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Willy Cohn's Diaries: an Account of Jewish Life in Breslau, 1933-1941

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Willy Cohn's Diaries: an Account of Jewish Life in Breslau, 1933-1941 Willy Cohn, Norbert Conrads, ed.. No Justice in Germany: The Breslau Diaries, 1933-1941. Trans. Kenneth Kronenberg. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012. 440 pp. $60.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-8047-7324-9. Reviewed by Teresa Walch Published on H-German (October, 2014) Commissioned by Chad Ross Willy Cohn was a complex individual. He was case, especially for us Jews. We're sitting in a born into a Jewish family in Breslau in 1888 and mouse trap" (p. 1). Like most on the left, however, developed strong ties to his German homeland. Cohn had faith in a quick response and an ulti‐ Cohn fought in World War I, earned the Iron mate Communist victory. He could not have pre‐ Cross, and saw nothing contradictory about his dicted the violent takeover as Nazis arrested and multiple identities as a devout Jew, a socialist, a tortured thousands of Communists and Social German patriot, and a passionate Zionist. He was Democrats and locked them up in prisons, con‐ a doting father, a rigorous scholar, and a commit‐ centration camps, and makeshift cells across the ted diarist. After the Nazis assumed power in country. They succeeded in quickly suppressing or 1933, Cohn increasingly wrote about the deterio‐ coordinating virtually all opposition. rating situation for German Jews and determined Cohn's diary documents the fate of Jews in to record his experiences for future generations. Breslau throughout the next eight years. Recog‐ Readers of Cohn's diaries are continually struck nizing mounting persecutions, Cohn wrote in Au‐ by his astute observations and uncanny foresight. gust 1935, "From now on, I plan to record our Jew‐ His story cautions against making generalizations ish fate more intently; perhaps it will be of inter‐ about individuals in this time period and gives est to later generations" (p. 79). He noted when readers insight into the complex life of a Jewish children were banned from attending public man in Breslau from 1933 to 1941, as he came to schools and commented on the Nuremberg Laws, terms with the fact that the country he knew and the Aryanization of businesses, and on anti-Jew‐ loved no longer tolerated his presence in it. ish rhetoric from Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Readers frst encounter Cohn on January 30, Göring, and Hitler. He lamented the increasing re‐ 1933, the day Hitler came to power. He concluded strictions placed on Jewish life in Breslau as Jews this frst entry by writing: "Troubled times in any were released from their jobs, banned from H-Net Reviews restaurants and other public spaces, and were re‐ attempted to completely assimilate into German quired to turn over their radios and all valuables. life. Although German and Jewish identities were Reflecting on the changes, Cohn commented: "We not incompatible, for Cohn they could also never Jews get a very strange feeling whenever we walk be interchangeable. out in the open these days. On the one hand, this In addition to his loyalty to Germany, Cohn's is the land in which we were born, whose devel‐ training as an historian incited him to remain ob‐ opment we have pursued over the decades; on the jective when analyzing contemporary develop‐ other, we have been excluded from it and been ments. Cohn began studying history in 1906 and made alien. We are completely isolated" (p. 63). wished to be a professional historian. Unfortu‐ Cohn began to feel like a foreigner in his own nately, he was spurned by the University of Bres‐ homeland. lau faculty, but this rejection did not prevent him For Cohn, it had never been problematic to be from widely publishing on Jewish life in the Mid‐ both a German and a Jew, and it is his fervent dle Ages. To support his family, Cohn became a commitment to both Germany and to Judaism teacher and taught at the Johannes Gymnasium that makes his diaries so fascinating. These dual from 1919 until he was dismissed in June 1933. loyalties create palpable tensions throughout his From then on he made a living giving lectures and writings as Cohn realized that others--both Nazis completing scholarly works on commission. He and fellow Jews--found these identities incompati‐ also spent many days working in Breslau's Com‐ ble. As a Zionist, he truly believed the future of munity Archive and the Cathedral Library. His Jewish people resided in Palestine, and he sup‐ historian's perspective and knowledge of Jewish ported the development of a Jewish state. His son history led him to continually draw connections Ernst made aliyah after completing his Abitur, between contemporary and past events. For ex‐ and Cohn and his wife Trudi visited him in 1937. ample, he wrote: "I keep asking myself, though, During their visit, Cohn felt deeply connected to why this happens to us