'But the Story Didn't End that Way' - Yad...

”But the Story

Didn't End

that Way…”

This Educational Ki t was Original ly Produced to

Commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Kristal lnacht Pogrom

The International School for Holocaust Studies

Yad Vashem Information Systems

© Yad Vashem 2000

Production: Coordinator Avraham Milgram

Writers Batya Dvir, Avraham Milgram, Guy Miron, Hadas

Steuer

Didactic Adaptation Shulamit Imber, Avraham Milgram (Yad Vashem);

Yael Barenholz, Hava Fono (Youth & Society

Administration)

Academic Advisor Dr. Daniel Fraenkel

Visual Research Orit Adorian, Avraham Milgram, Hadas Steuer

Technical Research Doron Avraham, Orit Adurian, Batya Dvir, Avraham

Milgram, Guy Miron, Hadas Steuer, Irena Steinfeldt

Critical Reading Chaya Regev

Production Manager Ayala Appelbaum

Tehnical Assistance Effi Neumann

Graphics Einat Berlin

Language Editor Arieh Saposnik

Internet Version Yad Vashem Information Systems

Table of Contents

Teachers’ Preface .....................................................................................................4

Historical Overview..................................................................................................6

The Jews of Germany 1870-1918.....................................................6

The Jews of Germany in the Weimar Republic ................................8

Anti-Jewish Policy, 1933-1938 ........................................................9

Explanations and Brief Readings for the Posters ..................................................... 12

A Visit to the Exhibition: “And the Story Did Not End There…” ........................... 49

Chronological Table of Events, 1933-1938…………………………………………60

But the Story Didn't End that Way...

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Teachers’ Preface

Kristallnacht was a series of riots that took place throughout the German Reich

(Germany and Austria) on the 9th and 10th of November 1938, and represented an

important turning point in the history of the Jews of Germany. Over 1,000 synagogues

were destroyed during the pogrom throughout Germany and Austria. A great deal of

damage was done to Jewish property, and for the first time, tens of thousands of Jews

were sent to concentration camps simply because they were Jews.

The International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem considers the

production of an educational kit to promote familiarity with the fate of German Jewry

in the 1930’s, to be of great importance. The kit is meant to provide teachers and

students with up to date and readily available didactic tools, adapted for educational

needs.

T a r g e t a u d i e n c e : Middle school and high school students in formal and informal educational

frameworks.

T h e k i t i s c o m p o s e d o f t h r e e s e c t i o n s :

� 18 posters which tell the story of German Jewry from the Weimar Republic

through the late 1930’s. The posters are arranged in chronological order and allow

the observer to understand the process by which anti-Jewish policy in the German

Reich was crystallized, reaching a peak in the vast pogrom of 9-10 November

1938. The pictures incorporate quotations from some of the period’s central

figures – Jews and non-Jews – which provide the viewer with a further level of

understanding. The combination of pictures and quotations aids in a

comprehensive and in-depth view of the human drama and its participants. The

posters can be used on their own, as an exhibition, or as an educational tool for the

study of the period in formal and informal educational frameworks.

� A didactic booklet which includes:

1. A historical survey and overview

2. Short readings to accompany each poster


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3. A visit to the exhibition “And the Story Did Not End There…” with

suggestions for activities with young participants. The activities take place

as a guided tour through the exhibition, with a discussion of the meanings

which arise from the Kristallnacht pogrom.

4. A chronological table of events for the years 1933-1938

5. A bibliographical list of recommended reading.

� A documentary video movie which focuses on the events of Kristallnacht and its

implications. The film, which is based on survivors’ testimonies and documentary

visual materials from the period itself, contributes to an understanding of the

events and allows disparate groups to relate to the survivors’ stories.

This kit can contribute to a greater familiarity with the unique history of German

Jewry in the 1930’s, with an emphasis on the events preceding the Kristallnacht

pogrom. The 9-10 November pogrom constitutes a turning point and in many senses

the climax of a process. It therefore cannot be understood separately from the

historical context in which it took place.

The kit can also be used on Holocaust Memorial Day, and as a helpful tool for history

teachers teaching about the history of German Jewry during the first half of the

twentieth century.

T h e p o s t e r s c a n b e d i v i d e d i n t o f o u r t o p i c s :

A. Posters 1 and 3 relate to the Jews of the Weimar Republic: questions of identity,

legal, economic and social status, and the appearance of a racist antisemitic

movement in the form of the National Socialist Party on the Republic’s political

scene.

B. Posters 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14 relate to Nazi policy in Germany, 1933-1938.

C. Posters 8, 9, 11, 13 relate to the Jewish response to Nazi policy.

D. Posters 15-18 relate to the events of Kristallnacht, 9-10 November 1938.


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Historical Overview

T h e J e w s o f G e r m a n y 1 8 7 0 - 1 9 1 8 Throughout the nineteenth century, Jews in the various German states gradually

advanced toward greater equality and emancipation. This process was completed with

the establishment of the unified German state in 1870. As early as the late eighteenth

century, thinkers associated with the German enlightenment had expressed views

calling for the incorporation of Jews into the political and social life of the state in

return for Jewish willingness to forego their differences and their separation from the

society around them, and their transformation into productive citizens. The Jews

agreed to this principle in large part: They adopted the German language and strove to

be integrated into German culture. They took part in the general processes of

modernization, and above all – viewed Germany as their homeland.

Throughout the nineteenth century, the Jews of Germany underwent a process

of accelerated urbanization, found their way into the German middle class, and some

even became central figures in German economic life – bankers, merchants, owners of

department stores, industrialists, etc. The Jews’ successful integration into German

economic life did not go unnoticed by their opponents, and contributed to the

formulation of antisemitic stereotypes.

Based on their desire to be integrated into German society, the Jews were

willing to make changes in their religious life and to modify their tradition. Some of

the new religious trends in modern Judaism began to mature in Germany toward the

mid nineteenth century. The Reform Movement sought to make far-reaching changes

in Jewish tradition. Its members believed that it was only by defining Judaism in

exclusively confessional terms, devoid of any nationalistic elements, that Judaism

would be able to continue to exist in the modern world. The neo-Orthodox also

supported modernization and integration into the German state, but sought to preserve

a commitment to halacha – Jewish law.

The process of Jewish integration into German society was complex and

multifarious. Alongside a weakening of religious bonds, conversions and inter-


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marriage, which became increasingly ubiquitous during the first three decades of the

twentieth century, modern Jewish cultural creativity blossomed, as is reflected in the

Jewish press and in Jewish literature of the period. The economic success of many

German Jews was also expressed in their strength as a community, and could be seen

in the lavish synagogues that were built in the large cities, most notably in Berlin.

One phenomenon which had a profound impact on the Jews of Germany was

the immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe, which began to take place in

considerable numbers in the late nineteenth century. The presence of these Eastern

European Jews was seen by many German Jews as posing a threat to their own

integration in their homeland, and as a potential catalyst to antisemitism. German

Jewish organizations sought to encourage the Eastern European Jews’ emigration

overseas, or, alternatively, to encourage their “Germanization” so as to minimize their

conspicuousness.

New patterns of organization began to appear among German Jews in the late

nineteenth century. Jews organized in order to counter the antisemitic movements that

had appeared. The “Central Organization of German Citizens of the Mosaic Faith”

was established in 1893, and quickly became the largest Jewish organization in

Germany. The organization called for a deepening of Jewish equality and emphasized

that, in the eyes of its leaders, Judaism was a religious belief only, which does not

conflict with the Jews’ profound sense of belonging to their German homeland.

The Zionist Organization of Germany was established in 1897. German

Zionism represented a different kind of reaction to German antisemitism. At first, the

organization’s activity focused on assistance to the Jews of Eastern Europe, the

victims of Czarist Russia’s antisemitism and pogroms. However, it also sought to

redefine the status of German Jews. The Zionists claimed that Jews, and the Jews of

Germany among them, were not only members of one religion, but a people as well.

They therefore saw their integration into the German state in a more limited manner –

loyal citizenship, but not integration into the German people. Zionism had but very

limited influence on the Jews of Germany.

With the outbreak of the First World War, the vast majority of German Jews,

including most Zionists, joined in the German patriotic fervor. Kaiser Wilhelm’s

pronouncement that all citizens constituted a unified national body, whose different

sections must live in peace with one another echoed loudly among the Jews of

Germany. Many volunteered to serve in the German army even before being called to


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service, and approximately 12,000 Jews fell in the line of duty on the battlefields of

the World War. Nevertheless, the war led to a resurgence of antisemitic stereotypes in

Germany, and to an escalation in the vehemence of that antisemitism. In late 1916,

accusations according to which Jewish soldiers shirked their duty and avoided combat

service led to a census of Jewish soldiers in the German army. For German Jews, This

was a profoundly humiliating experience. The results of the census were never made

public.

T h e J e w s o f G e r m a n y i n t h e W e i m a r R e p u b l i c The Weimar Republic, which was established in November 1918 in the wake of the

German defeat in the war, was seen by many Germans as a form of government

imposed upon them from the outside. The fact that Jews could be noted among the

founders of the republic led anti-liberal and antisemitic political movements and

trends to identify the republic with the Jews.

Jews were also conspicuously present among the leaders of the radical left,

who also did not support the republic. The presence of such Jewish leftist leaders as

Rosa Luxembourg, Kurt Eisner and Ernst Toller contributed to the image of Jews as a

subversive element.

The Weimar period was the first time Jews were given nearly full equality.

