Divided Lives: The Untold Stories of Jewish-Christian Women in Nazi Germany

377 Pages·2000·1.45 MB·English

by  Cynthia Crane (auth.)

DIVIDED LIVES
The Untold Stories of
Jewish-Christian Women
in Nazi Germany
CYNTHIA CRANE
Palgrave Macmillan
DIVIDED LIVES
Copyright © 2000 by Cynthia Crane. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information,
address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
ISBN 978-1-4039-6155-6 ISBN 978-1-4039-8218-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781403982186
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the Library of Congress.
Design by Acme Art, Inc.
First edition: December 2000
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my parents, Carl K. and Joan Cummins Crane
“I think I can. I thought I could.”
There is tremendous elasticity of autobiographical forms, a
fact that we discover in any perusal of bookstores, and
libraries. There seems an endless variety to personal writings,
autobiographical novels, personal essays, journals, diaries,
collections of letters, travel literature, oral histories, ethnog-
raphies, testimonials, andprisonnarratives.Autobiographical
subjects are everywhere. And the cacophony of autobio-
graphical voices invigorates autobiographical narrative. In
fact, it is a wonderful time of autobiographical experimenta-
tion as well as autobiographical traditionalism. Fractures in
the old forms generate new modes of self-narratives.
—Sidonie Smith, Subjectivity, Identity, and the Body
All autobiographicmemory is true. It is up to the interpreter
to discover in which sense, where, for which purpose.
—Luisa Passerini, Interpreting Women’s Lives
Even in our world of printed facts and impersonal mass
media, we consciously and unconsciously absorb knowledge
of the world and how it works through exchanges of life
stories.We constantly test reality against such stories, assert-
ing and modifying our own perceptions in light of them.
—Personal Narratives Group, Interpreting Women’s Lives
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
I. THE SPIRIT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. THE LAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
III. STORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
1. INGEBORG HECHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
“The Germans and the Nazis were
not synonyms for me”
2. INGRID WECKER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
“I was a wanderer between the waves,
belonging to no one”
3. RUTH YOST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
“I was born completely poisoned”
4. RUTH WILMSCHEN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
“In the Nazi years, I acquired an elephant skin
and could handle any kind of treatment”
5. URSULA RANDT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
“One had, at the time, enough possibilities to die”
6. ILSE B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
“I was treated differently because I looked Aryan.
That helped me a great deal”
7. GRETEL LORENZEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
“God took my life into his hands and I'm
forever grateful for that”
8. SIGRID LORENZEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
“The Hitler ideology was stronger than my life”
9. MARGOT WETZEL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
“There was no part of life where you
weren’t asked whether or not
you were Jewish”
10. URSULA BOSSELMANN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
“I stood at eighteen looking into nothingness”
NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
WORKS CONSULTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to begin with a note that a friend sent to me in Germany that
motivated me whenever I felt that I was tilling in questionable soil or
planting seeds that might not bear fruit: “I think you must also realize
(using a botanical analogy) that you plant seeds and wait. Often one
thinks the seeds are no good because they don’t do anything. Are they
sterile? Is the soil tainted? Then suddenly the cotyledons appear, almost
overnight the seeds planted weeks before show life. After weeks of doubt
and worry the real work and responsibility begins. It is often overwhelm-
ing. I know you are up to it.” And so it happened. With such a great
army of people behind me, I had every reason to march forward. After
nearly ten years of planning and working on this project there are
numerous people to thank.
My thank yous start six years back in Germany. I'd like to give special
thanks to the following people: All of the womenwho allowedme to come
into their homes to record their stories. My two dear Hamburg friends,
K. Ernst Dohnke and AlmuthDittmar-Kolb, for your unending faith and
immeasurable assistance—schönen Dank! Your depth of knowledge of
German history, in particular, Hamburg’s history, strengthened every
block in the structure. Claudia Kirschner for providing a safe haven for me
when I was suffering from culture shock. My committed helpers and
friends in Germany: Candace Barlow, Heather Duke, Inga Nevermann,
