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'. :>.!; ivKHi Volume XLVII No. 8 August 1992

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Don't miss . . . Reflections on Amos Oz, Heisenberg and Bomber Harris Reader's questionnaire p3 Encapsulated history p5 Apportioning guilt Assimilation - public enemy number one pl3 he award of this year's Peace Prize of the war. The whole complex of war and morality is a German book trade to the Israeli writer Amos tangle in which truth can be lost among special TOz is significant. Alternatively dubbed 'the pleading and posturing hypocrisy. Nothing illustrated Cloaca conscience of Israel' or 'a traitor to his country' by his this better than an article in The Independent lauding compatriots, Oz has long been a hero to the interna­ the Third Reich's physicists for not developing an maxima tional peace movement for advocating a peace-for- atom bomb. This is pure mythology designed to tide of land compromise with the Palestinians. However, the inculpate Allied scientists engaged on Project Man­ revisionist' hero instantly turned villain in peacenik eyes some 18 hattan. The reason why Heisenberg's team can polish Afilth is months ago when he supported the Gulf War against their haloes in retrospect is that they were too far polluting Europe. Saddam Hussein. By honouring Oz with their prize behind in the race to pursue a nuclear option. A street name in the Frankfurt jury are making overdue amends for the Just as Heisenberg's boffins have no call to feel Lvov honours the discreditable stance the German peace movement, in morally superior to Anglo-American physicists so Ukrainian particular, took over Iraqi aggression. German, and other, critics of the statue to Bomber pogromist Petljura. The nub of the matter - in the Gulf crisis as Harris have little reason to vent moral outrage. Even if Zagreb radio gives elsewhere - is that the cause of peace may be better Dresden was not a prime military-industrial target it air times to the served by the readiness rather than the refusal to go to served as a communications centre for Wehrmacht daughter of the units facing the Red Army in Poland. The Germans in war criminal Dresden, Hamburg and Cologne were only reaping Pavelic. The the harvest sown earlier by the Nazis in Guernica, Kronenzeitung, Warsaw, Belgrade and Coventry. read by one Was there in fact a marked difference between Austrian out of Germans and Nazis? This is, admittedly, a complex two, denies the question; nonetheless the answer would appear to be existence of Nazi in the negative. In 1933 about half the electorate gas chambers. A voted for Hitler, and over the next few years support few short years indisputably rose to about 90 per cent. Even the turn after the fake diaries of Hitler in the fortunes of war had little impact - so that the we are regaled men engaged in the July 1944 Officers' Plot were with the widely considered traitors rather than patriots. In the very last week of the war, while the Italians were outpourings of his meting out summary justice to Mussolini, the archi­ Mephisto-like spin tect of their misfortune, Goering fetched up in a public Doktor. In the process the air raid shelter in and fellow shelterers did not sensation-hungry even boo him. Sunday Times Bomber Harris' strategy has been condemned - legitimises David rightly - both for its waste of air crews and Irving's 'work', counterproductive effect on German civilian morale. and the Daily Mail Yet it had a positive effect on British morale and enriches the Swiss raised spirits in a usually forgotten quarter: in Nazi Genoud. February 1945, as the SS closed down Auschwitz and Printer's ink is organised the survivors' death march in a westerly poisoning the wells direction, some walking skeletons will have drawn of truth; Goebbels The controversial statue of 'Bomber' Harris at Aldwych. fresh hope from the pall of smoke that hove into view stalks the land. D Photo: Newman. over Dresden on the far horizon. D AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

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Golden Twenties' afterglow Profile A glance at London's theatre scene reminds one of the description of Berlin's Weimar Almost a foundation member of AJR, years as the Golden Twenties. First there Model mennber postwar he joined the Hyphen — a group was Pam Gems' adaptation of the Blue comprising refugees in the age range inter­ Angel (which, incidentally, hewed closer to mediate between adults and Kindertrans­ Heinrich Mann's Professor Unrath than portees. At the Hyphen he met his (similarly Josef von Sternberg's film classic). Now the Viennese-born) wife. They married in 1951 Dominion Theatre is staging Vicky Baum's and had two sons. Unlike many youngsters Grand Hotel—a memorable starring vehicle who grew up in the turbulent Sixties, the for Greta Garbo in 1932 - as a musical, lads were diligent at school, gained scholar­ while the Greenwich Theatre hosts Carl ships and went to Cambridge. They also, Sternheim's comedy Biirger Schippel. This Fred reflects happily, felt Jewish and is the third time in recent years that evinced an interest in their Central Euro­ Sternheim's satire on the mores of German pean roots. provincial Spiesshiirger has been put before Seven years ago Fred was widowed. He London audiences. Now called Schippel the bore the blow with fortitude, immersing Plumber it features actors who were himself in voluntary work, both locally — he coached in Lieder singing to fit in with the is a school governor - and at AJR head requirements of the plot. D office. In addition he has written papers Mr i-red Dunston. I'hoto: Newma about his past work for the Vienna Not only vandals Community, Kitchener Camp and Youth The long-neglected Jewish cemetery at the he elderly hero of a Viennese inter­ Aliyah; these repose in the Wiener Library. first gate of the Vienna Zentralfriedhof is war comedy is told by the Lord But Fred has also (in a manner of gradually being rehabilitated. Those TMayor 'As long as our city has speaking) worked for the future: both involved in the work include Bundesheer citizens like you I don't fear for its future' - Dunston 'boys' serve on the AJR executive. soldiers, police cadets and a sizable number lines remembered after well over 50 years Sometimes his past mirrored the future; just of volunteers from secondary schools. D because they were spoken by Hans Moser. as he got to know his own wife at the It is a colleague of Moser's, Szoke Sakall, Hyphen, so his elder son met his at the Rabbi honoured whom Fred Dunston resembles, both in ACJR, the Association of Children of Jew­ appearance and air of benign avuncular ish Refugees. Henry Brandt, Landesrabbiner of Lower concern. At the end of our talk I was tempted to tell Saxony, has been awarded this year's Hed­ Born in 1917 into a Viennese middle class Fred {pace Hans Moser) 'As long as our AJR wig Burgheim medal by the University of family of Hungarian extraction, Fred had a has members like you I don't fear for its Giessen for his work in fostering Christian- happy childhood, with his eight Gymna­ future!' However, knowing his modesty, I Jewish understanding. D sium years still unshadowed by the rise of resisted the temptation. I herewith repair Nazism. He joined the Scouts and looks this omission in print. back on attendance at two Jamborees as the D R.G. highlight of his teens. His rank as group East- scout master made him an experienced youth leader, so that the Vienna Jewish community asked him after the Anschluss and Berlin to run courses for hundreds of youngsters We give immediate attention. thrown out of school. COMPANIONS We process and buy properties/claims. His charges belonged to diverse Zionist youth groups, from the rightwing Betar to OF LONDON We pay cash. leftist Shomer Hatzair; Fred's face assumes a troubled expression when he recalls the A specialist home care service intra-Zionist faction fights he had to resolve to assist the elderly, people We have proven track records and furnish in those traumatic days. In early 1939 he documentation. with disabilities, help during came to England to help prepare Kitchener and after illness, childcare Camp. Later he moved on to run a tented and household needs. Write to; transit camp for Youth Aliyah. (It was a less Nagel & P.^rtner For a service tailored to your individual needs Kui-furstendamm 182 • 1000 Berlin 15 than happy experience: the agricultural by Companions who care - Please call Phone:030-882 56 31 training on offer consisted of unskilled Fax:030-881 39 16 work on a bulb farm.) 071-483 0212 Then came internment, followed by war 071-483 0213 work as a centre lathe operator. Eventually 110 Gloucester Avenue, he joined a small firm making watch straps Primrose Hill, set up by his only surviving close relative. London NWl 8JA This was to be Fred's one and only job till (Emp Agy) retirement in 1985. AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

