1. General situation
One cannot really talk about a sharply oppositional mood making itself noticeable in Breslau [now Pol. Wrocław] and Lower Silesia. The so-called educated classes, who have still retained a feeling for humanity and decency, are naturally repulsed by the entire behaviour of the leading circles of the Third Reich, but especially by the burning of the synagogues, and are holding themselves aloof as they have on other occasions. The vast majority in contrast regards the events with indifference or even with a certain sympathy for the government. By and large the people lack little. They are strongly influenced by clever propaganda and believe what they are given to read in black and white. The supply of foodstuffs is erratic, i.e. there is one kind of goods available, and then another, e.g. that happens with tropical fruit. Through this skilful policy of substitution they make sure that deeper dissatisfaction does not materialise. At the same time the intimidation is so great, even amongst people who were formerly in the opposition, that they dare not make their dissatisfaction known.
It must be stressed clearly that whilst these observations apply to Breslau, Lower Silesia and partly also to Berlin, there might be a different picture in other parts of the Reich, especially in the west.
If there is a war the population, though not enthusiastic, would therefore go along with the war cry without resistance. How long this acceptance would last is absolutely impossible to say in advance.
2. The situation of the Jews
The professions that are still functioning can be counted on one hand. These are some few doctors, few lawyers (Rechtkonsulenten), and municipal employees, namely teachers, hospital and welfare workers. All the others are living off their own money or from assistance.
So few doctors are authorised that medical care is barely sufficient. There is a completely inadequate number of lawyers. In fact only 15 lawyers are authorised in the whole district, but these have been picked arbitrarily. The nasty rumour is that it had to do with whether they are married to an Aryan woman. The lawyers who have been chosen were not asked in advance whether they were willing and nobody has checked whether they are suitable. As a result two thirds of them are tired of work because they are busy with their own emigration plans, and the others are so overloaded that they cannot take on any more. Some are also too old. An absolute legal famine prevails. Lawsuits play a minor role. At present it is mainly a matter of advice about winding up businesses and emigrating. There are only a few asset administrators and despite great demand there are only two or three foreign currency advisers.
Jewish population statistics
Since last year the population in the province has declined by 50%, that is from 5,000 to 2,500 souls. The Jewish population of Breslau has declined from 17,000 to 12-13,000 in the year 1938. This smaller decline in comparison with the province arises from the fact that some 2-3,000 of the people in Breslau have moved in from the province.
Only indirect difficulties have been put in the way of the people who have recently moved into the city, like Vorladungen to the police, etc. But there are no prohibitions on moving in.
Yet theVorladungen to the police and the Gestapo are nothing unusual. At present in Breslau they are busy calling in the entire Jewish population in alphabetical order of streets, leaving out neither old people nor young children. Those summonsed are asked when they think they will emigrate.
The administration of the Jewish community
The Gemeindevorsteher take the view: save yourself if you can! As a result the intelligentsia of the Gemeinde are leaving. There is no security for officials of the community who remain behind. A permit would have to be available for such people to travel to England just in case. It is hard to find replacements for the people who move away. The reporter had a choice of three people to succeed her, of whom one was over 60 years old and frail, the other 50 years old and unsuitable, and the third younger and very suitable, but ill.
The Hilfsverein [Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden] has comparatively good people because the unemployed lawyers put themselves at its disposal.
The Hilfsverein is organised badly from Berlin downwards, even worse in the province. The main problem is that a shop that has no goods to sell does not need qualified salesmen. The abilities of these people and of the people who are seeking advice are being frittered away. There are hundreds of people standing in front of the doors of the Hilfsverein every day, waiting there for hours. In Breslau alone five advisers besides five stenotypists and around five registration staff are employed.
The arrests
In Lower Silesia around 100% of all Jewish men were arrested. Today five to ten people are still in the concentration camp. In Bunzlau [now Pol. Bolesławiec], the Bürgermeister explained that he was not in a position to carry out the arrest order, which related to "all Jews", because there was not enough room in the jail for this. As a result nobody in B. was arrested.
It has become known just today that four people have been arrested because they were not arranging their emigration energetically enough. They have been held in detention for a week. Often, a rapid deadline for emigration is set.
Because the Hilfsverein cannot assist with legal immigration, people are now often going to Palestine and Belgium illegally.
The welfare legislation and the duties of the Jewish community
The welfare decree has been changed. On the 19th November an addendum to it came out with the limitation: "Jews will basically receive no further public support, but are entrusted to Jewish agencies. In cases where public support is involved the circumstances are to be looked at exceptionally strictly." In practice i.e. private income of whatever sort without exception has to be set against the support. E.g. if the community has previously been giving RM. 10.- and the city RM. 30.-, the contribution of the community will be discounted from the RM. 30.-, so that the city will only provide RM. 20.-. The entitlements of small pensioners do not apply to Jews. The community therefore, basically, have to take over all support. As a result, they will inevitably have to use up their capital, because the demand cannot be covered out of tax revenue. For fuller uptake of all demands Breslau would need RM. 30,000.- a month for public welfare alone, plus demands for hospitals, old people's homes, and so on, so that RM. 80,000.- would be needed every month, i.e. c. RM. one million a year!
