VIRTUAL JEWISH MUSEUM

Nuremburg Rally.1933

Nurnberg (German spelling) became the center of the Nazi party in the 1920s. Annual party rallies were held there at the beginning of September, a time of terror and humiliation for local Jews. It was at such a rally in 1935 that the Nuremberg Racial laws were announced. Note the special postmark which includes a slogan announcing the coming Nazi party rally on 30 August - 3 Sept. 1933. The left side advertises an expose book on anti-semitism.

Boycott of Jewish Stores

The first official national action against German Jews, after the Nazis seized power, was a boycott of Jewish businesses, on Saturday (Shabbat!) 1 April 1933. Jewish-owned shops were identified by posters and graffiti, and uniformed guards were posted in front of them. Although the boycott lasted only 1 day, it set the tone for future harassment and exclusion, undermining the economic basis of Jews all over the country. The label reads: 'Whoever buys from Jews is a traitor to his people".

Boycott of German Goods

Boycotts of German goods developed as a reaction to the Nazi rise to power. The Jewish War Veterans announced the first one on March 19,1933. When the Nazis responded with their own boycott of Jewish stores, other anti-Nazi boycotts were formed. The American Jewish Congress followed in August, when this flyer was issued. Later, they combined into the Joint Boycott Council, while other groups organized in the US and abroad.

Boycott of German Goods

There was not unanimous agreement however, as some felt that the boycotts angered the Nazis and made life worse for the Jews under Hitler.

Boycott of German Goods.Yiddish

The flyer included a Yiddish version of the message.

Boycott of German Goods.Yiddish

In the decades after the Holocaust, there were many who avoided buying goods made in Germany, either as a reminder of what had been done or as an attempt to deny profits to companies that had contributed to the Nazi effort then and were still in business.

Boycott Germany letter

This chain letter was sent to businesses encouraging them to boycott Germany. "As we have no official help, we must help ourselves and each other...Do not...spend money if a German derives any benefit...do not travel on German ships, shop German merchandise...visit German health resorts or any German establishments...Patron-ize the countries in which Jews are well treated and respected...The Jews of the world must back their co-coreligionists in Germany to the bitter end and not succumb."

Boycott Labels

Labels and stickers circulated in the 1930's promoting the boycott of German goods. Some show patriotic symbols while others form a swastika out of snakes. We see English, Yiddish, and French. One says "boycott Hitler - not Germany. Nazi products not wanted". Was it possible to distinguish between the two categories?

Boycott Label.Palestine

The Jewish community in Palestine issued this label in Hebrew. It reads 'Helpers of Judea - Boycott German Merchandise'. The graphic is a 'Lion of Judea' trampling on a swastika.

Bubble-gum Card: Don't Let it Happen Over HereScan0058 (2).jpg

Following the invasion and annexation of Austria (known as the 'Anschluss') on 12 March 1938, was a spate of violence and terror. That destruction and abuse is commemorated by this bubble-gum card issued the same year in a set about the horrors of war. Shops were smashed and looted and Jews physically persecuted. Here they are shown scrubbing the streets in front of their own wrecked shops. Austria voted overwhelmingly to join Germany. Jews saw their situation deteriorating rapidly.

The back of the card

Krystallnacht.Night of Broken Glass

Krystallnacht is the name for the night of November 9-10 1938. A Nazi-sponsored pogrom took place throughout Germany and Austria. Hundreds of Jewish stores, homes, and especially synagogues were destroyed or damaged. Some 30,000 Jews were interned in concentration camps and at least 91 were killed. The Bornplatz synagogue in Hamburg was one of many destroyed that night.

Krystallnacht Commemorated

Despite efforts to portray this riot as the German people's reaction to imaginary Jewish crimes, there is proof that it was planned in advance and that the police were instructed not to intervene. East Germany commemorated the 25th anniversary of this event with a special stamp showing a synagogue in flames and the Jewish star in chains. Interestingly, it has the inscription: Niemals Wieder" meaning 'Never Again'. This must be one of the very first usages of that expression.

Bombed out Synagogue

Whether by vandalism or bombardment, synagogues in Germany suffered wide-spread destruction during the war.

Release from Concentration Camp

Some internees were able to arrange release in the months following Krystallnacht, on condition that they leave Germany. This example of a 'Document of Release' from Concentration Camp Buchenwald states that the Jew Hans Goldbaum was imprisoned until 10 August 1939, and released by order of the Federal Criminal Police in Berlin, to whom he reported that same day.

