The Daily Life of the Village and Country Jews in Hessen (Part B)
The Daily Life of the Village and Country Jews in Hessen from Hitler's Ascent to Power to November 1938
Source: M. Kaufman, Yad Vashem Studies XXII, (Jerusalem 1992), pp.147-198.
Anti-Semitism was rampant in the village of Rhina in the Huenfeld districts, with its 552 residents (in 1932), of whom 182 were Jews 29 . In the village of Langsdorf, a Jew was murdered on April 3, 1935 30 . A Jewish family that left Moerfelden and moved to Fraenkisch-Crumbach immediately felt the violent anti-Semitism of the local residents. In some cases Jews were forced to liquidate their businesses in their home village, but could still make a living in itinerant trade in the nearby villages where the hostility toward them was less pronounced 31 .
It is quite possible that the prevailing political orientation of a given village, which determined the strength of anti-Semitism among the residents, was connected to the composition of the local population. It appears that the predominantly Protestant villages were more anti-Semitic than the villages with a large Catholic community. An exception was the Fulda region at the foothills of Rhoen, with a predominantly Catholic population, where violent anti-Semitism was rampant as early as 1933 32 .
Villages where peasants had been reduced to penury by the economic crises, or in which holdings were small and their owners had run up large debts, easily became Nazi strongholds. Impoverished peasants and unemployed workers joined the ranks of the Nazis in droves 33 , and proved responsive to the calls to attack the Jews who had been pronounced responsible for all the disasters. As everyone knew everyone else in the villages, the Nazis did not have to introduce any yellow patch in order to identify the Jews or their homes. No special organisational effort was required for the SA thugs to pounce on the Jews ΓÇô one speech of incitement was enough. In the villages where no efficient apparatus of incitement existed, the Jews suffered less 34 .
Overall, it seems that persecutions of Jews in the countryside commenced earlier than in the towns. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the exodus from the villages preceded the exodus from the urban areas.
Severance of Social Ties Between the Jews and Their Neighbours
This process occurred on two levels: formal and personal. Formal ties were cut off mainly through the ouster of Jews from local volunteer organisations ΓÇô sports associations, song and dance clubs, hiking clubs, economic bodies, youth organisations, and organisations devoted to the improvement of living conditions in various localities 35 . As early as the summer of 1933, some of these could proudly announce that their organisations had been "cleansed of Jews." Within a short time the Nazis extended their control over all local organisations, removed the Jews from them, and thus widened the barriers separating them from the rest of the population. In the middle of 1935, the Jews were banned from places of public entertainment. In the countryside the ban was not taken as seriously as in urban areas, but when Martin Buber's granddaughters were forced to leave the premises of the swimming pool in Heppenheim, the incident aroused considerable attention. The manager made efforts to bring them back, but they decided to stay away until their emigration to Eretz Israel in 1938 36 .
In some cases the formal ties were not discontinued: early in 1935, harsh words were exchanged between the village head and the leader of the local Nazi party branch following an award ceremony honouring World War I veterans, including a number of Jews 37 . In late December 1935, Jews in one of the villages were given permission to organised dance evenings, provided that no Aryans attended 38 . However, with the enactment of the Nuremberg laws in the autumn of 1935, the removal of Jews from all formal frameworks became institutionalised.
Personal relations between Jews and their neighbours weakened steadily. Gentiles gradually stopped visiting Jewish homes and desisted from inviting them to their homes. Similarly, they stopped greeting them in public and distanced themselves from them in the street. Exceptions to this trend are documented in various local publications after the war 39 . Many joined the Nazi party to improve their social and economic position under the new regime and immediately severed their ties with Jewish friends. Regular social occasions involving Jews and Gentiles, such as craft clubs, card games in pubs, and so on, ceased almost overnight 40 ; even neighbourly chats no longer were common 41 . Although, according to post-war testimonies, fear played a large part in the Germans' behaviour, there is no doubt that traditional anti-Semitism facilitated the Nazis' efforts to educate the population in the spirit of Nazi racist theory 42 .
