Fates of Jewish Families in Thuringia 1933-1945
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“I arrived as a wealthy person in Erfurt and departed as plundered Jew.” Fates of Jewish Families in Thuringia 1933-1945 Monika Gibas, Ed. This picture shows the deportation of the Jews from Eisenach on May 9, 1942. The population of Eisenach is cleary visible on the background of the picture, observing the procession from the kerbside. Foto: Stadtarchiv Eisenach Translation: Julia Palme Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Thüringen Regierungsstraße 73, 99084 Erfurt, Germany www.lzt.thueringen.de 2009 3 Content Introduction 5 Monika Gibas “...my wife and I left poisoned Germany in January 1939. We had no other 11 choice but to leave, because we could feel that our lives were at risk.” Committed Patriot and Protestant – Dr. Walter Spiegel – Lecturer from Thuringia Ramona Bräu “I arrived as a wealthy person in Erfurt and departed as plundered Jew.” 19 David Littmann and the Mohrenapotheke in Erfurt Janine Heiland “As was confidentially ascertained, a number of customers have (...) cancelled 29 their monthly accounts at the Jewish department store “Römischer Kaiser” in Erfurt as from September 1, 1935.” The Department Store “Römischer Kaiser” (KRK), Erfurt Philipp Gliesing “...well if you buy a boat ticket to leave Germany on such and such a 39 day we’ll release him for that day.” The Industrialist Family Ruppel, Gotha/Saalfeld Thomas Wenzel “The German singer only knows one condition, only one spirit, one people 51 and one loyality. This is his tacit service to the fatherland.” The Family Bernhard Prager from Apolda Christian Faludi 4 “I specifically emphasize that I have no intention to emigrate at my age...” 67 Injustice beyond Death – The Fate of the Singer Jenny Fleischer-Alt from Weimar Henriette Rosenkranz “We literally escaped with the last train.” 75 The Friedmann Family from Jena Christine Schoenmakers “So far I have never undertaken any steps to emigrate.” 85 The Company “Gebrüder Heilbrun” from Nordhausen Marion Kaiser “... if we have to wait for Brazil or any other opportunity, we are going 93 to grow old and dull and our last pennies will soon be wasted.” The Kirchheimer Family from Eisenach Tina Schüßler “Stop purchases at David Binder’s!” 105 Binder’s Department Store in Pößneck Philipp Gliesing Bibliography 115 5 Monika Gibas Introduction “Aryan“, “Aryan paragraph“, “Aryanization“ – cording to the conditions set by the bureau- these terminologies originate from the vo- crats of the Nazi state. cabulary of the racially motivated anti- Semitism that became a central pillar of the Early on, the Land Thuringia, which played Nazi regime’s social policies with its acces- a leading role in the institutionalisation of sion to power in 1933. The so-called “Aryan racial policies, founded a “Landesamt für Paragraph” was enacted as the first measure Rassewesen” (regional state office for racial of the “Reichsgesetz zur Wiederherstellung matters) on July 15, 1933 in Weimar through des Berufsbeamtentums” (Civil Service Res- the appointment of a Nazi racial theorist, Hans toration Act). The encyclopedia entry of “Der F. K. Günther, from the University of Jena. Große Brockhaus” elucidates the term “Aryan paragraph” in the edition of 1935 as follows: This was the first institution of its kind at the “A decree with the aid of which the racial core Federal State level and Karl Astel, a physician of the German people, that is the Aryan race, and racial theorist, was appointed chairman. is to be protected and promoted through the In the °Thüringer Staatszeitung° (Thuringian elimination of non-Aryan people.” newspaper) of July 23, 1933, he proclaimed that the institution’s central aim is “to free the “Non-Aryan”, according to the authors, was race’s flux of life from sick and alien hereditary every German citizen, who was considered dispositions”. Under his leadership, the of- a descendant of “Non-Aryan, especially Jew- fice began establishing an archive on heredi- ish parents or grandparents; it is applicable tary details, wherein every third inhabitant of as well, if one of the parents is non-Aryan. In Thuringia was to be recorded within a short case the Aryan origin descent is ambiguous, period of time. Already by 1935, over 466 000 a certificate has to be obtained from the ex- dossiers had been produced, which paved perts on “Rasseforschung” (“racial research”) the way for the institutionalisation of racial authorized by the Reich Interior Minister.” policies in Thuringia. On September 15, 1935, the “Entjudung” (systematic elimination of the With the NSDAP’s (National Socialist German Jewish people), as it was officially called in the Workers’ Party) accession to power in spring national socialist party- and state-bureaucra- 1933, the Aryan paragraph marked the be- cy’s jargon, was supplemented with the ginning of the state organised expulsion of “Reichs bürgergesetzt” (The Law of the