Yesterday It Was The Jews, Tomorrow It Could Be Hispanics, Asians And Folks of Colour

This entry was written by Mona Althaus (* 1987) Youth as a Jewess in National Socialism Interview with a Jewish artist Mrs. W. (1928) On October 12, 2004, I met a Jewish German (born March 2, 1928) and asked her how she had experienced the time under Hitler. Hitler gets into power "When Hitler came to power in 1933, something began to change for us, primarily for our parents: It began quite " harmless ", with our names being entered into lists where every Jew had to register. In addition, the Jewish women and girls, men and boys received a second first name: Sarah and Israel. Everyone got a card with a photo, on which the left ear had to be seen. The identification card was pure control and harassment. It was provided with a large "J", a Jew, after which everyone, wherever the card had to be shown (food markets, etc.), knew how to deal with the person. In 1934, when I was six years old, I was trained in a village school in the district of Osnabrück, like any other child. The two teachers who taught us were very friendly and helpful. During the breaks I played with the other children and I participated well in the lessons. " Nuremberg laws "But in the course of the second class, in 1935, everything suddenly changed. The Nuremberg Laws, which were passed on 15 September, deprived all non-Aryans of civil rights. This was particularly the case for me at school. I was hardly allowed to participate in the lesson. Our teachers ignored me, even if I snapped my fingers. I remember that we should write an essay on stones, and mine was the best of all. But my essay was not graded because I was Jewish. Although no one said it explicitly, everyone knew that this was the reason. My sister Inge, who was trained in the summer, was treated as passively as I was in September. During the breaks, we, the only Jews on the school, were locked together with gypsies in a fenced yard. The other children insulted us by calling us names like "Judenschwein" (Jewish pig, or similar). This was very humiliating for us. “Jew” marked store None of the classmates or parents have protected my sister or me, or encouraged us, or at least shown their compassion in any form. My friends have turned away from me; I guess because of the influence of the parents, which was very painful. Except for my sister, I only had a single human trust, a teacher at school. But because of the tense situation during this time, I was avoided because of reprisals. He was worried about his job and I faced even more harassment. After the class we were regularly attacked by boys on the way home. They came running behind us and shouted loudly at us throwing stones and insulted us. We were only women at home, making our situation even more difficult and unsafe. For example, we could not understand why neighbors, with whom we have understood each other for years, would not have touched us from one second to the next. There was only one family that had been with us, but my mother did not want contact to prevent something from happening to her. The Reichspogromnacht "We had been humiliated, abused, and expelled for years. Until November 10, 1938, when we were finally expelled from school. One day before, the so-called Reichskristallnacht, innumerable Jewish shops and synagogues - were plundered and ignited, Jews were killed in the street by the SS or deported to the concentration camp. Jews on their march to concentration camp and gassing That night my father and his two brothers disappeared without a trace. My mother desperately went from authority to authority, but no one wanted to tell her. She also inquired in the neighboring villages, until she finally learned what had happened. He had been taken to Buchenwald concentration camp! We were all shocked and at the same time very sad and anxious. Worst of all was the uncertainty about what would happen to him. The whereabouts of my two uncles were still unsettled. Finally my father came home. After six weeks of forced labor, he was released with the order not to tell what he had experienced in the concentration camp. " Escape to Holland "A few days after the Reichspogromnacht, a children's transport to Holland was organized. My mother accompanied us to the transporter. The neighbors asked what she was doing, she said, "I bring my children to safety." So we were brought to Holland with many other Jewish children. At the station in Holland a relative picked us up. We were afraid, because it was still a trip to completely strange people, whom we had never seen before, a journey into the unknown, without parents, who gave courage. Also, it was very bad for my sister and me that we could not live together. In the new school I was lovingly received and it was a comfort that I could see my sister there every day. Everyone was delighted to have a Jewess among them. I quickly found friends and had a lot of fun learning. I have enjoyed my new freedom. My sister Inge and I had the need to return to Germany to say goodbye to our grandmother. We were young, but no children, because these terrible experiences made us "small adults". With 10 and 7 years, on 05.05.1939, we did put our decision into action and drove to Germany alone. At the Hamburg main station, we met our parents again by a fortunate coincidence. We were overjoyed and also relieved " Escape from Germany "My parents had meanwhile decided to leave Germany. In order to get the necessary money for the emigration, one had to sell his house at ridiculously low price to Aryans, which my parents also  did with a heavy heart. Although the borders for the Jewish people were closed, our parents were given permission to leave for Paraguay by means of a false visa. However, they had to pay for the return trip, because in the time many people wanted to earn a golden nose on the distress of others. But the main thing was that we were on the ship "Monte Olivia" and had our tickets to freedom and back to life, heading to Montevideo. After a long time, we were treated the same way as any other third-class passenger on the ship. It was a nice feeling. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, we did not have permission to leave, so we were to spend eleven days on the boat. But on the ninth day "we were allowed" into a detention center. Our joy did not last long, because we were imprisoned there for six long weeks, it was like in prison. We could walk in the garden, of course only under supervision. The hygienic conditions were not very good, but the food. The "guards" in the camp were very nice and human, which was very unfamiliar. We were then told that you could only stay in Argentina if you had family there or paid money. We had neither family nor money and so we had to decide whether we wanted to be taken by ship to Bolivia or Santiago ... " The new life "In Chile my experiences from the war influenced me very strongly. Whenever I saw a policeman, I froze. Although the worst times of the war I have been spared, like the Jewish Star, which had to be worn visibly, or when in September 1941 the first gassings were carried out. On April 30, 1945, Soviet infantrymen rifled their flag on the Reichstag in Berlin. This ended the war. I sat with my girlfriend in the cinema when I learned this wonderful news. I was euphoric, and we walked home with joy in our eyes, to our parents. "