they were hit at least as hard as the rest of the population by the economic crises which characterized the period. The central motifs of Nazi antisemitism were formulated during the 1920 s: democracy as beneficial to the Jews; the Jews as foreigners who are taking over Germany; Marxism and capitalism as the fruit of Jewish ploys; the Jews as a rootless race, which constitutes the antithesis of the Aryan race; Judaism as a threat to all of humanity. 14

18 Readings for Poster Number 3 From the Nazi Party Platform:...4. Only Nationals (Volksgenossen) can be citizens of the state. Only persons of German blood can be nationals, regardless of religious affiliation. No Jew can therefore be a German national. 5. Any person who is not a citizen will be able to live in Germany only as a guest and must be subject to legislation for Aliens. 6. Only a citizen is entitled to decide the leadership and laws of the state. We therefore demand that only citizens may hold public office, regardless of whether it is a national, state or local office.... Documents on the Holocaust Selected sources on the destruction of the Jews of Germany and Austria, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Edited by Yitzhak Arad, Yisrael Gutman, Abraham Margaliot Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, 1981 p. 15. Discussion questions for Poster Number 3: 1) What messages does the poster convey? 2) What graphic elements did the caricaturist use? 3) What messages are added by the quotation of Hitler s words on the ideology of the antisemitic party? 15

19 Poster Number 4: A New Age in Germany: The Nazis Rise to Power A New Age in Germany! This photograph reflects the mood in Germany on the eve of the Nazis rise to power. Hitler made extensive use of mass rallies and military marches to arouse the masses and to create an atmosphere of fear and terror. Hitler used the mechanisms of the democratic state to attain power. He was supported by conservatives who thought they would be able to control him an illusion which vanished quickly. Immediately after their ascent to power, the Nazis began to establish a new political culture, which was expressed through a policy of terror. Political opponents were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps. SA men were given a free hand to vent their rage on political opponents and on Jews; the masses were recruited to support the regime and its various methods of propaganda. This was the beginning of the Nazi revolution, which led to the eradication of the liberal democratic regime and the establishment of a totalitarian state. Readings for Poster Number 4 A. It seems like a dream. The Wilhelmstrasse is ours. The leader is already working in chancellery. We stand in the window upstairs, watching hundreds and thousands of people march past the aged president of the Reich and the young chancellor in the flaming torchlight, shouting their joy and gratitude It is come! The leader is appointed chancellor. Goebbels diary, January 30,

20 B. The tension of wantonness, expectation, apprehension and a hidden purpose descended on the capital city on the day that the boot-men took over its streets and squares. They were everywhere, in their brown uniforms, speeding in their cars and on their motorcycles, carrying torches, playing marches, pounding with their heels and passing through incessantly marching and marching. The pounding of their boots awakened and aroused the people. Nobody was quite sure what the new order would bring with it, but the citizens of Berlin anxiously and tensely awaited. Like during the war years, the masses ran around excitedly without purpose. More than anywhere else, the pounding of the storm troopers boots echoed throughout the western parts of Berlin, on the Kurfürstendamm, on the Tauentzienstrasse, past the comfortable and spacious homes of the black-haired and dark-eyed the large-scale merchants, the professors, theater managers, lawyers, the doctors and the bankers. The chorus Wenn vom Judenblut das Messer spritzt dann geht s noch mal so gut, so gut (When Jewish blood drips from the dagger, we have hope, we have meaning), was shouted loudly from the booted men s throats, as if to assure that the words penetrate the houses. [ ] Jagur Karnowski spent all of his time in the streets. He did not go to school, but instead wandered around the city, thirstily taking in the sounds and sights and smells of the reorientation that was sweeping the nation. [ ] Jagur s blue eyes sparkled with patriotism. He allowed himself to be swept up with the masses and avidly searched for excitement and experiences. The loud music animated his young blood, and the measured pounding of the marching feet elevated his spirit. Like all those surrounding him, he reached out around him with a stiff arm raised upward every time a new company marched by. Like everybody else, he cheered and shouted out slogans. [ ] He saw no connection between the Jewish blood, whose spilling the marchers sang about, and the Jewish blood flowing in his veins. He heard only the melody, not the words. Like the words of a hymn, for him and for the rest of Berlin s Jews, they served only to accompany the melody. [ ] He found himself near the Reichstag. The wide square was filled with flags and torches and the sound of marching men. From their open cars, the nation s new leaders excited those who had gathered. The masses cheered, were answered 17

21 with a salute, and shouted hysterically. Jagur felt the blood climbing to his head. He found himself cheering and zealously repeating the ugly slogans along with the excited masses. For the first time, he felt that life had a meaning and a purpose. And he knew he would never again be what he had been before. Israel Joshua Singer, The House of Karnowski, Tel-Aviv 1987, pp ; Discussion Questions for Poster Number 4 1) What, in your opinion, is the atmosphere created by the Nazis parades and flags throughout Germany? 2) How do you think the Nazi parades effected average German citizens? Explain. 18

22 Poster Number 5: Economic Boycott The Economic Boycott, April Approximately two months after they had gained power, the Nazis declared a boycott of Jewish businesses. Such a boycott had been a wide-held vision during the Weimar Republic, but this was the first time it was organized by the ruling party and was supported by state institutions. The boycott was presented as a response to the atrocity propaganda supposedly being disseminated abroad by world Jewry against the Nazi regime. On Saturday, April , SA guards were posted near Jewish businesses, preventing Germans from entering the establishments. The boycott, which at first had not been given a time limit, was brought to a halt after one day, due primarily to a lack of response among the German public, and fear among leading economic figures that it might have damaging implications. Readings for Poster Number 5 Edwin Landau, a Jew from a small town in Western Prussia, described his experiences on boycott day, April : 19

