Carl Laemmle LAEMMLE`S LIST

AFFIDAVITS SAVE LIVES
Carl Laemmle the successful Hollywood-pioneer with the big heart for his 150 th birthday. He saved lives on behalf of his might, influence, money and energy
ISBN: 978-3-9818444-2-9
Verlag: Edition CARL LAEMMLE

Buch, Englisch, 64 Seiten, GEKL, Format (B × H): 150 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 136 g

Udo Bayer
Laemmle’s List
Carl Laemmle’s struggle for affidavits for Jewish refugees “I am doing what my heart dictates me to do and I do it unstintingly…”first published in FILM HISTORY 4/1998 – Courtesy of S. Wiliams, Indiana University Press, USA
Before Carl Laemmle's death on 24 September 1939, one of his great humanitarian deeds was the granting of affidavits for persecuted Jews. He wrote that he had never felt so much sympathy for any one thing in his life, and had only done what his heart had dictated. Until now the only published information on this has been the statement by the former chief executive of the Jewish Oberrat in Stuttgart, J. Wissmann1, who mentions more than three-hundred affidavits. The most important source of documentation is to be found in the National Archives in Washington DC.
The discovery of these documents was accomplished toward the end of 1994 thanks to Karin
Schick of Laupheim. Her research brought to light 45 documents consisting mostly of
Laemmle's correspondence with American officials from November 1936 until May 1939. At
times the actual files were not available, only index cards with date and names of the persons
concerned; the actual files can be found in a branch of the Archives in Maryland. We could not determine the reason for the gaps in the material stored in the Archives.
It is acknowledged that the persecution of Jews in the territories controlled by the Third Reich
was unique, and is hardly comparable to the many reasons for migration and asylum seeking
today. The one and only reason for their persecution was their ethnic origin, and was completely unrelated to any of their actions; for them this reason was immutable. Emigration was thus their sole option to escape with their lives. In spite of increasing obstacles set up by German
authorities, and in spite of increasing restrictions enacted by possible guest countries, emigration was possible to some extent until the second half of 1941.
The many American publications regarding the rescue of European Jews are almost
completely devoted to administrative actions and the activities of persons in authority, even including those concerned with Jewish organisations. It is remarkable, however, that the difficulties in granting affidavits are neglected, even though they were the main condition for the rescue by flight.CarI Laemmle's correspondence would be of great importance in shedding light on this topic, but the present whereabouts of most of his letters are unknown. Carl Laemmle's son in law,
Stanley Bergerman, has donated some memorabilia and a few letters to the City of Laupheim.
The Kohner collection in the Stiftung Kinemathek in Berlin owns the letters from Laemmle to Paul Kohner, and now and then some other pieces of the correspondence in this matter also emerge. The fragmentary correspondence from the National Archives must be read against American immigration policies and the political events in Germany about which Laemmle was very well informed. He had first-hand information from his relatives in Laupheim. 1 J.Wissmann,´Zur Geschichte der Juden in Wuerttemberg, 1924-1939`, in P.Sauer, Die juedischen Gemeinden in Wuerttemberg und Hohenzollern (Stuttgart,1966), 204 2F ig.1. Laemmle maintaines contact with a large number of European émigrés, including Thomas Mann, at left, who
was a guest at Laemmle´s home on 10 April 1938. Max Reinhardt and Ernst Lubitsch at right (Courtesy of the Mann Archive, Zurich) Germany, some of them from Laupheim; contact with emigrants (one of the most prominent
was Thomas Mann); and he made yearly trips to Carlsbad, Switzerland and Paris. Beyond that,
Laemmle engaged Joseph Roos, a German-born public relations specialist, who later would
conduct an investigation of the Nazis for General Marshall.2 Stanley Bergerman has been able to supply an interesting letter which Laemmle wrote 1936 to his old friend and attorney, Edwin Loeb:
“For a long time I have been a subscriber to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency which submits daily
confidential reports on the Nazi situation, not only in Germany but in every country throughout the world. These confidential reports are extremely interesting and keep one thoroughly posted as to what is going on.”
Beyond that, of course, Laemmle was immediately confronted with the situation of
persecution through the letters of petitioners from Germany. After the 1 April 1933 boykott, Laemmle stopped the film production of Deutsche Universal in Germany, and the general manager of the corporation and Laemmle’s representative for Europe, Max Friedland of Laupheim, emigrated. This paper has a threefold aim: first, it sketches, as a part of his biography, an important part of Laemmle's activities during the last four years of his life, beginning in 1936 when he sold Universal. Because Laemmle’s commitment was unique in Hollywood, it is also a contribution to the history of the capital of the film industry. The second purpose is as a case study which reconstructs the possibilities for rescuing European Jews through the correspondence of a wealthy and well-known American Jew with a remarkable philanthropic commitment, and shows
what happened when such attempts met with obstacles, allowing us to see what a man like Laemmle could accomplish. The third aim concerns also local history: to present a son of the city of Laupheim, who was not always judged in a friendly manner there, and examine some of the activities which could not previously be studied and appreciated.