Kitty Otto, Katharina Kramer, Heike Prahl, and my “savior landlords,”
Karen and Horst Moeller. Dr. Norbert Finzsch for such a warm wel-
come—dinner at your home, awork-out at your health club, and guidance
through the mazes at the University of Hamburg. The late Dr. Günter
Moltmann, who started the ball rolling that made this book possible.
Priv.Doz. Dr. Büttner and Frau Baumbach at the Research Center for the
viii DIVIDED LIVES
Study of National Socialism; Monika Richarz; and Herr Peter Jaffé,
Member, Board of Directors, Vorstandsmitglied der Jüdischen Gemeinde
in Hamburg, who gave me a contact to Herr Gerhard Wundermacher,
Notgemeinschaft der durch die Nürnberger Gesetze Betroffenen, who led
me to Ruth Yost and then Ruth Wilmschen. Stuten and Fridolin Ertz,
friend’s of my family when they lived in Germany, who led me to the
engaging Dr. Ursula Levy Becker in Aachen; Frau Goldman at the
Christian-Jewish Society; Erika Hirsch at the Gedenk-und Bildungsstätte
Israelitische Töchterschule, who hooked me up with Pastor Ralf Meister-
Karanikas, and Ursel Hochmuth. Karanikas led me to the engaging Hans
Hermann Mack, who led me to Ingeborg Hecht in Freiburg, and Dr.
Ursula Randt; Frau Carola Meinhardt at the Senatskanzlei, who provided
me with information about people who had emigrated and been in touch
with her office and who played a part when my father decided to return
to Hamburg for a visit.
Thank you to the Eppendorfer Wochenblatt, a weekly paper that ran
an announcement fromwhich I received remarkable feedback, including
a contact to Ilse B., and from which I found a great talent and friend,
Gisela Gross Seifert, a professional photographer who graciously volun-
teered to take black and white photographs of the women. Thank you
to theHamburger Abendblatt andRenate Schneider, editor of the column
Von Mensch zu Mensch. Your announcement generated letters from
people who had known my grandparents on both sides—Bahlsen and
Cohn—to Mischlinge who contacted me, including Margot Wetzel,
Ingrid Wecker, and Sigrid and Gretel Lorenzen. Also the newspaper Die
Allgemeine Jüdische Wochenzeitung, which led Ursula Bosselmann to me.
My doctoral committee: Jim Wilson, Don Bogen, and Gila Safran
Naveh. You were all superb, keen readers. Mark Schardine, Daniella
Bartha, Ina Remus, Christoph Haertel, and Alison Owings—your help
was greatly appreciated. All of the groups that invited me to speak and
the following organizations and institutes: United States and German
Fulbright Commission, University Research Council, University of
Cincinnati, PEO, and the Hamburg State Archives.
Dr. John Dolibois for your letters, emails, and phone calls—many
years ago you were enthusiastic but realistic about applying for the
Acknowledgments ix
Fulbright. I treasure our continuing friendship. Jim Tent, Professor of
History and University Scholar at Alabama. What can I say? You were a
godsend. Claudia Koonz, with whom I communicated before any of this
material was started. Thank you for all the advice. Marion Kaplan, thank
you for your help with contacts and your continued interest. AnnMilan,
for your knowledge and bibliography. Thanks to Katinka Matson at
Brockman, Inc., who, years ago, took the time to give me invaluable
feedback on my nascent manuscript.
Monica Davis, translator and friend, to whom I am indebted. Your
infectious optimism and meticulousness added to our teamwork. Also a
thank you to others who assisted with translation of difficult passages:
Dr. Jerry Glenn, from the University of Cincinnati, and Gerhard Christ.
All those who supportedme at RaymondWalters College, including Pete
Bender in Media Services for making slides and reproducing photos and
Debbie Gage for your help with specific passages. My 1999 Topics III
class, a group of engaging and thoughtful students who taught me about
my own work: Renee Angel, Tara Boehner, Krissy Carovillano, Kim
Conn, Patrice Flowers, Michelle Harrison, Jennifer Hoffman, Pat
Jackson, Kim Janson, Tim Kroeger, Stacy Major, Julie Montgomery,
Cari Moreland, Eric Neefus, Brian Thacker, Kristy Thompson, Allyson
Vonnida, Sharon Ward, Stephanie Wuest, Cara Young. Also thanks to
other students, including Lisa Simpson and Mary Katherine Ramsey,
who inquired about my progress.
Dr. Patricia Cramer, my mentor in graduate school at Xavier
University, who many years ago gave me the courage, support, and
“tough love” that I needed to pursue my path. Lise Williams, my “soul
friend,” Andreas Drath, and Dr. John Cussen, who provided me with so
much love and inspiration over the years, it would take a book to list all
your contributions. The late Kay Peters, librarian and great friend, whose
presence is all around me, and who I miss every day. This book was as
much her dream as it is mine. Al Gavin, ace pilot and pal. Thanks for
listening, for flying adventures, for your own stories of family and friends,
for intriguing shopping and dining ventures, and your knowledge of
WorldWar IImilitary operations. Youmakeme feel like amillion bucks.
As does Craig Seaver. Thanks for your pep talks, help with the schedule,