thought the present pictures-to-text ratio Readers' questionnaire just right. Bitter-sweet return On the question of which topics readers A widespread positive wanted more fully — or newly - covered the fter 50 years I've been back to response ranking was as follows: 1 Jewish affairs, Aachen as guest of the town in the 2 European politics, 3 Israel, 4 British Afullest sense of the word 'guest' — he questionnaire we sent out in April politics, 5 Literature, 6 Music, 7 Travel, with everything paid for. We were treated to has yielded around 1,100 replies, 8 Theatre, 9 Art exhibitions, 10 TV/films, a crowded programme of visits, guided city representing just over a quarter of the T 11 Sport. The most popular 'write-ins' were tours, trips to the surrounding countryside, readership. The yeah-sayers greatly Bridge and Crosswords. opera performances and organ recitals. outweighed the nay-sayers: 118 respon­ Apart from providing invaluable feed­ The planning for the event by the city dents declared themselves fully satisfied back your replies also yielded interesting council and Society for Christian-Jewish with the journal, 15 were highly critical, data about the membership. Collaboration began three years ago. It was and a further 28 expressed irritation at The age breakdown of the respondents a marvel as an example of the art of certain features (such as Verse and Worse). was: Over 70: 748, 60-70: 258,40-60: 32, organisation! We filled in a questionnaire as Over 90 per cent indicated that they read under 40: 5. to possible requirements such as medical every issue, the rest read most issues. The needs, diets, wheelchairs etc. majority felt well-informed about the range Employment status of AJR services. No hesitation As regards employment status, of 982 When invitations arrived at the end of 1991 Regular features vj . respondents who answered this question for one 'native' and one companion, my 793 were retired, 118 worked part-time (or Our regular features were listed in the husband and I did not hesitate long and as volunteers), and 71 full-time. following order of preference: 1 Front page accepted. Two of our sons also came. Of the 1,010 who filled in details about leader, 2 AJR news, 3 Personality profile, On departure day, 29 April, smiling, red- original nationality 676 were German, and 4 News of members, 5 AJR at work, 6 Book jacketed young people met us in the maze of 219 Austrian; the rest were Czech, Polish, reviews, 7 Letters to the Editor, 8 Theatre/ Frankfurt airport who smoothed out all Hungarian, British or stateless. film reviews, 9 Obituaries, 10 Art notes, travel problems. A warm welcome by the Information about length of AJR 11 Advertisements. (The first on this list local head of the Christians and Jews membership was provided by 875 respon­ received 350 'first preference votes', the awaited in a V.I.P. lounge. Then came a dents. 194 had joined 40-50 years ago, 110 second 147, and the third 73.) nostalgic coach journey through the Rhine 30—40 years ago, 163 20-30 years ago and Asked whether the journal should carry valley in spring. 140 10-20 years ago. An encouragingly more illustrations around 65 per cent In the hotel gifts of welcome of local large number - 170 — had enrolled in just specialities: Printen (ginger bread) and the last five years. Spekulatius (butter shortbread). A lovely BELSIZE SQUARE SYNAGOGUE * » * 51 Belsize Square, NW3 homely touch and exhilarating. SELICHOT SERVICE The winner of the Prize Draw, picked by The next morning - Yom Shoa — we all at the Synagogue with Choir and Cantor Mrs Lydia Lassman and witnessed by Mr gathered at the cemetery. We were in a flood Address by Rabbi on SATURDAY, 19th SEPTEMBER at 10 p.m. Fred Dunston, is Miss L. Stern in London of tears, of course, but it was good to HIGH HOLY-DAY SERVICES N11. Miss Stern will receive a £25 Marks & rediscover other survivors of the disrupted (at the Grosvenor Rooms, 92 Walm Lane, NW2) Spencer gift voucher. D network of family and friends. Rosh Hashanah: Eve 6.30 p.m. The tone was set that evening at a 1st & 2nd Day 9.30 a.m. (2nd eve sen/ice at BELSIZE SQUARE reception in the thousand-year-old town 6.30 p.m.) hall, where the Lord Mayor gave a moving Kol Nidrei: 7.00 p.m. Yom Kippur: 10.30 a.m. FOR THOSE YOU CARE MOST ABOUT and brave address. For ticl

Reviews

Kafkaesque claustrophobia. Moving in the Growing up in 1984 course of duty froin Chita in Siberia to Cain's mutiny Leningrad, thence to 'provincial' Moscow £/eno Bonner MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS, Howard Jacobson, THE VERY MODEL OF A and back again to Leningrad the family Hutchinson 1992, £18.99 MAN. Viking 1992, £14.99 inhabits a bewildering succession of 'build­ ings' (mostly former hotels) teeming with ike many another autobiography, this communal life. ne cannot accuse the author of account by Andrei Sakharov's widow A recurring image is that of doors or the pulling his punches. At times he of her Russian childhood in the '20s L absence of doors, of unmarked secret doors, Ogoes further than Salman Rushdie and '30s started life as a personal record for of numerous back doors but no front door, in affronting true believers. Rushdie was the immediate family. It begins and ends or of gates which, like those at the children's execrated for insulting the Prophet with the death of her mother, the acute camp run by the Secret Police, mysteriously Mohammed, who is not a god; Jacobson sense of whose loss was doubtless intensi­ open inwards only. does not even spare the Creator Himself. fied rather than diminished by the fact that We all know the Muslim reaction to their the relationship between mother and Upstaging great events renegade. Judaism has confined itself to literary critiques. daughter had been a troubled one. As a None of this is in any way pointed or dedicated Party worker the former had little durchkomponiert. Indeed, the style and August Mann time for family life, was exasperated by the composition of the book exhibit an artless- child's frequent illnesses, and left her and ness which would be inore beguiling were it In my view the 'blasphemies' in Jacobson's her younger brother in the care of her own not for the obtrusively American transla­ idiosyncratic retelling of the story of Cain mother. She it was who provided the stable tion. Throughout the writer endeavours to and Abel are incidental. But while his element, and a sympathetic portrait of this adopt the child's eye view: 'Reminiscence is treatment must affront the fundamentalists, handsome, gifted and essentially 'bour­ not knowing what lies ahead', she tells the use he makes of much of the received geois' woman emerges gradually from the herself. Accordingly, childish things - the Scriptural text can hardly please the scep­ pages. She is clearly subsumed under the domestic 'zoo', the 'forbidden' Christmas tics. Add to this some interchanges between title, which, however, leaves out of account tree, the adolescent's glance into the mirror the protagonists which would not have the equally affectionate mosaic the author to discover she is pretty - naturally upstage disgraced Thomas Mann at his most august, pieces together of her Armenian-born the great events and personalities which and one feels justified in asking: 'Witty, stepfather. were impinging upon and shaping her cheeky old H.J., where art thou?'. He claims young life. (The one mention Khrushchev, that this book is essentially no different Privileged childhood Brezhnev and Andropov receive is in a from his others; judgeinent, therefore, lies Both parents belonged to the new Soviet cheerful description of one of the big with the individual reader. elite, and in Russian terms hers was a military parades, when a good time was had He must transport himself into Eden, but privileged childhood. Yet as we follow the by all.) She cannot always avoid asides abandon all notions that this place is what is young Elena from kindergarten to forest which tend to leave open as many important usually conceived of Paradise. It is inhabited school to dacha and Comintern suinmer questions as they answer trivial ones. We by a family more neurotic than patients in camp, the Western reader may get a sense of want to know much more about her Jewish Freud's waiting room. Adam and Eve have background, of her rejection of her real ceased to be lovers; Abel is a pretty lad father, or of the events leading up to her watched over by the obsessional Cain who parents' arrest. sees himself very much as his brother's OLD AGE PENSIONS keeper. All are constantly disturbed by a Flash-forwards jealous godhead chasing his laggard crea­ GERMANY '1 fear the reader will find it difficult to tion and making up prohibitions as he goes follow me', she admits with characteristic along. All fear and revere Him, except Cain Consultation and advice in frankness. If this is, sadly, true, the chief who is developing a rationalist outlook. connection with the recently enacted fault lies in the ever shifting time sequence, Rentenreformgesetz and Judgement Jealous deity of the European Court of Justice. the uncertain chronology of events, and above all the frequent flash-forwards God's jealousy has the effect of making On instructions our Office will assist (mostly printed in italics) to every possible Cain envious and jealous, too. He tries to you in pursuing your Pension claim point in her later life, right up to 1988—89 improve on the 'boss's' work by agricultural with the Authorities. when she was working on her book. One of labours and the naming of species, of which For further information please these affords a tantalising glimpse of Sak­ there are new ones every day. The Nameless contact: harov's 'science fiction' activity in Pitsunda, One, 'the enemy of vowels', does not ICS - Claims which, though not strictly relevant, one approve of Cain's doing; Cain does not 146-154 Kilburn High Road would not wish to do without. But it also approve of Him. The first womb-born man London NW6 4JD serves to underline that the first fourteen feels that the deity's jealousy is mostly Tel: 071-328 7251 (ExL 107) years of this remarkable woman's remark­ focused on Eve. Though unlike Zeus He Fax: 071-624 5002 able life were not perhaps the most does not actually practise seduction, "^ interesting! woos her with his Shekina (the aura of H'S - ... D Brigitte E. Hay presence). Some of his angels participate in AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

the game; one of them self-destructs in a on 12 January 1992, was one of these which dive aimed at the Mother of Mankind. Encapsulated history proved to be of great interest to AJR We all know what 'happens' next. God members. either is very partial to barbecued meat and The museum also organises family turns down the vegetarian offering, or history workshops, which teach methods of favours Abel, the co-operative shepherd, research for those with an interest in their over Cain the compulsive agriculturalist. At ancestry. Guided walks of Jewish areas all any rate, Cain slays Abel — or, in Jacobson's over Britain and cultural events can be version, loves him to death. attended as part of the active provision of Then God shows the culprit who is advice and resources for those researching master by instantly transforming Cain into aspects of Jewish history. the Eternal Tourist (it is too early for the Wandering Jew). The reader now enters the Bright and exciting ideas time warp which Scripture itself has Ruth-Anne Lenga, the Education Officer, provided. Where, when the Edenites go has, in conjunction with practising teachers, abroad, do all the other people they meet designed a number of educational pro­ come from? Have other gods created other grammes aimed at capturing children's mankinds? A fine field here for speculative imagination and commitment with bright heresies and rationalist argument. and exciting ideas. One of these pro­ grammes, aimed at bringing history alive Mark of fratricide for the younger generation, brings two Next, Cain, adorned with the mark of generations together. Survivors of, or refu­ fratricide which is both protection and gees from, the Holocaust come and talk, stigma, disports himself in Babel, a great and listen, to a young audience. It requires a and populous city. He is much appreciated certain kind of courage to talk about one's as a storyteller full of the tales of Eden, past openly, to reopen old wounds in the which are believed in a literal sense only by hope of passing something of value on to a soothsayer who adds greatly to the others, but many of those who have taken warping of time. this step believe that the experience has been Cain also 'marries' and tries to shed his class 1 from the Akifa School with the Museum's Education Officer, Ruth Anne Lenga. of value for all concerned. Oedipus complex towards Eve and his Photo: London Museum of Jeti'ish Life. undiminished obsessional love for, and Preserving the past jealously of, his dead brother. This is little he London Museum of Jewish Life The museum, too, is of value. It preserves fun for him or the lady concerned, but it was founded, initially as the Museum the past for the education of the young. In may enthral the reader. of the Jewish East End, in 1983. It is T the very near future the London Museum of Furthermore, Cain conceives the ambi­ dedicated to the rescue and preservation of Jewish Life will move down to the first floor tion to build the Tower of Babel. Faced with the social and cultural history of the capi­ of the Sternberg Centre. This means that the vaunting ziggurats, the Mesopotamian tal's diverse Jewish communities. Since there will be much more room for the equivalents of the Pyramids, he decides to 1984 the museum has been based at the permanent exhibition. Readers who wish to aim yet higher. The celestial advisers warn Sternberg Centre, Finchley, where it pre­ find out more about its work, or feel that the deity that Cain, in his eternal sently occupies the top floor. It was in 1984 they have artifacts or documents which may oppositionism is attempting to storm the that it received a government grant to be of historical value, should contact the heavens. Once again we know what hap­ employ a full-time curator. The job was Curator, Rickie Burman, on: 081-346 pened. His card house was smashed, and in given to Rickie Burman, the energetic young 2288. the process the heavenly powers-that-be lady who did so much work in establishing D M.N. made the world polyglot so that prospective the Manchester Jewish Museum in the conspirators should find more obstacles in Cheetham Hill district of the city. The their way. ^ ^^ London museum has a large collection of objects, photographs, documents and oral history recordings. Some of these are used in J.I JACKMAN - ZAHNARZT/DENTAL SURGEON the permanent exhibition which traces Jew­ Dr H. Alan Shields, MB ChB, BDS, LDS RCS(Eng) ish immigration and settlement in London, **^ SILVERMAN 46 Brampton Grove, HENDON, London NW4 4AQ with reconstructions of a tailoring work­ c:OMMERc;i,-\l, PRtirEF^TV crONSULTANTS ALL TYPES OF DENTAL CARE shop, an immigrant home and an East Home visits for the disabled London bakery. Since, because of space Dentures and cosmetic dentistry restrictions, it is impossible to exhibit all the Emergencies material which the museum has stored, TOP QUALITY DENTAL TREATMENT much of it is used in the construction of the AT PRICES YOU CAN AFFORD active programme of temporary exhibi­ Phone: 081-203-0405 for appointment tions, education programmes and travelling displays which it mounts. The recent exhibi­ Deutsch wird auch gesprochen 26 Conduit Street, London WIR 9TA tion The Last Goodbye —The Rescue of Telephone: 071 40Q 0771 F;ix: 071 4^^ 8017 ^ CARING AND PERSONAL SERVICE Children From Nazi Europe, which opened -k msumiim^m

AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

Best wishes and many thanks for your excellent journal. Park Lane Inge Munro Wembley, Middx

RED WHITE AND RED ALL OVER The 'Lost Composer' was shown on REUNION AFTER 53 YEARS Sir - It is indeed true to say that the Vienna BBC 2, not Channel 4. Sir — In a search notice in an Israeli paper, Philharmonic were as antisemitic as any (2) My opera Der geivaltige Hahnrei will someone recognised the maiden name of my other Austrian group: which explains why now be recorded in Berlin by the Radio girlfriend, who emigrated to Palestine in it took my uncle, a brilliant violinist, about Symphony Orchestra this coming 1938 from . While there recently, 20 years to be promoted to the position of November. two schoolfriends and I went to visit orchestra leader. (3) My 90th birthday will be in January Sclomit Plat at Kibbutz Dovrat; we had a lot Soon after the Nazi takeover he was sent 1993 - unfortunately not in two years' to tell each other. to Dachau; we feared the worst. But then, to time. We were also invited to a Tel-Aviv everyone's surprise, he returned after a few meeting for former citizens of Munich. weeks. What had happened? Belsize Crescent Berthold Goldschmidt After many hours we left and promised to It seems that shortly after my uncle's London NW3 keep in touch. arrest a few members of the orchestra and Roxborough Park Use Rosenduft, nee Durst the administration used their influence to MARKET RESEARCH Harrow, Middx obtain his release. At first they were unsuc­ Sir — Recently back in Berlin, after 55 years, cessful. But then a leading singer of the we had the following experience. TAKE A STAND Vienna State Opera - a party member! - In the 'S' Bahn, on the way to Friedrich- Sir - I am unrepentant. Would any of your threw his weight behind their efforts and my strasse, an unscheduled entertainer (genuinely) high-minded correspondents uncle was freed. And yet this VIP was a Nazi appeared in the compartment. who advocate admission to these shores of and therefore a committed antisemite He commenced his programme by play­ thousands of semi-destitute immigrants before, during and after his intervention: a ing Schubert's Trout on the recorder, with an entirely different way of life take paradox indeed! abominably. Unsurprisingly the reaction to even one such family into his home and Sheen Park C. P. Carter FCSD his offering was decidedly cool. guarantee their upkeep? Why do they Richmond (Sy.) He paused, peered at me more closely, expect the indigenous population to give up and at once launched into the Hatikvah - their living space and reduce their standard Sir - Congratulations on your excellent whereupon I paid. of living? leader. Regrettably your views are not Mercers Place Klaus Heymann Bishops Close G. Schmerling available to a much wider public in this London W6 Old Coulsdon, Surrey country. Holland Park Avenue J. Rotter FROM GALICIA TO GRANADA London Wl I Sir - Mr Goldenberg's pride in his half- brother's connection with 'kings' is naive WHERE DO YOU PUT YOUR CROSS? beyond belief. The Islam he found irresist­ Sir -1 have never in my life voted Conserva­ ible is wholly based on Judaism by its Israel's tive and am sure I'll never do so in the founder who — like Luther — initially had Very finest Wines future. It is very sad that more Jews are Tory real affection for the Jews until they refused than Labour voters. (Why did you omit the to accept him. SHIPPED BY Liberal Democrats?) The Arabs in the period concerned were 1 am only a retired SRN and not very emotionally, if not actually, on Hitler's side. political - but never Conservative. I, the husband of a refugee, will never Sispara Gardens M. Kahn understand why AJR Information, whose HOUSE OF London SWl8 front pages in recent issues have been of a HALLGARTEN standard that could teach the Jetvish Chron­ DISADVANTAGED GROUP icle a thing or two, should have bothered Sir - I came to Birmingham in 1937 to a with Mr Goldenberg's revelations. YARDEN and GAMLA very nice family who lived in a farmhouse Lindsay Drive H. Needham AVAILABLE NOW with four children and five dogs. Out of my Kenton, Middx pay of five shillings a week I had to pay three for the heating of my own room. But we MOLLY PICON Please write or phone for full information managed. Sir - In the June issue SB referred to Molly London NW3 Alice Schwab Picon having played opposite Robert Mor­ DALLOW ROAD ley. The play was Majority of One and it COMPOSER'S SUCCESS - IN LUTON BEDS was delightful. I saw it with my late LU11UR GERMANY husband and we enjoyed it enormously. Sir - May I draw your attention to a few Extraordinarily I have been unable to find 0582 22538 errors in the above-mentioned article in the anyone who saw it. Perhaps people have June issue: forgotten it. For us it is unforgettable. ..-..^.^..^.•^^l

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Guns and dynamite Pirate Jenny's sad end Hereditary endowment t is a little-known fact that the Bren gun recent German radio play dealt with gets its name from BRno in Czechoslo­ a young boy brought up in a Soviet I vakia and ENfield in England. Arms, in Achildren's home after the arrest of round the turn of the century Hung­ other words, have long figured prominently his parents. This everyday story of life under ary's hesitant move into the modern among Czech exports. Under German occu­ Stalin had some extraordinary aspects. For Aworld was illustrated by the passage pation the country, with its huge Skoda one the boy's parents, an engineer and an of two laws: one established civil marriage, plant and skilled workforce, was an actress, were German anti-Nazis who had the second granted civic equality to Jews. armoury of the Wehrmacht. Incentive pay­ gone to as political sympathisers. The man who drafted both was the lawyer- ments accompanied Gestapo terror as a For another their arrest as Trotskyites deputy Nadas, who told parliament 'If means of boosting production. Alternating followed a denunciation by fellow emigre anyone objects to the fact that Jews also live carrot and stick, Heydrich sedated the Eduard von Wangenheim, theatre director in this country, let him please emigrate'. Czechs into acquiescence with Nazi over- and hardline Communist. lordship. It was this state of affairs that For some time the mother was incarcer­ Secret printing press prompted the Czech government-in-exile, ated alongside Margarete Buber-Neumann, His daughter subsequently showed similar and British Intelligence, to encompass the another alleged Trotskyite, who, handed courage by contracting the first ever purely assassination of Heydrich. back by the KGB to the Gestapo, miracu­ civil marriage in Europe. Avoidance of the lously survived Ravensbruck. An even more synagogue became a tradition in the (fully Tanks and guns famous acquaintance from the mother's Jewish) Nadas family. An atheistic grand­ Not long after liberation Czechoslovakia earlier incarnation, Bertholt Brecht, made son of the aforementioned legislator met his passed into the Soviet orbit. The new rulers cautious, but foredoomed efforts to inter­ similarly Jewish-descended Jewish wife in courted popularity by boosting backward vene on her behalf. the interwar Communist underground. Slovakia in relation to technologically During the Second World War he had Frantic efforts advanced Bohemia and Moravia. Alas, the himself bricked up in a Budapest cellar, key element in the industrialisation of the She in turn made frantic efforts from inside where he operated a secret printing press province was the creation of more factories the gulag to establish her little son's where­ turning out forged identity papers alongside producing tanks and guns. abouts. In this she succeeded after a fashion; Communist leaflets. Since the collapse of Communism Czechs one of her letters actually reached the After the war he and his wife should have and Slovaks have pulled in opposite direc­ children's home whose Party-appointed had brilliant careers in Soviet Hungary. The tions. Age-old Slovak resentment of 'Prague director, however, failed to pass it on. opposite happened. The wife, a pioneering rule' has been exacerbated by President In 1975 the long-orphaned son, now feminist, fell out with the regime over its Havel's idealistic policy of reducing arms middle-aged, received permission to leave anti-abortion law. Soon after, she died of exports (with attendant job losses). the Soviet Union for West Germany. There natural causes. Then, in the aftermath of the he began to research his parents' story and Hungarian Uprising the husband killed Pandora's box eventually turned it into a radio play. himself out of a mixture of personal grief Now the intransigent Slovak leader Vladi­ What gave the broadcast additional reso­ and political disillusionment. mir Meciar wants to do for his people what nance was a recording made in 1930. It was Tudjman has done for the Croats. (Both taken from the Threepenny Opera, the At liberty to hate men, incidentally, share a nationalist-Com­ greatest stage hit of interwar Germany, in They left behind a son who, born in 1942, munist background.) However, outright which the mother - Carola Neher - had had survived the Nazi Occupation with a Slovak secession will open a veritable Pan­ played Pirate Jenny. For her, alas, no 'ship baptismal certificate. Still a toddler after the dora's box of problems. A truncated Czech with eight sails and fifty cannon' ever Communist take-over, little Peter was kept state would be even less capable of resisting dropped anchor outside the gulag. in deliberate ignorance of his Jewish back­ German economic dominance than the D Richard Grunberger ground by his parents. The makebelief present one. The sizeable Hungarian minor­ suddenly evaporated when he was eight. ity in Slovakia, fearful for their future, could Stung by Peter's remark that he hated Jews solicit help from Budapest in what might OPEN DAYS his mother told him to look in the mirror. turn into a bloody showdown with Meciar's IN THE HOMES 'Take a good look. There you have a Jew triumphalist followers. you are fully at liberty to hate!' For us the primary concern are the newly Balint House This experience, and others endured over endangered Jews of Slovakia. Just as Tudj- Sunday 2 August the last 40 years, have provided Peter Nadas 3.00 p.m. •nan's Croatia traces its descent - however with the raw material - and given him the Entrance £2 (Children £1) shamefacedly - from Pavelich's Ustashe sensitivity - that made him a writer. His state, so Meciar's sovereign Slovakia would Heinrich Stahl House novel The Book of Memory, published in be heir to the regime set up in 1939 by Sunday 30 August Hungary in 1985 subsequently achieved Monsignor Tiso and his genocidal Hlinka 3.00 p.m. large sales in Germany, and was recently Guards. The denunciation of Havel as a Jew Entrance £2 (Children £1) awarded the Austrian State Prize for Litera­ by part of a hostile crowd in Bratislava ture. Like his 'co-religionist' Giorgy Kon­ recently may be a chilling foretaste of things All entrance prices include rad, President of International Pen, Peter to come. refreshments Nadas seems set to play a key role in D R.G. modern Hungarian letters. D AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