They began to make their way into many of the state’s organizations which had

previously been closed to them – public service, universities, the legal system, and

even the German government itself. Their contribution to German culture reached

unprecedented heights: Jews stood out in literature and the arts, in philosophy and in

science (scientists such as Albert Einstein). Their numbers among German recipients

of the Nobel Prize was far beyond their proportion in the population. On the other

hand, this period, which was rife with economic crises, was also characterized by new

peaks of antisemitism. Walter Rathenau was assassinated in 1922, a few months after

having been appointed to Foreign Minister. The assassins were motivated in large part

by the fact that Rathenau was a Jew. Radical antisemitic parties grew in strength, and

the activities of extreme nationalist organizations often reached the point of open

violence.

The Weimar period was witness to a new Jewish cultural efflorescence, and

there are those who see it as a veritable renaissance. Young Jews, some of whom were


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influenced by their intense encounter with the Jews of Eastern Europe during the First

World War, sought to rediscover their Jewish roots. Writers, poets and painters turned

to Jewish subject matter. Broad sections of the public expressed an increased interest

in Jewish studies in a variety of associations established for this purpose, and in the

free school for Jewish studies which operated in Frankfurt in the 1920’s under the

management of Franz Rosenzweig and Martin Buber.

Alongside the achievement of full equality of rights and the creative cultural

vitality that characterized the Jews of the Weimar Republic, the Jewish community

was in the midst of a long-range crisis which posed forbidding economic and

demographic threats. Demographically, this was a Jewish community in a process of

decline, characterized by a death rate which was larger than the birth rate. The direct

cause of this phenomenon was the “reversed age pyramid” of German Jewry, with its

large proportion of elderly. Economically, this was a structural crisis in which the

majority of Germany’s Jews remained stuck in the “old middle class” without

fulfilling the paths to promotion and advancement that had been opened up to the

general populace by the processes of industrialization. A particularly large percentage

of Jews had suffered economic blows during the war years and the general economic

crises of 1923 and 1929, which hit the middle class, to which most Jews belonged.

A n t i - J e w i s h P o l i c y , 1 9 3 3 - 1 9 3 8 There were approximately 525,000 Jews living in Germany in 1933, when the Nazi

party attained power and put an end to the Weimar Republic. The Nazi party was

guided by a racist and antisemitic ideology, which served to mold its policies in

general, and its anti-Jewish policy in particular. The anti-Jewish policy developed

gradually. It was forced to contend not only with ideological considerations, but also

with political and economic factors, which impacted upon the fulfillment of

ideological goals.

The first directed anti-Jewish action, which represented the initial steps toward

implementing a nation-wide anti-Jewish policy, took place in April 1933. Hitler’s

government, motivated principally by Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbeles,

decided to initiate a boycott of Jewish businesses in response to the anti-German

“atrocity propaganda” supposedly being disseminated abroad by Jews. Responsibility

for the action was not placed on a governmental body, but rather on a Nazi party


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body, and was headed by Julius Streicher, editor of the antisemitic journal Der

Stürmer.

A gradual process of anti-Jewish legislation followed the boycott, with the aim

of removing Jews from most fields of life, such as the public service, arts and culture,

the media and the press in particular. It was decided at this stage not to touch private

Jewish businesses since this might result in damage to the German economy. One

important law was the “law for the restoration of the professional civil service”, which

was aimed at removing all civil servants who were not Aryan – i.e. Jews. The civil

service included hospitals, universities, government offices and all areas of public

service.

The height of anti-Jewish legislation was reached on September 15 1935, with

the ratification of the Nuremburg Laws. This set of laws was a considerable step

further, as it defined Jews as members of a separate race, of a different blood, who

can in no way belong to German society or be citizens of the German state.

In the spirit of this legislation, a Jew was defined as anyone who had three

grandparents who were racially pure Jews. A Mischling, or member of a mixed race,

was defined as anybody who had either one or two Jewish grandparents.

Notwithstanding the Nazis’ belief in pseudo-scientific racial doctrines and their

insistence that Jews are to be defined racially rather than religiously, in practice they

were forced to revert to an individual’s belonging to the community when attempting

to identify who is a Jew.

Many Jews hoped that the Nuremberg Laws might bring the process of anti-

Jewish escalation to an end, since they provided a legal foundation for the Jews’

status as second class citizens. In contrast with popular notions, the number of Jewish

emigrants from Germany in the wake of the Nuremberg Laws decreased rather than

increased.

Anti-Jewish policy, which was characterized by rising and falling violence at

different times, had a profound impact on patterns of Jewish emigration from

Germany. Approximately 37,000 Jews emigrated from Germany in 1933. In 1934,

some 24,000 Jews emigrated, and in 1935, 21,000 Jews emigrated.

A relative lull in outward expressions of antisemitism was felt after the

Nuremberg Laws, and in preparation for the 1935 winter Olympics and 1936 summer

games. Anti-Jewish slogans disappeared from public places and there was a decrease

in anti-Jewish attacks.


8

Germany’s improved international position and the crystallization of the “four

year plan” – the economic plan designed to prepare Germany for war – led to an

economic assault on the Jews, which had been avoided previously. This policy was

expressed in an accelerated process of “Aryanization” – takeover of Jewish property

by Aryans. The process of Aryanization coincided with German foreign policy: the

more aggressive Germany grew in its foreign policy, the greater the force given to

Aryanization practices.

In 1938, anti-Jewish policy in the German Reich reached a peak. The policy of

Aryanization was accelerated. The SS, which had become the leading factor in the

implementation of anti-Jewish policy, orchestrated a number of actions – most

notably the forced emigration of the Jews of Austria, which had been annexed to the

Reich. The atmosphere of anti-Jewish violence, which intensified from day to day,

was given full expression in the November pogrom, known as Kristallnacht.


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Explanations and Brief Readings for the Posters

P o s t e r s 1 - 2 : J e w s i n t h e W e i m a r R e p u b l i c

Jews in Weimar Republic, 1918 - 1933

With the establishment of the Weimar Republic in November 1918, a new era began

in the history of German Jewry. It appeared that the emancipation of the Jews had

come to full fruition. All of the restrictions that still existed on Jews were annulled,

and Jews could now take part in all aspects of public life. Jews made important

contributions to culture, economics and science.

Along with the Jews’ unprecedented and intensive integration into German

society, antisemitism also intensified. Political antisemitism grew increasingly

violent. One of the peaks of antisemitic escalation during the Weimar Republic was

the assassination of Walter Rathenau, the republic’s Jewish foreign minister. His

assassins did not conceal the fact that Rathenau’s Jewish origins stood at the base of

their motivation to murder him.

German Jewry during the Weimar period was not uniform. It was composed of

Zionists alongside assimilationists, long-time German Jews alongside newcomers

(Ostjuden – Eastern European Jews). The various trends were engaged in ongoing

cultural and ideological struggles. The meaning and practical importance of the old

distinction between “Eastern” and “Western” Jews grew more pronounced after 1918.


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Jewish immigration into Germany from Eastern Europe increased considerably in the

wake of the world war and the revolutionary convulsions which followed it. Jewish

organizations in Germany worked for the absorption of the immigrants, but did not

encourage them to remain in Germany. They were not so much concerned with the

economic burden of caring for the immigrants as they were with the potential risk

they posed to Jewish integration into the surrounding German society. The

immigrants stood out in their different dress and behavior, which were foreign and

even repulsive to many Germans. The Jews of Germany appeared to have internalized

their Christian neighbors’ feelings of rejection and disaffection with these Eastern

European Jewish immigrants. The term “Ostjuden” (Eastern Jews) which was

attached to the immigrants contained more than a grain of derision and contempt.

The activities of the various Jewish political, religious and social organizations

increased during the Weimar era. These included the Centralverein, the Union of

German Jews, the organizations of liberal and Orthodox Jewry, and the Hilfsverein.

New social and political organizations also came into being. One important new

organization was the “Union of Jewish War Veterans”, which sought to safeguard the

rights of Jewish veterans and to defend their honor. The veterans’ union was at first

open to Jews of varying political points of view. With time, however, it adopted a

German nationalistic ideology, which made it difficult for Zionists to maintain their

membership in the organization.

R e a d i n g f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 1 :

A Bridegroom describes his marriage ceremony in the Liberal (Reform) Temple

in 1924 [The first sentences describe the groom’s patriotic feelings which stemmed from his

education and his experiences as a soldier during the First World War].

“… Immersed in the humanistic education of the Royal Prussian Gymnasium, fellow

soldier to German soldiers in the ditches, in the bunkers and in the artillery craters …

graduate of four universities in the best German tradition, member of the German

Theatrical Association since I worked as a beginning playwright and director in

Würzburg, son of a German patriot (in every inch of his being) and a leading


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economic figure. I myself had been for years a partner in the P. W. Grünfeld textile

company, which had been established by my grandfather – [and here he describes his

marriage ceremony]. I strode through a silent snow storm on the morning of New

Year’s Day 1924 next to my bride. I was dressed in a tuxedo and top hat, amongst the

hundreds of people who filled the Lützowstrasse Synagogue. Leo Baeck blessed our

union in a venerable and unforgettable manner…. This liberal synagogue, where I

had been accustomed to hearing the prayer for the state in the German language

since my Bar Mitzvah, could claim many famous German-Jewish members. This

synagogue had been the place to which I had come from the front during the First

World War on the final Yom Kippur of the war, and it was there that I had been called

to the Torah together with my comrades in arms. On my wedding day, singer Olga

Eisner sang prayer songs and Beethoven’s “I Love You”, accompanied by an organ.