over and over again be‐ life in Palestine and began seriously considering cause, as a historian, I cannot simply look to the emigration. This commitment to fostering Jewish latest instance. I must think about the deeper nationalism and creating a Jewish nation-state led causes, and conclude that we are also at fault! But Cohn to accept the legitimacy of similar endeav‐ I do not think we can get any distance on the mat‐ ors, and he therefore empathized with Hitler's de‐ ter while we are still in the throes of the events sire to obtain more living space for Germans in themselves" (p. 190). Readers can sense Cohn's the East. sense of alarm as he attempted to determine the Further, as a German patriot, he stated that cause of Jewish plight in Nazi Germany. In these his love for Germany "cannot be shaken by the tumultuous times, Cohn maintained a sense of unpleasantries that we are now experiencing. It is normality by burying himself in his scholarly the country whose language we speak and whose work, and he increasingly sought strength, com‐ good days we have also experienced! We have to fort, and solace in his faith. be loyal enough to submit even to a government Cohn's hopes and plans for emigration to that comes from an entirely different camp" (p. Palestine were quashed in June 1940 when it was 21). He continually expressed awe for Hitler, rec‐ announced that all further Jewish emigration was ognizing "the greatness of this man, who has giv‐ prohibited. Cohn had increasingly believed he en the world a new look" (p. 281). While he was unfit to make the journey in any case. He did strongly identified as a German, Cohn was at the not think he could handle the difficult life on a same time extremely critical of Reform Jews who kibbutz and began to encourage Trudi to emigrate 2 H-Net Reviews alone with their two youngest daughters. In 1940 In condensing Cohn's ffty-nine diary books and 1941, the tone of Cohn's diary entries become from 1933 to 1941 down to four hundred printed ever more pessimistic and apocalyptic as he com‐ pages, Conrads had to be selective about what he mented on the fate of Jews in Poland, the T-4 pro‐ chose to include. He clearly explains his method‐ gram, and Babi Yar. Amidst the circulating ru‐ ology of selection, stating that he tried to include mors, he struggled to decipher fact from fction everything historically relevant and crucial to un‐ but soon became convinced that "[t]otal war is be‐ derstanding Jewish life in Breslau during the ing waged against us; we will suffer heavy casual‐ Third Reich. Some may argue, however, that some ties" (p. 295). Although exhausted and believing of Cohn's reflections on everyday life that were his life was at its end, he remained dedicated to omitted are just as essential to garner a more his young children and determined to record complete understanding of Cohn's experiences. events for posterity. He continued working in the Scholars may also regret the missing brackets and archive, and when deportations from Breslau be‐ ellipses, indicating where omissions were made, gan, Cohn made fnal arrangements to preserve but their exclusion certainly makes the text more his memoirs and diaries. On November 21, 1941, readable. Cohn, Trudi, and their two youngest daughters It is rare that such perceptive and compre‐ were required to report to the Odertor railway hensive accounts of this time period survive, and station along with one thousand other Breslau Conrads and Kronenberg help fulfill Cohn's desire Jews. When all of their possessions had been to inform future generations about his experi‐ recorded, they were transported to Kaunas, ences. Similar to Victor Klemperer's diary, Cohn's where SS-men and Lithuanians executed them in detailed account describes what it was like to be a a mass shooting on November 29. Jew living in the Third Reich.[2] This book should Cohn's complex story is a stark reminder that certainly appeal to historians and graduate stu‐ he was one of millions and that each and every dents, and it would greatly augment any under‐ victim had an equally unique story. It is essential graduate course on Nazi Germany. The condensed that we bear this in mind, for Cohn's complicated diaries and helpful background information relationship with Germany cautions against draw‐ should also certainly encourage a wider reader‐ ing simple and generic conclusions about people ship and general audience. and their thoughts and loyalties during this time Notes period. We must instead strive for more nuanced [1]. See Willy Cohn, Verwehte Spuren: Erin‐ understandings. nerungen an das Breslauer Judentum vor seinem Norbert Conrads has previously published Untergang, ed. Norbert Conrads (Cologne: Böhlau, German editions of Cohn's memoirs and diaries, 1995); Willy Cohn, Kein Recht, nirgends: Tagebuch but in this edition, he and translator Kenneth Kro‐ vom Untergang des Breslauer Judentums, nenberg bring Cohn's story to an English-speaking 1933-1941, 2 vols., ed.
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