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Upcoming concert

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A)i eniuyahlc afleniuun ni t^iiod cunipiviy.1 I lie Annual AjR C.hanly < 'niicert trill he taking place on Novemher S. (Pictures of 1991 concert goers: Newman.) S the 1992 AJR Charity Concert approaches we urge as many Breath of fresh air attenders. In recognition of the Club's long Amembers as possible to offer their tradition the Tuesday, Thursday and Sun­ support simply by coming along and enjoy­ he extended hours at the Paul Balint day afternoon sessions at the Day Centre ing the music, as well as meeting up with AJR Day Centre have now become a will now be designated AJR Club. Of their friends, old and new, at what has Tpopular routine. Throughout the course, all AJR members will be welcome to become over the years the most popular summer the garden has been full of life as attend and AJR staff will be responsible for event on the Association's yearly calendar. many of the activities usually confined to the administration and organisation. As has been mentioned in previous issues, quarters, from bridge to bingo, have edged As facilities at 15 Cleve Road expand and the revenue from the concerts has been into the sunshine. improve they are becoming better known falling off in recent years. In order to The enthusiasm with which members throughout the community. As a result a continue staging them a great deal of help is have taken to the new schedules gives us number of requests have been received from needed. When you are filling in your ticket great satisfaction and we are pleased that outside organisations wishing to hire the application forms this year (see the enclosed the AJR Club have been such regular hall for ad hoc functions. These will be leaflet) think about buying a ticket for a permitted on occasion, as long as they do friend or relative, even if they aren't not interfere with regular activities in any members, who may enjoy a day out at the way and comply with the conditions of hire Queen Elizabeth Hall. AJR TAKEAWAY MEALS (for further details contact Lydia Lassman: SERVICE 071-483 2536). Members can now take advantage of Impressive programme In the meantime the centre will continue the catering facilities offered at the Paul to provide high quality catering (and the This year's artists, John and Katheryn Balint AJR Day Centre, in the comfort of takeaway meals service, which will, hope' Lenehan will be performing works by their own homes. fully, soon be expanded to include a meals- Dvorak, Debussy, Mendelssohn, Schubert, on-wheels service) and all the other services Meals consist of three courses: Rachmaninov and Ravel. In addition to this which visitors have come to expect. We soup, main dish (a choice of fish or impressive programme a new work, look forward to welcoming old friends, and especially commissioned for the AJR from meat), and dessert. The cost is only £1.50 per meal. many new ones, to take part in the varied Barrington Pheloung, will be performed. menu of activities on offer. D Please remember that on this occasion Clients who do not attend the Day you will be supporting your organisation, Centre can collect meals at 15 Cleve and making a valuable charitable contribu­ Road between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on tion, merely by spending an enjoyable Monday to Thursday. All dishes are AJR INFORMATION afternoon in good company. deep-frozen, ready to be re-heated in a Disabled visitors should pay special conventional or microwave oven. is available on tape attention to the blue insert included with this issue of AJR Information. For further details please contact Please contact Mrs Irene White 081-203 2733 We look forward to seeing all of you on SYLVIA MATUS 071-328 0208 before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Sunday 8 November. D , msaiHi

AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

Volunteers' meetings festivals. There are 200 members of staff in Volunteers' in action all. In answer to a question about the ne of our voluntary visitors learned ecently some of the AJR volunteers numbers of residents we were told that Leo about AJR through visiting a who carry out domiciliary visits came Baeck House holds 44 of the fittest, Hein­ Ofriend who is a resident at Leo together at Hannah Karminski R rich Stahl 55, Balint House 27 and Osmond Baeck House. She is now an 'official' House. Mary Copsey, Head of Care at the House 52 of the most frail. The Charles volunteer visiting a member still living in Otto Schiff Housing Association (OSHA), Jordan Wing obtained nursing home status her own home, and her family has become spoke to us about caring for people in the for 17 last year and is open to residents from the family of our member. Holidays have residential homes for refugees. She pointed any of the homes who have reached the been shared, outings enjoyed and the out that because people live longer these stage when they need a high standard of quality of at least one life improved. Not days the average age of entry to the homes nursing care. Otto Schiff House is being content with this, our volunteer conducts now is 85. People of that age find it more adapted as sheltered accommodation for 25 the Day Centre choir. It was sad that Jack difficult to adjust to new circumstances and people and Eleanor Rathbone House has 54 Harris moved and had to give up the choir often require more nursing care and a flats. On behalf of the Leo Baeck Housing but Angela has picked up the baton. She higher nursing ratio. Association, OSHA also administers Clara leads the choir at Cleve Road on Mondays All this means that a well-motivated and Nehab House, a small, cosy house with 25 with the musical help of Gerard Tichauer, trained staff is necessary. Nursing and rooms. The modern trend is for small and will take them to their next concert on psychological (or psychiatric) training is homes, or homes which can be operated in Sunday, 16 August. needed (many people going into Osmond small groups, like the recently opened Balint House have Alzheimer's Disease), as are House, so that people can settle in more Aid and support greater emphasis on mental stimulation, a easily. Clara Nehab House also has two Devotion comes in many shapes and forms. structured day and an overall aim of bungalows used as sheltered accommo­ Another volunteer has kept in regular preserving the dignity of each resident. Miss dation. contact with one man since 1986, visiting Copsey pointed out that OSHA is fortunate him in hospital when necessary, collecting in having nurses, social workers, physio­ Our speaker emphasized that House his pension and giving him aid and support. therapists and occupational therapists on Committees and voluntary visitors bring In their spare time the same volunteer and the staff. Members of staff are taught to different interests and the outside world his wife visit residents in Heinrich Stahl respect the Jewish background of the resi­ into the homes so that residents feel part of House. dents and how to celebrate Shabbat and the the community. ,_, , ,, I I L.H. n L.H.

PAUL BALINT AJR AUGUST AUGUST ^•H DAY CENTRE Tuesday 11 Four Hands on the Piano Monday 24 Jack Harris and Happy - Marion Grant and Branston Serenade You \5 Cleve Road, London NW6 3RL Lorely Teppich with Tuesday 2.S An Hour in Summer with Tel. 071 328 0208 Miriam (Violin) Sally Popperwell (Piano) Wednesday 12 Me - My Music &C You and Helen Pitstow Open 9.30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday to - Linda Roth and (Violin) Wednesday 26 Thursday. 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Sundays. Norman Sydee (Piano) The Singing Guitarist - Max Witriol Thursday 13 Love Unspoken - Thursday 2 7 Songs from Many Lands Morning Activities - Bridge, kalookie, Favourite Arias and scrabble, chess, etc., keep fit, discussion - Lola Rand Duets - Lianne-Marie accompanied by Sylvia group, choir (Mondays), art class (Tuesdays Skriniar and Sean and Thursdays). Cohen (Piano) Sweeney with Kevin Sunday 30 Solo Piano Recital of Bashford (Piano) Afternoon entertainment - Light Classical and Other Sunday 16 The AJR SINGERS - Music - Debbie O'Brien AUGUST Conducted by Angela Monday 31 CLOSED Sunday 2 The World of the Musical Arratoon with Gerard Stage - Valerie Hewitt and Tichauser (Piano) Anne Berryman (Piano) Monday 17 DUO KINOR Entertain Monday 3 Take a Quick-Step Back with a Pot-Pourri of in Time with Geoffrey Music - Madeline SEPTEMBER Strum and Johnny Walton Wliitelaw (Piano) and Tuesday 1 Songs with Memories - Tuesday 4 The Stanley and Bertha David Richmond (Violin) Rita Davis (Mezzo) Lishak Duo Tuesday 18 Sheila Kominsky accompanied by Jack Wednesday 5 Songs and Arias - John Entertains on Piano and Davis (Piano) Freeman and Helen Blake Piano Accordion Wednesday 2 Eddy Simmons Sings and Thursday 6 Fiddlers Two - Gillian Entertains with Piano Wednesday 19 Harmony and Humour - Cohen and Marina Accompaniment Tessa Newman and Solarek Isabel Barry Thursday 3 Take a Quick-Step Back Sunday 9 Great Musicians of the in Time with Geoffrey Past - Presented by Thursday 20 Talk and Demonstration Strum and Johnny Yacov Paul on Reflexology - Marie- Walton (Piano) Monday 10 Orient Express - Fred Ange Gonzalez Sunday 6 'Plain and Pearl' Rosner and Rosa Butwick Sunday 23 How to be an Author - Entertain - Maggie (Piano) Talk by Irene White Stables and Larry Barnes u^LiLioiaiMl'iJk..:

AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

3 hours once, or preferably twice a FAMILY EVENTS ADVERTISEMENT Deaths week. Own car useful, but certainly not essential. Fee by arrangement. WHO IS WHO RATES Anderson Kurt Anderson, beloved Please call David Brooke: 081-340 IN THE AJR OFFICE FAMILY EVENTS husband of Lilo, passed away sud­ First 15 words free of charge, 2421. £2,00 per 5 words thereafter, denly on June 18 after an unex­ Administrator CLASSIFIED pected short illness. He would have Lydia Lassman £2.00 per five words. been 90 this August. Miscellaneous Editor, AJR Information BOX NUMBERS Sinclair Liesl Sinclair, born Elisa­ Electrician City and Guilds quali­ Richard Grunberger £3.00 extra. beth Woltar in Aussig/Elbe, died in fied. All domestic work undertaken DISPLAY, INCLUDING SEARCH London on 25 June 1992. Missed by Publications and PR Manager NOTICES Y. Steinreich. Tel: 081-455 5262. Maurice Netvman per single column inch Suzanne (her sister), Paul (her son) Manicure and pedicure in the com­ 16 ems (3 columns per page) £8.00 and Eva, Annette (her daughter) and Assistant to Administrator 12 ems (4 columns per page) £7.00 fort of your own home. Telephone: Colin, Frances and Karen, as well as Carol Rossen 081-455 7582. all her other relatives and many The AJR does not accept St John's Wood. Pleasant bedsit, Sheltered Accommodation friends. May she be remembered for Katia Gould responsibility for the share kitchen and bathroom, use of a blessing. standard of service garden (and view), suit mature Head of Homes Department person, reasonable rent. Deposit Ruth Finestone rendered by advertisers. Companion/Carers and refs required. Send details and Head of Social Services Visitor required NWll area to take phone number to Box No. 1217. Aggi Alexander SEEKING FRIENDSHIP sociable old lady for short walks, Ladies alteration work. For quick, Day Centre Organiser Are you looking for congenial shopping and for conversation. 2 to accurate, reliable service phone: Sylvia Matus company in your area, or a 081-455 0168. (German spoken) Volunteers Co-ordinator new penfriend with shared interests? Why not advertise Does anyone have a music stand Laura Hoive DAWSON HOUSE HOTEL which they could donate to the Paul in AJR Information? Balint AJR Day Centre? If so, please Phone: 071-483 2536 and • Free Street Parking in Iront of the Hotel phone Hannah Goldsmith: 081-958 • Full Central Heating • Free Laundry ask for the advertising 5080. department. • Free Dutch-Style Continental Breaklast L Membership/Reception 72 CANFIELD GARDENS Maralyn Summers SHELTERED FLAT Near Underground Sta. Finchley Rd, ANTHONY J. NEWTON to let at Eleanor Rathbone LONDON, N.W.6 &C0 House, Highgate, comprising Tol: 071-624 0079 bed-sitting room, kitchenette, SOLICITORS bathroom and entrance hall. Resident warden. 22 Fitzjohns Avenue, Hampstead, NW3 5NB Enquiries to:- ALTERATIONS With offices in: Europe/Jersey/USA AJR OF ANY KIND TO HANNAH KARMINSKI ALL LEGAL WORK UNDERTAKEN LADIES' FASHIONS HOUSE 9 ADAMSON ROAD, I also design and make Telephone: 071 435 5351/071 794 9696 children's clothes LONDON NW3 3HX 071-483 2536/7/8/9 West Hampstead area 071-328 6571 BELSIZE SQUARE CZECHOSLOVAKIA, APARTMENTS PRAGUE SWITCH ON FOR FAST EFFICIENT FRIDGE 24 BELSIZE SQUARE, N.W.3 Holidays, W/end breaks. ELECTRICS Tel: 071-794 4307 or 071-435 2557 Central accommodation. & FREEZER REPAIRS Rewires and all household £30 double, £20 single. 7-day service electrical work. All parts guaranteed Telephone George MODERN SELF.CATERING HOLiDAY PHONE PAUL: 081-200 3518 ROOI^S, RESIDENT HOUSEKEEPER Czaban: J. B. Services •MODERATE TERMS. NEAR SWiSS COTTAGE STATION (0626) 770211 Tel. 081-202 4248 'SATELLITE INSTALLATION until 9 pm SALES & REPAIRS Television - Videos - Aerials - Radios - Stereos ~ Electrical Appliances MAPESBURY LODGE TORRINGTON HOMES NEW & SECONDHAND TVsA/IDEOS (Licensed by ttie Borougti of Brent) AUDLEY FOR SALE MRS. PRINGSHEIM, S.R.N., for the elderly, convalescent and partly REST HOME Tel: 081-909 3169 Answerphone incapacitated. MATRON Lift to all floors. For Elderly, Retired and Convalescent (Hendon) AVI'S TV SERVICE Luxurious double and single (Licensed by Borough ol Barnet) for Elderly Retired Gentlefolk .A. EISENBERG rooms. Colour TV, h/c, central heating, ' Single and Double Rooms. Single and Double Rooms with wash private telephones, etc.. in all rooms. ' H/C Basins and CH in all rooms. Excellent kosher cuisine. Colour TV basins and central heating. TV lounge lounge. Open visiting. Cultivated ' Gardens, TV and reading rooms. C. H. WILSON Gardens. ' Nurse on duty 24 hours. and dining-room overlooking lovely * Long and short term, including trial garden. Carpenter Full 24-tiour nursing care period if required. 24-hour care—long and short term. Painter and Decorator Please telephone From £250 per week French Polisher Licensed by the Borough of Barnet sIster-in-charge, 081-450 4972 081-445 1244 Office hours Antique Furniture Repaired Enquiries 081-202 2773/8967 17 Mapesbury Road, N.W.2 081-455 1335 Other times Tel: 081-452 8324 39 Torrington Park, N.12 Car: 0831 103707

10 AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

Alice Schwab

he 224th Royal Academy Summer Exhibition continues until 16 August, T with a tremendous amount to see. A number of our old friends are on show: Jack Goldhill in Gallery IX, Hans Schwarz and Peter Coker in the Central Hall, Milein Cosman in the Large South Room, along­ side Agatha Sorel, Simon Brett, Lotte Dorner, Richard Baer and Judy Bermant. Bernard Cohen and Sandra Blow are in Gallery III, as are Leonard Rosoman and Ben Levene. Manet; the Execution of Maximilian is an ambitious exhibition at the National Her Majesty's Pleasure hy Lucy 'Willis. National Portrait Gallery. Gallery (until 27 September). It centres on three large paintings by Manet of the Herzfeld) became one of this century's loans from public and private collectors. execution in 1867 of the Austrian Archduke pioneers of photomontage. Berlin-born he Also at the Tate (until 6 September) is a Maximilian who had been installed as was a member of the KPD, changed his major exhibition of the work of Richard Emperor of Mexico by Napoleon III. name as a political protest and fled to Hamilton, and there is a further exhibition The B.P. Portrait Atvard exhibition is at Prague in 1933. In England since 1938, he of the work of the German artist Georg the National Portrait Gallery (until 6 Sep­ returned to Germany in 1950 to work with Baselitz (until 1 November). tember). The winner of the £10,000 first his brother Wieland Herzfeld in the Com­ On a fine summer's day what could be prize was Lucy Willis, recently artist-in- munist Malik Verlag. Some of this work is better than a boat trip down the Thames to tesidence at Shepton Mallet Prison, with her being shown at the Barbican Art Gallery (13 see Pirates: Fact and Fiction at the National picture Her Majesty's Pleasure. August-11 October), together with The Maritime Museum, Greenwich (until 5 Bridget Riley is one of Britain's foremost Cutting Edge, an exhibition about how art September). painters; an exhibition of 25 of her recent and caricature in Britain reflects social and From 10 August to 27 December the Tate Works will be at the Hayward Gallery (17 political comment. Gallery will be showing The Painted Nude; September-6 December). At the same time Turner and Byron at the Tate Gallery From Etty to Freud. Twenty four works are the Hayward will be showing The Art of (until 13 September), an exhibition explor­ being shown, ranging in date from 1830 to Ancient Mexico, a major exhibition of pre- ing Turner's relationship with poetry, com­ 1989, by William Etty, Lord Leighton, Columbian sculpture and pottery. prises about 70 works from the Gallery's Gwen John, Vanessa Bell, Mark Gertler, John Heartfield (Helmut Franz Josef own collection supplemented by important David Bomberg and Lucian Freud. D