Up to this day, I am still not certain if fewer than half of those present at my wedding

were non-Jews. Nobody imagined at that time, on January 1 1924, that a decade later

so many good Germans would be expelled from German society under the racist

“Aryan clauses”. Fritz V. Grünfeld, Heimgesucht – Heimgefunden, Betrachtung und Bericht, Arani-Verlag,

Berlin, 1979, pp. 34-36.


A. Following is the story of the people photographed floating in the river, as told by

Rebbeca Piron (to the authors of the program), daughter of the young boy in the

center of the poster.

“The poster shows a group of boys sitting in a row-boat. The boys are cousins who

went on a Sunday outing in 1920. The two children in the center of the poster are two

of the three Selinger brothers. The boy on the right is the eldest – Izzi (Israel)

Selinger. To his left, the younger one, is Menahem Selinger (Rebecca Piron’s father).

The boy on the right, sitting behind Menahem (second from the left) is unknown. The

boy to the left is Mendel Selinger.”

Izzi and Menahem were born and raised in Leipzig, Germany. Their parents had

emigrated from Poland a number of years earlier. They owned a chain of shoe stores

in Leipzig and were fairly prosperous. The mother also took part in running the


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business. The family employed a young Christian maid from the countryside to help

in running the household and in raising the children. She lived in their house for

sixteen years.

The Selingers were a traditional family. They celebrated Jewish holidays in a

traditional manner, went to synagogue on Saturdays and holidays and sent their

children to a Jewish school (at least for elementary school). However, the parents did

not refrain from opening the store on the Sabbath. They employed a “melamed” [a

traditional Jewish teacher] to enrich the children’s Jewish education. He provided

them with a religious education in their home. In addition, Menahem spent a number

of years studying with a much-admired Hebrew teacher (Dr. Weskin, who was

murdered in the Holocaust). Later, when they arrived in Palestine, he already spoke

Hebrew quite well.

The photograph tells of a serene and comfortable life. And indeed that is what

their life was. Izzi and Menahem were members of Jewish youth movements. At a

later age they developed Zionist tendencies, and prepared themselves for immigration

to Palestine. This was also true of their younger brother, Pinhas.

Izzi immigrated to Palestine in 1933, and began his life in the new homeland

as a member of Kibbutz Ein Harod. He later moved to the city and served for many

years in the army. He passed away a number of years ago.

Menahem was about 22 years old in 1936, when the atmosphere in Germany

began to be filled with evil portends. One day he received the certificate∗ he so longed

for, which constituted an entry visa into Palestine. The certificate could be used either

by a single person or by a married couple. He had had a steady girlfriend, and he now

had a dilemma whether to go to Palestine or to remain in Germany, get married, and

then go together.

The decision had to be made within 24 hours, since many people awaited such

certificates. The couple decided to marry and emigrate to Palestine. Preparations were

made in haste, and approximately one month after their wedding, they parted from

their parents and set off for the longed-for yet unfamiliar country. They never again

saw Menahem’s parents (Zvi and Dina Selinger). They were murdered in the

Holocaust. They were fortunate enough to see the parents of his wife, Shulamit

∗

A certificate permitting immigration into Palestine within the framework of the British Mandate’s immigration policies.


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(Pritzi) a number of years later. (They had been able to escape to the United States,

and were then able to immigrate to Israel in 1949).

Menahem and Pritzi (Shulamit) settled in Kefar Haroeh, a religious workers’

moshav. It was in this spirit that they raised their children. They lived together for 61

years and lived to see children and grandchildren. They worked hard, but always

maintained an air of optimism, joy and a strong bond to the land and to their people.

Ms. Pritzi (Shulamit) still lives in their Kefar Haroeh home.

B. “My mother, who had a beautiful and very cultivated voice, encouraged young

female artists. One singer, whom I used to amaze, invited me to accompany her on a

stroll. This all took place in Insterburg, in Eastern Prussia. We met a Russian or Polish

Jew, who asked me a question. I did not respond. The man spoke Yiddish. Although I

did not know Yiddish, I did understand the address about which he had asked. “Why

don’t you answer that man?” the woman asked me. “Are you ashamed perhaps?” I felt

hurt and destroyed. I showed the man the way, and then ran off without even saying

goodbye. Kurt Blumenfeld, The Jewish Question as an Experience (Hebrew), Jerusalem, 1963.

D i s c u s s i o n q u e s t i o n s f o r p o s t e r 1 a n d 2

1. “I am a German and a Jew in equal measure – one cannot be separated from the

other” (Jakob Wassermann, writer, 1921). In your opinion, do the photographs

and readings in the booklet reflect this writer’s words?

2. Point to expressions which characterize the cultural world of German Jewry in the

description of the wedding in the liberal synagogue.


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Pos ter Number 3 : R ac ia l Ant i semi t i sm Dur ing the Weimar

E ra

Racial Antisemitism During the Weimar Era

The caricature and the accompanying citation both date from 1924, the year in which

Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle), while in prison. Racial antisemitism in its

Nazi version stood out in its extremity as early as the very initial stages of the Weimar

Republic. It had adopted the mythological image of the omnipotent Jew, who rules

social and economic forces from his dark recesses. The misleading nature of the

caricature is particularly manifest given the fact that Jews were not at all a dominant

force in German industry. Moreover, since most Jews belonged to the middle class,

they were hit at least as hard as the rest of the population by the economic crises

which characterized the period. The central motifs of Nazi antisemitism were

formulated during the 1920’s: democracy as beneficial to the Jews; the Jews as

foreigners who are taking over Germany; Marxism and capitalism as the fruit of

Jewish ploys; the Jews as a rootless race, which constitutes the antithesis of the Aryan

race; Judaism as a threat to all of humanity.


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R e a d i n g s f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 3

From the Nazi Party Platform:

...4. Only Nationals (Volksgenossen) can be citizens of the state. Only persons

of German blood can be nationals, regardless of religious affiliation. No Jew

can therefore be a German national.

5. Any person who is not a citizen will be able to live in Germany only as a

guest and must be subject to legislation for Aliens.

6. Only a citizen is entitled to decide the leadership and laws of the state. We

therefore demand that only citizens may hold public office, regardless of

whether it is a national, state or local office. . . .

Documents on the Holocaust – Selected sources on the destruction of the Jews of Germany

and Austria, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Edited by Yitzhak Arad, Yisrael Gutman, Abraham

Margaliot Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, 1981 p. 15.

D i s c u s s i o n q u e s t i o n s f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 3 :

1) What messages does the poster convey?

2) What graphic elements did the caricaturist use?

3) What messages are added by the quotation of Hitler’s words on the

ideology of the antisemitic party?


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Pos ter Number 4 : A New Age in Germany :

The Naz i s ’ R i se to Power

A New Age in Germany !

This photograph reflects the mood in Germany on the eve of the Nazis’ rise to power.

Hitler made extensive use of mass rallies and military marches to arouse the masses

and to create an atmosphere of fear and terror. Hitler used the mechanisms of the

democratic state to attain power. He was supported by conservatives who thought

they would be able to control him – an illusion which vanished quickly. Immediately

after their ascent to power, the Nazis began to establish a new political culture, which

was expressed through a policy of terror. Political opponents were arrested and

incarcerated in concentration camps. SA men were given a free hand to vent their rage

on political opponents and on Jews; the masses were recruited to support the regime

and its various methods of propaganda. This was the beginning of the Nazi revolution,

which led to the eradication of the liberal democratic regime and the establishment of

a totalitarian state.


A. “It seems like a dream. The Wilhelmstrasse is ours. The leader is already

working in chancellery. We stand in the window upstairs, watching hundreds

and thousands of people march past the aged president of the Reich and the

young chancellor in the flaming torchlight, shouting their joy and gratitude…

It is come! The leader is appointed chancellor.” Goebbels diary, January 30, 1933


17

B. The tension of wantonness, expectation, apprehension and a hidden purpose

descended on the capital city on the day that the boot-men took over its streets and

squares.

They were everywhere, in their brown uniforms, speeding in their cars and on

their motorcycles, carrying torches, playing marches, pounding with their heels and

passing through – incessantly marching and marching.

The pounding of their boots awakened and aroused the people. Nobody was

quite sure what the new order would bring with it, but the citizens of Berlin anxiously

and tensely awaited.

Like during the war years, the masses ran around excitedly without purpose.

More than anywhere else, the pounding of the storm troopers’ boots echoed

throughout the western parts of Berlin, on the Kurfürstendamm, on the

Tauentzienstrasse, past the comfortable and spacious homes of the black-haired and

dark-eyed – the large-scale merchants, the professors, theater managers, lawyers, the

doctors and the bankers. The chorus “Wenn vom Judenblut das Messer spritzt dann

geht’s noch mal so gut, so gut” (When Jewish blood drips from the dagger, we have

hope, we have meaning), was shouted loudly from the booted men’s throats, as if to

assure that the words penetrate the houses.

[…] Jagur Karnowski spent all of his time in the streets. He did not go to

school, but instead wandered around the city, thirstily taking in the sounds and sights

and smells of the reorientation that was sweeping the nation.

[…] Jagur’s blue eyes sparkled with patriotism. He allowed himself to be

swept up with the masses and avidly searched for excitement and experiences. The

loud music animated his young blood, and the measured pounding of the marching

feet elevated his spirit. Like all those surrounding him, he reached out around him

with a stiff arm raised upward every time a new company marched by. Like everybody

else, he cheered and shouted out slogans.

[…] He saw no connection between the Jewish blood, whose spilling the

marchers sang about, and the Jewish blood flowing in his veins. He heard only the

melody, not the words. Like the words of a hymn, for him and for the rest of Berlin’s

Jews, they served only to accompany the melody.