Incidentally, pensions for the seriously war wounded will continue to be paid out, at any rate the pension payouts are continuing.
Effects of the welfare legislation
In all cases where the word "basically" in the new decree is taken into account, the city and the province are paying out public support as before, because the Jewish communities have demonstrated that they would otherwise have gone through all their capital in half a year. Almost all the communities in the province have made these arrangements. The Bürgermeister have to some extent asked the Gemeinde what they ought to pay in particular cases. Unfortunately City Councillor Less in Breslau has not pursued the issue energetically enough because he was proud that the Gemeinde was solvent and in a position to afford to make large payments. The cashier's offices have generally continued to be run by the city but in Breslau the payments were made from the Jewish welfare office, which is not designed to accommodate such an onrush of people.
On top of that, the costs of Jewish inmates of state or city asylums and hospitals still have to be borne by the Jewish community. The Landeshauptmann sent a whole bundle of documentation about these people. The offer has been made from the Jewish side to pay a contribution of 50 Pfg. [Pfennig] a day. The negotiations about this are still going on. But the Landeshauptmann is basically ready to accept such a deal. Yet in Breslau it will probably be a matter of fuller payment, because the Bürgermeister there has pushed the full costs of support onto the Jewish community.
Jewish homes and institutions
The children's home in Flinsberg [now Pol. Świeradów Zdrój], which belonged to the Jüdischer Frauenbund has been sold. The convalescent hospital in Warmbrunn [now Pol. Śląskie-Zdrój] will probably be reopened as an old people's home or as a convalescent hospital. The Liegnitz [now Pol. Legnica] old people's home is still in Jewish ownership. The Jewish housekeeping school in Breslau has been dissolved. It was no longer authorised as a school. The Breslau rabbinical seminary is closed and its library and archive sealed up, as well as the library of the Jewish community in Breslau. Some of the agricultural colleges have been left as Hachshara, e.g. Groß-Bresen, after everything had been destroyed there. The reporter can say that she has seen a completely wrecked piano that had been "gutted", making a particularly bleak impression amongst all the other devastation.
The expropriation of the Jews
From the statements of assets one can observe in many cases that people overvalue them out of fear of being penalised by low statements. That is now coming back to haunt them in the tax assessment. Silver and gold had also been stated more or less exactly. These careful people are now the most wronged. Everything that has any value is taken, even the silver is removed at the last moment from possessions that have already been packed up.
Personal experiences
The reporter underwent three house searches in the November days. She herself was on a business trip but her old mother of 80 was at home. Jewish men were being sought who were supposed to have hidden for fear of arrest. The people who pushed their way into the house ripped the phone line out of the wall in passing. When the reporter later enquired with the telephone company about repairing it an official was sent but who told her that because she was a Jew he was not allowed to repair it. After repeated enquiries with the office someone appeared who repaired the damage without asking anything for it.
Aryan friends have been very helpful. They looked after Frau X.'s silver and all valuables.
On 10th November the reporter was in a small town in Lower Silesia, Militsch [now Pol. Milicz].
There she and other people she was with in the Gemeindehaus were forced, under coarse insults from SA men, to search on the street for bits of broken glass from the smashed windows. The public looked on curiously without saying anything. She soon had the chance to escape and travelled to Breslau.
In general one could say that 10th November was worse the further one was to the East. In Liegnitz it happened most decently. But in Neusalz [now Pol. Nowa Sól] there was no Jewish shop, only four Jewish families. All four houses had been completely destroyed because it was believed that was the best way to obey orders.
Deaths
Dr. Emanuel Joel, Breslau, teacher, 40/45 y., died in Buchenwald
Erich Weyl, Breslau, businessman, 37 y., died in Buchenwald from pneumonia
Wormann, Breslau, shoe dealer, 60 y., died in Buchenwald
Karl Steinfeld, businessman, 60 y., died in Buchenwald
Cohn, Görlitz, manufacturer, dead in Sachsenhausen
Guttstadt, Reichswirtschaftsgerichtsrat, Berlin, 58 y., died after release from Sachsenhausen
Plachte, Glogau, around 60, businessman, died in Buchenwald
Jules Beer, Reichenbach, of firm Weil & Nassau, hanged himself after release from detention
Arthur Dresel, Görlitz, businessman, died (?) during the 1934 operation
Amputation as a result of frostbite in the concentration camp
Fritz Neumann, Brieg, 30 y., all toes amputated due to frostbite.
Numerous deaths as a result of illnesses or after-effects amongst people released from the concentration camps.