The Last Jews in Berlin

by Gross, Leonard;

  The decision to leave Germany after the advent of Hitler would seem an easy and obvious one now, but the prospect of abandoning one’s traditions, relationships and possessions for the hazards of a foreign land and tongue, with little or no capital to begin life anew, could not have seemed attractive at the time. So there were compelling reasons for the Jews in Germany to deny reality—either refusing to believe that the Nazis represented an enduring menace or that they themselves were vulnerable. Somehow they would be spared, many Jews believed, either because they had good contacts or simply as a consequence of luck. By the time reality had overpowered even these considerations, it was too late. The Germans would no longer let them leave.

  Was there some other element influencing those who remained? After four years with this material I am unable to dismiss the thought that it was desperately important to these survivors to affirm that they were something more than Jews. In Nazi Germany that was an impossibility from the first day of the Third Reich, but the need to be German in spite of everything has resonances in every Diaspora Jew. Acceptance as Germans—or Americans or Frenchmen or Englishmen—implies acceptance as Jews. For most Jews this is life’s preoccupying struggle.

  The Jew is loyal to his country in a way that is perhaps incomprehensible to non-Jews. He needs to belong, not so much for the privileges of membership as for the assurance that as a legitimate citizen of his country of birth or choice he is free at last to be a Jew as well.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  No previous book of mine has involved so many people or such generous donations of time.

  I would like, first, to thank all the major figures in the narrative for their willingness to bring such a painful past back to life: Fritz Croner, Ruth Gomma Glaser, Wilhelm Glaser, Countess Maria von Maltzan, Hella Riede, Kurt Riede, Hans Rosenthal, Ruth Thomas, Joseph Wirkus and Leokadia Wirkus.

  I am grateful as well to those who helped me reconstruct the involvement of the Church of Sweden in clandestine efforts to save Jews and other oppressed persons from the Nazis. The trail led from Berlin to Sweden, where I found Erik Myrgren, the pastor of the church during the closing months of the war, Vide Ohmann and Meri Siocrona, who had worked as aides of the church, and Martha Perwe, Erik Perwe’s widow, who, in addition to relating the story of her husband’s work, gave me his diary to use. Göte Hedenqvist, one of the pioneers of this extraordinary human salvage operation, confirmed details of the Church of Sweden’s historic role. A three-part series in Expressen, Sweden’s leading evening newspaper, in June 1945, helped to flesh out the story. One part was devoted to an interview with Martin Weissenberg less than two months after he and his wife escaped from Berlin with the church’s help, when his recall of the events was fresh and keen. All of the sources connected with the Swedish church in Berlin had vivid memories of the work of Countess von Maltzan and the assistance she furnished the Jews, both on her own and in conjunction with the church.

  In Stockholm, I had the additional help of Staffan Hedblom and Kjell Holm, of the Swedish Foreign Office, and of two good friends, Sven Broman, the editor-in-chief of ret Runt, and Trent Eglin, a young American who makes his home in Sweden. Another good friend, Gunilla Nilars, of Swedish Television, and her associate, Inger Söderman pointed me in the right directions.

  In Berlin, Ilan Goldman, a talented young journalist, demonstrated incredible resourcefulness and initiative in checking through the past, and he also served as translator at all my interviews. His mounting excitement as the many stories developed reinforced my own. I am also grateful to Christa Maerker, friend and fellow journalist, to the author James P. O’Donnell for sharing so much of his knowledge of Berlin and World War II, and to Gisela Weissner, of the protocol office of the city of Berlin.

  I would like to thank the staffs of the Jewish Community House in Berlin, the Wiener Library in London and Tel Aviv, and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem for their assistance and guidance. Doctor Dov Kulka, of the Department of Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his assistant, Esriel Hildesheimer, resolved many conflicts that could not be settled elsewhere.

  While several dozen texts and innumerable survivors’ accounts deepened my understanding of this event, one extraordinarily rich and comprehensive book was my companion throughout: The Twelve-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany 1933–1945, by Richard Grunberger (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971).

  Many times after my return from Europe I felt the need to consult with an old friend and former colleague, Tom Tugend, who is now an information officer at UCLA but whose early years of life were passed in Berlin.

  I am grateful to Eric Lasher for urging me to take on a project that meant so much to him, and to my agent, Sterling Lord, for acting as our go-between. And while most writers are, lucky to have the wise counsel of a single editor, it was my good fortune to benefit from the wisdom of three: Nan Talese, Tom Wallace and Catherine Shaw. The manuscript of this book also received a close and loving copy editing from Louise Lindemann.

  Most acknowledgments include a traditional thank you to the author’s family for their patience and understanding. In my case, I am thanking two coworkers: my wife, Jacquelyn, who helped me throughout an intensive research trip to Germany; and my son Jeff, whose gift for languages and degree in history were put to heavy use in Sweden, Israel and the United States.

  L. G.

  About the Author

  Leonard Gross is a journalist and author. Much of his reportage was done for Look magazine, where he served for twelve years as senior editor, Latin American correspondent, European editor, and West Coast editor. Gross has authored, coauthored, or ghostwritten a total of twenty-two books, including both novels and nonfiction. He currently lives in Bend, Oregon.

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  Copyright © 1992 by Leonard Gross

  Cover design by Mauricio Diaz

  ISBN: 978-1-4976-8938-1

  This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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