[…] He found himself near the Reichstag. The wide square was filled with

flags and torches and the sound of marching men. From their open cars, the nation’s

new leaders excited those who had gathered. The masses cheered, were answered


18

with a salute, and shouted hysterically. Jagur felt the blood climbing to his head. He

found himself cheering and zealously repeating the ugly slogans along with the

excited masses. For the first time, he felt that life had a meaning and a purpose. And

he knew he would never again be what he had been before. Israel Joshua Singer, The House of Karnowski, Tel-Aviv 1987, pp. 196-97; 202-203.

D i s c u s s i o n Q u e s t i o n s f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 4

1) What, in your opinion, is the atmosphere created by the Nazis’ parades and flags

throughout Germany?

2) How do you think the Nazi parades effected average German citizens? Explain.


19

Pos ter Number 5 : Economic B oycot t

The Economic Boycott, April 1 1933

Approximately two months after they had gained power, the Nazis declared a boycott

of Jewish businesses. Such a boycott had been a wide-held vision during the Weimar

Republic, but this was the first time it was organized by the ruling party and was

supported by state institutions. The boycott was presented as a response to the

“atrocity propaganda” supposedly being disseminated abroad by world Jewry against

the Nazi regime. On Saturday, April 1 1933, SA guards were posted near Jewish

businesses, preventing Germans from entering the establishments. The boycott, which

at first had not been given a time limit, was brought to a halt after one day, due

primarily to a lack of response among the German public, and fear among leading

economic figures that it might have damaging implications.


Edwin Landau, a Jew from a small town in Western Prussia, described his

experiences on boycott day, April 1 1933:


20

“And for this reason we young Jews had once stood in the trenches in cold and rain,

and spilled our blood to protect the land from the enemy. Was there no comrade any

more from those days who was sickened by these goings-0n? One saw them pass by

on the street, among them quite a few for whom one had done a good turn. They had a

smile on their faces that betrayed their malicious pleasure.

I took my war decorations, put them on, went into the street, and visited

Jewish shops, where at first I was also stopped. But I was seething inside, and most of

all I would have liked to shout my hatred into the faces of these barbarians. Hatred,

hatred – when had it become part of me? – It was only a few hours ago that a change

had occurred within me. This land and this people that until now I had loved and

treasured had suddenly become my enemy. So I was not a German anymore, or I was

no longer supposed to be one. That, of course, cannot be settled in a few hours. But

one thing I felt immediately: I was ashamed that I had once belonged to this people. I

was ashamed about the trust that I had given to so many who now revealed

themselves as my enemies. Suddenly the street, too, seemed alien to me.” Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany – memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P.

Rosenfeld & Sidney Rosenfeld. Indiana University Press, 1991 p. 311.

Report of the Dortmund state police, August 1935:

Not always did the boycott limit itself to avoidance of Jewish businesses. It also

manifested itself in numerous attacks directed against Jewish shops, whole show

windows were defaced with slogans or smashed in. In many instances, customers

were also photographed or publicly denounced in some other manner. These attacks

were generally disapproved, since one suspected that the NS-HAGO [National

Socialist Organization of Crafts, Commerce and Industry] was behind them, and

assumed therefore that their real reason was competitive envy. Avraham Barkai, From Boycott to Annihilation – the economic struggle of German Jews 1933-45, pp.

57-58.


1) to what end do you suppose the picture was taken?

2) How do you think the people in the photograph relate to the sign being held by the

boy? Explain.


21

Pos ter s Number 6-7 : The Nuremberg Laws

and Fo rced I so la t ion

Racial Lews – September 15 1935

The Nuremberg Laws were ratified on September 15 1935. These laws constituted the

peak of anti-Jewish legislation in Germany. The two central laws were the “Reich

Citizenship Law” and the “Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor”. The

“Reich Citizenship Law” retracted Jews’ voting rights and turned them into second

class residents of the state. It distinguished between “citizenship” – which could apply

only to those who were German by blood – and “subjects”. The “Law for the

Protection of German Blood and Honor” forbade sexual intercourse between Jews and

non-Jews, both inside and outside the framework of marriage. Employment of

German maids under the age of 45 in Jewish homes was prohibited.

On September 15, the final day of the Nazi Party’s convention in Nuremberg,

in a special session of the Reichstag, the discriminatory racial laws were ratified. The

laws’ express purpose was to create a final legal and social separation between

German Jews and Germans. This policy of segregation took on a number of additional

forms as well: Jews were forbidden from entering theaters, special benches were

designated for them in public parks, and more. The Nuremberg Laws created a new

definition of the term “Jew”, according to racial origin. This definition served as a

legal precedent in all of the anti-Jewish legislation that ensued.


22


From the Memoirs of Martha Appel (nèe Insel), written in the United States in

1940-1941

“One day, for the first time in along while, I saw my children coming back from

school with shining eyes, laughing and giggling together. Most of the classes had

been gathered that morning in the big hall, since an official of the new Rasseamt, the

office of races, had come to give a talk about the differences of races. ‘I asked the

teacher if I could go home,’ my daughter was saying, ‘but she told me she had orders

not to dismiss anyone. You may imagine it was an awful talk. He said that there are

two groups of races, a high group and a low one. The high and upper race that was

destined to rule the world was the Teutonic, the German race, while one of the lowest

races was the Jewish race. And then, Mommy, he looked around and asked one of the

girls to come to him. The children again began to giggle about their experience. ‘First

we did not know’, my girl continued, ‘what he intended, and we were very afraid

when he picked out Eva. Then he began, and he was pointing at Eva, ‘Look here, the

small head of this girl, her long forehead, her very blue eyes, and blond hair’, and he

was lifting one of her long blond braids. ‘And look’, he said, ‘at hertall and slender

figure. These are the unequivocal marks of a pure and unmixed Teutonic race’.

Mommy, you should have heard how at this moment all the girls burst into laughter.

Even Eva could not help laughing. Then from all sides of the hall there was shouting,

‘She is a Jewess!’ You should have seen the officer’s face! I guess he was lucky that

the principal got up so quickly and, with a sign to the pupils, stopped the laughing

and shouting and dismissed the man, thanking him for his interesting and very

enlightening talk. At that we began again to laugh, but he stopped us immediately.

Oh, I was so glad that the teacher had not dismissed me and I was there to hear it”. Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany – memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P.

Rosenfeld & Sidney Rosenfeld. Indiana University Press, 1991 pp. 355-356.


23

D i s c u s s i o n Q u e s t i o n s f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 6 :

1) What did the Germans hope to accomplish by humiliating a German woman?

2) What are Edwin Landau’s feelings on the day the boycott was declared against

the Jews?


Segregation as Policy

From the Testimony of Joseph B. Levy:

Contact with “Aryans” – even casual greetings upon meeting in the street and in

public places – grew less and less frequent. Even former acquaintances and friends,

colleagues, former war comrades hesitated to converse with us, and instead greeted

us clandestinely. They often explained their behavior as stemming from fear of

persecution or some other unpleasantness. One example from among many: An

elderly lady whom I almost did not recognize at first glance greeted me on the street

from a distance and appeared to be glad to see me. She was a work colleague from

one of the government schools in which I had taught decades earlier. We approached

one another. But after we had exchanged a number of words, my glance fell on the

Party emblem pinned to her dress. When she noticed my glance, she grew suddenly


24

pale, and without saying another word turned and walked away. She had suddenly

realized that she, a respectable Party member, was standing and talking with a Jew,

thus risking banishment from the Party. We, of course, belong to those few decent

Jews. We heard this dubious compliment almost every day, accompanied by the

following words: “Yes, if only they were all like you”. The German people was led

into madness…. Yad Vashem Archives, 033.975


1) What sub-title would you give the poster?

2) Who in your opinion ought to feel ashamed in the picture?


25

Pos ters 8-9 : The Jewish R esponse

Jewish Consciousness A Zionst Response

The Nazi policy of excluding the Jews from German society led many Jews to

understand that their fate was bound up with the fate of the Jewish people, even if

they had not previously felt or known this. The Jews of Germany took refuge amongst

themselves and increasingly developed their own public and cultural life. High

schools and elementary schools were opened for Jewish pupils. The teaching staff was

recruited from among the Jewish teachers who had been dismissed from their

positions in the general schools. Jewish writers and artists began to create for a Jewish

audience alone. Distribution of the Jewish press grew. Jewish publishing houses

increased their production, and books of Jewish content – poetry, history, and essays –

were given wide distribution. The Nazi government accepted the initiative to organize

Jewish cultural life and place it under government supervision. The Ministry of

Propaganda created a special department which supervised Jewish cultural activities.

The Jewish organization that was established to this end was called the “Jüdischer

Kulturbund”, the Jewish Cultural Organization. This organization held concerts and

plays, lectures, art exhibitions, and more.


26

R e a d i n g f o r P o s t e r s 8 - 9

“We avoided making purchases in Christian stores. An industrious Jew opened a

small grocery store in Plock. Of his own accord, Berti [husband of Frida Hirsch,

author of these memoirs] immediately sent a letter to the Evangelical Treatment

Center and to the Medical Association, announcing his resignation. We took the

children out of their schools on April 2, in spite of the fact that the principals

explained that our children still make up only one percent of the class. “Further

words are unnecessary”. Our children began to take English lessons from a Jewish

teacher who had been fired from her job with no prior notice.” Frida Hirsch Mein Weg von Karlsruhe über Heidelberg nach Haifa 1890 – 1965. (Private publication),

1965 p. 135.

