Holocaust DBQ

We have tried until now to keep you in your position with us under the terms of your contract or, as the case may be, according to the terms of the laws governing termination of employment. So far we have terminated your employment with the legally required period of notification, even though this move has placed our firm in a most difficult position, because of your Jewish descent. Unfortunately the current state of affairs forces us to take further action. It is no longer possible for us, under existing circumstances, to allow you to ever take up your position with us. To do otherwise, we would be placing our firm at serious risk.

These grounds force us to the regrettable step of terminating our contractual relationship with you without notice. We understand that this action may leave you in an extraordinarily difficult position, but we have no other choice under the existing circumstances. You would certainly find this step reasonable, if you were in our situation and positions were reversed. In order to ease your situation, we are prepared to provide you the usual payment, under the terms of our contract, for the current month as well as for the month of May, payable at end of each month.

Respectfully yours,

Rudolf Karstadt

Incorporated

Berlin-Hermannstrasse

In Representation

[Signed illegible]

Article 1

1. Marriages between Jews and subjects of the state of German or related blood are forbidden. Marriages nevertheless concluded are invalid, even if concluded abroad to circumvent this law.

Article 2

Extramarital relations between Jews and subjects of the state of German or related blood are forbidden.

Article 3

Jews may not employ in their households female subjects of the state of German or related blood who are under 45 years old.

Article 4

1. Jews are forbidden to fly the Reich or national flag or display Reich colors.

2. They are, on the other hand, permitted to display Jewish colors. The exercise of this right is protected by the state.

Article 5

1. Any person who violates the prohibition under Article 1 will be punished with a prison sentence.

2. A male who violates the prohibition under Article 2 will be punished with a jail term or a prison sentence.

3. Any person violating the provisions under Articles 3 or 4 will be punished with a jail term of up to one year and a fine, or with one or the other of these penalties.

Article 7

The law takes effect on the day following promulgation, except for Article 3, which goes into force on January 1, 1936.

Nuremberg, September 15, 1935

At the Reich Party Congress of Freedom

The Führer and Reich Chancellor

[signed] Adolf Hitler

November 11, 1938 [Essen]

The past three days brought significant changes in our lives. On November 7 a German legation member [diplomat] was assassinated in Paris. He died two days later. The day following, on November [sic], came the consequences. At three o’clock the synagogue and the Jewish youth center were put on fire. Then they began to destroy Jewish businesses. During the morning, private homes also were being demolished. Fires were started at single homes belonging to Jews. At six-thirty in the morning the Gestapo came to our home and arrested Father and Mother [. . . ] Mother returned after about one and a half hours. Dad remained and was put in prison. [. . .] We returned to our neighborhood by two o’clock. Not far from us we saw a gang vandalizing a home, throwing things out of the window. When I went around the corner and looked up my street there was nothing to see. It looked peaceful. I, therefore, returned directly to our house. When I turned into the front yard I saw the house was damaged. I walked on glass splinters. [ . . . ] I ran into our apartment and found unbelievable destruction in every room. It was the same in the apartment of the caretaker below us. [. . . ] 

My parents instruments were destroyed, the dishes were broken, the windows were broken, furniture upturned, the desk was turned over, drawers and mirrors were broken, and the radio smashed. The kitchen and bathroom were untouched. The upstairs room was left alone, including my father’s cello. The cellar was also not disturbed. The apartment of the caretaker, Bachrach, was in much worse condition.

In the evening, Mother brought gold and other valuables for safekeeping to Christian acquaintances. We wanted to spend the night at home, but the caretaker, Frau Bachrach, urged us to go to her relatives, the Herzfelds, where we spent the night. I read until late. In the middle of the night, at 2:30 am, the Storm Troopers [Sturmabteilung, or SA, also known as the Brownshirts] smashed windows and threw stones against the store shutters. After a few minutes they demanded to be let into the house. Allegedly they were looking for weapons. After they found no weapons they left. After that no one was able to go back to sleep. Everyone sat in one room. I tried but could not sleep. [. . . ] The time passed terribly slowly. Then we thought there was still another person in the house who was making a noise. Finally, at 5 a.m. I saw a policeman outside who walked back and forth. I shall never forget that night.

[. . .] Books could be written about all that had happened and about which we now begin to learn more. But, I have to be careful. A new regulation was issued that the Jews in Germany had to pay one billion Reichsmarks for restitution. What for? For the damage the Nazis had done to the Jews in Germany. [. . . ] I now want to get to Ere[t]z Israel as quickly as possible, maybe with the first Youth Aliyah [immigration]. [. . .]