Zielgruppe

historically interested people, teacher, students
working on Nazi Germany

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bayer, Udo

Bayer, Gabriele

Leseproben

Sandy Einstein remembers
Growing up my father rarely talked about his past and I really did not have much interest in asking him about it. He did say he was ransomed out of Germany during the Nazi reign of terror in the 1930‘s by a Hollywood producer and was a tutor to the producer‘s son teaching him Hebrew since in Germany he was a Hebrew teacher and a cantor.
My father passed away when I was 20 and my mother passed away when I was 37. She left a handwritten will, some financial documents and around 40 or so letters of my father written in German; all in an apparel box.
Late 2010, 28 years after my mother passed away, I decided I would like to know more about my ancestry since it was of no concern to me in my youth. I looked into the apparel box and found my fathers letters; one stood out to me in particular; the letter he wrote to Carl Laemmle, the Hollywood producer. I had it translated and found out that in the letter he agreed to come to America with him. After reading the letter
I became intrigued and wanted to learn more about my father‘s past and my heritage. I searched the internet and found out more about Carl Laemmle and discovered an essay written in 1998 by Udo Bayer for the
“Film History Journal” titled‚ “Laemmle‘s List”. It discussed among
other things Carl Laemmle issuing affidavits to rescue German Jews
from the oppression of the Nazi Regime of the 1930‘s. After reading the essay I realized my father was one of the affidavits on “Laemmle‘s List”. This was a major revelation for me.
I made contact with Udo Bayer the noted Laemmle historian in Laupheim,
Laemmle‘s birthplace, sent him my father‘s 40 or so letters to be translated and that was the beginning of our friendship. After reading Udo‘s essay, I felt that the world should be made aware of Carl Laemmle‘s unknown humanitarian deeds and proceeded to try and create an awareness of this fact in the media. Udo and myself started e-mailing each other giving me background on Laemmle, his issuing of
affidavits, the political situation in Germany in the 1930‘s and sending me archival documents from the National Archives in Washington DCand other sources. This information would help me in trying to get
articles published; however, even with the valuable information given
to me by Udo, it was very difficult to get any of the media interested
in wanting to publish an article on Laemmle and his unknown humanitarian
deeds. I persevered and did not give up. I was finally able to get local and regional publications to publish articles and my greatest achievement was when I made contact with the esteemed author and lecturer, Neal Gabler. After much effort, Mr. Gabler and myself were able to get the New York Times to publish an article on Laemmle that was syndicated worldwide.
In September 2013 I made a trip to Laupheim to meet Udo. He was the ultimate host and tour guide. He took me to the site of the Jewish school where my father taught, the synagogue where he was a cantor, and the Museum of Christian and Jewish History where there is an entire wing dedicated to Laemmle. I had dinner at his home where he prepared the meal and introduced me to his wife Gabi. We then traveled to
nearby Bad Buchau, my fathers birthplace. Udo introduced me to the town historian, Charlotte Mayenberger, who took me on a tour of the town, introduced me to the mayor, Peter Diesch, and showed my the site where my family‘s home once stood. She also gave me a copy of my family tree reaching back to my great-great-great-great-great-greatgreat- grandfather in 1665.
With regards to me researching my roots, I have come full circle. My journey began discovering Udo Bayer‘s essay “Laemmle‘s List” and along the way I was able to establish a friendship with Udo and also create an awareness of Carl Laemmle‘s humanitarian efforts rescuing German Jews from Nazi oppression of the 1930‘s. Unfortunately Udo passed away September 25, 2015. The world has lost a generous soul.CA, Walnut Creek, USA, Oktober 2016

Über Autor(innen)

Bayer, Udo
"Author Dr. Udo Bayer (1943 - 2015)
His world wide contacts and especially the publication on Carl Laemmle humanitarian deeds in Film History in 1998 "" Laemmle´s List""has established his reputation as Carl Laemmle biographer.

Udo Bayer was born in Hechingen-Hohenzollern, where he attended the local high school. A life-long artist since his childhood, Bayer studied history, political science and German literature in Tübingen, Munich and Berlin. In 1969, he began as a teacher in
training at a high school in Laupheim, where he continued to teach until his retirement in 2008, serving as assistant director from 1989 on. His received his PhD in philosophy in 1975 under the supervision of Max Bense and Elisabeth Walther-Bense in Stuttgart, publishing numerous articles on Charles S.Peirce`s emiotics. His chief interest lay, until his death in 2015, in the city-history of Laupheim. In particular, it was the native Laupheimer, Carl Laemmle, whose success story and humanitarian engagement capitvated Udo Bayer´s interest as a historian. Thanks to Bayer`s intitiative, the local high school had its name changed to Carl-Laemmle-High School in 1993, something which proved to be an important step in re-establishing trust in the Laemmle family. In addition, Udo Bayer was a founding father of the Society for History and Commemoration, whose involvement was important for the construction of a museum for Christians and Jews in Laupheim. His personal contact to the descendents of persecuted Jewish refugees made possible numerous publications in memory of the former Jewish community in Laupheim."

Bayer, Gabriele
Since the1980s she had accompanied her husband´s research on Carl Laemmle in the US and in Laupheim. She has been in contact with family members of the Laemmles and other Jewish families up to the actual time.