“There were several goals. One goal, perhaps Buber’s main goal, was that after this

catastrophe for German Jewry, at least in terms of the loss of Emancipation, they

should be given the possibility of defending themselves, understanding why we are

suffering so much, and identifying with this suffering… Second – it was necessary to

help educate teachers who had until then taught in high schools and public schools,

for now almost all of them had lost their jobs. We had to prepare them; they came to

us as almost total ignoramuses… and they had to prepare themselves to obtain

assistance so they could work in the new schools that were formed at that time

because most of the Jewish pupils had also been expelled… The intent was to attract

them to the Jewish spiritual heritage, which was alien to most of them… We had

values that are worth suffering for. It’s not something that you should throw away

now, but the opposite – to get into that historical heritage, which was part of the

difficulty… Ernest Simon (interview) The Yellow Badge, Open University of Israel.


27

D i s c u s s i o n Q u e s t i o n s f o r P o s t e r s 8 - 9

1) What meanings do you think Jewish holidays – and Hanukah in particular –

were given at a time when German Jews were being persecuted under the Nazi

regime?

2) What does this say about German Jews’ concepts of Jewish identity during

this period?


28

Pos ter Number 10 : A ry an i zat ion

Arynization

“Aryanization” is the term commonly used for the transfer of Jewish-owned

independent businesses into German hands. The process of Aryanization

occurred in two stages: “voluntary sales” of Jewish businesses in the years 1933-

1938, and the period of “forced Aryanization”, enforced by law, following the

November 1938 pogrom. During the first stage, that of “voluntary sales”, the

economic boycott and other means of economic pressure were used against

establishments that employed or were owned by a high percentage of Jews.

Firms with international connections and standing were mostly left untouched

due to economic considerations. During the “forced Aryanization” stage, the

process of eliminating Jewish economic activity in Germany had already

advanced considerably, and it was now imposed on all commercial and industrial

establishments still owned by Jews.


29

R e a d i n g s f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 1 0

The Aryanization of Grünfeld – Manufacturer of Bedding and Apparel and

Owner of Prestige Shops for the Same in Berlin and Cologne.

The company managed to survive until 1938, its customers including high-ranking

Nazi Party officials. Grünfeld exhibited its merchandise in the German pavilion at the

Paris World’s Fair in 1936, and even won a prize from the state for its important

contribution to German economy.

Its great success notwithstanding, Grünfeld had to cope with a rising tide of

difficulties.

In 1937, its bank terminated its lines of credit. The Nazi propaganda machine

took vigorous action against the company’s customers and non-Jewish employees by

printing their names in newspapers and defaming them as “slaves of the Jews”.

Newspapers refused to carry Grünfeld advertising. Suppliers began to refuse to work

with the firm. State and Party authorities entangled the company in red tape,

searched its offices, and ransacked the homes of its owners and executives.

Negotiations for the sale of the company were held throughout the summer of

1938.

The company was eventually purchased on September 15 by Walter Kühl, the

owner of a competing firm, at a price far below its market value. The Grünfeld

family emigrated to Palestine a few weeks later.

From the account of Fritz Grünfeld on the Aryanization of the firm: “Our customers were the first front to be mobilized against us in this war of

destruction. Our employees became the second front. The loyalty of our employees

was systematically undermined—this showed itself when they were branded as

“friends of the Jews” by the Stürmer. To facilitate their terrorization, the employees’

full addresses were printed in the paper. The intimidation, the fear of being publicly

marked as a “Slave of the Jews” (Judenknecht), discouraged all those in our firm

who had so far remained loyal to the enterprise. At the same time, it encouraged those

who were inclined to sabotage, to betray and to spy. They went as far as to listen to

our phone conversations, to “check” our mail and to search our garbage bins.

Eventually—apart from the few Jewish workers who were isolated in any case—only


30

a few of the hundreds of employees remained loyal to us and were not intimidated by

the risks involved.

The third front in this destructive fight was the press. Increasing numbers of

newspapers and magazines refused to publish our advertisements. Once we were

prevented from publishing ads in any German newspaper or magazine, we were

deprived of our most efficient means of advertisement...

The fourth front stabbing us in the back was our former suppliers and

contractors. They increasingly refused to deliver to us.

At the same time, all authorities and party offices—such as the “Trustees of

Labor”, the Labor Front, the Gestapo and the customs agencies—created a fifth front

against us with summons, house searches and inspections, all with the purpose of

shattering our position. In addition to them were the state and local tax agencies....

In 1938, like vultures surrounding someone condemned to death, a great

number of mediators and negotiators suddenly appeared on the scene. Based on

experience they had gained in conducting successful Aryanizations, they came up with

advice and disguised threats....

Walther Kühl, owner of the Max Kühl retail business, soon proved to be the

most serious bidder.... Mr. Kühl, naturally, like all Aryan buyers of Jewish

enterprises, got a much lower purchase price than he would have gotten under

normal circumstances. He was nevertheless convinced that he had saved us by buying

our firm...

Party members and “economic trustees” had to be involved in the

negotiations on behalf of both sides. “I am only responsible for the legal side and not

for the coercion”, Geheimrat Albert remarked with regret.

By that time, all institutions—it is hard to imagine how many were involved—

were already so much in their [the party people’s] hands, that one could not act

without the well-endowed “brown” mediators.

Finally, state secretary Brinkmann, responsible for such matters in the Reich’s

Economic Ministry, demanded a sum of 200,000 RM for the official “approval of the

Aryanization”. The sum was raised by us and Kühl.

A commercial publication to our customers in October 1938 already carried

the sentence “Grünfeld, now under German ownership”. Source: Annegret Ehmann et al., Juden In Berlin, Berlin 1988, pp. 289-291.


31

D i s c u s s i o n Q u e s t i o n f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 1 0

What do you think Fritz Grünfeld’s testimony (see booklet) adds to the picture?


32

Pos te r Number 11 : Emig ra t ion

Emigration

The Nazis’ rise to power and the brutality of the SA thugs led to the panic-stricken

departure of thousands of Jews to the countries bordering on Germany, where they

waited to see what would happen. 1934 was a year of relative calm in the Nazi state’s

antisemitic policies, and some Jewish refugees, who lived in difficult circumstances in

the neighboring countries, decided to return to Germany. Up until 1936, Palestine was

the primary destination for emigrating German Jews. Beginning in 1936, however,

Jews began to seek other overseas destinations. Jewish organizations came to the

assistance of the immigrants after they had accepted the need for emigration. In 1938,

the problem of Jewish emigration became acute. The annexation of Austria to the

Reich added tens of thousands of Jews to the number of those emigrating. At the same

time, the potential destinations made it increasingly difficult to obtain visas. By the

end of 1938, approximately 170,000 Jews had emigrated from the Reich – between

33% to 40% of the Jews who had been living there prior to the Nazis rise to power.


33

Jewish emigration from the Greater Reich (Including Austria and Czechoslovakia)

Europe Number of immigrants Total

Great Britain 40,000

France 30,000

The Netherlands 20,000

Belgium 15,000

Switzerland 8,000

Scandinavia 5,000

Poland and other

Eastern European Countries 30,000

Other countries 5,000 153,000

Overseas Destinations

United States 60,000

Palestine 55,000

South America 30,000

Central America 5,000

South Africa 4,500

Australia 4,5000

Other Countries 5,000

Asia (mostly Shanghai) 12,000 176,000

Total: 329,000

Doron Niederland, German Jews – Emigrants or Refugees? A Study of Emigration Patterns Between

the World Wars (Hebrew) Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 1996, p. 240.

R e a d i n g f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 1 1 :

From the Memoirs of Martha Appel (nèe Insel)

“The hardest task I had to do was to arrange for the transportation of children to

foreign countries: the United States of America, Palestine, England, and Italy. It was

most heartbreaking to see them separate from their parents. Yet the parents


34

themselves came to beg and urge us to send their children away as soon as possible,

since they could no longer stand to see them suffer from hatred and abuse. The

unselfish love of the parents was so great that they were willing to deprive themselves

of their most precious possessions so that their children might live in peace and

freedom. […]

I was standing on the platform again, and as the slowly moving train passed by me, I

noticed how quiet the children had become. The beaming light had faded from most of

the young faces as they looked for a last time upon their dear ones. I saw many little

girls who had been laughing before now stretching out their hands for a last

handshake with their mothers and father’s, while the tears were running down their

cheeks, and I saw many a boy’s face distorted into a twisted smiling one. “We will be

brave” and “Sholem Aleichem”, the Jewish greeting, was sounded through the vast

hall, while hundreds of Jewish children left their German fatherland.” Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany – memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P.



What problems faced German Jews who considered emigration? (note also poster 13).


35

Pos ter Number 12 : Anschluss

Anschluss – Maach 12 1938

On March 11 1938, Hitler sent his army into Austria. On March 13, the annexation of

Austria to the German Reich was declared. Most Austrian citizens welcomed the

Anschluss with an enthusiasm that was accompanied by widespread and violent

antisemitic outbursts. The policy of dispossessing the Jews of Austria packed into a

few months a process that had taken five and half years in the “Old Reich”

(Germany). Jews were dismissed from their positions in theaters, public libraries,

universities and colleges. Synagogues were desecrated, Jews were arrested and held

until they would sign documents forfeiting their property, and an unbridled policy of

Aryanization was forced onto large businesses. Within a short time after the

Anschluss, the Central Office for Jewish Emigration, headed by Adolf Eichmann, was

established in Vienna. Its goal was to promote the Jewish exodus from Austria, if

necessary, by brutal means. The policy of forced emigration met with great success.

By the time war broke out, some 126,000 of Austria’s 200,000 Jews had emigrated.