23 And for this reason we young Jews had once stood in the trenches in cold and rain, and spilled our blood to protect the land from the enemy. Was there no comrade any more from those days who was sickened by these goings-0n? One saw them pass by on the street, among them quite a few for whom one had done a good turn. They had a smile on their faces that betrayed their malicious pleasure. I took my war decorations, put them on, went into the street, and visited Jewish shops, where at first I was also stopped. But I was seething inside, and most of all I would have liked to shout my hatred into the faces of these barbarians. Hatred, hatred when had it become part of me? It was only a few hours ago that a change had occurred within me. This land and this people that until now I had loved and treasured had suddenly become my enemy. So I was not a German anymore, or I was no longer supposed to be one. That, of course, cannot be settled in a few hours. But one thing I felt immediately: I was ashamed that I had once belonged to this people. I was ashamed about the trust that I had given to so many who now revealed themselves as my enemies. Suddenly the street, too, seemed alien to me. Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P. Rosenfeld & Sidney Rosenfeld. Indiana University Press, 1991 p Report of the Dortmund state police, August 1935: Not always did the boycott limit itself to avoidance of Jewish businesses. It also manifested itself in numerous attacks directed against Jewish shops, whole show windows were defaced with slogans or smashed in. In many instances, customers were also photographed or publicly denounced in some other manner. These attacks were generally disapproved, since one suspected that the NS-HAGO [National Socialist Organization of Crafts, Commerce and Industry] was behind them, and assumed therefore that their real reason was competitive envy. Avraham Barkai, From Boycott to Annihilation the economic struggle of German Jews , pp Discussion Questions for Poster Number 5 1) to what end do you suppose the picture was taken? 2) How do you think the people in the photograph relate to the sign being held by the boy? Explain. 20

24 Posters Number 6-7: The Nuremberg Laws and Forced Isolation Racial Lews September The Nuremberg Laws were ratified on September These laws constituted the peak of anti-jewish legislation in Germany. The two central laws were the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor. The Reich Citizenship Law retracted Jews voting rights and turned them into second class residents of the state. It distinguished between citizenship which could apply only to those who were German by blood and subjects. The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor forbade sexual intercourse between Jews and non-jews, both inside and outside the framework of marriage. Employment of German maids under the age of 45 in Jewish homes was prohibited. On September 15, the final day of the Nazi Party s convention in Nuremberg, in a special session of the Reichstag, the discriminatory racial laws were ratified. The laws express purpose was to create a final legal and social separation between German Jews and Germans. This policy of segregation took on a number of additional forms as well: Jews were forbidden from entering theaters, special benches were designated for them in public parks, and more. The Nuremberg Laws created a new definition of the term Jew, according to racial origin. This definition served as a legal precedent in all of the anti-jewish legislation that ensued. 21

25 Reading for Poster Number 6: From the Memoirs of Martha Appel (nèe Insel), written in the United States in One day, for the first time in along while, I saw my children coming back from school with shining eyes, laughing and giggling together. Most of the classes had been gathered that morning in the big hall, since an official of the new Rasseamt, the office of races, had come to give a talk about the differences of races. I asked the teacher if I could go home, my daughter was saying, but she told me she had orders not to dismiss anyone. You may imagine it was an awful talk. He said that there are two groups of races, a high group and a low one. The high and upper race that was destined to rule the world was the Teutonic, the German race, while one of the lowest races was the Jewish race. And then, Mommy, he looked around and asked one of the girls to come to him. The children again began to giggle about their experience. First we did not know, my girl continued, what he intended, and we were very afraid when he picked out Eva. Then he began, and he was pointing at Eva, Look here, the small head of this girl, her long forehead, her very blue eyes, and blond hair, and he was lifting one of her long blond braids. And look, he said, at hertall and slender figure. These are the unequivocal marks of a pure and unmixed Teutonic race. Mommy, you should have heard how at this moment all the girls burst into laughter. Even Eva could not help laughing. Then from all sides of the hall there was shouting, She is a Jewess! You should have seen the officer s face! I guess he was lucky that the principal got up so quickly and, with a sign to the pupils, stopped the laughing and shouting and dismissed the man, thanking him for his interesting and very enlightening talk. At that we began again to laugh, but he stopped us immediately. Oh, I was so glad that the teacher had not dismissed me and I was there to hear it. Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P. Rosenfeld & Sidney Rosenfeld. Indiana University Press, 1991 pp

26 Discussion Questions for Poster Number 6: 1) What did the Germans hope to accomplish by humiliating a German woman? 2) What are Edwin Landau s feelings on the day the boycott was declared against the Jews? Reading for Poster Number 7: Segregation as Policy From the Testimony of Joseph B. Levy: Contact with Aryans even casual greetings upon meeting in the street and in public places grew less and less frequent. Even former acquaintances and friends, colleagues, former war comrades hesitated to converse with us, and instead greeted us clandestinely. They often explained their behavior as stemming from fear of persecution or some other unpleasantness. One example from among many: An elderly lady whom I almost did not recognize at first glance greeted me on the street from a distance and appeared to be glad to see me. She was a work colleague from one of the government schools in which I had taught decades earlier. We approached one another. But after we had exchanged a number of words, my glance fell on the Party emblem pinned to her dress. When she noticed my glance, she grew suddenly 23

27 pale, and without saying another word turned and walked away. She had suddenly realized that she, a respectable Party member, was standing and talking with a Jew, thus risking banishment from the Party. We, of course, belong to those few decent Jews. We heard this dubious compliment almost every day, accompanied by the following words: Yes, if only they were all like you. The German people was led into madness. Yad Vashem Archives, Discussion Questions for Poster Number 7 1) What sub-title would you give the poster? 2) Who in your opinion ought to feel ashamed in the picture? 24

28 But the Story Didn't End that Way... Posters 8-9: The Jewish Response Jewish Consciousness A Zionst Response The Nazi policy of excluding the Jews from German society led many Jews to understand that their fate was bound up with the fate of the Jewish people, even if they had not previously felt or known this. The Jews of Germany took refuge amongst themselves and increasingly developed their own public and cultural life. High schools and elementary schools were opened for Jewish pupils. The teaching staff was recruited from among the Jewish teachers who had been dismissed from their positions in the general schools. Jewish writers and artists began to create for a Jewish audience alone. Distribution of the Jewish press grew. Jewish publishing houses increased their production, and books of Jewish content poetry, history, and essays were given wide distribution. The Nazi government accepted the initiative to organize Jewish cultural life and place it under government supervision. The Ministry of Propaganda created a special department which supervised Jewish cultural activities. The Jewish organization that was established to this end was called the Jüdischer Kulturbund, the Jewish Cultural Organization. This organization held concerts and plays, lectures, art exhibitions, and more. 25

