The Writing On The Wall

Notes

Emmy Weinberg and Sigfried Tendlau,

Paul and Friedel Rosenstern

Anna Tendlau

Mamie Lillienstern

Chapter 1: An Interruption or An End?

1935

On the eve of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, it is estimated that approximately half a million Jews lived in Germany-- less than 1% of the total German population of 65 million. The German Jewish population included Zionists, traditional or Orthodox Jews as well as many secular Jews who had assimilated into the German culture and society.

To some, there were clear signs that the persecution would inevitably get worse and even become unbearable. Those that had personal, family or business connections used them to get out quickly and quietly. For the others, there was a hope that it would have to end because they could not or did not want to believe what might happen. It was impossible to predict the future and many people resisted making a change that meant leaving everything behind. There were many German Jews that stayed and lived with deteriorating conditions and ever increasing anxiety and fear.

With the advent of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party and the rise of the Third Reich and Hitler’s appointment to the role of Chancellor in Germany in 1933, life for the Tendlau family was indeed changing. Although they did not generally practice Judaism or observe Jewish religious customs, changes in national and local laws that distinguished the rights and privileges of Aryans and non-Aryans applied to them. These changes affected many day to day decisions in the family’s daily life: Where they shopped, who they did business with, where the children could go to school, who they socialized with and much more.

The changes did not come all at once. They were gradual and often, the new decrees were confusing and challenging. Sometimes they were too painful to face and so were disregarded or ignored.

21. March 1935

Hannover

Dearest Friedel and Paul:

I am writing with a heavy heart. I have not been able to sleep at all this past week and kept putting off writing this letter to tell you my news. I have decided to emigrate to Palestine. I will be leaving Germany as quickly as I possibly can. The numbers of entry visas available to people like me are becoming fewer and fewer by the day so I have made the decision to act now. Is this merely an interruption in my life or is it an end to the only life I have known and loved? I cannot say.

You are both aware that I have always been fully committed to my career and that recently I have been almost completely stripped of my medical practice. I have been told that my physician’s license will soon be invalid and it will become illegal for me to continue running a private practice as a licensed doctor. Just this week we are being told that we will not be reimbursed by the national insurance any longer and many of our patients are being told to find new Aryan doctors and to discontinue any relationship with Jewish doctors. One of my favorite patients, Analise L. who I have known for seven years or so, came to see me yesterday afternoon and told me it would be the last time she would come to see me because she is feeling pressured to not consult with or see any Jewish doctors. She was crying when she told me this news and I know she was also embarrassed. It was a terribly uncomfortable conversation and needless to say, humiliating for me too. Aryan doctors are also replacing some Jewish doctors at the hospital.

Clearly, it is neither safe nor productive for me to remain in Germany. For many of my male colleagues who served in the German army during the last war, it is very different than for me as a professional woman. This is truly a degrading double standard but I am helpless to change it. Being a doctor has always been my only dream. I have invested so much time and money into making this happen and now it is all going up in smoke!

It is not going to be easy to make this transition. I am being severely restricted by the German government as to what and how much I can take with me. It is difficult to know what is possible because the rules and regulations are changing so frequently. I get mixed messages: One official told me I can take Mother’s jewelry (the gold broach with one diamond, and the matching pearl necklace and earrings) but that the cash in my small savings account will be confiscated. It is like starting my life over again. Sometimes I feel much too old to be doing this but I really feel like I have no choice.

I do not yet know how I will afford to live in Palestine. There is a refugee committee set up to help and I will be forced to rely upon them. I am not used to being dependent but I will have to ask for help. I am fairly certain I can find a position as a midwife or a nurse but it is not clear at all if my professional credentials will be acceptable to practice medicine. I have been scraping by but just barely making it for much of the last two years and though the family has helped me out from time to time, it is not fair for me to continue to count on you and others for support. You have been very generous and kind but I have leaned on all of you too much. I cannot stand this any longer.

It is such a discouraging and frightening moment in all of our lives. I do hope that you and the rest of the family remain free from any danger or violence in the months ahead. I send my very best wishes to you and the children.