R e a d i n g f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 1 2

From the testimony of Ezra Perry (formerly Erich Professorski), born in Vienna in

1925. His father, a shoemaker, had been a soldier in the Russian army, and defected

during the First World War.


36

“At school, I was placed in the back row because I was a Jew. On the street, people

did not know I was a Jew, but my father was stopped on the street and made to clean

it with a tooth brush. They were humiliated in the street along with the religious Jews,

while the residents stood by and laughed. Father continued to work at home. At first,

the Christian customers continued to come, but later, SA men prevented them from

bringing in shoes for repair. There were some people who continued to come in

through the back door. The neighbors were quite decent, they said “our Jews are

alright”. We tried to leave for any possible destination – Colombia, Panama,

Ethiopia. People with money could buy visas. I was active in Hashomer ha-Tza’ir [a

Zionist youth movement]. Some in the movement thought about Palestine, but didn’t

have any real intention of immigrating there. My father refused to consider Palestine.

Only after the Nazis came in did we start to think of going to any possible

destination.” Video-recorded interview, Yad Vashem Archives, VD 405.


What do you think characterized the fate of Austrian Jewry after the Anschluss in

1938?


37

Pos te r Number 13 : The Wor ld ’s R esponse –

the Ev ian Con ference

Whither ?

In July 1938, at the initiative of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, an international

conference on refugees convened in Evian, France. The conference had supposedly

been convened to discuss the general problem of refugees, although at this stage the

majority of refugees were Jews. The conference proved useless with regard to solving

the refugee crisis – i.e. in terms of finding destinations for the refugees. The

Dominican Republic was the only country willing to accept a large number of

refugees, on the condition that the Jewish organizations raise the funds necessary for

their absorption in the country. The failure of the conference aggravate the Jews’

plight and intensified the Jewish refugee problem as a world problem. The

conference’s only practical result was the establishment of an Intergovernmental

Committee headed by George Rublee.

R e a d i n g s f o r P o s t e r n u m b e r 1 3

A. “Two weeks after the Anschluss, in its meeting of March 28, 1938, the Swiss

Federal Council (the country’s executive branch) decided: “In view of the measures

already taken and being prepared by other countries against the influx of Austrian

refugees, we find ourselves in a difficult situation. It is clear that Switzerland can only

be a transit country for the refugees from Germany and from Austria. Apart from the

situation of our labor market, the present excessive degree of foreign presence

imposes the strictest defense measures against a longer stay of such elements. If we


38

do not want to create a basis for an anti-Semitism movement that would be unworthy

of our country, we must defend ourselves with all our strength and, if need be, with

ruthlessness against the immigration of foreign Jews, mostly those from the East. We

have to think of the future and therefore we cannot allow ourselves to let in such

foreigners for the sake of immediate advantages” Saul Friedländer Nazi Germany and the Jews – the years of persecution 1933-1939. New York, 1997

pp. 263-264.

B. The expulsion of Jews from the Sudetenland was described by Hermann Göring in

ironic terms:

“During the night [following the entry of the German troops into the Sudetenland],

the Jews were expelled to Czecho-Slovakia. In the morning, the Czechs got hold of

them and sent them to Hungary. From Hungary back to Germany, then back to

Czecho-Slovakia. Thus, they turned round and round. Finally, they ended up on a

riverboat on the Danube. There they camped. As soon as they set foot on the river

bank they were pushed back”.

Saul Friedländer Nazi Germany and the Jews – the years of persecution 1933-1939. New York, 1997

pp. 265-266.

D i s c u s s i o n Q u e s t i o n s f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 1 3

1) What implications did the words of the delegates to the Evian Conference have for

the fate of the girl in the picture and for the fate of the Jews of Germany and

Austria in 1938?

2) Why did the question “whither?” become so relevant for Jews at the time?


39

Pos te r Number 14 : Depor ta t ion to Zbaszy n

Deportation to Zbaszyn

Zbaszyn is a small Polish town near Poland’s border with Germany. In 1938, a camp

was established there for Jews holding Polish citizenship who had been deported from

Germany. The immediate reason for their deportation by the Germans was a decree by

the Polish Interior Ministry, according to which all Polish citizens who had been

residing outside of Poland for over five years would automatically lose their

citizenship if they did not return to Poland within two weeks. The German

government, concerned that thousands of Polish Jews would remain in Germany for

lack of any other place to go, reacted with an immediate order of deportation.

The deportations took place throughout Germany. The deportees were allowed

to take only ten marks per person. They were forbidden to take any valuables and

were not given the chance to put their affairs in order. The majority were deported by

train, but large groups were deported by foot and were beaten and forced to cross the

Polish frontier. The deportees were lodged in barracks and flour mills and endured

inhuman conditions. Among the Zbaszyn deportees was the Grynszpan family from

Hanover. In an effort to take revenge for his family’s plight, their son, Herschel

Grynszpan, shot a German diplomat in Paris. This assassination served as the pretext

for the Kristallnacht pogrom. Most of the deportees were re-absorbed in Poland after

an extended stay in the camp.


40

R e a d i n g f o r P o s t e r N u m b e r 1 4

Emmanuel Ringelblum’s notes on the refugees in Zbaszyn

Srodborow, December 6, 1938

Dear Raphael,

I am on holiday in Srodborow. I worked in Zbaszyn for five weeks. Apart from

Ginzberg, I am among the few who managed to hold out there for a long time. Almost

all the others broke down after a more or less short time. I have neither the strength

nor the patience to describe for you everything that happened in Zbaszyn. Anyway, I

think there has never been so ferocious, so pitiless a deportation of any Jewish

Community as this German deportation. I saw one woman who was taken from her

home in Germany while she was still in her pajamas (this woman is now half-

demented). I saw a woman of over 50 who was taken from her house paralyzed;

afterwards she was carried all the way to the border in an armchair by young Jewish

men. (She is in hospital until this day). I saw a man suffering from sleeping sickness

who was carried across the border on a stretcher, a cruelty not to be matched in all

history.

In the course of those five weeks we (originally Giterman, Ginzberg and I, and after

ten days I and Ginzberg, that is), set up a whole township with departments for

supplies, hospitalization, carpentry workshops, tailors, shoemakers, books, a legal

section, a migration department and an independent post office (with 53 employees),

a welfare office, a court of arbitration, an organizing committee, open and secret

control services, a cleaning service, and a complex sanitation service, etc. In addition

to 10-15 people from Poland, almost 500 refugees from Germany are employed in the

sections I listed above. The most important thing is that is not a situation where some

give and some receive. The refugees look on us as brothers who have hurried to help

them at a time of distress and tragedy. Almost all the responsible jobs are carried out

by refugees. The warmest and most friendly relations exist between us and the

refugees. It is not the mouldering spirit of philanthropy, which so easily have


41

infiltrated into the work. For that reason all those in need of our aid enjoy receiving

it. Nobody’s human feelings are hurt. Every complain of bad treatment is

investigated, and more than on “philanthropist” has been sent away from here.

We have begun on cultural activities. The first thing we introduced was the speaking

of Yiddish. It has become quite the fashion in the camp. We have organized classes in

Polish, attended by about 200 persons, and other classes. There are several reading

rooms, a library; the religious groups have set up a Talmud Torah [religious school].

There are concerts, and a choir is active.

…Zbaszyn has become a symbol for the defencelessness of the Jews of Poland. Jews

were humiliated to the level of lepers, to citizens of the third class, and as a result we

are all visited by terrible tragedy. Zbaszyn was a heavy moral blow against the

Jewish population of Poland. And it is for this reason that all the threads lead from

the Jewish masses to Zbaszyn and to the Jews who suffer there…

Please accept my warmest good wishes and kisses from

Emmanuel

Documents on the Holocaust - Selected sources on the destruction of the Jews of Germany and

Austria, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Edited by Yitzhak Arad, Yisrael Gutman, Abraham Margaliot.

Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, 1981 pp. 123-124.


What power, in your opinion, does Dr. Emmanuel Ringelblum’s pen have, and what

does it add to the picture in describing the suffering and humiliation of the Jews

deported to Zbaszyn?


42

Pos ter s 15-18 : K r i s ta l lnacht

“Kristallnacht” is the name given to the pogrom that took place throughout Germany

and Austria on the night of November 9-10 1938. The pogrom was officially

described as a spontaneous outburst in response to the assassination of the third

secretary of the German Embassy in Paris, Ernst Vom Rath. The assassin was a young

seventeen year old Jew by the name of Herschl Grynszpan, whose parents were

among the Jews deported to Zbaszyn. However, the assassination was only a pretext

for the pogrom, which was in fact instigated by Propaganda Minister Joseph

Goebbeles, with Hitler’s consent. Approximately 1,000 synagogues throughout the

Reich were set to flames or utterly destroyed during the pogrom; over 800 Jewish

shops were burned and looted; and hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed.

The broken glass of the synagogue and Jewish store windows gave the pogrom its

name – Kristallnacht, or “night of the broken glass”. 91 Jews were murdered during

the pogrom, and approximately 30,000 were arrested and sent to concentration camps

simply because they were Jews. After the pogrom, the Jews were fined a random fine

of one billion Marks, and they were forced to pay for the repairs to the damaged

property.

R e a d i n g f o r P o s t e r s 1 5 - 1 6

November Pogrom - Kristallnacht

1. Hans Berger of Wiesbaden tells of his memories of Kristallnacht:

“When on the morning of the 10th of November I was driving my car to work, as I did

every day, my route took me past the synagogue, whose dome was ablaze. Fear went


43

right through me. A big crowd of people stood around it silently and the fire

department was content with protecting the surrounding houses from catching fire.