29 Reading for Posters 8-9 We avoided making purchases in Christian stores. An industrious Jew opened a small grocery store in Plock. Of his own accord, Berti [husband of Frida Hirsch, author of these memoirs] immediately sent a letter to the Evangelical Treatment Center and to the Medical Association, announcing his resignation. We took the children out of their schools on April 2, in spite of the fact that the principals explained that our children still make up only one percent of the class. Further words are unnecessary. Our children began to take English lessons from a Jewish teacher who had been fired from her job with no prior notice. Frida Hirsch Mein Weg von Karlsruhe über Heidelberg nach Haifa (Private publication), 1965 p There were several goals. One goal, perhaps Buber s main goal, was that after this catastrophe for German Jewry, at least in terms of the loss of Emancipation, they should be given the possibility of defending themselves, understanding why we are suffering so much, and identifying with this suffering Second it was necessary to help educate teachers who had until then taught in high schools and public schools, for now almost all of them had lost their jobs. We had to prepare them; they came to us as almost total ignoramuses and they had to prepare themselves to obtain assistance so they could work in the new schools that were formed at that time because most of the Jewish pupils had also been expelled The intent was to attract them to the Jewish spiritual heritage, which was alien to most of them We had values that are worth suffering for. It s not something that you should throw away now, but the opposite to get into that historical heritage, which was part of the difficulty Ernest Simon (interview) The Yellow Badge, Open University of Israel. 26

30 Discussion Questions for Posters 8-9 1) What meanings do you think Jewish holidays and Hanukah in particular were given at a time when German Jews were being persecuted under the Nazi regime? 2) What does this say about German Jews concepts of Jewish identity during this period? 27

31 Poster Number 10: Aryanization Arynization Aryanization is the term commonly used for the transfer of Jewish-owned independent businesses into German hands. The process of Aryanization occurred in two stages: voluntary sales of Jewish businesses in the years , and the period of forced Aryanization, enforced by law, following the November 1938 pogrom. During the first stage, that of voluntary sales, the economic boycott and other means of economic pressure were used against establishments that employed or were owned by a high percentage of Jews. Firms with international connections and standing were mostly left untouched due to economic considerations. During the forced Aryanization stage, the process of eliminating Jewish economic activity in Germany had already advanced considerably, and it was now imposed on all commercial and industrial establishments still owned by Jews. 28

32 Readings for Poster Number 10 The Aryanization of Grünfeld Manufacturer of Bedding and Apparel and Owner of Prestige Shops for the Same in Berlin and Cologne. The company managed to survive until 1938, its customers including high-ranking Nazi Party officials. Grünfeld exhibited its merchandise in the German pavilion at the Paris World s Fair in 1936, and even won a prize from the state for its important contribution to German economy. Its great success notwithstanding, Grünfeld had to cope with a rising tide of difficulties. In 1937, its bank terminated its lines of credit. The Nazi propaganda machine took vigorous action against the company s customers and non-jewish employees by printing their names in newspapers and defaming them as slaves of the Jews. Newspapers refused to carry Grünfeld advertising. Suppliers began to refuse to work with the firm. State and Party authorities entangled the company in red tape, searched its offices, and ransacked the homes of its owners and executives. Negotiations for the sale of the company were held throughout the summer of The company was eventually purchased on September 15 by Walter Kühl, the owner of a competing firm, at a price far below its market value. The Grünfeld family emigrated to Palestine a few weeks later. From the account of Fritz Grünfeld on the Aryanization of the firm: Our customers were the first front to be mobilized against us in this war of destruction. Our employees became the second front. The loyalty of our employees was systematically undermined this showed itself when they were branded as friends of the Jews by the Stürmer. To facilitate their terrorization, the employees full addresses were printed in the paper. The intimidation, the fear of being publicly marked as a Slave of the Jews (Judenknecht), discouraged all those in our firm who had so far remained loyal to the enterprise. At the same time, it encouraged those who were inclined to sabotage, to betray and to spy. They went as far as to listen to our phone conversations, to check our mail and to search our garbage bins. Eventually apart from the few Jewish workers who were isolated in any case only 29

33 a few of the hundreds of employees remained loyal to us and were not intimidated by the risks involved. The third front in this destructive fight was the press. Increasing numbers of newspapers and magazines refused to publish our advertisements. Once we were prevented from publishing ads in any German newspaper or magazine, we were deprived of our most efficient means of advertisement... The fourth front stabbing us in the back was our former suppliers and contractors. They increasingly refused to deliver to us. At the same time, all authorities and party offices such as the Trustees of Labor, the Labor Front, the Gestapo and the customs agencies created a fifth front against us with summons, house searches and inspections, all with the purpose of shattering our position. In addition to them were the state and local tax agencies... In 1938, like vultures surrounding someone condemned to death, a great number of mediators and negotiators suddenly appeared on the scene. Based on experience they had gained in conducting successful Aryanizations, they came up with advice and disguised threats... Walther Kühl, owner of the Max Kühl retail business, soon proved to be the most serious bidder... Mr. Kühl, naturally, like all Aryan buyers of Jewish enterprises, got a much lower purchase price than he would have gotten under normal circumstances. He was nevertheless convinced that he had saved us by buying our firm... Party members and economic trustees had to be involved in the negotiations on behalf of both sides. I am only responsible for the legal side and not for the coercion, Geheimrat Albert remarked with regret. By that time, all institutions it is hard to imagine how many were involved were already so much in their [the party people s] hands, that one could not act without the well-endowed brown mediators. Finally, state secretary Brinkmann, responsible for such matters in the Reich s Economic Ministry, demanded a sum of 200,000 RM for the official approval of the Aryanization. The sum was raised by us and Kühl. A commercial publication to our customers in October 1938 already carried the sentence Grünfeld, now under German ownership. Source: Annegret Ehmann et al., Juden In Berlin, Berlin 1988, pp

34 Discussion Question for Poster Number 10 What do you think Fritz Grünfeld s testimony (see booklet) adds to the picture? 31