Some Gentiles clandestinely supplied the Jews with food an even hid them in their homes during persecutions 43 ; when exposed the culprits were subjected to pressure and threats. Thus, for example, residents of the village of Kelsterbach earned a harsh rebuke in Der Stuermer for their continuing ties with the local Jews 44 . The newspaper report included such details as the act of a SA member, Hans Beck, who gave a ride on his motorcycle to his Jewish friend, Leo Hirsch. Beck was forced to leave the SA, was sacked from his job in a large department store, and had to earn his living as a simple worker. Furthermore, from the outset, the Nazis made efforts to dissolve mixed marriages and break up families 45 .
For the most part, the Nazi succeeded in severing the social ties between Jews and Germans in the villages and small towns of Hessen even before the promulgation of the Nuremberg laws. They employed pressure and threats; they posted the names of those who did not comply in village centres and in the newspapers, fired them from their jobs, deprived the needy of communal assistance, and banned them from all social frameworks in their locality. Here and there relations between Jews and Germans continued into 1936 46 , but most finally came to an end before 1938.
Deterioration in the Economic Situation of the Jews
As the social situation of the Jews worsened, so did their economic conditions. Until November 1938 they tried to find ways of making a living despite mounting difficulties. In the years 1933-1934, the Ministry of Economy issued directives aimed at preventing attacks on Jewish businesses in order to avoid damage to Jewish-owned firms engaged in import and export with foreign countries. Nazi governing circles also feared that the closure of key industrial enterprises and companies would produce further unemployment 47 .
These considerations, however, did not apply to Jewish businesses in the countryside and small towns. From 1933, Nazi residents of those areas, in violation of instructions from above, inflicted heavy blows on the Jewish economic infrastructure. In a December 1934 Gestapo report from Kassel we find that implementation of directives dealing with the boycott of Jewish-owned stores has run into difficulties. The local police does not act to prevent it and takes no steps against other actions directed against Jewish trade. The police fear the party.' The Gestapo report added that the veteran Nazis did not understand the policies of the Ministry of Economy 48 .
As noted above, most Jews served as middlemen and as traders, and in larger towns they even established manufacturing plants which also employed professionals. Thus, for example, in the resort of Bad-Nauheim in upper Hessen a large number of doctors were employed; in Gross-Gerau, the Hirsch family operated a factory that produced vinegar and liquor; in Oppenheim there were wine-producing plants; in Wrexen in the Arolsen district Jews owned a paper mill; and in Eschwege a textile factory was in operation. All these facilities were attacked as early as 1933 49 .
Free professionals and white-collar workers in public institutions were summarily and promptly dismissed from their jobs in line with "the law on rehabilitation of professional officialdom" enacted on April 7, 1933. Even World War I veterans were not spared. Many Jewish doctors left the small towns; some emigrated, others tried to find employment in the large cities 50 .
Cattle dealers and small storekeepers tried to adapt to the changing conditions, but their livelihood depended on the whim of local authorities. Despite the efficiency of the Jewish trader and the profitability of trade relations with the Jews, influential figures and bodies continued to press for the ouster of the Jews. Local merchants interested in eliminating their Jewish competitors and debtors seeking ways to void the claims of Jewish creditors co-operated in these efforts 51 . After they were forced out of their villages, the Jews encountered difficulties in collecting outstanding debts.
The first warning came with the declaration of a boycott of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933. In the villages, as in the larger cities, SA men stood guard at the doors of Jewish stores, preventing the customers from entering. The previous day buyers had descended on the stores, fearing that a prolonged boycott would rob them of discounts to which they had been accustomed 52 .
