האתר של עמיקם צור

My parents did not inform me - they could not dare to.  They certainly were no nazis, tending more to the liberal parties before 1933., But in what they said about Hitler, they had to be extremely careful. Even jokes could lead to arrest and the camp. Critical remarks about Hitler’s warfare or the domestic situation could even lead to a death sentence. There always were people around, willing to report them to the Gestapo. That was the situation of many German families. They did not share the enthusiasm, many others nursed for Hitler, they were no resistance fighters, they just had to adapt to circumstances, in order not to risk their freedom and the fate of their families. This way of adapting themselves to reality did not mean that they had made their peace with the regime, which they abhorred.

 

My father had to be more careful than most other people, because of his being half jewish - classified as racially mixed or a  „first degree racial bastard“ by law. Authorities kept an eye upon him, ad so did the „Blockwart“ - a staunch nazi, appointed to watch the families in the street.

( in fact my father’s descent was much more dangerous: His mother was an American from a Jewish family. But the Nazis failed in finding this out in the States, as one of her daughters just before the officials from the Foreign Office started their research there, had seen to it that they won’t find anything to that respect. They still were suspicious, but being bureaucrats, they  needed definite proof. Otherwise my father  would have been classified as a full-blood Jew.)

His partly American-Jewish descent did not help our family with the Red Army in May 1945, however.

After the arrest of Arthur Eichengrün, his father,  my father repeatedly intervened with the Gestapo, until the officials told him never to come again or they would take care off him, too.

My parents firmly instructed me not to start fights with other boys or to offend neighbors. Their motive: Not to be conspicuous or arouse attention.

Consequently, I became a bit timid and restrained.

 

So, why did my parents not open my eyes? If they would have talked openly to me about politics or about the Jews in the family, about the fate of my grandfather and the emigration of my father’s sisters, this  would have been much too risky: I could have naively talked like them in school or elsewhere, and when in school there was the usual teaching against the Jews, I could have objected by stating my grandfather was a Jew, but a very friendly man. This would have alerted the Gestapo.

 

During the war I had often watched my father crouching very close near the radio, putting a blanket over himself and the radio. Only in 1944 did I learn why: He used to listen to the news of the BBC and wanted to avoid the neighbors noticing  it. And he always was afraid of the „Blockwart“, suddenly ringing the bell and entering without being asked in. (BBC had made one great mistake: they started their  news  with three loud „boum, boum, boum“, from Beetoven’s 5. Symphony. This noise could be treacherous).

 

 

In ’44, ten years old, I got  awakened to the political situation and instantly turned anti-nazi.

Perhaps this incident first made me aware of the situation: In a neighboring house in the village, where my mother and Hella and I were living,  a dozen of Prisoners of War, who had to work in the farms,  were living. First Frenchmen, who were free to leave the house. I don’t think I was astonished to see my mother often chat freely with them. What my mother did, was o.k. for me, and so I regarded this chatting as quite natural. They were acquaintances, not enemies.

Later, they were replaced by Yugoslav P.O.W.s, or perhaps forced labour men, We boys often played near their grounds, but could not talk with them, owing to the language issue. And the great difference was, that they could not move freely, but only had a small space behind the house open for them, fenced in with barbed wire. Nevertheless, we exchanged friendly greetings. But one day, one of them made me understand that he wanted me to mail a letter for him. Obviously, they were not allowed to write to their families, or their letters were censored.

Well, I took the letter. But the guard had watched this; he got hold of me and took me to my mother, demanding of her to admonish and punish me. After he had left, surprise, surprise, there was neither punishment nor scolding.  My mother just said: „ So stupid of you to let yourself get caught!“ Then she gave me some informations on the political backgrounds. Now she was sure that I knew about the risks of speaking or acting openly.

 

Of course, the obviously coming defeat of the German army reinforced my new attitude. From now on I could even help my parents in procuring information: In the evening they went for a walk, whilst I listend to BBC, reporting to them afterwards. If detected, nobody could blame a ten-years-old boy for playing with the radio.