E-Book, Englisch, Band 5, 222 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 490 g
Reihe: We The Six Million
The Reparation-Files of Shoa Victims
E-Book, Englisch, Band 5, 222 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 490 g
Reihe: We The Six Million
ISBN: 978-3-98511-005-6
Verlag: edition aixact
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection
what can be said historically
about the Holocaust and what
you need to know or should know about it.
We are asking
what the people tell us
with their fates.
We are searching for their
meaning for us.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
Teaching resources The restitution files have been edited for printing only to the extent that their readability and copy-ability are ensured. Further alterations would have destroyed the character of the files, in particular making handwritten additions and comments in the margins illegible. Some of the paper has yellowed considerably and the writing has faded, so that we provide the extracts in grey scale throughout. The four-page application had to be filled out by all applicants. It often does not contain much information except on the first page. In any case, supporting documents, own statements and CVs or third party witness statements had to be attached. The first page is therefore printed only once, from the file on Hans Jonas. A large part of the contents of the file consists of financial statements and supporting documents, such as those found today in tax returns. These are unusable for didactic purposes and have not been printed for reasons of protecting the privacy of the persons concerned. A few notes on the files: 1. What is interesting about the Jonas file, apart from the curriculum vitae written by Jonas in the fifties, are the years of research by the Mönchengladbach municipal administration for evidence of Jonas’ persecution in Germany after 1933 because of his Jewish “race”, for example the entry “Israel” as an additional first male name in the birth certificate, which was later compulsorily (from 1939 onwards). Research was even conducted into the whereabouts of the Gestapo file. Of course, this evidence could not be produced, as Jonas had already emigrated in 1933. Nevertheless, the proceedings ended positively for Jonas, but only after years of processing. 2. The file of Fred Voss is part of the exhibition and can be seen as an original. Only excerpts are printed here that provide information about Voss’ time as a pupil and trainee in Aachen until his emigration to the USA. Voss’ application for compensation due to dismissal from the Realschule was initially rejected but confirmed in later court proceedings after the teachers named by Voss had been questioned. The account of Fred Voss from that time, school reports and certificates and testimonies of former classmates are printed. 3. The file on Walter Leib is extensive and shows a textual extensiveness. We have printed the two biographies of his wife Marga Leib and his friend Dr. Kurt Pfeiffer. The original version of Marga Leib’s story is part of the exhibition. 1. Important terms In order to distinguish the term “anti-Semitism” from other xenophobic and misanthropic attitudes, we distinguish between the following terms: Xenophobia Xenophobia. People from other regions, cultures, peoples etc. are aggressively rejected. Such an attitude promotes the unequal treatment and discrimination of foreigners in society. Judeophobia Hostility towards Jews. This refers to the general rejection of Jews and Jewishness. Jew-hatred Prejudice against Jews. Anti-Judaism Religious hatred of Jews. New Testament and the writings of Church Fathers are the sources of anti-Judaism, which can still be found today in the “Good Friday” prayer of the Catholic Church. Anti-Semitism Racist Jew-hatred. The differentiation of Jew-hatred according to historical view-points is only still common in Germany, for example the distinction between anti-Judaism, anti-Semitism and anti-Semitism after Auschwitz63. The report of the Independent Expert Group on Anti-Semitism for the Federal Government states “A generally valid definition of ‘anti-Semitism’ does not exist. The term is usually equated with ‘hostility towards Jews’”64. The experts base their work on the following understanding: “Anti-Semitism is an ideological distortion of social reality. In changing social conditions, anti-Semitism adapts itself in different forms”65. In doing so, they use the usual distinction in international research66: Religious anti-Semitism Referring to the New Testament, Jews are called, for example, murderers of God, sacrificers of the bread, poisoners of wells. Social anti-Semitism Their professions as traders and moneylenders become “exploiters” and “racketeers”. Political anti-Semitism Conspiracy theories, such as Jewish plans for world domination or state domination, are based on assumptions, such as that Judaism is a self-contained collective with power and influence. Nationalist anti-Semitism This form of Jew-hatred makes Jews into strangers who are neither nationals nor foreigners. According to this, Jews do not belong to society culturally and ethnically. They are also accused of lacking loyalty to a nation. Racist anti-Semitism The form of Jew-hatred underlying National Socialism argues biologically: according to this, the different “races” are in a struggle for supremacy with the consequence of destroying the “inferiors”. This assertion has no scientific basis. Modern genetics shows that there are greater genetic differences between individuals than between “races”. Shoah The word “Shoah”, which comes from Hebrew, is used to describe the systematic murder of the Jews during the Nazi era. The term is increasingly replacing the word “Holocaust” (originating from Greek and meaning “completely burnt”), which has been used for this purpose since the 1970s. Holocaust was the title of a multipart American television film that used the suffering of a family as an example to illustrate the extermination of the European Jews.