The boycott was not enforced uniformly everywhere. In the village of Reinheim, the anti-Semitic Nazi Buergermeister ordered that the boycott would continue after April 1; no one opposed this directive even though his superiors told him to discontinue it. When one of the peasants dared sell a calf to a Jewish trader, the Buergermeister ordered the seizure of a plot of land he had leased from the village. In 1934 several Jewish residents gave up, sold their houses at a great loss and left the village. Those who remained became virtual welfare cases 53 . A similar situation developed in the village of Geinsheim, and in 1934 all the Jewish residents fled. Action committees in the town of Friedberg distributed a leaflet announcing that from now on all the Jewish traders must disappear from the villages.' 54
Although the boycott enforced by the SA guards did not continue everywhere, Jewish businesses were, for all intents and purposes, practically under siege; in many localities owners were forced to liquidate without even being allowed to sell their stores 55 . In most places the SA guards wrote down the names of buyers who patronised Jewish businesses on the day of the boycott, a simple task in the countryside, where all residents knew each other by name. Names of boycott violators were then posted on "disgrace boards" or information boards ( Schandkaestchen ) as a warning 56 . In the town of Bad-Homburg the residents did not take the boycott seriously; even the SA men who stood guard at the Jewish stores until 6 p.m. changed into civilian clothes and re-entered the stores ΓÇô this time as customers.
A few Germans openly resisted the Nazi methods, and on the day of the boycott demonstratively made large purchases in stores owned by Jews 57 . But these amounted to a negligible minority. Most residents had grown accustomed to obey the authorities since the days of the Second Reich.
After the boycott day the Jews reopened their stores wherever possible, but as Nazis pressed on with their campaign to deter customers, the volume of sales decreased rapidly. The attempt to conduct business after hours, behind closed doors, was quickly thwarted 58 . Jewish merchants made efforts to sell their products clandestinely at minimum profit in peasants' houses, and tried to earn a living in different ways until 1936, even 1937 59 . The Nazis invested special efforts to thwart attempts to camouflage Jewish ownership of business enterprises by means of fictitious sales to Aryans 60 .
Many Jews tried their luck at itinerant trade in places where they could still do so without much interference 61 ; the peasants still preferred to buy from the Jewish peddler who sold cheaper and was more willing to give credit or agree to instalment payments 62 . Despite pressure on the peasants to boycott Jewish cattle dealers, the latter continued to operate in many villages thanks to their expertise and higher prices.
In a May 1934 report the Gestapo categorically stated: The economic power of the Jews keeps growing.' In October 1934: Jewish cattle dealers carry on with their trade, and without the Jews the peasants have a hard time trying to sell their cattle.' One month later: Non-Jewish traders are not capable of competing with the Jews, either in prices or in the willingness to meet the customer half-way.' And, again, in March 1935: The peasants are not able to stop trading with the Jews.' A Gestapo report dated June 1935, from Frankfurt, states: The peasants do not find a buyer for the product they want to sell without the mediation of the Jewish trader'; and in July of the same year: Jewish merchants pay every price and offer more.' 63
References:
29.On the expulsion of the Reinheim Jews, see Fritz Wolf, "Die Reinheimer Juden, Spuren ihrer Geschichte," Reinheimer Beitraege , 1988 (henceforth: Reinheim), pp. 88-92, Kaufman Collection 072/98; on the expulsion of the Geinsheim Jews, see Kaufmann-Jugend, p. 46; on the events in Rhina, see Hessisches Staatsarchiv Wiesbaden (henceforth: Hessisches Staatsarchiv Wiesbaden), 483, no. 6752, April 16 and 24, 1934, and July 31, 1934. According to Wolf Arno Kropat, "Die Hessischen Juden im Alltag der NS Diktatur," Neunhundert Jahre Geschichte der Juden in Hessen , Wiesbaden, 1983 (henceforth: Kropat); see also Gestapo Reports for Hessen-Nassau, July 1934, March 23, 1935, and July 2, 1935, pp. 137, 818, 827.
