Crucible of Terror. Max Liebster

opponents, confiscating their papers and books and breaking up their meetings. Suddenly, there were no more rowdy marches and clashes in the streets. Public places were once again safe; children could return to playing outside. Now one party, the Nazi Party (the NSDAP),** controlled the country. Germany had become a police state, but the populace welcomed the new calm, which in the minds of many made up for the fact that some experienced a loss of liberty. In any case, people dared not express their innermost feelings. The threat of being hauled away as a dissident left most citizens numb with fear, ready to conform to the growing pressure.

* The Sturmabteilung (SA), also known as Brownshirts, were used by Hitler to gain political power through the use of street violence and the intimidation of political opponents.

** Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeitspartei, or National Socialist German Workers Party.

      JUDA VERRECKE!

      (Death to Judaism!)

      —Nazi slogan painted on walls and windows

      From the beginning of his political career, Hitler furiously denounced the “worst” enemies of the State—the Communists and the Jews. Hitler’s message was intensified by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. In his hysterical talks, Hitler promised employment, a Volkswagen, and better housing for the common people, the Volk. Factories had to come to a standstill while the workers listened to Hitler’s ranting lectures. Indeed, the Führer did provide jobs. Every morning all sorts of men cycled past our store with shovels tied to their bikes. Instead of standing in soup lines, they had work—maybe not the type they would have chosen, but at least they earned their bread. Hot or cold, fog or rain, they labored to level the ground along the Rhine River for the future autobahn, Germany’s first highway.

      The Jew greedily stretched out his claw in order to pull the

      German farmer into the abyss; that is when Adolf Hitler came

      and stopped them—and Germany was released!

      —German Farmers’ Special Day

      The farmers fell in step with the new regime, and this helped the economy. The government moved to protect farmers’ property from lenders—if the farmers could prove that they were of pure “Aryan” stock. The masses hailed the quick economic recovery and seemed blind to the gradual strangulation of freedom. They hailed Hitler as their savior.

      Adolf Hitler, you are our great Führer.

      Thy name makes the enemy tremble.

      Thy Third Reich comes,

      Thy will alone is law upon the earth.

      Let us hear daily thy voice

      and order us by thy leadership,

      for we will obey to the end and even with our lives.

      We praise thee! Heil Hitler!

      —School Prayer

      We began to hear people make statements like, “Hitler wants order and decency. Germany should rally around its leader.” The Heil Hitler salute replaced the common greeting. It served as a constant reminder that Heil—salvation—comes through the Führer. It seemed that everyone went along, whether they wanted to or not. Who would dare refuse in public? Any possible voice of dissent had been terrorized into silence by the threat of “protective custody” in a concentration camp. I could see that our own customers voluntarily shut their ears to grim rumors of atrocities that were now beginning to circulate.

      Viernheim stands loyally by Adolf Hitler and the Fatherland!

      ...Viernheim is Germany—and we are a great people—

      in one beautiful national community!

      Germany above us—and our Führer Adolf Hitler above all!

      Hail Germany—Hail the Führer!

      —“Viernheim People’s Daily,” March 30, 1936

      The combination of guaranteed work, a low crime rate, and plenty of food acted like a sedative. Few raised a word of complaint against the degrading posters that depicted the Jews as an evil presence. Law after law hemmed in our freedom. The government organized boycotts against Jewish businesses. Julius and Hugo’s brother, Leo, had been forced to sell his candy distributorship for almost nothing to an “Aryan.” He then had to go to work in a factory. But because of their good relationship with their customers, Julius and Hugo felt safe, despite the fate of their brother, Leo.

      It is an outright contradictory statement to say: “A decent

      Jew,” since the expressions “decency” and “Jews” are

      contrary terms, excluding one another.

      —“Viernheim People’s Daily,” 1938

      Newspaper articles told ugly tales about Jews. Signs appeared forbidding Jews to go to public places such as theaters or parks. Because of their inferior “blood,” Jews could not be civil servants or teachers. Antisemitism even grew among educated Germans, who rushed to fill vacancies created by the ouster of Jewish academics and professionals.

Frenzied youth raised their arms and voices to hail the Führer, not of Germany alone but of the Third Reich.***

*** The Nazi regime used the term “Third Reich” to refer to Germany and its territories. This term also had strong historical associations with the Holy Roman Empire (First Reich) and the Bismarck era (Second Reich) and a religious association with millennialist Christian views. Reich means “kingdom.”

      Our banner flutters before us.

      Into the future we’ll pull man for man.

      We march for Hitler through night and through hardship

      With the flag of youth for freedom and sustenance.

      —Hitler Youth Banner Song

As I witnessed the Hitler Youth parades, my blood turned to ice. I beheld the heaving sea of swastika flags. I saw the edge of the abyss. German veterans sought to shed the humiliation of the World War and greeted the resurrection of the German military with great satisfaction. Hitler’s success in Austria and the Munich accord with Daladier of France and Chamberlain of Britain had elevated Germany’s international status. The Volksgemeinschaft**** seethed with fanatic pride.

**** This Nazi term is a combination of the word “Volk,” literally meaning “nation,” and Gemeinschaft, or “community.” According to Nazi usage, Volk became associated with notions of “Aryan” racial unity, purity, and superiority. A pure-blooded master race was to be the common goal. Each member of the Volksgemeinschaft had an equal and solemn responsibility to defend the oneness and greatness of the German nation.

      The population demands that all who

      do business with the Jews

      be excluded from any benefits provided by the Reich...

      —“Viernheim Gazette”

      Jews were now making desperate plans to escape. My sweet sister Hanna had worked loyally and efficiently for almost ten years as a secretary at Tempels’ paper mill. But Nazi pressure on the management resulted in Hanna’s dismissal. An “Aryan” took her job. Shortly before the November 1938 pogrom, some emigration facilities were operating. Hanna made a quick and courageous decision. A Jewish organization was sending young married couples to Argentina, where land and livestock could be obtained on credit. Adolf Strass,