Correspondence regarding the Law for Restoration of the Professional Civil Service in Frankfurt Public Schools.
Source: Dokumente zur Geschichte Frankfurter Juden 1933-1945 (Frankfurt/Main 1963) p. 107-110
Document 1
7 March 1935 Mayor of Frankfurt To the Department of Education Re: The employment of a Jewish teacher in the Grimm Brothers School
1. When was the teacher Florsheim born, how is his work evaluated by the supervisor, what is his state of health, what diseases has he had since the beginning of his employment in Frankfurt? I would like to see his personal file. 2. To what extent are Jewish teachers still employed in schools in Frankfurt and what was the result of the examination as regards the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service? And especially, was the application of Section 6 of the law considered, and in which cases? With regard to the teacher Florsheim, I stress again that reliable sources have told me parents refuse to send their children to the Brothers Grimm School because of the Jewish teacher. What is the opinion in this matter? Have many left the school and is their leaving connected to the Jewish teacher?
Document 2
26 March 1935 Education Department To Mayor of Frankfurt
1. The Jewish teacher Florsheim was born on 25 October 1883. He is a hard-working teacher and his work is satisfactory. He encountered problems in maintaining discipline at the school and needs the support of the Dean and the teachers. But there were no complaints. Florsheim is healthy, and throughout his employment, he was rarely absent on sick leave. Clearly the National Socialist parents and all those in charge of the youth in the school cannot tolerate their children being educated by a Jewish teacher. But we know of no case where parents refused to send their children to the school because of the Jewish teacher or asked to transfer their child to another school. The number of applications for the school has not changed from recent years. 2. In the Frankfurt schools there are 8 Jewish teachers:
(I) High Schools:
(1) Dr. Marcus Helmoz at the Science High School. Born 6 August 1889. Participated in the war and was wounded in battle. It is not possible to retire him because of the President's order of 11 September 1933.
(2) Dr. Schloss at the Elisabethen School. Born 3 January 1892. Her husband fell in the war, and therefore according to the government regulation of 5 October 1933 she remains in her job.
(3)The teacher Strauss at the Victoria School. Born 19 December 1878. Was in the Civil Service by 1 August 1914.
(II) Vocational Schools:
The teacher of commerce Froehlich at the Commercial School for Boys. Born 27 May 1883. Was a civil servant by 1 August 1914, participated in the war...
(III) Middle Schools:
(1)The teacher J. Florsheim at the Brothers Grimm school...Was a prisoner of war in France.
(2)The teacher A. Bendheim. At the Fuerstenberger Middle School. [Born] 8 September 1882. Was a civil servant by 1 August 1914.
(IV) Elementary Schools:
(1) The teacher A. Albrecht at the Holzhausen school. Born 12 December 1885. Was a civil servant by 1 August 1914. Served in the war.
(2) The teacher K. Beicht. Varrentrapp School. Born 28 February 1895. Served in the war.
In the case of teacher Strauss (I,3) a renewed examination will enable us to retire her. Section 6 of the law of 7 April 1933 was applied. The other two, Marcus and Schloss can not be retired at the moment. The same is true for Froehlich (I,1) and Florsheim and Bendheim (III, 1 and 2). With regard to the Jewish teachers in the elementary schools, one of them can be employed at giving religion classes to the Jewish students - something we are obliged to do by law. We can therefore give up one post. But we need to stress that both teachers served in the war. Regarding the retirement of teacher Strauss according to Section 6, discussions between the mayor and the school are going on.
Document 3
11 April 1935 Department of Human Resources To Mayor of Frankfurt
Section 3 of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service cannot be applied in the cases mentioned in the letter from the Department of Education of 26 March 1935, because they are all included in the provisions of the second part of Section 3 (soldiers at the front, etc.). In order to apply Section 6, it is required that these positions not be filled with new employees. However, in the case of a senior position, an elected person, or a key position one can fill the post with a new person, with the permission of the responsible minister. According to the report of the Department of Education, the retirement of teacher Strauss according to Section 6 of the Law of the Civil Service is already in course. One of the posts at the elementary schools (Albrecht and Beicht) can be eliminated. However, the positions of Marcus, Schloss, Froehlich, Florsheim and Bendheim cannot be eliminated. To apply Section 6 in these cases, we will have to obtain permission from the Minister of Science and Education to hire new people for these posts. This option is legally feasible, because these are all key positions. In general I would like to state: In cases of necessity one can defend the fact that in exceptional cases Jews are still being employed in the administration. But the situation in which Jews are still teaching and educating German youth is shameful and inadmissible. This is not only an insult to the parents, but also to the children, creating contradictions in their outlook as they are being educated at home and in the National Socialist Youth Movement ...in the spirit of anti-Semitism. With regard to the Jewish teachers, even if they were to make incredible efforts to adjust to present circumstances, it will be impossible for them to gain the confidence of the children, which is a basic factor in education. It seems that everything possible has to be done to take these facts into consideration. I therefore suggest that the Education Department make extensive use of Section 6 of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, and submit appropriate requests to their supervisors.