well-frequented and the opera house, still would have developed in a different direc­ SB's Column an emblem of beautiful Augustusplatz, tion if he had not, in turn, handed over the presents the whole classical and modern reins to Karajan in 1952. Rumanian-born, ife in Leipzig, a city once famous for repertoire. modest and extremely conscientious, yet books and furs, has become drab and Two works by Neil Simon are announced eloquent and vivacious, this celebrated L dreary. Though the fur trade has for Vienna's Josefstadt: the play Lost in musician was eighty in June. shrunk, thanks to the agitation of animal Yonkers, a story of two boys from a Obituary. Margarete Wallniann, direc­ liberationists, the city still holds an annual disrupted Jewish family, will be presented in tor of operas and choreographer, has died in l^esse which during the DDR years centra- December this year, while Plaza Suite (well- Monaco at the age 88. She was one of the "sed the output of pelts from Poland, Russia known to filmgoers), is planned for next first women to enter the field of opera 3nd Czechoslovakia. Book publishers have February with Christine Hoerbiger in the production before the age of female emanci­ seen the number of firms in the 'graphic lead. pation. She spent the years of emigration in quarter' of the city dwindling; Kiepenheuer, Paris. The Comedie Fran^aise, once more Hollywood and directed films, crowning ^hose authors included Heinrich Mann, back to its roots, ended the 1991/1992 her career by directing Cherubini's Medea, Feuchtwanger and Brecht, announced a season with a typical French classical reper­ starring Maria Callas. D turnover of 1-2 Million DM in 1991 toire including Malade Imaginaire (compared to up to 15 Million before (Moliere), Marriage of Figaro (Beaumar­ Privatisation). Two thirds of Leipzig's pub- chais) and Caligula by Camus. Annely Juda Fine Art Birthday. As successor to Furtwaengler, 23 Dering Street (off New/ Bond Street) hshing houses are again in private hands, Tel: 071-629 7578, Fax: 071-491 2139 °ut many of them are mainly distributors, Sergiu Celibidache became conductor of the CONTEMPORARY PAINTING 3tid book production figures are low. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra around AND SCULPTURE 'Against that hotels are full, restaurants 1950; according to the critics the orchestra

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AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

A HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN THE GERMAN-SPEAKING LANDS bishops to governing bodies of Free Cities — did not cancel their own debts or those of Part 2: The Period of the Crusades. (I) their subjects, they benefitted by laying heavy taxes on Jewish money-lenders: in Economic Motivation for Persecution tolerant years something like 20 per cent, at other times often very much more. When the princes themselves were not in debt, ostility towards the Jews had begun expertise in international trade, taking over they profited from a high rate of interest; before the Crusades roused the the Jews' role. Eventually they were driven there were actually instances of rulers H religious passions which led to such into petty local trade and peddling. prescribing the rates to be demanded. savage persecutions from the end of the 11th century onwards. The organisation of Hansards, Lombards, Fuggers Property of the Emperor medieval society drove the Jews into a If successful in local trade, they could They could be totally arbitrary in how they particular economic niche in which their accumulate enough money to engage in the treated the Jews, all of whom were legally contribution was initially valued, but which one promising activity that was still open to their property. Between 1146 and 1356 the in due course provoked resentments. them: that of money-lending. The Catholic Emperor successfully claimed that the Jews The economic basis of medieval society Church had legislated against usury at the were his property and not that of the princes was land-owning; and as Europe settled Third Lateran Council in 1179; therefore, or cities. This period saw the heaviest down after the Dark Ages, land-owning theoretically, no Christian could engage in expulsions of Jews, for not only did the became increasingly tightly organised in money-lending. The Talmud had also for­ Emperor's claim mean that the lesser rulers feudal structures, bound together by bidden usury - but neither Jew nor Chris­ could derive no profit from the Jews, but it religious oaths which the Jews were unable tian adhered to these prohibitions. In post- also gave the Emperor the opportunity to to take. As a result, even when they were not Talmudic times the rabbis had permitted interfere in their affairs if they tried to actually forbidden to buy land (which they usury 'if a livelihood cannot be earned in exploit the Jews for their own benefit. In often were), they were excluded from a another manner', as was very often the case. 1356 under the Golden Bull the ownership place in the feudal system. If they did by And wealthy Christians could get round the of Jews reverted from the Emperor to the chance hold land, their own religious laws prohibition by distinguishing between cities and princes, who now found it worth prohibited them from owning Jewish serfs usury (defined as the reward for running while to readmit the geese that laid the or slaves; and they were prohibited by risks) and interest (defined as compensation golden eggs. In law, the wealth of a Jew and Christian laws from owning Christian serfs. - 'quod interest' - for the difference the debts oived to him escheated to the They could therefore never have large land- between wealth before and after a loan). Crown on his death; this provision was holdings, since they could call only on the Great Christian banking houses arose who sometimes enforced. In return for such labour of their own families. In any case, were prepared to lend money on a large, exactions, the princes agreed to protect the land-holdings would be giving hostages to even international, scale. The 'Lombards' Jews under their rule against attacks by the fortune once persecution or expulsions (great Italian banking houses) and the populace; but such agreements expired with could be expected: in 1200 the first known Fuggers of Augsburg developed skills in an each prince and had to be renewed - for a expulsion of Jews took place, from Mainz. area which the Jews had previously domi­ price - with his successor. In 1463 a An expelled person could not take his land nated. Large-scale Jewish money-lenders Margrave of Brandenburg declared that with him; whereas money made from trade were relatively rare, although they did exist: every new German king 'may, according to or money-lending was portable; and so all classes, from rulers downwards, bor­ usage, either burn all the Jews or show them were many skills - from the knowledge of rowed money from Jews, who at times his mercy, and, to save their lives, take a medicine to that of artisanal crafts, though financed even church building and the third of their property'. Jews were not always able to practice these. equipping of the armies that set out on the Many crafts were forbidden to them by law Crusades! The Infidel at home and, like land-holding, were becoming But it was the small farmer, in years when The princes therefore did not suffer unduly organised in oath-bound guilds which, in the harvest failed - or between gathering from being in debt to Jews: they could Northern Europe, controlled practically all crops - who most frequently had recourse always free themselves from the burden if it artisanal activities. to the small Jewish money-lender. The risks proved too onerous. It was far otherwise of the debt being defaulted on were very with the small farmer or burgher who was The Hanseatic League high, not least because of the ever-present driven to borrow money at such high rates- All this naturally strengthened the tendency danger that a ruler, seeking to stave off Whenever there were riots against Jews, the of Jews to gravitate towards trade, an area revolts during periods of hardship or capita­ mobs always sought to find and burn in which they had historically excelled lising on the religious passions aroused by evidence of indebtedness. And it can be anyway, and in which, in the very early the Crusades, might simply cancel debts imagined how a soldier, setting forth to medieval period, they had relatively few owed to Jews. The higher the risks, of fight the Infidel in the Holy Land, would feel rivals. But as society settled down after the course, the higher the interest that was about leaving behind him his family buf turbulence of the Dark Ages, merchant exacted; and in Northern Europe interest dened by a heavy debt to the Infidel at cities slowly developed. The rising Christian rates were sometimes as high as 43 per cent. home: no wonder he would like to ext­ trading class saw the Jews as rivals. In inguish the debt together with the creditor- Germany many of the merchant cities Instruments of princely extortion The Crusades therefore fused religious and formed the alliance of the Hanseatic Even when the rulers - who in the Holy economic passions in a terrible incitement League which closed its ports to Jewish Roman Empire of the German nation to massacre. To be continued- traders. The League developed its own ranged from princes and dukes through . : ... ,. . , n Ralph Blumenoii