Alles liebe,

ANNA

The Ha’avara Agreement

After the Nazis took control of German government in early 1933, the emigration of German Jews became increasingly complicated. Very quickly, Jewish organizations around the world organized a boycott of German goods. While the Nazis did not want to see wholesale transfers of Jewish wealth outside of Germany, they desired to have as many Jews leave Germany as possible. Many Zionists shared the view that it would be preferable for German Jews to emigrate to Palestine, even though a large number of German Jews were assimilated and, initially, were not attracted to emigration. In August,1933, negotiations between Zionists and the Nazi government resulted in the Ha’avara Agreement to facilitate the emigration of German Jews to Palestine. The agreement did not allow direct, unlimited transfer of wealth outside of Germany but, instead, allowed German Jews wishing to emigrate to deposit money in a special account in Germany. The money accumulated in this account was used to buy German agricultural supplies which were then transferred to the Ha’avara company in Palestine which sold the supplies to Jewish settlers. The emigrant from Germany would then be credited with the same amount paid into the account in Germany. But, because of fees and fluctuating exchange rates the emigrant might typically receive no more than 70% of the amount originally deposited.

The Ha’avara arrangement did not work for all – the minimum allowed deposit in Germany, for instance, was sizeable and outside the reach of many. The arrangement was also controversial among Jewish organizations because it undermined the organized boycott of German goods. The arrangement continued, however, to be a means for German Jews to escape Nazi Germany until the outbreak of war in 1939.

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3. April 1935

Hamburg

Liebe Anna,

You sounded so dreadfully upset in your last letter. I wish I could be with you to comfort you. Your letter did arrive without any evidence of censorship-Are you so certain that authorities are reading your letters? I have heard that this is going on but don’t really know if I actually believe it to be true. I know you are in a very awful situation;I feel so desperate because there is nothing any of us can do to help you. I only want you to promise me that you will make a short visit to Hamburg before you leave so we can have a proper goodbye. If it would help, Paul can wire you the money for the train.

Halu and Peter will miss you so much when you are gone. They actually didn’t believe me when I read them the news in your last letter. Anna, you owe them the chance to say goodbye, to see you one last time. I want to get this letter off so you can consider all of this when making your final plans.

Please let us know what day you will be able to come. I will write to Emmy and Mamie now too to see if they can join us as well. Let’s plan for early May so we can celebrate all of the May birthdays together like we used to in Mainz. Remember when Mother would throw big parties for me, Mamie and Max because we all had birthdays in May? Max would be 45 years old this year - it’s still hard to think too much about losing him when he was so young. That war was very hard on our family!

I would like to plan a festive picnic lunch in the botanical gardens. It is a lovely place and spring is coming early this year. And don’t worry about being out in a public place- we will not be bothered because so many other families gather there-we will hardly be noticed.

It is my only birthday wish this year: To have one last time for our entire family to be together until who knows when?

Friedel

6. April 1935

Hamburg

Liebe Emmy:

Just a short note to ask you if you think that Father and yourself could make the trip to Hamburg the first week in May? We could celebrate the May birthdays at the botanical gardens and all be united to enjoy a farewell family feast with Anna before she leaves for Palestine at the end of May.

I know Father is reluctant to travel by train these days but it would mean so much to me if we could all be together one last time. Of course, Paul will meet you at the train here in Hamburg. He will borrow the Wolff’s car and drive you and Father to our new apartment on Husumer Strasse. It’s not elegant as you will see, but our situation is different now- times have changed. We are quite comfortable here.

Friedel

9. April 1935

Hannover

Dearest Friedel,

What a wonderful idea to meet in Hamburg together one last time before Anna leaves!

Lore, Father, and I plan to be on the 3:00 train from Hannover on the afternoon of 3rd May. Please ask Paul to meet us with the car. Father is moving slower these days so that will be easier for him than taking the tram to your apartment.

We are so looking forward to it especially because of Anna’s recent decision. It will be a great send off for her. She is very brave to be making this trip alone and we must try to be excited for her even though we are all so sad. My dear Oscar warned me this day would happen before he passed. Somehow he knew the world was changing long before it dawned on any of us.