30.According to Hans Oppenheimer of Nahariya, Israel, on the night Roehm was murdered, SA men in civilian dress from the neighbouring village of Hungen appeared and murdered Moritz Oppenheimer; Langsdorf documents, Kaufman Collection 072/75. As for Moses, the Gestapo claimed that his murder was not politically motivated; report of April 3, 1935, Gestapo Reports for Hessen-Nassau, p. 819.
31.Ruehlig-Auer, p. 187. On a Jewish cattle-dealer who, having been forced to liquidate his business in Hungen, shifted his operations to the village of Laubach, see Hungen A, p. 13ff. Another merchant was expelled from Geinsheim, but could still work as a peddler in the neighbouring village of Trebur; the author's recollections.
32.According to Dov Kulka, violent Nazi anti-Semitic actions were opposed during the riots of November 1938 in the areas with a predominantly Catholic population; SD situation reports, see Otto Dov Kulka, "Public Opinion and the Jewish Question in Nazi Germany," in: The Jerusalem Quarterly , Fall/Winter 1982, p. 141. Aynor claims that in mixed villages with a Protestant majority it was more difficult for the Catholics to be anti-Semites; Interview with Aynor. See also Thomas Klein, "Stadt und Kreis Fulda in amtlichen Berichten 1933-1936," in: Fuldaer Geschichtsblaetter , 1984 (henceforth: Klein/Fulda), p. 138f. Klein lists numerous cases of acts of violence in this area beginning on January 30, 1933; Kaufman Collection 072/68. For a most detailed record of violent attacks against Jews in Fulda region in the years 1933-1936, see Gestapo Reports for Hessen-Nassau.
33.Richard Spiegel, a non-Jew from Hilders located at the foothills of Rhoen, relates that in his region Nazi supporters came mainly from the ranks of unemployed workers and impoverished peasants who hoped to cancel their debts to Jewish creditors; Kaufman Collection 072/8.
34.Klaus Moritz und Ernst Noam, NS Verbrechen vor Gericht 1945-1955 , 1978, p. 2ff. Document 6.
35. Das Sonderrecht fuer die Juden im NS-Staat , herg. von Joseph Walk, Karlsruhe, I, no. 80 (1981); see also Kropat, p. 424. By July 12, 1933, all the Jews had been ousted from sports organisations in Gedern; they sought to pursue sports activities within their own frameworks; see Lummitsch/Gedern, p. 12, Kaufman Collection 072/75. See also Ruehlig-Auer, p. 81, and Hadamarer Juden, p. 7; Macellin Span, Zur Geschichte der Seligenstaedter Juden. Aus Dokumenten und Berichten , Seligenstadt, 1986 (henceforth: Span), p. 135. See also Ziegler, p. 26.
36.(henceforth: Metzendorf/Heppenheim), p. 187ff, Kaufman Collection 072/68.
37.Correspondence between the village Buergermeister and chief of the Nazi party branch in Carlshafen, February 5 and 7, 1935 (henceforth: Carlshafen), Kaufman Collection 072/46.
38.Gestapo directives of December 12, 1935. Gestapo Reports for Hessen-Nassau, p. 763.
39.According to testimony of F. Winfried, in a conversation with Kropat; see Kropat, p. 237; see also Zwingenberg, Kaufman Collection 072/83; letter of Maria Fischer, Babenhausen, ibid. , 072/48.
40.Carl Schwabe, "Mein Leben in Deutschland vor und nach dem 30. Januar 1933," in: Juedisches Leben in Deutschland ΓÇô Selbstzeugnisse zur Sozialgeschichte , herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Monika Richarz, Stuttgart, 1982 (henceforth: Schwabe), p. 161. According to testimony of E. Katz of Hungen, the so-called "spinning-room" ( Spinnstuben ) meetings were also discontinued; Kaufman Collection 072/11.
41.On the deterioration of the hitherto good social relations between the family of Jewish farmers Rossmann, and other villagers up to 1935, see Rossmann mimeograph in the possession of the author; see also Kaufmann-Jugend, p. 43.