12 AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

run, leaving behind their experience of and resistant to new ideas - will have done Assimilation - public Judaism as little more than a ragbag of nothing to arouse their interest. enemy number one primitive folklore. The synagogue, once universally Role of women regarded as the central communal institu­ Questions over the role of women, defence hey are sometimes called the 'lost tion, no longer functions as such for every­ policy (against antisemitism), Israel's generation', they being the 20-35 one. In bygone days even straying young actions in Lebanon and the Territories, year olds, many of whom are opting Jews may have found their way back by T intermarriage etc, arose in the 1980s to out and quietly disappearing from Jewish their mid-20s as they settled down, got challenge the received wisdom. But few life. married and had children and thus naturally organisations were willing to address them. For all the communal breast-beating over joined the local shul. But since large assimilation — cast as Anglo-Jewry's enemy (To give one example: some years ago the numbers don't even think of marrying till Board of Deputies decided against a debate no. 1 — no one knows the true numbers their 30s, there is more time for them to of the implications of the marriage statistics involved. What statistics there are suggest drift out of the synagogue orbit. Other because the subject was deemed too contro­ disturbingly large losses but they are not diaspora Jewries have purpose-built versial. It was discussed a few months ago, detailed enough to give an accurate picture. community centres which may act as an sign of greater openness within the For instance, in the early 1950s, British alternative focus to the synagogue - British establishment.) Jewry — then at its numerical peak — was put Jewry has none. at around 430,000 (reckoned by some If the demographic data offers little demographers an over-estimate). According Decline of secular movements comfort, there are nevertheless a few bright to the latest report by the Board of Deputies, The decline of secular Jewish movements lights in the gloom. Social conditions today we now number below 300,000 - a drop of like socialist Zionism or Bundism has closed are more favourable to some kind of Jewish almost a third in 40 years. off options for the non-religious. Though recovery. Whereas previously the desire to fit in with English society might have led Even more disconcerting are the synago­ there are secular Jews aplenty and Jewish many to slough off their Jewish affinities, gue marriage statistics. Of those born in the organisations providing secular activities, now the pluralism of a multicultural society '60s, only a third appear to be reaching the no new movements have arisen which, in encourages young Jews to take pride in their chupah in this country. It is impossible to place of religion, might inspire deep-seated ethnicity. say what becomes of the rest, since research commitment and give inner coherence to into these 'missing' thousands has yet to be people's lives. done. There are numerous young people who New Moon call themselves 'ethnic' or 'cultural' Jews, Optimists point to a new assertiveness Many marry out but whose Jewishness goes little beyond a among young Jewry: the formation of a Some, presumably, emigrate, some marry vague, sentimental attachment. Ideologi­ national network for the 20-35s, Fujs other Jews in a civil ceremony, some cohabit cally, they are of no fixed abode; it is hardly (Friends of the Union of Jewish Students), with Jewish partners and some remain surprising that many fall by the wayside. the launch of a rrionthly arts magazine, Netv Moon, and a growing number of Jewish single. Many marry out —which act needn't Too busy to worry imply a wish to dissociate from the cultural events - music, film, comedy - community; work done by the Sternberg Other factors such as 'careerism' also con­ attract those otherwise distanced from Jew­ Centre demonstrates that many of the tribute. Material success, status and pro­ ish activities. intermarried want to retain their Jewish fessional achievement are highly prized by For their part, community leaders place links. But a great many do slide out of British Jews, but at the cost of parents their faith in education, especially the new Jewish society for good. placing secular above Jewish education. Jewish day schools into which tens of In short, as one leading Jewish social Many young Jews are simply too busy millions of pounds are being poured. It will scientist said, we don't know what's hap­ making their way to worry about Jewish take two decades or so to gauge the effect of pening to 2,500 young Jews every year. involvement. this expansion. But while good education Despite the glaring gaps in our know­ And for the intellectually active, the can produce more committed Jews, bad ledge, we can guess at the causes of attrition. image of leading Anglo-Jewish institutions education can achieve the reverse. How Not least is the impact of secularisation. As - staid, conformist, intolerant of dissent many past pupils have cited their Jewish Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks recently schooldays as a reason for exiting Judaism pointed out, most of the young are the PARTNER altogether? Short of a great religious resur­ great-grandchildren of those who came in gence sweeping the West, thousands of in long established English Solicitors fhe great waves of immigration from East (bi-lingual German) would be happy to young Jews will still remain detached from Europe. The third generation may have assist clients with English, German and the synagogues that have formed the practised Judaism out of habit, sustained by Austrian problems. Contact cornerstone of Anglo-Jewish life. Other 'Tieinories of grandparents steeped in stetl organisations will have to try to reach them. Yiddishkeit. Henry Ebner In the short-term, the sensible policy is to at But for this present fourth generation, commission badly needed research. For Myers Ebner & Deaner until we know what in Judaism and Jewish •^here is no such nostalgic pull. For many of 103 Shepherds Bush Road them, a few tepidly celebrated customs at London W6 7LP society attracts, repels, excites or dismays the young, we will never be in a position to "oine, the occasional trip to synagogue and Telephone 071 602 4631 teluctant Sundays in cheder when they were devise an effective strategy against children are insufficient to keep their Jewish ALL LEGAL WORK UNDERTAKEN assimilation. allegiance in adulthood; so they cut and '•" •::•-• • Simon Rocker

13 AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

Cookery Corner VERSE AND WORSE Search Notices WALDHEIM No. 5 STIR-FRIED CHICKEN Kurt by name, by nature damp. Mrs M. Arnold, last known address 7 Chicken and vegetables fried in soy sauce And schooled in every con-man's trick Cumberland Ave, Grimsby (business address: 58-60 Lumley Road, Skegness) or her and tomato puree. From amnesia to writer's cramp — daughter Anita, married to Brian Segal, please Now Austrians can happily lick contact old friend Chava (Eva) IVIayer, nee Ingredients (serves 2-3): The back side of his postage stamp Spier, 34739 Haifa, Romema Hazalafimstr. 4. 2 chicken breast fillets, skinned Israel. 2 cloves garlic MURDOCH Alice Neumann (Lissy Newman), fashion designer, born 1901 in Berlin and emigrated to 1 small onion Since Maxwell's watery demise England 1936. Her niece Tanja, born ^ red pepper He's a media mogul on his own, 26.2.1939, daughter of James Neumann and •i green pepper It hardly comes as a surprise Margot, nee Citron, Dusseldorferstrasse 6, Berlin 15, would like to hear from any surviving 6 oz white cabbage To see his minions mock the throne relatives. 3 oz mushrooms MECIAR Erno Weisz, born 15 November 1925 in 6 oz bamboo shoots (available in Apagy, last known address (August 1945) A Commie who swung to the right, Sainsbury's) Magdolna U. 43 Budapest and Joszef Kahan, Foe both to Prague and gipsy tinkers, born 28 December in Tiszabercel. Both of Soy sauce Born of the Slovak soil, he might these men gave detailed information about the Tomato puree massacre in Rohone (Rechnitz). They also Well be a son of Father Hlinka's Vinegar (red or white) worked as forced labourers in the camps of Koszeg, Mauthausen and Gunskirchen. An Mixed herbs investigation is being conducted into events at Grain mustard Rechnitz. Information about Mr Weisz or Mr Kahan should be sent to Dr Avshalom Hodik, Method: Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Amtsdirektion, 40 Years Ago Seitenstettengasse 4, A-1010 Vienna or Slice the chicken into thin strips. Place them Eduard Erno, Extrafilm, Grosse Neugasse 44- on a side plate and cover with the crushed this Month 24, A-1040 Vienna. garlic. Sprinkle with mixed herbs (fresh or Barbara Lubin, at Daphne Vernon between dried). Cover with soy sauce and dash of LEGACY TO AJR 1958-61, please get in touch with Philippa Thomas, nee Wood, 22 New Road, Lewes, vinegar. Leave to soak whilst slicing A legacy has been bequeathed to the AJR by Sussex BN7 1YY, England. vegetables. Mr Simon Rubinstein, who died in London some time ago. Mr Rubinstein came from Karl Phillip Lewinsolin, born 1922/3. Last When vegetables are prepared heat one Prague, where he was a fur merchant. His known address in Germany: Holsteiner Ufer tablespoon virgin olive oil in a large frying wife and his little son perished in Europe. It 17, Berlin 21. Please contact: Hans Jatfe, pan (or wok, if available). When the oil is was obviously in commemoration of his Kurvenstr. 27, 2000 Hamburg 70. hot place the chicken and all juice (on the deceased child that in his will Mr Rubinstein Rudoif Halin, born Goettingen, 1919, worked in Hamburg until late 1938/early '39 and side plate) in and stir gently until the expressed the wish that the legacy should be used for the relief of refugee children. migrated to UK - understood to have served in chicken is almost cooked through. Add the The principles according to which the British Army 1939/45. Parents had shoe sliced peppers and continue stirring. Add a factory in Goettingen. Please contact Hans Social Services Department of the AJR is to Guenter Jensen (formerly Jeruchem) c/o P.O. generous tablespoon of tomato puree and a administer the legacy will be laid down by Box 915, Crow's Nest, Sydney, 2065, teaspoon of grain mustard. Stir until a paste the Executive shortly. Australia. Phone: (612) 438 5925. Fax: (612) 437 5804. forms, then add the onion and cabbage The Executive of the AJR was deeply moved by the generous act of the deceased (thinly sliced). Continue stirring until cab­ Would Ken (Kurt) Berger, Rosi iiberg or Mr Rubinstein, who, having left no children Werner iUlartIn iiberg (Who were last heard of bage softens. Add mushrooms and extra soy of his own, decided to lend his help to in Manchester) please contact Jiirgen sauce if the paste needs thinning. Add the children of the Community whose fate he Kumlehn, Am Kaiserwald 7, W-3305 Sickte, bamboo shoots and fold them in. Cover and had to share. The Executive will try its best Germany. to use the fund in the spirit in which it was simmer for 1—2 minutes. Serve on a bed of Hans Alfred Matliias, born in Hofgeismar put at its disposal. The memory of Mr rice. (Hesse) to Siegfried and Franze Mathias (Nee Simon Rubinstein will be kept alive by his Elsbach). Came to UK on a kindertransport in The adventurous can attempt to eat this noble deed. the late 1930's. Last known address: 201 with chopsticks. _ .... AjR Information August 1952. Netheroyd Hill, Cowcliffe, Huddersfield. Please '^ n M.N. contact Pfarrer Michael Dorhs who is conducting work on behalf of the Stadtmuseum Hofgeismar, Mainzer Gasse 28, D-3550 Marburg/Lahn, Germany. Phone: (06421) 26387. LANDAU, BAKER & CO Chartered Accountants Registered Auditors Albany House, 324/326 Regent Street, CAMPS London WIR 5AA INTERNMENT-P.O.W.- Company Audits, Individuals and Partnership Accounts and Taxation FORCED LABOUR-KZ Wages; Acquisitions Systems I wish to buy cards, envelopes and folded post­ marked letters from all camps of both world wars. and other specialist work Please send, registered mail, stating price, to: Initial free consultation. Competitive Fees. 14 Rosslyn Hill, London NW3 Telephone: 071 636 2727 Fax: 071 436 0727 PETER C. RICKENBACK