35 Poster Number 11: Emigration Emigration The Nazis rise to power and the brutality of the SA thugs led to the panic-stricken departure of thousands of Jews to the countries bordering on Germany, where they waited to see what would happen was a year of relative calm in the Nazi state s antisemitic policies, and some Jewish refugees, who lived in difficult circumstances in the neighboring countries, decided to return to Germany. Up until 1936, Palestine was the primary destination for emigrating German Jews. Beginning in 1936, however, Jews began to seek other overseas destinations. Jewish organizations came to the assistance of the immigrants after they had accepted the need for emigration. In 1938, the problem of Jewish emigration became acute. The annexation of Austria to the Reich added tens of thousands of Jews to the number of those emigrating. At the same time, the potential destinations made it increasingly difficult to obtain visas. By the end of 1938, approximately 170,000 Jews had emigrated from the Reich between 33% to 40% of the Jews who had been living there prior to the Nazis rise to power. 32

36 Jewish emigration from the Greater Reich (Including Austria and Czechoslovakia) Europe Number of immigrants Total Great Britain 40,000 France 30,000 The Netherlands 20,000 Belgium 15,000 Switzerland 8,000 Scandinavia 5,000 Poland and other Eastern European Countries 30,000 Other countries 5, ,000 Overseas Destinations United States 60,000 Palestine 55,000 South America 30,000 Central America 5,000 South Africa 4,500 Australia 4,5000 Other Countries 5,000 Asia (mostly Shanghai) 12, ,000 Total: 329,000 Doron Niederland, German Jews Emigrants or Refugees? A Study of Emigration Patterns Between the World Wars (Hebrew) Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 1996, p Reading for Poster Number 11: From the Memoirs of Martha Appel (nèe Insel) The hardest task I had to do was to arrange for the transportation of children to foreign countries: the United States of America, Palestine, England, and Italy. It was most heartbreaking to see them separate from their parents. Yet the parents 33

37 themselves came to beg and urge us to send their children away as soon as possible, since they could no longer stand to see them suffer from hatred and abuse. The unselfish love of the parents was so great that they were willing to deprive themselves of their most precious possessions so that their children might live in peace and freedom. [ ] I was standing on the platform again, and as the slowly moving train passed by me, I noticed how quiet the children had become. The beaming light had faded from most of the young faces as they looked for a last time upon their dear ones. I saw many little girls who had been laughing before now stretching out their hands for a last handshake with their mothers and father s, while the tears were running down their cheeks, and I saw many a boy s face distorted into a twisted smiling one. We will be brave and Sholem Aleichem, the Jewish greeting, was sounded through the vast hall, while hundreds of Jewish children left their German fatherland. Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P. Rosenfeld & Sidney Rosenfeld. Indiana University Press, 1991 pp Discussion Question for Poster Number 11 What problems faced German Jews who considered emigration? (note also poster 13). 34

38 Poster Number 12: Anschluss Anschluss Maach On March , Hitler sent his army into Austria. On March 13, the annexation of Austria to the German Reich was declared. Most Austrian citizens welcomed the Anschluss with an enthusiasm that was accompanied by widespread and violent antisemitic outbursts. The policy of dispossessing the Jews of Austria packed into a few months a process that had taken five and half years in the Old Reich (Germany). Jews were dismissed from their positions in theaters, public libraries, universities and colleges. Synagogues were desecrated, Jews were arrested and held until they would sign documents forfeiting their property, and an unbridled policy of Aryanization was forced onto large businesses. Within a short time after the Anschluss, the Central Office for Jewish Emigration, headed by Adolf Eichmann, was established in Vienna. Its goal was to promote the Jewish exodus from Austria, if necessary, by brutal means. The policy of forced emigration met with great success. By the time war broke out, some 126,000 of Austria s 200,000 Jews had emigrated. Reading for Poster Number 12 From the testimony of Ezra Perry (formerly Erich Professorski), born in Vienna in His father, a shoemaker, had been a soldier in the Russian army, and defected during the First World War. 35

39 At school, I was placed in the back row because I was a Jew. On the street, people did not know I was a Jew, but my father was stopped on the street and made to clean it with a tooth brush. They were humiliated in the street along with the religious Jews, while the residents stood by and laughed. Father continued to work at home. At first, the Christian customers continued to come, but later, SA men prevented them from bringing in shoes for repair. There were some people who continued to come in through the back door. The neighbors were quite decent, they said our Jews are alright. We tried to leave for any possible destination Colombia, Panama, Ethiopia. People with money could buy visas. I was active in Hashomer ha-tza ir [a Zionist youth movement]. Some in the movement thought about Palestine, but didn t have any real intention of immigrating there. My father refused to consider Palestine. Only after the Nazis came in did we start to think of going to any possible destination. Video-recorded interview, Yad Vashem Archives, VD 405. Discussion Question for Poster Number 12 What do you think characterized the fate of Austrian Jewry after the Anschluss in 1938? 36

40 Poster Number 13: The World s Response the Evian Conference Whither? In July 1938, at the initiative of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, an international conference on refugees convened in Evian, France. The conference had supposedly been convened to discuss the general problem of refugees, although at this stage the majority of refugees were Jews. The conference proved useless with regard to solving the refugee crisis i.e. in terms of finding destinations for the refugees. The Dominican Republic was the only country willing to accept a large number of refugees, on the condition that the Jewish organizations raise the funds necessary for their absorption in the country. The failure of the conference aggravate the Jews plight and intensified the Jewish refugee problem as a world problem. The conference s only practical result was the establishment of an Intergovernmental Committee headed by George Rublee. Readings for Poster number 13 A. Two weeks after the Anschluss, in its meeting of March 28, 1938, the Swiss Federal Council (the country s executive branch) decided: In view of the measures already taken and being prepared by other countries against the influx of Austrian refugees, we find ourselves in a difficult situation. It is clear that Switzerland can only be a transit country for the refugees from Germany and from Austria. Apart from the situation of our labor market, the present excessive degree of foreign presence imposes the strictest defense measures against a longer stay of such elements. If we 37

41 do not want to create a basis for an anti-semitism movement that would be unworthy of our country, we must defend ourselves with all our strength and, if need be, with ruthlessness against the immigration of foreign Jews, mostly those from the East. We have to think of the future and therefore we cannot allow ourselves to let in such foreigners for the sake of immediate advantages Saul Friedländer Nazi Germany and the Jews the years of persecution New York, 1997 pp B. The expulsion of Jews from the Sudetenland was described by Hermann Göring in ironic terms: During the night [following the entry of the German troops into the Sudetenland], the Jews were expelled to Czecho-Slovakia. In the morning, the Czechs got hold of them and sent them to Hungary. From Hungary back to Germany, then back to Czecho-Slovakia. Thus, they turned round and round. Finally, they ended up on a riverboat on the Danube. There they camped. As soon as they set foot on the river bank they were pushed back. Saul Friedländer Nazi Germany and the Jews the years of persecution New York, 1997 pp Discussion Questions for Poster Number 13 1) What implications did the words of the delegates to the Evian Conference have for the fate of the girl in the picture and for the fate of the Jews of Germany and Austria in 1938? 2) Why did the question whither? become so relevant for Jews at the time? 38