My way took me to the Jewish school, where I got out to check on my children. There

they still did not know about the burning House of Worship, and only in the factory

did I hear through telephone reports that all Jewish businesses in the city were

completely demolished. The wares were thrown onto the street and set on fire, and all

this happened at the hands of only a few juveniles who had been appointed by the

party for this purpose.”

When me met up with Maas, we learned that in Frankfurt and Mainz, too, the

synagogues had been set on fire, Jewish businesses demolished, Jewish men even

arrested on the street, and that already quite a number of Jewish private residences

had been destroyed in the most bestial way. We deliberated on how to save what

perhaps could still be saved, and came to the decision that I was to return to the

factory while Maas, who in contrast to me had a valid passport, should try to get

across the border.” Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany – memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P.


2. From the protocol of 10 November 1938 taken in the court of Buchen in the

matter of the killing of Susanne Stern, a widow, aged 81: the testimony of Adolf

Heinrich Frey, of the SA, who shot her:

I knocked on the door…I demanded that Stern get dressed…She sat down on the

…sofa. When I asked her whether she did not intend to follow my instructions and get

dressed, she answered she would not get dressed or come with us. We can do

whatever we want…. ‘I am not leaving my house. I am an old lady’…. I took my

service revolver out of my pocket…I called on the woman another 5 or 6 times to get

up and dress. Stern loudly screamed into my face with scorn and insolence: ‘I will not

get up and I will not get dressed. You can do with me whatever you want.’ At the

moment she screamed ‘do with me whatever you want’, I released the safety of the

pistol and shot her once…Stern collapsed on the sofa. She leaned back and grabbed

her chest with her hands. I now shot her for the second time, this time aiming at her

head.

Paul Sauer Dokumente über die Verfolgung der jüdischen Bürger in Baden-Württemberg, Vol. 2

Stuttgart 1966, pp. 26-27.


44

R e a d i n g f o r P o s t e r s 1 7

The November Pogrom in Vienna

“And I remember that on the evening of the 9th of November 1938 we were afraid to

go out. I, in any case, a boy of ten and a half years old, went outside and I saw them

taking the Torah scrolls out of the synagogue, and how they had their horses trample

them and defecate on them. The crowd that had gathered participated in the book

burning. There was an atmosphere of fear; I ran home and did not go out any more….

The police arrived and arrested Jews – I do not know whether they had lists or not. A

number of members of my family were taken; among them were my uncle and cousin,

who were later sent to Dachau. They were released nine months later, with a

commitment that they would emigrate from Austria, i.e. that they would leave

Germany.” Interview with Mr. Joseph Linser of Vienna, Yad Vashem Archive, 03/8966


45

R e a d i n g f o r P o s t e r s 1 8

But the Story Didnwt End that Way…

Hans Berger of Wiesbaden tells of his memories of Kristallnacht:

“At about six o’clock on Sunday morning the train stopped at the station in Weimar,

Goethe’s city, which for all times will remain most horribly linked in my memory with

the following scene in the tunnel between the platforms. We had to get off the train by

compartments, and had to run, on the double, accompanied by blows with steel rods

and pokes by rifles butts, along the platform, down the stairs, into the tunnel. Woe

unto him who tripped or fell down the stairs. The very least was that the ones coming

after him had to trample over him, or also fell down and were brought back onto their

feet by renewed blows and jabs. In the tunnel itself we had to place ouselves in lines

of ten, one behind the other, the first person with his face directly against the wall,

and the gendarmes saw to it that we stood crammed together like herrings. The poor

people who stood last in the line had to suffer blows and pokes, the effect of which

was that the lines pressed closer and closer together. I was standing in the middle; in

the end it was hardly possible to breathe. On top of it, whips whistled above our bare

heads and the most obscene bellowing and most vile phrases that anyone can imagine

poured forth onto the desperate crowd of packed in Jews. This lasted two hours. Then,

by rows and once again on the double, we had to run further through the tunnel, up

the steps, and climb onto waiting trucks, which were equipped with seats, constantly

under blows from whips and stricks that were part of all this. In the cars we were

told: “Put on your hats and lower your heads!” Woe unto him who did not duck low


46

enugh. A blow to his head with the whip or a stick was the least he could expect. Off

we went at terrible speed through the forest. After approximately a ten minute drive

the car stopped. Once again on the double, we got out and ran through a gate into a

big yard, in which thousands of fellow sufferers were stnding lined up in rows of ten.

We were in the Buchenwald concentration camp.” Monika Richarz (ed.) Jewish Life in Germany – memoirs from three centuries. Trans. By Stella P.


D i s c u s s i o n Q u e s t i o n s f o r p o s t e r s 1 5 , 1 6 , 1 7 , 1 8

In your opinion, which of the posters best expresses the Kristallnacht pogrom? In

what ways does it do this?


47

A Visit to the Exhibition:

“And the Story Did Not End There…”

Educat iona l Act iv i ty

G o a l s : 1. to understand the events of Kristallnacht as a significant part of the history of the

Holocaust.

2. To understand the power pictures have to tell stories.

T a r g e t g r o u p :

Middle school pupils, high school students and youth in informal educational

frameworks.

A i d s a n d t o o l s :

Posters from the exhibition, background materials, sources and discussion questions

for each poster.


48

The Act iv i ty

O p e n i n g :

The teacher / counselor may open with a bit of background on the events of

Kristallnacht, based on the materials and bibliographic references provided in the

booklet.

T e a m w o r k :

1. The group is divided into five teams of 6-8 participants each.

2. Each team will receive a number of posters and source materials, and will divide

up the task of reading the sources, focusing on one of the following issues:

♦ German Jewry in the Weimar Republic

♦ Nazi policy

♦ German Jewry’s reaction to Nazi policy

♦ The events of Kristallnacht

3. After completing the reading task, the members of each team will share their

feelings with the other members. They will state which picture most impressed

them (which angered them, which surprised them, which outraged them, which

caused empathy). The team will choose a poster to be presented in full.

4. A discussion will take place within the team on the central question pertaining to

the issue they addressed.


49

Task fo r Team 1

S u b j e c t :

The Jews of Germany in the Weimar Republic

Posters 1, 2, 3.

A. The team will divide the sources amongst the members and address the following

questions:

F o r p o s t e r s 1 , 2 :

1) “I am a German and a Jew in equal measure – one cannot be separated from the

other” (Jakob Wassermann, writer, 1921). In your opinion, do the photographs

and source readings in the booklet reflect the author’s statement?

2) Point to expressions which characterize the cultural world of German Jewry in the

description of the wedding in the liberal synagogue.

F o r P o s t e r 3 :

1) What messages does the poster convey?

2) What graphic elements did the caricaturist use?

3) What messages are added by the quotation of Hitler’s words on the ideology

of the antisemitic party?

B. After looking at the posters, reading the sources and addressing the above

questions, the team members will tell each other which picture most impressed


caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents the situation of

German Jewry during the Weimar Republic to report to the full group.

C. The team will discuss the following topic:

The ways in which Jews were integrated into German society during the

Weimar period, and the antisemitic response to that integration.

A representative of the team will report to the group on their discussion.


50

Task fo r Team 2

S u b j e c t : Nazi Policy

Posters 4, 5, 6, 7.


questions:


1) What, in your opinion, is the atmosphere created by the Nazis’ parades and flags

throughout Germany?

2) How do you think the Nazi parades effected average German citizens? Explain.


1) to what end do you suppose the picture was taken?

2) How do you think the people in the photograph relate to the sign being held by

the boy? Explain.


1) What did the Germans hope to accomplish by humiliating a German woman?

2) What are Edwin Landau’s feelings on the day the boycott was declared against

the Jews?


1) What sub-title would you give the poster?

2) Who in your opinion ought to feel ashamed in the picture?




caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents the situation of

German Jewry during the Weimar Republic to report to the full group.


51


What expressions characterize Nazi policy?



52

Task fo r Team 3

S u b j e c t :

Nazi Policy in 1938

Posters 10, 12, 14.


questions:

F o r P o s t e r 1 0 :

What do you think Fritz Grünfeld’s testimony (see booklet) adds to the picture?

F o r P o s t e r 1 2 :

What do you think characterized the fate of Austrian Jewry after the Anschluss in

1938?

F o r P o s t e r 1 4 :

What power, in your opinion, does Dr. Emmanuel Ringelblum’s pen have, and what

does it add to the picture in describing the suffering and humiliation of the Jews

deported to Zbaszyn?




caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents Nazi Policy in 1938

to report to the full group.


What characterizes Nazi policy in 1938?



53

Task fo r Team 4 S u b j e c t :

The Jewish Response to Nazi Policy

Posters 8, 9, 11, 13


questions:

F o r P o s t e r s 8 - 9

1) What meanings do you think Jewish holidays – and Hanukah in particular – were

given at a time when German Jews were being persecuted under the Nazi regime?

2) What does this say about German Jews’ concepts of Jewish identity during this

period?

F o r P o s t e r 1 1 :

What problems faced German Jews who considered emigration? (note also poster 13).

F o r P o s t e r 1 3 :

3) What implications did the words of the delegates to the Evian Conference have for

the fate of the girl in the picture and for the fate of the Jews of Germany and

Austria in 1938?

4) Why did the question “whither?” become so relevant for Jews at the time?




caused empathy). They will choose a poster which represents the Jewish response

to Nazi policy to report to the full group.


54


How did German Jews react to Nazi policy? In what ways did their reactions

solve their problems?