42.Parents feared being denounced by their children. Letter of Maria Fischer of Babenhausen, Kaufman Collection 072/48; letter sent by head of the Nazi party branch in Beerfelden to the Jewish butcher by the name of Neuer, on December 27, 1937, ibid. , 072/16; see also Cahnman, p. 60.
43.Beerfelden, Kaufman Collection 072/16; Zwingenberg, ibid. , 072/83; in Geinsheim K. Mayer offered shelter to her friend from school, protecting her from the fury of the Nazi village Buergermeister Hannemann, who chased after her for having dared to visit the village after she had been driven out; see Kaufmann-Jugend, p. 43. Regina Goldschmidt from the village of Trebur relates how one of her clients hid her in the pigsty after she had been chased while delivering merchandise to her home in 1935; see Schleindl, p. 294.
44.The Stuermer article was entitled "Traitors ΓÇô the Shame of Kelsterbach" ( Verraeter ΓÇô Die Schande von Kelsterbach ); see Schleindl, p. 201. Streicher's newspaper became a scourge for everyone who continued to maintain relations with Jews; see Hoffen/Obererlenbach, Kaufman Collection 072/20.
46.In his letter of September 17, 1935, to the chief of the district party branch, the head of the NSDAP branch in Seligenstadt says that Boremann had been fired from his job in the Labor Office also because he had continued to play cards with the Jews. See Span, p. 180; Hungen A, p. 29; Ruehlig-Auer, p. 111.
47.On the directive issued by the Prussian Ministry for Internal Administration on October 4, 1933, see Helmut Genschel, Die Verdraengung der Juden aus der Wirtschaft im Dritten Reich , Goettingen, 1966, p. 64. See also the circular of the Administrative Council in Kassel, based on the directive of the Reich Ministry of Economy, December 10, 1934, Hessisches Staatsarchiv Wiesbaden, no. 1142 (the president of the Council in Wiesbaden received the directive on December 20). As early as February 1933, the Reich Minister of Economy forbade boycotting Jewish stores so as to contain any possible damage to Germany Limburg district, acting in accordance with this directive, forbade the district policemen to use a bell to inform the public about the boycott of Jewish businesses, and even forbade handing over the bell to another person for the same purpose. See Camberg documents, Kaufman Collection 072/53. On October 24, 1934, Department 3 of the State Ministry of Hessen in Darmstadt instructed the head of the Friedberg district to prevent the ouster of the Jews from the market-places, and to form a line for merchants in case the market directive issued by the Frankfurt police chief on March 23, 1934, the head of the Limburg district instructed all the villages within his jurisdiction to refrain from boycotting Jewish businesses even during propaganda campaigns in favour of national commerce; Camberg documents, ibid. , 072/53. On September 8, 1933, the district head explained to his subordinates that sa boycott would hurt the German economy and was liable to produce unemployment, ibid.
48. Kassel Gestapo Reports, May and December 1934; see Gestapo Reports for Hessen-Nassau, pp. 111, 211.
49.Kassel Gestapo Report, ibid. , p. 71.
50. Reichsgesetzblatt , I, p. 175 (quoted in Kropat, p. 414). Mainzer, a lawyer from the town of Babenhausen, was fired immediately after the promulgation of the law; see Babenhausen documents, Kaufman Collection 072/48. On April 27, 1938, one district administration of the Nazi party issued a complaint about the ongoing employment of a Jewish technician, a former soldier, in the gas works; see Seligenstadt documents, ibid ., 072/17. On attempts to find alternative employment for those dismissed from their jobs, see Ruehlig-Auer, p. 111.
51.On March 18, 1937, the party demanded help for a non-Jewish leather merchant to compete with Jewish merchants, see Tann documents, Kaufman Collection 072/88.
52.Schwabe, p. 161.