42 Poster Number 14: Deportation to Zbaszyn Deportation to Zbaszyn Zbaszyn is a small Polish town near Poland s border with Germany. In 1938, a camp was established there for Jews holding Polish citizenship who had been deported from Germany. The immediate reason for their deportation by the Germans was a decree by the Polish Interior Ministry, according to which all Polish citizens who had been residing outside of Poland for over five years would automatically lose their citizenship if they did not return to Poland within two weeks. The German government, concerned that thousands of Polish Jews would remain in Germany for lack of any other place to go, reacted with an immediate order of deportation. The deportations took place throughout Germany. The deportees were allowed to take only ten marks per person. They were forbidden to take any valuables and were not given the chance to put their affairs in order. The majority were deported by train, but large groups were deported by foot and were beaten and forced to cross the Polish frontier. The deportees were lodged in barracks and flour mills and endured inhuman conditions. Among the Zbaszyn deportees was the Grynszpan family from Hanover. In an effort to take revenge for his family s plight, their son, Herschel Grynszpan, shot a German diplomat in Paris. This assassination served as the pretext for the Kristallnacht pogrom. Most of the deportees were re-absorbed in Poland after an extended stay in the camp. 39

43 Reading for Poster Number 14 Emmanuel Ringelblum s notes on the refugees in Zbaszyn Srodborow, December 6, 1938 Dear Raphael, I am on holiday in Srodborow. I worked in Zbaszyn for five weeks. Apart from Ginzberg, I am among the few who managed to hold out there for a long time. Almost all the others broke down after a more or less short time. I have neither the strength nor the patience to describe for you everything that happened in Zbaszyn. Anyway, I think there has never been so ferocious, so pitiless a deportation of any Jewish Community as this German deportation. I saw one woman who was taken from her home in Germany while she was still in her pajamas (this woman is now halfdemented). I saw a woman of over 50 who was taken from her house paralyzed; afterwards she was carried all the way to the border in an armchair by young Jewish men. (She is in hospital until this day). I saw a man suffering from sleeping sickness who was carried across the border on a stretcher, a cruelty not to be matched in all history. In the course of those five weeks we (originally Giterman, Ginzberg and I, and after ten days I and Ginzberg, that is), set up a whole township with departments for supplies, hospitalization, carpentry workshops, tailors, shoemakers, books, a legal section, a migration department and an independent post office (with 53 employees), a welfare office, a court of arbitration, an organizing committee, open and secret control services, a cleaning service, and a complex sanitation service, etc. In addition to people from Poland, almost 500 refugees from Germany are employed in the sections I listed above. The most important thing is that is not a situation where some give and some receive. The refugees look on us as brothers who have hurried to help them at a time of distress and tragedy. Almost all the responsible jobs are carried out by refugees. The warmest and most friendly relations exist between us and the refugees. It is not the mouldering spirit of philanthropy, which so easily have 40

44 infiltrated into the work. For that reason all those in need of our aid enjoy receiving it. Nobody s human feelings are hurt. Every complain of bad treatment is investigated, and more than on philanthropist has been sent away from here. We have begun on cultural activities. The first thing we introduced was the speaking of Yiddish. It has become quite the fashion in the camp. We have organized classes in Polish, attended by about 200 persons, and other classes. There are several reading rooms, a library; the religious groups have set up a Talmud Torah [religious school]. There are concerts, and a choir is active. Zbaszyn has become a symbol for the defencelessness of the Jews of Poland. Jews were humiliated to the level of lepers, to citizens of the third class, and as a result we are all visited by terrible tragedy. Zbaszyn was a heavy moral blow against the Jewish population of Poland. And it is for this reason that all the threads lead from the Jewish masses to Zbaszyn and to the Jews who suffer there Please accept my warmest good wishes and kisses from Emmanuel Documents on the Holocaust - Selected sources on the destruction of the Jews of Germany and Austria, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Edited by Yitzhak Arad, Yisrael Gutman, Abraham Margaliot. Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, 1981 pp Discussion Question for Poster Number 14 What power, in your opinion, does Dr. Emmanuel Ringelblum s pen have, and what does it add to the picture in describing the suffering and humiliation of the Jews deported to Zbaszyn? 41

45 But the Story Didn't End that Way... Posters 15-18: Kristallnacht Kristallnacht is the name given to the pogrom that took place throughout Germany and Austria on the night of November The pogrom was officially described as a spontaneous outburst in response to the assassination of the third secretary of the German Embassy in Paris, Ernst Vom Rath. The assassin was a young seventeen year old Jew by the name of Herschl Grynszpan, whose parents were among the Jews deported to Zbaszyn. However, the assassination was only a pretext for the pogrom, which was in fact instigated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbeles, with Hitler s consent. Approximately 1,000 synagogues throughout the Reich were set to flames or utterly destroyed during the pogrom; over 800 Jewish shops were burned and looted; and hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed. The broken glass of the synagogue and Jewish store windows gave the pogrom its name Kristallnacht, or night of the broken glass. 91 Jews were murdered during the pogrom, and approximately 30,000 were arrested and sent to concentration camps simply because they were Jews. After the pogrom, the Jews were fined a random fine of one billion Marks, and they were forced to pay for the repairs to the damaged property. Reading for Posters November Pogrom - Kristallnacht 1. Hans Berger of Wiesbaden tells of his memories of Kristallnacht: When on the morning of the 10th of November I was driving my car to work, as I did every day, my route took me past the synagogue, whose dome was ablaze. Fear went 42