2. Rollups from the exhibition
3. Davin Schönberger: We, The Six Million Murdered People Speak Men, women, and children living and laughing once Like you, we who were suffocated in overstuffed freight trains By brutish Nazis who crushed the skulls of infants, we, Pushed into gas-filled chambers, beaten to death,Forced to dig the trenches into which our starved bodies Were catapulted and heaped to little mountains, We, the six million Jewish martyrs raised our silenced voices lncessantly and speak to you and you and you: „FOR US, THE VICTIMS OF BLOODTHIRSTY TERROR Which humankind contrived to be the instrument of power, You shall not weep or grieve as mourners used to do. Ours is no grave. No tombstone promulgates our names, No date, nor any pious record of our death, Nor gentle words of eulogy and testimonial Pronounced a last farewell when we were buried. And now, we do not want your tears. The soothing flow Of tears endows with gentle salace the desponding soul. Be ne‘er consoled! Your consolation would be pernicious To our memorial. Nor do we want the outbursts of your wrath. Your lamentations ne‘er bring us back. We loathe the „ifs“ and „buts,“ the arguments and questions Of your debate, your clever reasons Disputing why the world has failed us. What is it good for? See, our blissful song broke off, Just when our lips were moved to form the rhyme. Our days were tom to bits long before sunset‘s dawn. Nay, we want you! We want your entire lite, Your pulsing heart tobe our last repose. We want the ocean of your thoughts prepared To carry on its waves our immortality. Through the unfastened sluices of our spirits Streams of our strength will join your ready souls. We will survive in you. We ask your mind tobe Our monument whose imprint bears our names. You be the vessel of our thwarted hopes Of our frustrated love and uncompleted work. O, lend us your tangue and pronounce those words Of fondness, friendship, brotherhood and love Which beastly hatred murdered with our lite. Grant us your eyes to fill them with your vision, Ears to listen to enchanting music. We want to do your deeds, your sacrifices. We want to walk your ways to reach your goals. Carry our memory not like a heavy yoke Which wistfully your weary shoulders bear, Yet, like a crown committing you to duty Of justice, harmony and peace for all. Ennoble us and you. Restore the dignity of man, The rulership of God, perverted and debased By human madness. Change by your loyal deeds The horror of our fate in destiny, divine.“ Source: https://bhecinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/We-The-Six-Million-Murdered-Speak.pdf. (March 6, 2021).
4. Hans Jonas 4.1 Reinhold Breil: Hans Jonas – philosophy as a way of life In the summer of 1945, Hans Jonas met with an old acquaintance from his youth in destroyed Mönchengladbach again: Paul Raphaelson. Over lunch, they exchanged memories of their youth and described their lives. Only later did Jonas learn of Raphaelson’s foreman (capo) activities in several labour camps run by the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Raphaelson, who at the end was almost beaten to death by his fellow inmates in Theresienstadt because of his brutality, returned to Mönchengladbach at the end of May and became head of a counselling centre for former camp inmates at the instigation of the American city commander, chairman of the Jewish community on 9 November 1945 and a councillor in January 1946. Raphaelson was arrested in April 1946 based on investigations and testimonies of...
