One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping (20 page)

Mob violence broke out as the regular German po-lice stood by and crowds of spectators watched. Nazi storm troopers along with members of the SS and Hitler Youth beat and murdered Jews, broke into and wrecked Jewish homes, and brutalized Jewish women and children.

All over Germany, Austria, and other Nazi-controlled areas, Jewish shops and department stores had their windows smashed and contents destroyed. Synagogues were especially targeted for vandalism, including dese-cration of sacred Torah scrolls. Hundreds of synagogues

were systematically burned while local fire departments stood by. About 25,000 Jewish men were rounded up and later sent to concentration camps where they were often brutalized by SS guards and, in some cases, ran-domly chosen to be beaten to death.

In Germany, some of the top Nazi leaders held a meeting about the damage, and to discuss further meas-ures to be taken against the Jews. One officer reported 7,500 businesses destroyed, 267 synagogues burned (with 177 totally destroyed), and 91 Jews killed. At this meeting the Nazis decided to eliminate Jews entirely from economic life in the Reich by transferring all Jewish property and enterprises to Aryans.

This was a pivotal moment. No one really knew how horrific it would get, but many Jews understood that they should leave Europe right away. The Zionist movement was becoming more active at this time. Zionists believed that a Jewish state should be established in Palestine, modern-day Israel. With a tremen-dous amount of effort from the Jewish Agency for Palestine, more than 44,000 German and Austrian Jews immigrated to Palestine by 1938. Beginning in May of 1938, the Jews began to work toward a Jewish exodus. Possibly half the community, which had numbered

176,000 in 1936, succeeded in finding refuge. In 1948, the United Nations established a Jewish homeland in British-controlled Palestine, which became the republic of Israel.

Emigration was difficult for Jews because of anti-Semitism throughout the world. Despite that fact, thousands of Jews immigrated to Palestine, to Britain, to North and South America, and to Shanghai. People within the United States thought there should be no interference from the U.S. in Germany’s internal policies. Against the wishes of many Americans, however, 32,753 people from Germany had been admitted to the United States by the end of 1939, 80 to 85 percent of whom were Jews. The United States closed its gates to immigrants in 1940. Many relatives did not find out the fate of their loved ones until after the war. In the sec-ond half of 1941, Nazi deportation of the remaining Jews began. Almost all perished in the concentration camps of Terezin or Auschwitz. When Vienna was finally liberated in December of 1944, only 5,800 Jews (roughly 3 percent of the 1938 Jewish population) were still living there. Before the Holocaust, 9,797,000 Jews lived and prospered throughout Europe — less than half survived.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA 1938

Kärtnerstrasse is a popular shopping street in Vienna. Before Hitler’s occupa-tion of Austria, it was a favorite place of the upper class, among them many Jews, to shop and dine.

Written in 1865 by Lewis Carroll,
Alice in Wonderland
was originally published in England, but was available throughout Europe. The story is about what the world looks like through the eyes of a child. Here is the frontispiece and title page from a German-language edition.

Jews in Vienna were generally part of upper-middle class society as they were often professionals, scholars, or successful merchants. The parlor of this wealthy Jewish home reflects their privileged lifestyle.

Austrian Jews often socialized in cafés in Vienna discussing social, economic, and political issues of the day.

The Nazi reign in Germany began with somewhat subtle movements toward the “cleansing” of German society. Here, books and articles deemed “un-German” are collected by Nazi students.

Nazis burn “un-German” materials in a bonfire in Berlin in front of a large crowd.

Adolf Hitler entered the city of Vienna in March, 1938, as part of his plan to expand Nazi ideology and rule beyond Germany’s borders. His arrival by motorcade was a dramatic moment for Vienna.

On the same day, Hitler addressed the crowds from the balcony of the Hofburg in Vienna. A native Austrian, Hitler was greeted with much enthusiasm by the people of Vienna.