46 right through me. A big crowd of people stood around it silently and the fire department was content with protecting the surrounding houses from catching fire. My way took me to the Jewish school, where I got out to check on my children. There they still did not know about the burning House of Worship, and only in the factory did I hear through telephone reports that all Jewish businesses in the city were completely demolished. The wares were thrown onto the street and set on fire, and all this happened at the hands of only a few juveniles who had been appointed by the party for this purpose. When me met up with Maas, we learned that in Frankfurt and Mainz, too, the synagogues had been set on fire, Jewish businesses demolished, Jewish men even arrested on the street, and that already quite a number of Jewish private residences had been destroyed in the most bestial way. We deliberated on how to save what perhaps could still be saved, and came to the decision that I was to return to the factory while Maas, who in contrast to me had a valid passport, should try to get across the border. Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P. Rosenfeld & Sidney Rosenfeld. Indiana University Press, 1991 pp From the protocol of 10 November 1938 taken in the court of Buchen in the matter of the killing of Susanne Stern, a widow, aged 81: the testimony of Adolf Heinrich Frey, of the SA, who shot her: I knocked on the door I demanded that Stern get dressed She sat down on the sofa. When I asked her whether she did not intend to follow my instructions and get dressed, she answered she would not get dressed or come with us. We can do whatever we want. I am not leaving my house. I am an old lady. I took my service revolver out of my pocket I called on the woman another 5 or 6 times to get up and dress. Stern loudly screamed into my face with scorn and insolence: I will not get up and I will not get dressed. You can do with me whatever you want. At the moment she screamed do with me whatever you want, I released the safety of the pistol and shot her once Stern collapsed on the sofa. She leaned back and grabbed her chest with her hands. I now shot her for the second time, this time aiming at her head. Paul Sauer Dokumente über die Verfolgung der jüdischen Bürger in Baden-Württemberg, Vol. 2 Stuttgart 1966, pp

47 Reading for Posters 17 The November Pogrom in Vienna And I remember that on the evening of the 9 th of November 1938 we were afraid to go out. I, in any case, a boy of ten and a half years old, went outside and I saw them taking the Torah scrolls out of the synagogue, and how they had their horses trample them and defecate on them. The crowd that had gathered participated in the book burning. There was an atmosphere of fear; I ran home and did not go out any more. The police arrived and arrested Jews I do not know whether they had lists or not. A number of members of my family were taken; among them were my uncle and cousin, who were later sent to Dachau. They were released nine months later, with a commitment that they would emigrate from Austria, i.e. that they would leave Germany. Interview with Mr. Joseph Linser of Vienna, Yad Vashem Archive, 03/

48 Reading for Posters 18 But the Story Didnwt End that Way Hans Berger of Wiesbaden tells of his memories of Kristallnacht: At about six o clock on Sunday morning the train stopped at the station in Weimar, Goethe s city, which for all times will remain most horribly linked in my memory with the following scene in the tunnel between the platforms. We had to get off the train by compartments, and had to run, on the double, accompanied by blows with steel rods and pokes by rifles butts, along the platform, down the stairs, into the tunnel. Woe unto him who tripped or fell down the stairs. The very least was that the ones coming after him had to trample over him, or also fell down and were brought back onto their feet by renewed blows and jabs. In the tunnel itself we had to place ouselves in lines of ten, one behind the other, the first person with his face directly against the wall, and the gendarmes saw to it that we stood crammed together like herrings. The poor people who stood last in the line had to suffer blows and pokes, the effect of which was that the lines pressed closer and closer together. I was standing in the middle; in the end it was hardly possible to breathe. On top of it, whips whistled above our bare heads and the most obscene bellowing and most vile phrases that anyone can imagine poured forth onto the desperate crowd of packed in Jews. This lasted two hours. Then, by rows and once again on the double, we had to run further through the tunnel, up the steps, and climb onto waiting trucks, which were equipped with seats, constantly under blows from whips and stricks that were part of all this. In the cars we were told: Put on your hats and lower your heads! Woe unto him who did not duck low 45

49 enugh. A blow to his head with the whip or a stick was the least he could expect. Off we went at terrible speed through the forest. After approximately a ten minute drive the car stopped. Once again on the double, we got out and ran through a gate into a big yard, in which thousands of fellow sufferers were stnding lined up in rows of ten. We were in the Buchenwald concentration camp. Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P. Rosenfeld & Sidney Rosenfeld. Indiana University Press, 1991 pp Discussion Questions for posters 15, 16, 17, 18 In your opinion, which of the posters best expresses the Kristallnacht pogrom? In what ways does it do this? 46

50 A Visit to the Exhibition: And the Story Did Not End There Educational Activity Goals: 1. to understand the events of Kristallnacht as a significant part of the history of the Holocaust. 2. To understand the power pictures have to tell stories. Target group: Middle school pupils, high school students and youth in informal educational frameworks. Aids and tools: Posters from the exhibition, background materials, sources and discussion questions for each poster. 47

51 The Activity Opening: The teacher / counselor may open with a bit of background on the events of Kristallnacht, based on the materials and bibliographic references provided in the booklet. Team work: 1. The group is divided into five teams of 6-8 participants each. 2. Each team will receive a number of posters and source materials, and will divide up the task of reading the sources, focusing on one of the following issues: German Jewry in the Weimar Republic Nazi policy German Jewry s reaction to Nazi policy The events of Kristallnacht 3. After completing the reading task, the members of each team will share their feelings with the other members. They will state which picture most impressed them (which angered them, which surprised them, which outraged them, which caused empathy). The team will choose a poster to be presented in full. 4. A discussion will take place within the team on the central question pertaining to the issue they addressed. 48

52 Task for Team 1 Subject: The Jews of Germany in the Weimar Republic Posters 1, 2, 3. A. The team will divide the sources amongst the members and address the following questions: For posters 1, 2: 1) I am a German and a Jew in equal measure one cannot be separated from the other (Jakob Wassermann, writer, 1921). In your opinion, do the photographs and source readings in the booklet reflect the author s statement? 2) Point to expressions which characterize the cultural world of German Jewry in the description of the wedding in the liberal synagogue. For Poster 3: 1) What messages does the poster convey? 2) What graphic elements did the caricaturist use? 3) What messages are added by the quotation of Hitler s words on the ideology of the antisemitic party? B. After looking at the posters, reading the sources and addressing the above questions, the team members will tell each other which picture most impressed them (which angered them, which surprised them, which outraged them, which caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents the situation of German Jewry during the Weimar Republic to report to the full group. C. The team will discuss the following topic: The ways in which Jews were integrated into German society during the Weimar period, and the antisemitic response to that integration. A representative of the team will report to the group on their discussion. 49