Release from Concentration Camp.back

The back indicates that on August 13th he showed the police his exit permit, passport, and passenger tickets out of the country.

Discharge from Sachsenhausen.front

At this point, detention was treated more as a police matter, and many internees were discharged. This discharge form was issued at Sachsenhausen Camp on 22 November 1939. The Jew Leiser Lichter, born on 7 September 1912 in Berlin, was interned from 27 September 1939 to 22 November 1939.

Discharge from Sachsenhausen.back

The back of the form provides for recording any fines to be paid or conditions to be met. Here it is blank.

Aryan Lineage Documentation

The first anti-Jewish law in the Third Reich was decreed on 7 April 1933, "The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service". It eliminated Jews and political opponents of the Nazi regime. Jews were in fact stripped of their citizenship. A decree of April 11th defined non-Aryan as descended from Jewish parents or grandparents. A person would be categorized as 'Jew', Mixed 1st degree, Mixed 2nd degree, or Aryan. Every civil servant had to produce documentation of Aryan descent.

French Job Application

Monique Chopinet applied for a job with the French Red Cross. She needed to submit a photo and a clean bill of health from her own doctor. But she had to make an interesting declaration on her application in order to secure the position.

French Job Application.Not Jewish

Reflecting the Nazi exclusion of Jews from government employment, this application for work in the emergency medical team of the Red Cross includes the line "I the undersigned declare that I am not Jewish". That statement was rubber-stamped onto the form to update it to the prevailing anti-Semitic policy.

Law of Jewish Names.1938

The Second Law Regarding the Change of Names, instituted 17 August 1938, required adding a 'Jewish' middle name to return addresses and other documents - 'Israel' for a man and 'Sarah' for a woman. Violation of this law was punishable by imprisonment. This measure further segregated Jews and pinpointed their whereabouts. Sophie Bader did not include Sarah in her name the first time, but the second envelope does include it.

Law of Jewish Names

Walter Johann Guttsmann already had enough names but obeyed the law by including 'Israel' among them when he wrote this letter to Washington Heights, NY in 1941.

Law of Jewish Names.Front

Many German Jews who left the country while they could settled in Manhattan on the Upper West Side and further north in Washington Heights. They established several German-Jewish congregations there.

Restricted Medical Practice

On 30 September 1938 a law revoked the physician's license of all Jewish doctors and barred insurance payments to them. Nurses and mid-wives were included; dentists, pharmacists and veterinarians were added the following year. From that point on they could treat only Jewish patients, severely limiting their livelihood. Stickers were attached to office doors and to documents saying: "For Medical Treatment Exclusively for Jews".

Restricted Medical Practice Sticker

A smaller sticker with the same declaration also was used.

Restricted Medical Practice Imprint

This doctor's note from the Jewish Rehabilitation Institute in Bresau is rubber-stamped "For medical treatment exclusively for Jews" and is signed by Dr Hans ISRAEL Freund. The patient, Hans Wolff needed a clean bill of health as he was to leave for Shanghai the following month. "He is completely healthy...has no infectious diseases... was inoculated against smallpox on 2 March 1939".

Restricted Legal Practice

Jews were a major presence in the German legal profession after WWI. Supreme court judges, university law professors, and fully 20% of the lawyers were Jewish. Judges and professors were removed in 1933 and lawyers were barred from practice in 1938. From then on they could only serve Jews. They could no longer be called lawyers - only 'Konsulent' = consultants. Isidore Treidel rubber stamped this envelope declaring 'Konsulant - Licensed to advise and represent only Jews'.

Restricted Legal Practice.b0104a.jpg

The letter was censored.

Nazi Takeover of Businesses

This Jewish-owned business sold gardening supplies, as the ad announces. However, it was overtaken and managed by a Nazi-appointed 'trustee', as the inscription on the top left declares. This was part of confiscation and 'Aryanization' which put authority and management in the hands of Nazis.

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Scroll of Esther into Bookcover

Desecration of Holy books was part of the torment. This book cover was made by cutting a parchment scroll of the book of Esther (a 'Megillah') and folding it to fit. Ironically, the piece used here lists the 10 sons of Haman and describes how they were hanged in the Purim story.

Esther book cover.sons of Haman

Jewish people saw in Hitler & the Nazis a re-incarnation of Haman & Amalek. Remarkable connections have been made between the hanging of the 10 sons of Haman described in this column (Esther chapter 9) and the hanging execution of 10 convicted Nazi leaders on 16 October 1946.

