Like back then? On the 85th anniversary of the pogrom night against Jews

Like back then? On the 85th anniversary of the pogrom night against Jews

The Pestalozzistraße synagogue in Berlin-Charlottenburg is located in the backyard of an inconspicuous brick building. On November 9, 1938, this was its protection from arsonist Nazi gangs - the Jewish house of worship was too close to residential buildings to be torched without consequences. This is how it survived the Nazi pogrom night. 85 years later, police barriers protect the entire width of the building. The bars are new.

The many anti-Semitic incidents in Germany since the Hamas attack on Israel have stirred up fear among Jews. When unknown persons painted Stars of David on the houses of Jewish Berliners, many felt reminded of the public markings of the Nazi era. After an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in Berlin-Mitte in mid-October, the chairman of the Jewish community, Gideon Joffe, said: "85 years after the Reich Pogrom Night, synagogues are to burn again in Germany's capital." Is it really that time again? Is there a historical parallel?

"Thoughts of the past are with me every day"

"Yes and no", says the President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster. "Yes, it was an arson attack on a synagogue that addresses historical traumas and that is real. No, because in 1938 the whole thing was a state-led pogrom. Thank God there is no question of that in Germany today. Today, there are very clear statements from the political side for Israel and for Jewish life in Germany, and from the state side there is the best possible protection for Jewish institutions. That makes the essential difference."

This difference is real - the community chairman Joffe agrees. "The external conditions are of course not comparable to 1938," he says. "We have the political leaders on our side. But the feeling of distress in the Jewish community is still there." The German state, which has declared war on anti-Semitism, does not always manage to do so credibly for everyone.

A young Jewish woman from Berlin, who does not want her name published, reports that she had feelings around November 9th that she had never known before. In response to questions about this historic date, she sends a moving text. "It was less than 100 years ago that Jews were murdered in factories, expelled, disenfranchised and humiliated," she writes. "Suddenly it's flaring up again: Thoughts of the past accompany me every day, whether I want them to or not."

Heydrich issued detailed instructions in 1938

The wave of anti-Jewish violence in 1938 had long been prepared by the National Socialists - the discrimination, disenfranchisement and persecution of Jews began immediately after the takeover in 1933. The official reason for this was the assassination attempt by 17-year-old Herschel Grynszpan on the German embassy councillor Ernst Eduard vom Rath in Paris on November 7. The background to this act was the deportation of 17,000 Polish Jews to the German-Polish border, including Grynszpan's parents. Vom Rath died of his injuries on November 9.

The leadership of the NSDAP - gathered in Munich in memory of the failed Hitler putsch of November 9, 1923 - then gave the starting signal. "Due to the assassination attempt against Leg. Sekr. v. Rath in Paris, demonstrations against the Jews are to be expected throughout the Reich in the course of tonight - 9/10.11.38", telegraphed SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich to all offices under the headline "Blitz, urgently, submit immediately!".

The SS man gave detailed instructions on the rules according to which these so-called demonstrations should take place, "for example, synagogue fires only if there is no fire hazard for the surrounding area" and "stores and homes of Jews may only be destroyed, not looted". If these guidelines were adhered to, "the demonstrations taking place could not be prevented by the police, but only monitored for compliance with the guidelines". According to the German Historical Museum, more than 1,300 people were killed as a result, 1,400 synagogues were demolished, 7,000 stores were attacked and 30,000 Jews were deported to concentration camps.

Star of David next to the doorbell sign

Of course, the situation is different in Germany today, says Jonah Sievers, the rabbi of the Pestalozzistraße synagogue. But he also sees something new and frightening in the houses marked with the Star of David. He knows of one case where the sign was placed right next to the doorbell of a Jewish resident. The message was: we know where you live, you are not safe here.

"This highlighting of Jews, this public marking, reminds us of times that have to do with November 9," says Sievers. "They are not parallel, of course. But the symbolism and what it is supposed to achieve are identical. And that will certainly make this November 9th different from previous years."

According to the rabbi himself, he rarely wears a kippah in public in order to avoid hostility. "You have to be careful, you can't be naive," says Sievers. On the other hand, he sends a clear message in the pastoral care of his congregation. "There's a well-known song that says: "The whole world is a narrow bridge, but the main thing is not to be afraid." You have to take it seriously, but you can't let fear define you."

"It all sounds like "never again normality" to me"

This is not easy for many. The young Jewish woman from Berlin writes that she remembers the police with machine guns outside her elementary school after the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001. This surveillance is normal. "What is not normal is that Jews today are constantly at risk everywhere," she writes. "I have never turned around on the street or started whispering." Now there is the fear of revealing herself as Jewish. But also the fear of talking about the Middle East conflict, "because I fear that I will have to endure how violence against Jews is relativized and justified".

The fact that the Pestalozzistrasse synagogue is now sealed off by bars feels terrible, she adds. "What is protection worth if everyone is against you? What good are the barriers if they are the only way I can be the person I am? How are we supposed to cope with this as a society in Germany as a whole? It all sounds like "never again normality" to me."

1. The fear among Jews in Germany has been heightened by numerous instances of anti-Semitic incidents, including the painting of Star of David symbols on Jewish houses, reminiscent of the public markings during the Nazi era.
2. The chairman of the Jewish community, Gideon Joffe, expressed concern during a wave of anti-Semitic incidents, stating that "85 years after the Reich Pogrom Night, synagogues are to burn again in Germany's capital."
3. The wave of anti-Jewish violence in 1938 was instigated by Nazi extremism, with SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich issuing detailed instructions for controlled demonstrations against Jews, which resulted in numerous deaths, destruction of synagogues, and deportations to concentration camps.

Source: www.dpa.com