53 Task for Team 2 Subject: Nazi Policy Posters 4, 5, 6, 7. A. The team will divide the sources amongst the members and address the following questions: For Poster 4: 1) What, in your opinion, is the atmosphere created by the Nazis parades and flags throughout Germany? 2) How do you think the Nazi parades effected average German citizens? Explain. For Poster 5: 1) to what end do you suppose the picture was taken? 2) How do you think the people in the photograph relate to the sign being held by the boy? Explain. For Poster 6: 1) What did the Germans hope to accomplish by humiliating a German woman? 2) What are Edwin Landau s feelings on the day the boycott was declared against the Jews? For Poster 7: 1) What sub-title would you give the poster? 2) Who in your opinion ought to feel ashamed in the picture? B. After looking at the posters, reading the sources and addressing the above questions, the team members will tell each other which picture most impressed them (which angered them, which surprised them, which outraged them, which caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents the situation of German Jewry during the Weimar Republic to report to the full group. 50

54 C. The team will discuss the following topic: What expressions characterize Nazi policy? A representative of the team will report to the group on their discussion. 51

55 Task for Team 3 Subject: Nazi Policy in 1938 Posters 10, 12, 14. A. The team will divide the sources amongst the members and address the following questions: For Poster 10: What do you think Fritz Grünfeld s testimony (see booklet) adds to the picture? For Poster 12: What do you think characterized the fate of Austrian Jewry after the Anschluss in 1938? For Poster 14: What power, in your opinion, does Dr. Emmanuel Ringelblum s pen have, and what does it add to the picture in describing the suffering and humiliation of the Jews deported to Zbaszyn? B. After looking at the posters, reading the sources and addressing the above questions, the team members will tell each other which picture most impressed them (which angered them, which surprised them, which outraged them, which caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents Nazi Policy in 1938 to report to the full group. C. The team will discuss the following topic: What characterizes Nazi policy in 1938? A representative of the team will report to the group on their discussion. 52

56 Task for Team 4 Subject: The Jewish Response to Nazi Policy Posters 8, 9, 11, 13 A. The team will divide the sources amongst the members and address the following questions: For Posters 8-9 1) What meanings do you think Jewish holidays and Hanukah in particular were given at a time when German Jews were being persecuted under the Nazi regime? 2) What does this say about German Jews concepts of Jewish identity during this period? For Poster 11: What problems faced German Jews who considered emigration? (note also poster 13). For Poster 13: 3) What implications did the words of the delegates to the Evian Conference have for the fate of the girl in the picture and for the fate of the Jews of Germany and Austria in 1938? 4) Why did the question whither? become so relevant for Jews at the time? B. After looking at the posters, reading the sources and addressing the above questions, the team members will tell each other which picture most impressed them (which angered them, which surprised them, which outraged them, which caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents the Jewish response to Nazi policy to report to the full group. 53

57 C. The team will discuss the following topic: How did German Jews react to Nazi policy? In what ways did their reactions solve their problems? A representative of the team will report to the group on their discussion. 54

58 Task for Team 5 Subject: The Events of Kristallnacht Posters 15, 16, 17, 18 A. The team will divide the sources amongst the members and address the following questions: For Posters : In your opinion, which of the posters best expresses the Kristallnacht pogrom? In what ways does it do this? B. After looking at the posters, reading the sources and addressing the above questions, the team members will tell each other which picture most impressed them (which angered them, which surprised them, which outraged them, which caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents Nazi Policy in 1938 to report to the full group. C. The team will discuss the following topic: What was shattered for the Jews of Germany on Kristallnacht? A representative of the team will report to the group on their discussion. 55

59 The Full Group A. The posters will be hung on the walls in numerical order, as an exhibition. All of the participants will have a chance to visit the full exhibition and think about the connection between the unit they worked on and the rest of the posters. B. Reports: Team members will present their feelings and thoughts to the group regarding the subject their team discussed. Reports should focus on the following two points: 1. The picture that best represents their subject. 2. The central question they discussed. C. Summary Questions: 1) The Kristallnacht pogrom has become a meaningful symbol in the history of the Holocaust. What do you think has caused this? 2) The title of this exhibition is And the Story Did Not End There What does this title mean to you? Explain. 3) This year marks the 60 th anniversary of the Kristallnacht events. What is the meaning of these events for us and for the world today? 56

60 Suggested Further Activities 1. Preparation of a memorial site or a memorial booklet to mark the 60 th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom. 2. Preparation of an archive news report for a local radio station to mark the 60 th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom. In schools and organizations where students can make use of technological aids, such as video recorders and computers: 3. Preparation of an web site to mark the 60 th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom. 4. Preparation of a television report to mark the 60 th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom. The story can be 3-5 minutes long and is to be planned as part of a news broadcast. The students should use the exhibition posters, the source readings and the video tape that includes testimonies of people who experienced Kristallnacht. 57

61 Recommended Reading ADAM, Uwe Dietrich How Spontaneous was the Pogrom? in: Walter E. Pehle November 1938 From Reichskristallnacht to Genocide. Great Britain. Berg Publishers, 1991 BARKAI, Avraham The Fateful Year 1938: The Continuation and Acceration of Plunder in: Walter E. Pehle November 1938 From Reichskristallnacht to Genocide. Great Britain. Berg Publishers, 1991 FRIDLÄNDER, Saul Nazi Germany and the Jews. New York. Harper Collins, 1997 GRÜNFELD, Frederic Prophets Without Honor. New York. Kodanska International, 1996 KAPLAN, Marion Between Dignity and Despair Jewish Life in Nazi Germany. New York. Oxford KERSHAW, Ian The persecution of the Jews and German Popular Opinion in the Third Reich in Leo Baeck Year Book 26, 1981 RICHARZ, Monika ed. Jewish Life in Germany: Memoirs from Three Centuries. Bloomington: Indiana University Press 1991 RICHTER, Hans Peter Friedrich. New York. Rinehart & Winston

62 SCHOLEM, Gershon From Berlin to Jerusalem. New York, Schoken Books, 1988 SINGER, Israel Joshua The family Carnovsky. New York, Vanguard Press, 1969 ZWEIG, Stefan The World of Yesterday. London. Cassel 19 59