Public Persecution

Jews were subject to all forms of cruelty with nowhere to turn for relief. Besides political and economic deprivation, Jews were subject to random, spontaneous physical abuse. This postcard ! preserves the public degradation and torment of Hersz Izrael Laskowski of Werta Poland, by German officers. They have opened his pants, mocked his Talit, and are cutting off his Peyot. The Jew stands still, terrified for his life. And with good reason - he was hanged shortly after this event.

Physical and Religious Abuse

In proud fulfillment of the Biblical law about growing hair at the temples (‘Don’t destroy the corner of your beard’ - Leviticus 19:27), many Jews grow those corners (called ‘peyos’) either curled on each side of the head or pulled back behind the ears. These Jews were easy targets for any anti-Semitic bullies and the Nazis specialized in such abuse. This original photo captures a moment of this degradation and embarrassment of a young Jew by a Nazi Soldier.

Jailed in Dresden

Jews could be thrown in jail for the slightest real or perceived infraction. Ernst 'Israel' Langer is in the Police Prison in Dresden. He writes: I received permission from the Secret State Police to write and to ask you to visit...bring my suits and warm underwear and sewing materials - and money. Notice that 4 lines of the message in pencil have been erased, probably by the censor at the jail.

Jailed in Dresden

The lettersheet was mailed to Berlin, to Kurfurstendamm street which was a very fancy address. Many Jews had shops there before they were closed or taken over by the Nazis. It's a trip of 120 miles from Berlin to Dresden. Mailed 28 April 1944.

Refugee J Passport

After 5 October 1938, Jews obtained passports only by emigrating from Germany, and they were all stamped with a large red J. This was actually a suggestion of the Swiss authorities who, despite their long history of neutrality and asylum, wanted to avoid accepting a large Jewish refugee population. Eventually, the 'J' appeared on documents, apartments, and on the people themselves, in the form of a yellow badge. It made every refugee a marked man and limited his options in travel and escape.

Refugee J Passport

Adele Samter signs her name with the telltale 'Sara' in the middle.

Refugee J Passport.Visa

Her passport shows the markings of travel from Germany through Latvia, Manchuria and Russia. The precious visa permits her to enter Shanghai. It was valid for one year. She ended up staying there for seven years.

Refugee J Passport Visas

Transit visas for Latvia and Manchuria.

Yellow Star-shaped Jew Badge

The Nazis had already imposed the wearing of a Jewish badge in Poland and Russia. On September 1, 1941 it was decreed that all Jews age 6 and above must wear on their chest a yellow star of David with the word Jew inside.

Yellow star double from sheet

At first, star badges were home-made and hand-sewn. Later they were also mass-produced. Cloth sheets have survived with 50 or more stars printed in rows, which were then cut apart for trimming and sewing. This pair of stars was cut from such a sheet, perhaps after the war.

French Jewish 'Star' Badge

Worn by an internee in Drancy, France.

French Star on Girl

Even young children were required to wear the star, as seen in this photograph.

Dutch Jewish 'Star' Badge

Yellow Badge Propaganda

If there was any doubt in the minds of Germans as to what the Yellow Badge signified, this propaganda sticker made it very clear. It reads: "Whoever wears this sign is an enemy of our people". These 'enemies' had to start wearing the badge at the age of six.

Yellow Star.Bulgaria

In 1941 the Nazis imposed the yellow badge on Bulgarian Jews. It differs from all the other types in that it is a small plastic star shaped button. The two holes for sewing on clothing are obvious in the middle. The rules in Bulgaria were more lenient as privileged and converted Jews were exempt from wearing them.

Polish armband

Change Photo. Beginning November 23, 1939, all Jewish Poles over 11 years of age were ordered to wear a white armband with a blue star of David. It was to be 10 centimeters wide and worn on the right arm. There are different styles, and some Jews actually tried to make a living selling these required items. Many replicas have been made in recent years. This is an example of what the armbands looked like.

Armband being worn.photo

Here a Ghetto internee wears the blue on white armband common in Ghettos such as Warsaw.

Forced Labor

There were 24,000 Jews in Kielce on the eve of WWI. After the German occupation, Jews endured fines, confiscation of property, forced labor, deportation, and murder. Jews were forced to work at hard labor in the quarry and the nearby German ammunition plant. This document calls on Elias Justman to "turn up for work in Ludikow steel works in Kielce starting 6 January 1940. This is obligatory for Jews". (Signed by the Jewish Council of Kielce!). The red writing says he bought a 10 day delay!

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