If there is anything you want me to bring from Hannover, send me a note. I know that Paul ‘s favorite butcher is here so if he has a special request, let me know very soon and I will see what is available.

I look forward to seeing your new apartment.

Yours,

Emmy

12. April 1935

Hamburg

Liebe Mamie,

I am so unhappy about Anna’s news. She is very intent about leaving quickly, even as soon as the end of May. Anna is struggling financially and is very reluctant to accept any more financial support from any of us so I see very little sense in trying to talk her out of it. In fact, we do not have much money to spare these days but I have told her we can offer her another small loan. However, she is much too proud to accept any more help.

It is true that life in Germany is very unpredictable now-a days but to leave for good so quickly seems like such an enormous and permanent decision. Perhaps she will be able to return sooner than she foresees? Anna has always been so negative and difficult to reason with once she has made up her mind about something! I personally do not think things will really get much worse. Paul and I still have much faith in our friends and neighbors and in the reasonableness of our fellow Germans. Perhaps I am always the eternal optimist??

I am hoping that you and Eva could make a brief trip to Hamburg the first week in May. We could all be together one more time for our May birthdays and also have a farewell feast for Anna. I am planning a picnic at the Botanical Gardens. I will send the boys to meet you and Eva at the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof Station and together you can take the streetcar the few blocks to our apartment.

Friedel

17. April 1935

Berlin

Dearest Friedel,

Eva and I will be on the afternoon train that arrives at 4:40 at the Hauptbanhof on Friday, May 3 - your birthday! With all the ups and downs these days, it seems like forever since we’ve all been together. A picnic at the botanical gardens sounds lovely. I am really looking forward to it.

Of course, Eva is very excited to see the boys and Lore too, although the girls never seem to get along too well. I think Lore might be jealous of Eva’s close relationship with Hans and Peter. I hope she won’t pout too much if they run off to play soccer or something together and leave her behind. Eva likes to pretend she is one of the boys and always tags along while Lore keeps close to the adults. I will talk to Eva about being mindful of Lore’s feelings. Maybe I am worrying too much about this - they are all cousins and love each other!

I can’t wait to see you because I have some big news to share with all of you as well!

Until Then,

Mamie

24. April 1935

Hannover

My Beloved Family:

Friedel, please send this letter on to the others once you have read it.

First of all I want to wish a big Happy Birthday greeting to the birthday ladies: Friedel and Mamie!!!!

But now I need to tell you all at this late date that I am very very sorry it will simply not work for me to come and bid farewell to all of you in Hamburg for the May birthday party. I cannot afford it financially and do not have much time left. Friedel and Paul, I appreciate your kind offer to forward me the train fare but I do not think it is appropriate. We all need to be saving our money for the days ahead when life will be much harder. I will miss celebrating the May birthdays with all of you and not being able to say good-bye to each of you. This may seem crazy to all of you but I am very serious about staying as focused as possible on my future. And hopefully this interlude in Palestine will not last forever!

There are just so many things to get done: packing up my belongings, all the paperwork, etc. It is very overwhelming!

I now have passage to leave the country in less than two weeks and am getting very nervous about my future. I have had some contact with one of the refugee committees and they have promised that they will help find me a decent place to live upon my arrival. I also finally received a letter yesterday from my dear colleague, Sophie. Communication has been somewhat cumbersome. Do you remember her? I studied at the University with her. She and her husband with their three boys left Germany a month ago and are settled in Palestine. So you see, I will have some friends there already!

I am sending this letter to all of you together because time is precious. I do intend to send a separate letter to father soon. I will miss him dreadfully. I feel so very close to him and this is perhaps the most painful thing of all. We will have to depend on the international postal systems and the telegraph services across the seas for now. Of course, inside Germany we have always had reliable and excellent systems but I have no idea how things work in Palestine. I will try my best to make contact as soon as possible. I promise!

Emmy, you must be gentle with Father and indulge him - he is so modest and asks for so little from all of us. He deserves all we can do for him. As for all of the children: Hans Ludwig, Eva, Peter, Liselotte, Stefan and Lore, I know they will all want to hear of my adventure so please let them know that I will write to each of them as soon as I am comfortable.