14 Pt?»'^S(lEJP,v-i''j.''."

AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992

stigmatised by the Nazis - the question of director of Der blaue Engel, Morocco, The Marlene: The world is returning to Germany hardly arose. She was Devil is a Woman, etc — was also Jewish. In poorer for her passing reinforced in this attitude by her equally addition she was directed by Ernst Lubitsch famous non-Jewish emigre colleague, and in Desire, in A Foreign Affair, sometime lover, Erich Maria Remarque, and (half-Jewish) Fritz Lang in Rancho ilm was(is) the first of the mass media who immortalised her as Joan Madou in the Notorious. No less important were her catering to a worldwide audience. Its refugee novel Arc de Triomphe. Jewish song-writers, from Friedrich Hol­ Fstars - Garbo, Chaplin, Monroe, Of her two co-stars in Der blaue Engel, lander (Falling in love again) to Max Colpet Brando - truly became legends in their own one, Emil Jannings, worked enthusiasti­ (Where have all the floivers gonef) half a lifetime. cally, and the other, , reluc­ century later. was the only German to tantly, in Goebbels 'dream factory'. (Albers When the mortal remains of the immortal belong to that select company. She rose to had previously had a liaison stigmatised as Marlene are laid to rest in Berlin, maybe a ptominence in 1920s Berlin which, with its Rassenschande, race defilement, by the faint echo of the golden Twenties will return cabarets, UFA studios at Babelsberg, and Nazis.) to the town that lapsed overnight in 1933 Reinhardt's Grosse Schauspielhaus, bade During the war Marlene toured diverse from a metropolis of the arts into a huge fair to become Europe's metropolis of the theatres of operations, dressed in GI flag-bedecked, raucous-throated provincial arts. Alas, Berlin's sophistication and cos­ uniform, to entertain American troops. backwater. mopolitanism was anathema to the Spiess- Because of that she faced public obloquy D Richard Grunberger biirgertum that infested the German pro­ and accusations of treason on postwar visits vinces. The capital's febrile vitality to Germany. She could have refuted them prompted accusations of asphalt-bred deca­ by stating she had been a U.S. citizen at the dence and rootlessness. The Nazi accession time; instead she said that the Nazi murder CAR HIRE of power denoted the triumph of militant of children had left her no choice. Comfortable, air conditioned car with provincialism over receptiveness to the new This oblique reference to the Holocaust helpful driver. and different, as much as the victory of leads on to another aspect of the Dietrich Airports, stations, coast, etc. Fully dictatorship over democracy. saga: philosemitism. All the afore-men­ insured. Tony Burstein 081-204 0567. Goebbels' banning of The Blue Angel in tioned giants of the silver screen had strong Car 0831 461066. 1933 followed as a matter of course. Not Jewish connections. Greta Garbo owed her only was the film 'decadent', but it came early stardom to Moritz Stiller, Chaplin from the pen of the peerless critic of thought he was of part-Jewish descent, Wilhelminian mores, Heinrich Mann. Marilyn Monroe married Arthur Miller, D S W BYE For the by now Hollywood-based Mar­ and Marlon Brando learnt 'Method' acting GENERAL BUILDING, lene Dietrich, who had matured in the under Lee Strasberg. REFURBISHMENT Berlin boheme in the company of Jews, To place the final stone in the mosaic, AND DECORATING leftists and homosexuals - three groups Dietrich's 'Svengali' Josef von Sternberg — All aspects of building & decorating carried out to the highest standards. References supplied. THURLOW LODGE COUNSELLOR Telephone: 081-366 1028 and Marion Shaw Dip. Psy. Cert. Coun. HAMPSTEAD HOUSE (Residential Homes) Offers gentle, caring, empathetic for the elderly and retired, situated in an counselling. Home visits available. exclusive part of Hampstead. Both homes Phone: 0923-820306 provide luxurious accommodation with BELSIZE SQUARE SYNAGOGUE 24-hour nursing care in a homely 51 Belsize Square, London, N.W.3 atmosphere. Strictly kosher cuisine. Long and short stays welcome. Many bedrooms Our communal hall is available have en-sulte facilities. Moderate fees. RESTITUTION CLAIMS for cultural For further information and brochure: HUNGARY and social functions. Tel. 071 794 7305/071 435 5326. For details apply to: 11/12 Thurlow Road, Hampstead, for property lost between 1939-1949 Secretary, Synagogue Office. London NW3 can be filed with Tel: 071-794 3949 Dr G^ZA SIMONFAY Dr OTTO RANZENHOFER ATTORNEYS AT LAW

Simon P. Rhodes M.Ch.S. Laudongasse 26. 1080 Vienna, AUSTRIA STATE REGISTERED CHIROPODIST Tel: 0043-1-4036605 or 0043-1-4036606 Fax:0043-1-434279 GERMAN BOOKS Surgery hours: 8.30 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday BOUGHT 8.30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday Visiting chiropody service available GOLDMAN A. W. MYTZE Curtains made to measure. 1 The Riding, London NWl 1. 67 Kilburn High Road, NW6 (opp. M&S) Select material in your own home. Telephone 071-624 1576 Rail, blinds supplied and fitted. Telephone: 081-205 9232 Tel: 071-586 7546

15 AJR INFORMATION AUGUST 1992 tfttWHiiiittiiiiiKiiiii

against War and Fascism. (And what a cast Snapshots of France Vaillant used to assemble: Gide and Mal­ raux from France, E. M. Forster from oulogne. An unpleasant fishy odour England, Pasternak from Russia, and Hein­ pervades the air near the docks, but rich Mann and Brecht from the 'Other B the town looks prosperous and go- Germany'!) ahead. It also boasts a historic quarter If the Other Germany had any particular encircled by walls and ramparts. Though prewar centre it was certainly Paris. this turns out to be something of a tourist Koestler's autobiography and Feucht- trap, commercialisation has been kept to a wangcr's Paris Gazette have documented discreet minimum. Just as I am about to give the political emigration; refugee life as such silent thanks to the city fathers I notice a was most poignantly evoked in Jolanda street sign: Place de Godefroy de Bullion. I Foldes' Street of the Fishing Cat. withdraw my thanks. The leading Crusader Where have all the transients who resided knight, dc Bullion instigated pogroms in the in the Rue du chat qui peche gone? The Rhineland and Jerusalem. answer is provided by a sculpture at the entrance of Gare St Lazare depicting a pillar of battered suitcases; the plinth bears no Rouen. A city splendid on account of its inscription. river-lapped position at the foot of gently i^ » * sloping hills, and its Gothic buildings. The most impressive edifice, though, is not an Not far from the station is Montmartre, old building but an avant-garde church - backdrop to the Byzantine church of Sacre with a roof like the ribbed hull of a ship, Coeur, and breeding ground of the boheme. modern stained glass and an almost austere Montmartre's pioneer bohemians around interior - commemorating St Joan. Having the turn of the century were Utrillo, Picasso, first been burnt as a heretic by the Church Chagall and the Jewish-born Catholic the 'Maid' was later canonised; today she is mystic and poet Max Jacob. Under Nazi an icon purloined by Le Pen. What a fate! occupation the original Latin place name Mons martyrum (Hill of martyrs) from which Montmartre derived became appo­ The chateaux of the Loire. Playground of The Frani;ois 1 staircase at the Chateau de Blois. Photo: Grunberger. site again: disappointed in the hope that his Renaissance kings and architects. Leonardo friend Picasso - who had contact with da Vinci lived at Amboise, in a mansion hilltop cathedral of Vezelay St Bernard of Wehrmacht officers - might save him. Max now turned into a museum full of IBM Clairvaux, a sado-masochistic 'pillar of the Jacob died at Drancy en route to Auschwitz. models based on his 'blueprints'. I discover Church', preached the Second Crusade, >(• j[. )^ that the massive round towers flanking the thus stealing a march on the Pope. Paradox­ A stroll along the classically ornate chateau accommodated spiral-shaped ically Vezelay was also the last home of the grounds of the Palais Royal near the Louvre ramps for the ascent of mounted knights Nobel Prize-winning author Romain evokes happier associations. It was here and horse-drawn carts. Chambord has a Rolland, Pacifist friend of Stefan Zweig's. that Colette, who managed to extricate her 'double helix' spiral staircase in its central )}. }^ )|. air shaft, and is topped by a riot of turrets Jewish husband from the clutches of the and cupolas that prefigure the dream king Pacificism had led the elderly Rolland Gestapo, had her 'grace-and-favour Ludwig of Bavaria's castles. Chenoncaux into unthinking support for Communism. apartment. seems to defy the laws of gravity by floating His name therefore appears on street signs The Louvre is currently being refurbished on water. Blois is a petrified stage set and fai^ades of local theatres in the Red Belt and added to by the construction of a glass echoing with the eerie presence of Mary of industrial suburbs around Paris. Another pyramid. Far from universally approved, Stuart, widowed at 16, and the Huguenot- name from the interwar years commemor­ the pyramid has been dubbed Mitterrand's massacring Catherine de Medicis. ated thereabouts is that of Vaillant-Coutur- folly. So, indeed, have the stunning La ier, stage manager of various Congresses Defense arch, central edifice of a veritable )^ )[. )(• city of the future along the continuation oi Burgundy. Vineyards as far as the eye can the Place Concorde-Etoile axis and the nev^ see. Villages with names like Chablis and HILARY'S AGENCY Opera at the Bastille. Pommard that are near-global household Specialists in Long and Short-Term Live-in Care London's counterpart to La Defense - words. Burgundians, good local patriots RESPITE AND EMERGENCY CARE Canary Wharf - notoriously has a Jewish with an eye to the main chance, claim that CARE FOR THE ELDERLY provenance in the Reichmann brothers. I^^ HOUSEKEEPERS their wines, sauces and cheeses are the best RECUPERATION CARE France the initiator of a generous building in the world. (As regards fromage they're MATERNITY NURSES programme focused on the arts is likewise a NANNIES AND MOTHER'S HELPS certainly right.) The charm of the undulat­ EMERGENCY MOTHERS Jew: Culture Minister Jack Lang. He was ing wooded countryside turns a journey Caring and Experienced Staff Available recently also made Minister of Education " along the autoroute into an aesthetic experi­ We will be happy to discuss your a promotion that thrilled me more than ence. The landscape is dotted with centres requirements Malcom Rifkind's to the semi-redundant of medieval Christianity such as Citaux, PLEASE PHONE 081-559-1110 Ministry of Defence. ^ birth place of the Cistertian Order. At the

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