Protec- people of Jewish faith, as well as German citi- tion of German Blood and Honor), which was zens who fell into the category of “Jews” ac- a series of laws that became known as the 6 “Nuremberg Laws”. These racial policies were a chain of acts and administrative orders to supported by a ferocious mixture of ideology, promote perfection. Many professions were pseudo-scientific findings and doctrines. The no longer accessible to Jews and they were anti-Semitic propaganda was spread through forbidden to use social- and cultural facilities the national socialist standardised press, the like public pools, parks, libraries, cinemas and educational system, popular fiction, as well theatres. The impulses for the growing exclu- as arts and culture. “Sömmerda fending off sion of the Jews from all social life came not the Hebrews”, “Special School for the Jews of only from the authorities, but also from the Meiningen”, “The Jews of Gotha. We must not lower levels of the NSDAP and communal associate with them. A List of Jews.”– these administrative units. As written by the chair- were the headings of Thuringian newspapers man of the “Deutschen Gemeindetag” to the that had been published in the context of the Thuringian interior ministry on July 28, 1934, government act introduced in the autumn of a year before the adoption of the Nuremberg 1935. In the ‘Gothaer Beobachter’ (local news- Laws: “As we are aware, the Jews are no long- paper of Gotha) it was written: “In the follow- er allowed to use the public lido. In anoth- ing we make known to all Jews still residing er town it was recently discussed whether in Gotha (...) This publication is finally going to deny the Jews access to any sort of baths to create clarity. From now on, it can no long- (steambath, saunas, indoor pools). From our er be accepted that Germans interact with perspective, this measure should be wel- Jews or buy Jewish products with the excuse comed. This is a pleasant evidence of volkish of not knowing that XY is Jewish (...) Who- self-consciousness and racial awareness. The ever is obeserved interacting or doing busi- people no longer tolerate sharing the same ness with Jews is guilty!” Furthermore, it was pools, baths, steamrooms and saunas with openly declared as a threat that: “a number of alien races. The authorities should do their people have been indentified, who shop in part to support the people in this matter. Jewish stores and have personal relationships From my point of view, it would be hazardous, with Jews. Those fellows that have forgotten if the authorities would continue to allow their descent, we are going to shame and alien races the use of such public places as make them known to the public through the the message that will come across the people Stürmerkästen (public reading of the strictly is that their rejection is not considered justi- anti-Semitic newspaper “Der Stürmer”). They fied and would contribute to the re-blurring should not dare complain as we had warned of the racial distinctions.” them!” At the beginning, the main objective of the In the following years, the NS regime drove new rulers was to force the Jews to leave the the systematic social expulsion and isolation country. The National Socialists applied fol- of the Jews by labelling them as “Volksver- lowing methods in order to achieve this: le- derber” (spoilers of the German race) trough gally backed acts of discrimination (laws, de- 7 crees), harassment by the administrative were in a difficult situation due to the boy- authorities, psychological terror and use of di- cott-campaigns such as that on April 1, 1933, rect physical violence through “spontaneous the refusal of bank loans and other forms of erruptions of the people’s wrath” or by state harassment. The owners had to declare them- organised pogroms like the Night of the Bro- selves bankrupt and were forced to sell their ken Glass in November 1938. The determined businesses. All sales since 1933 were pre- politics of expulsing Jews from Germany was dominantly caused by the pressures and con- also financially motivated. In the timeframe straints that confronted Jewish businesses of 1935 until 1938, the Nazi authorities gener- increasingly under the new political circum- ated a high number of measures that aimed stances. What took place was a subtle form of at the fiscal extortion and confiscation of the expropriation, which coincided with the dic- Jews’ financial assets. All levels of public au- tatorship’s policies aiming to “free the German thority participated directly in the extortion economy of all Jewish influence”. After the po- of the Jewish citizens. The Reich ministry of fi- grom on November 9/10, 1938, the Nazi gov- nance, especially the regional ministries of fi- ernment took the next step proclaiming the nance, the affiliated exchange control offices, compulsory “Aryanization” of businesses to as well as the fiscal authorities and main cus- fulfill its politico-economic objectives.