53.Reinheim, pp. 90-91. Report dated June 6, 1937 of the Buergermeister of the village of Reinheim to the head of the Dielburg district, on eight local Jews who had remained in the village; as they were deprived of their source of livelihood, they lived on social-welfare assistance. Reinheim documents, Kaufman Collection 072/60.
54.Paul Arnsberg, Die Juedischen Gemeinden in Hessen. Bilder und Dokumente , Darmstadt, 1973, p. 60.
55.Letter of Maria Fischer of Babenhausen, January 1934, Kaufman Collection 072/48. See also the report from the town of Fritzlar to the district chief, July 23, 1934, on the deteriorating economic situation of the Jews following the boycott of their stores; Fritzlar documents, ibid ., 072/51. On the list of damages to Jewish businesses in the Fulda region as reported in the local press in the years 1933-1934, and the list of Germans who continued to buy from the Jews in the area, see Sonn-Berger, Fulda, ibid. , 072/68; Kaufmann-Jugend, pp. 43, 46.
56.Kolb, p. 137. In the village of Hungen the peasants were warned that should they continue trading with Jews, they would not be allowed to market their products, and the dairy farm in the village would not receive the milk it distributed to customers in town; see Hungen A, p. 13ff. In 1935, in the village of Bischofsheim, the name of the local peasant leader was posted on the "board of shame" because he continued to trade with Jews; Schleindl, p. 68.
57.Yitzhak Sophoni Herz, Meine Erinnerungen an Bad-Homburg und seine 600-jaehrige juedische Gemeinde , 1335-194 , Rechovot, 1981 (henceforth: Herz), p. 276. See also Span, p. 135.
58.The buyers were photographed again and their pictures appeared on Der Stuermer boards; see Gersfeld documents, Kaufman Collection 072/58; and Ziegenhain documents, ibid. , 072/70. On December 15, 1935, the Gross Umstadt local council decided that persons whose relatives traded with Jews would not be awarded tenders, and officials whose relatives bought from the Jews would be dismissed; ibid. , 072/62. On November 26, 1936, the local authorities in Obererlenbach decreed trade after dark illegal. Although Jews had not yet been banned from trading, it was determined that they were to be punished for not keeping to the official hours and that the peasants and party members who bought from Jews must be reported; ibid. , 072/62.
59.Ruehlig-Auer, p. 58; Span, p. 138. In the village of Trebur, no customer entered the shop belonging to the Goldschmidt family after 1934, but Mrs. Goldschmidt personally delivered merchandise to peasants in their homes (Jews could still peddle in the village); ibid. , 072/62.
60.The Frankfurt Gestapo reported in November 1935 that Germans were offering their services to the Jews, acting as their agents in the city's markets of Frankfurt, Wiesbaden and Koblenz, Gestapo Reports for Hessen-Nassau, p. 515. See also Carlshafen documents, Kaufman Collection 072/46.
61.Hungen A, p. 13ff; Kaufmann-Jugend, p. 46. See also the Frankfurt Gestapo Report of January 1936, and Gestapo Reports for Hessen-Nassau, p. 565.
62.According to the testimony of one of the peasants, Alfred Welz, who bought from the Jews at the same time; see Dieter Rebentisch und Angelika Raub, Neu Isenburg zwischen Anpassung und Widerstand , Neu Isenburg, 1978, pp. 271-272, Kaufman Collection 072/74.
63.Hadamer Juden, p. 24; correspondence between the Buergermeister of Echzell and his superiors in October-November 1935 (Gemeindearchiv, henceforth: Echzell Archives), Kaufman Collection 072/ 5; Kassel Gestapo Report of May 1934, Gestapo Reports for Hessen-Nassau, p. 110; see also report of October 1934, ibid ., p 183, November 934, ibid. , p. 146, March 1935, ibid. , p. 252; the Frankfurt Gestapo Report of June 1935, ibid. , p. 456, and July 1935, ibid. , p. 469.
