You want to know how and what occurred in X. on our Black Thursday, 10th November 1938. On 8th November the mobs were already running riot in Erfurt, Kassel, on that day they broke into the local synagogue as well and only tipped the pulpit over; we all thought that was the end of the matter. On 9th November everything was quiet. On 10 November, just as we had eaten our evening meal, there were three or four massive blows on the front door, which burst it open, and four fellows armed with axes and heavy hammers came in shouting “Out, out, out!".
They pushed into our room and then: smashed all the windows together with the frames, knocked over the furniture and piled it up, then left again. Whilst this was going on we fled to our neighbours who are Aryan. Barely ten minutes later came a band of about 15 men, nothing but locals, town officials, shop people etc., all from the SA but all in plain clothes. They smashed up most of the things, they went away and a quarter of an hour later a third gang came, four tall strong louts who threw everything out of the windows, the washstand with a heavy marble top, our good beds, mirrors and pictures, nothing was spared, and we had to flee and sat at the back of our barn from 9 o’clock until quarter to 3 until we could come out again.
The women had to go to the so-called night refuge, where tradesmen usually spent the night, and the men to the prison until everyone could return home the next day. Now we could see our chaos, it was impossible to get into a room, everything lay ruined all over the place, no electric light worked, we boarded up the windows with cardboard until permission came after several days that workmen were allowed to work for Jews.
There were Jewish families, though, who had it even worse than us. The former rich banking house K. suffered most, over RM. 100,000.- worth of art treasures were said to have been destroyed and today it is said to be poor. The Jewish old people’s home is completely destroyed inside. The synagogue interior has been smashed to pieces, thank God the Thorarollen had already been made safe.
I almost forgot to write that the ruffians had sat our rabbi, who is very pious, in a chair and had cut off his beard. They threw all his clothes into the cellar, tipped jars of jam over them and strewed them with bed feathers; the gangs did the latter in nearly all Jewish homes.
The whole thing was planned in advance: in May all Jews had to hand in their weapons, in July came the statement of assets, then the Paris murder, that was the signal and after everything had been smashed in two came the 20% Vermögensabgabe, from which we were not spared either; no Aryan shop sold anything to Jews any more, even my hairdresser who had served me for over 30 years was not allowed to any more though he had a very decent attitude, but most business people were frightened.