I do hope we will see each other under better circumstances very soon. Please know that I love you all very much and will miss you.

Alles liebe,

ANNA

26. April 1935

Hamburg

Anna,

We are all so disappointed that you will not be able to join us in Hamburg before you leave the country.

We will have to find a way to forgive you but it is quite hard! We all appreciate how you are very preoccupied and feel the pressure to get so much done before you leave. Anyway, Mamie and Emmy are still coming to celebrate the birthdays and we will raise a toast to you and take a photograph that I will mail to you once you send me your new home address in Palestine.

I hope you will wire us as soon as you arrive and if you are able, please send a note from the ship. I realize that the postal service may be slow and possibly unreliable but we are all very anxious for you and wish you safe travels! It is so hard to believe that you are actually leaving Germany!

Friedel

28. April 1935

Hamburg

Liebe Emmy!

I am so furious at Anna. How could she not make the time to be with us before she leaves? It may be such a long time until we see each other again. It is just plain selfish on her part. I think she could organize herself better so she could be packed and ready to go and still have time to say a final good-bye to all of us. The boys are terribly disappointed. I don’t know exactly how to explain it to them. Anna has always been so special to them and now she is going so far away and they don’t understand exactly why. It makes me so sad. Emmy, please don’t let Anna know that I am angry with her. She has so much to worry about.

I look forward to celebrating my birthday with you and the others. Will you make us a Mokka Torte? It’s always our favorite!

Friedel

MOKKA TORTE

Ingredients

Torte

Separate 7 eggs

Beat Egg Yolks for 20 minutes by hand

Stir in 1 small cup of white granulated sugar

Add spoonful of vanilla, grated rind of 1 lemon plus juice

Add pinch of baking powder

Add a handful of chopped hazel nuts

(You can substitute walnuts if you want)

Chop the nuts very fine

Beat Egg Whites until stiff

Combine gently to egg yolk Mixture

Method

Pour batter into two 8" layer cake pans so don’t have t cut in middle for filling

Bake 25-30 minutes until done.

Spread filling on top of one layer and place other layer carefully on top

Top Cake with whipped cream and sprinkle with chopped nuts

Mokka Filling

3 Large spoons butter or margarine

Pinch of salt

Small cup of hot strong coffee

Large cup of confectionary sugar

Cream butter with salt and sugar well. Add coffee and beat together.

6. May 1933

Dearest Father,

I am thinking of you on this fine spring evening at sea somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s calm now, the stars are bright and I will soon be called to dinner. I hope to be able to post this somehow while at sea but who knows, you might get this little note after I have already arrived in Palestine.

The passage is fairly smooth. My fellow passengers (a mix of both Jews and non-Jews) are friendly enough-we are all so uncertain of our futures that we find ourselves laughing at each other’s stupid jokes and talking small talk most of the time so we can avoid the dark thoughts that haunt us all. We also have avoided talking about politics so far so it is rather boring. It all seems so civilized like we are just taking a pleasure trip but it is so very haunting.

So, I missed the birthday party at the park. Everybody must have been quite disappointed in me. I will have to live with that decision for the rest of my life, I suppose. Did Emmy make a Mokka torte for Friedel and Mamie? I certainly hope so and I hope you enjoyed it!

I admit to you that I am a bit nervous about what lies ahead but am glad that I made the decision and am on my way. I hope this letter reaches you and I promise to write once I arrive on Palestinian soil so you can have an address to write to me soon.

Alles liebe,

ANNA

29. May 1935

Hamburg

Liebe Annanushka!

We received your telegram with the news that you arrived safely. I am very anxious to hear more from you. We are all very worried. Do you have an address that we can we write to you? What are you eating? What are you going to do for work? Things were so uncertain when you left –it is very unsettling not hearing from you! Please write to us soon. We have so many concerns and questions!

Life here has not gotten much better but also not much worse. Lately, I have seen some ghastly posters that have startled me; pictures of monkeys on them with the word JUDEN written across the monkey’s face and that sort of thing. So far, I have personally not been taunted or harassed much and I haven’t noticed any of our neighbors acting any differently towards me but I do feel like I am always looking for new signs. Last week, Peter came home very upset