55

Task fo r Team 5 S u b j e c t :

The Events of Kristallnacht

Posters 15, 16, 17, 18


questions:

F o r P o s t e r s 1 5 - 1 6 - 1 7 - 1 8 :

In your opinion, which of the posters best expresses the Kristallnacht pogrom? In

what ways does it do this?


questions, the team members will tell each other which picture most impressed them

(which angered them, which surprised them, which outraged them, which caused

empathy). They will choose a poster which represents Nazi Policy in 1938 to report to

the full group.


What was shattered for the Jews of Germany on Kristallnacht?



56

The Fu l l Group A. The posters will be hung on the walls in numerical order, as an exhibition. All of

the participants will have a chance to visit the full exhibition and think about the

connection between the unit they worked on and the rest of the posters.

B. Reports:

Team members will present their feelings and thoughts to the group regarding the

subject their team discussed. Reports should focus on the following two points:

1. The picture that best represents “their” subject.

2. The central question they discussed.

C. Summary Questions:

1) The Kristallnacht pogrom has become a meaningful symbol in the history of the

Holocaust. What do you think has caused this?

2) The title of this exhibition is “And the Story Did Not End There…” What does

this title mean to you? Explain.

3) This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Kristallnacht events. What is the

meaning of these events for us and for the world today?


57

Sugges ted Fur ther Act iv i t ies 1. Preparation of a memorial site or a memorial booklet to mark the 60th anniversary

of the Kristallnacht pogrom.

2. Preparation of an archive news report for a local radio station to mark the 60th

anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom.

In schools and organizations where students can make use of technological aids,

such as video recorders and computers:

3. Preparation of an web site to mark the 60th anniversary of the Kristallnacht

pogrom.

4. Preparation of a television report to mark the 60th anniversary of the Kristallnacht

pogrom. The story can be 3-5 minutes long and is to be planned as part of a news

broadcast. The students should use the exhibition posters, the source readings and

the video tape that includes testimonies of people who experienced Kristallnacht.


58

Recommended Reading

ADAM, Uwe Dietrich

“How Spontaneous was the Pogrom?” in: Walter E. Pehle November 1938 – From

Reichskristallnacht to Genocide. Great Britain. Berg Publishers, 1991

BARKAI, Avraham

“The Fateful Year 1938: The Continuation and Acceration of Plunder” in: Walter E.

Pehle November 1938 – From Reichskristallnacht to Genocide. Great Britain. Berg

Publishers, 1991

FRIDLÄNDER, Saul

Nazi Germany and the Jews. New York. Harper Collins, 1997

GRÜNFELD, Frederic

Prophets Without Honor. New York. Kodanska International, 1996

KAPLAN, Marion

Between Dignity and Despair – Jewish Life in Nazi Germany. New York. Oxford.

1998

KERSHAW, Ian

“The persecution of the Jews and German Popular Opinion in the Third Reich” in Leo

Baeck Year Book 26, 1981

RICHARZ, Monika ed.

Jewish Life in Germany: Memoirs from Three Centuries. Bloomington: Indiana

University Press 1991

RICHTER, Hans Peter

Friedrich. New York. Rinehart & Winston 1970


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SCHOLEM, Gershon

From Berlin to Jerusalem. New York, Schoken Books, 1988

SINGER, Israel Joshua

The family Carnovsky. New York, Vanguard Press, 1969

ZWEIG, Stefan The World of Yesterday. London. Cassel 19

Chronolog ica l Tab le o f Events 1933-1938

I n t e r n a t i o n a l E ve n t s a n d E ve n t s

i n t h e Th i r d R e i ch The Wa r Aga i ns t t he Je ws Je w i sh Ac t i v i t i e s

1933

January 30, Adolf Hitler appointed Reichskanzler

(German Chancellor)

January 30, Jüdische Jugendhilfe established in Berlin

February 27, burning of the Reichstag; wave of arrests

and Nazi terror in Germany

March: First concentration camp established in

Germany: Dachau

March 9-10: Beginning of a wave of riots against

German Jews by the S.A. and Stahlhelm

March 27: Mass demonstration in New York organized

by the American Jewish Congress to protest Nazi terror

in Germany

April 1: Boycott against German Jewry April 4: The German Jewish newspaper Jüdische

Rundschau carries the article by Robert Weltsch “Wear

it with Pride, the Yellow Badge”, the first in a series

“To say ‘Yes’ to our Jewishness”; these headings

become the slogans of the resistance of German Jewry

April 7: Law prohibiting Jews from working in

government offices.

April 26: establishment of the Gestapo April 21: Law prohibiting Jewish ritual slaughter April 26: Decision by the Va’ad Le’umi (National

Committee of the Jews of Palestine) to establish a

project for the absorption of immigrants from Germany



May 10: Public burning of Jewish books and works by

opponents of Nazism in German towns

Mid-May: Representatives of the Comité des

Délégations Juives submit a protest to the League of

Nations about anti-Jewish discrimination in Germany

(the petition of Franz Bernheim)

Mass demonstrations by the Jews of Paris to protest

against the anti-Jewish campaign in Germany

May: the Establishment of the Jüdischer Kulturbund in

Berlin

June 11: Conference of Jewish organizations of Silesia

discusses means of safeguarding the rights of German

Jews

June 27: Mass anti-Nazi protest rally by London Jews

July 14: Law prohibiting political parties in Germany;

Nazi Party now sole legal party in Germany

August 20: American Jewish Congress declares boycott

against Nazi Germany

September 8: Second World Jewish Conference in

Geneva resolves to organize an anti-German boycott

movement throughout the world

September 17: Establishment of the Reichsvertretung

der deutschen Juden (Reich Representation of Jews in

Germany)

October 14: Germany leaves disarmament talks at October 17: Law prohibiting Jews from working as October: Establishment of “liaison office” for aid to



League of Nations journalists German Jews by Jewish organizations in the U.S. and

France

October 19: Germany leaves the League of Nations

November 27: “Transfer company established in Tel

Aviv to facilitate the immigration of Jews from

Germany through special arrangements for the transfer

of their property

1934

January 26: Germany and Poland sign a non-

belligerency pact

February: First group of young Jewish refugees from

Germany arrive at Kibbutz Ein Harod

April 1: Heinrich Himmler appointed head of the S.S. April: Establishment of the Radical Nationalist

Organization (O.N.R.) in Poland, an extreme

antisemitic organization

June 30- July 2: “Night of the Long Knives”: purge of

the S.A. and those opposed to Hitler’s policies; Röhm

and his colleagues murdered

July 25: Attempted coup by Nazis in Austria, murder of

Dollfuss, Austrian prime minister

August 2: Death of von Hindenburg, president of



Germany; Hitler assumes the responsibilities of head of

state

1935

January 7: French-Italian agreement signed by

Mussolini and Laval in Rome

January 13: Saar region annexed to Germany

March 16: Renewal of conscription in Germany in

violation of the Versailles Treaty

May 31: German Jews prohibited from serving in the

Armed forces

June: Wave of anti-Jewish riots in Poland

September 15: Nuremberg Laws – enactment of basic

anti-Jewish racial laws

October 3: Italy attacks Ethiopia

December: Anti-Jewish riots in Polish universities;

Jewish students restricted to special seats

March 7: German Army enters Rhineland March 3: Jewish doctors prohibited from practicing in

public health institutions in Germany

1936

February 4: David Frankfurter assassinates Wilhelm



Gustloff, leader of the Nazi Party in Switzerland in

protest against the persecution of Jews in Germany

March 9: Riots in Przytyk, Poland

March 17: Mass demonstrations of Jews and left-wing

and liberal Poles protesting the anti-Jewish riots in

Poland

May 2: Addis Ababa conquered by Italian Army

May 5: Ethiopia surrenders

June 17: Himmler appointed Chief of German Police June 30: General strike by Polish Jews in protest against

antisemitism

June 16: Outbreak of Spanish Civil War

July 26: Beginning of German and Italian military

involvement in Spain

October 25: German-Italian pact; establishment of

Berlin-Rome Axis

1937

January 26: Law prohibiting German Jews from

working in any office

February 16-22: Herman Göring visits Poland; relations

between Poland and Nazi Germany strengthened

March 15: Mass anti-Nazi rally by Joint Boycott



Council in New York

July 7: Japan attacks China

July 16: Buchenwald concentration camp established

October: Beginning of “aryanization” of Jewish

property in Germany

November 25: Political and military pact signed by

Germany and Japan

1938

January 21: Minority rights abrogated by Rumania;

revocation of the citizenship of many Jews

March 13: Annexation of Austria to the Third Reich

April 26: Directives regarding confiscation of the

property of German Jews

July 5: Evian Conference on German refugees

May 29: First law restricting the rights of Jews adopted

in Hungary

August 1: Establishment of office for Jewish emigration

headed by Adolf Eichmann

August 17: Jews ordered to add “Israel” or “Sara” to

their names



September 29-30: Munich Conference, with the

participation of Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler and

Mussolini; England and France agree to the annexation

of part of Czechoslovakia to Germany

October 1: Annexation of the Sudetenland to Germany October 5: Revocation Of Passports Of German Jews

October 28: More than 17,000 Jews of Polish

nationality expelled from Germany to Zbaszyn on the

Polish border

November 9-10: Kristallnacht riots in Germany and

Austria; about 30,000 Jews arrested, 1,000 synagogues

destroyed and 7,500 stores looted

November 6: Herschel Grynszpan Assassinates Ernst

Vom Rath, Secretary Of German embassy in France

November 15: Jewish children prohibited from

attending German schools

November: American Joint Distribution Committee aids

refugees in Zbaszyn, Poland

December 3: Directives concerning the ousting of Jews

from German economic life

December: Organization for illegal immigration

established in Palestine

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