63 Chronological Table of Events International Events and Events in the Third Reich The War Against the Jews Jewish Activities 1933 January 30, Adolf Hitler appointed Reichskanzler January 30, Jüdische Jugendhilfe established in Berlin (German Chancellor) February 27, burning of the Reichstag; wave of arrests and Nazi terror in Germany March: First concentration camp established in March 9-10: Beginning of a wave of riots against March 27: Mass demonstration in New York organized Germany: Dachau German Jews by the S.A. and Stahlhelm by the American Jewish Congress to protest Nazi terror in Germany April 1: Boycott against German Jewry April 4: The German Jewish newspaper Jüdische Rundschau carries the article by Robert Weltsch Wear it with Pride, the Yellow Badge, the first in a series To say Yes to our Jewishness ; these headings become the slogans of the resistance of German Jewry April 7: Law prohibiting Jews from working in government offices. April 26: establishment of the Gestapo April 21: Law prohibiting Jewish ritual slaughter April 26: Decision by the Va ad Le umi (National Committee of the Jews of Palestine) to establish a project for the absorption of immigrants from Germany

64 International Events and Events The War Against the Jews Jewish Activities in the Third Reich May 10: Public burning of Jewish books and works by Mid-May: Representatives of the Comité des opponents of Nazism in German towns Délégations Juives submit a protest to the League of Nations about anti-jewish discrimination in Germany (the petition of Franz Bernheim) Mass demonstrations by the Jews of Paris to protest against the anti-jewish campaign in Germany May: the Establishment of the Jüdischer Kulturbund in Berlin June 11: Conference of Jewish organizations of Silesia discusses means of safeguarding the rights of German Jews June 27: Mass anti-nazi protest rally by London Jews July 14: Law prohibiting political parties in Germany; August 20: American Jewish Congress declares boycott Nazi Party now sole legal party in Germany against Nazi Germany September 8: Second World Jewish Conference in Geneva resolves to organize an anti-german boycott movement throughout the world September 17: Establishment of the Reichsvertretung der deutschen Juden (Reich Representation of Jews in Germany) October 14: Germany leaves disarmament talks at October 17: Law prohibiting Jews from working as October: Establishment of liaison office for aid to

65 International Events and Events in the Third Reich The War Against the Jews Jewish Activities League of Nations journalists German Jews by Jewish organizations in the U.S. and France October 19: Germany leaves the League of Nations November 27: Transfer company established in Tel Aviv to facilitate the immigration of Jews from Germany through special arrangements for the transfer of their property 1934 January 26: Germany and Poland sign a nonbelligerency pact February: First group of young Jewish refugees from Germany arrive at Kibbutz Ein Harod April 1: Heinrich Himmler appointed head of the S.S. April: Establishment of the Radical Nationalist Organization (O.N.R.) in Poland, an extreme antisemitic organization June 30- July 2: Night of the Long Knives : purge of the S.A. and those opposed to Hitler s policies; Röhm and his colleagues murdered July 25: Attempted coup by Nazis in Austria, murder of Dollfuss, Austrian prime minister August 2: Death of von Hindenburg, president of

66 International Events and Events in the Third Reich Germany; Hitler assumes the responsibilities of head of state January 7: French-Italian agreement signed by Mussolini and Laval in Rome January 13: Saar region annexed to Germany March 16: Renewal of conscription in Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty October 3: Italy attacks Ethiopia March 7: German Army enters Rhineland The War Against the Jews 1935 May 31: German Jews prohibited from serving in the Armed forces June: Wave of anti-jewish riots in Poland September 15: Nuremberg Laws enactment of basic anti-jewish racial laws December: Anti-Jewish riots in Polish universities; Jewish students restricted to special seats March 3: Jewish doctors prohibited from practicing in public health institutions in Germany 1936 Jewish Activities February 4: David Frankfurter assassinates Wilhelm

67 International Events and Events in the Third Reich The War Against the Jews Jewish Activities Gustloff, leader of the Nazi Party in Switzerland in protest against the persecution of Jews in Germany March 9: Riots in Przytyk, Poland March 17: Mass demonstrations of Jews and left-wing and liberal Poles protesting the anti-jewish riots in Poland May 2: Addis Ababa conquered by Italian Army May 5: Ethiopia surrenders June 17: Himmler appointed Chief of German Police June 30: General strike by Polish Jews in protest against antisemitism June 16: Outbreak of Spanish Civil War July 26: Beginning of German and Italian military involvement in Spain October 25: German-Italian pact; establishment of Berlin-Rome Axis 1937 January 26: Law prohibiting German Jews from working in any office February 16-22: Herman Göring visits Poland; relations between Poland and Nazi Germany strengthened March 15: Mass anti-nazi rally by Joint Boycott

68 International Events and Events in the Third Reich July 7: Japan attacks China July 16: Buchenwald concentration camp established The War Against the Jews Council in New York Jewish Activities November 25: Political and military pact signed by Germany and Japan March 13: Annexation of Austria to the Third Reich July 5: Evian Conference on German refugees October: Beginning of aryanization of Jewish property in Germany 1938 January 21: Minority rights abrogated by Rumania; revocation of the citizenship of many Jews April 26: Directives regarding confiscation of the property of German Jews May 29: First law restricting the rights of Jews adopted in Hungary August 1: Establishment of office for Jewish emigration headed by Adolf Eichmann August 17: Jews ordered to add Israel or Sara to their names

69 International Events and Events The War Against the Jews in the Third Reich September 29-30: Munich Conference, with the participation of Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler and Mussolini; England and France agree to the annexation of part of Czechoslovakia to Germany October 1: Annexation of the Sudetenland to Germany October 5: Revocation Of Passports Of German Jews October 28: More than 17,000 Jews of Polish nationality expelled from Germany to Zbaszyn on the Polish border Jewish Activities November 9-10: Kristallnacht riots in Germany and Austria; about 30,000 Jews arrested, 1,000 synagogues destroyed and 7,500 stores looted November 15: Jewish children prohibited from attending German schools December 3: Directives concerning the ousting of Jews from German economic life November 6: Herschel Grynszpan Assassinates Ernst Vom Rath, Secretary Of German embassy in France November: American Joint Distribution Committee aids refugees in Zbaszyn, Poland December: Organization for illegal immigration established in Palestine