BROKEN LIVES
BROKEN LIVES
How Ordinary Germans Experienced the Twentieth Century
KONRAD H. JARAUSCH
Princeton University Press
Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2018 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press,
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In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
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Jacket photographs: (top) Courtesy of the Prussian Heritage Image Archive, Berlin;
(bottom) Courtesy of Isolde Stark
All Rights Reserved
ISBN 978-0-691-17458-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018932868
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Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Contents
Cast of Characters
vii
Introduction: Narratives of German Experiences
1
PART I: PREWAR CHILDHOOD
1. Imperial Ancestors
17
2. Weimar Children
42
3. Nazi Adolescents
66
PART II: WARTIME YOUTH
4. Male Violence
101
5. Female Struggles
147
6. Victims’ Suffering
190
PART III: POSTWAR ADULTHOOD
7. Defeat as New Beginning
237
8. Democratic Maturity
279
9. Communist Disappointment
320
Conclusion: Memories of Fractured Lives
360
Acknowledgments
381
Notes
383
List of Sources
431
Index
437
Cast of Characters
1. Key Individuals (more than eighty mentions)
Angress, Werner “Tom,” *1920 in Berlin into a wealthy Jewish family, expelled from high school, learned farming at Gross Breesen, escaped from Germany in 1938, worked at Hyde Farmlands in Virginia, joined US military intelligence, parachuted into Normandy, went to college on GI bill, became German historian, retired to Berlin.
Baehrenburg, Ursula (name changed on request of author), *1927 in Pomerania into baker’s family, was raped by Red Army soldiers, expelled to West Germany, studied education, worked in various schools as special education teacher outside Frankfurt, had difficulty with personal relationships, retired to live with childhood friend.
Bulwin, Ruth, *1922 in Kassel, father an abusive traveling salesman, enthusiastic BdM member, married a Hitler Youth leader and SS soldier during the war, lived in occupied Prague, fled from East to West Germany, worked in government office, helped husband build a house and create an independent business firm.
Fest, Joachim, *1926 in Berlin, father a conservative Catholic high-school teacher critical of the Third Reich, avoided the Hitler Youth, volunteered for the German military in 1944, released from US captivity, studied law and art history, worked for Radio in the American Sector, became a noted journalist and historian.
Frenzel, Paul, *1920 in Leipzig into lower-middle-class family, served in construction battalion in Wehrmacht, fled dramatically from Russian imprisonment, learned accounting, joined SPD, worked as banker and financial expert, had conflict with SED, became critic of planned economy, was Stasi target, as retiree was allowed to move to FRG.
Grothus, Horst, *1925 in Essen, stepfather successful lawyer, member of air Hitler Youth, enthusiastic supporter of Third Reich, captured at end of war, lost both feet in Russian POW camp, served as manager in uncle’s firm, became independent management consultant, turned into a liberal democrat, pacifist, and social activist.
Härtel, Karl, *1923 in Breslau into working-class family, served in Wehrmacht, escaped from French prison camp, trained as electrician and mechanic, studied engineering in night school, worked in chemical triangle of GDR, fled to West Germany before the building of the Wall, began new career in FRG nuclear facility.
Helmer, Erich, *1922 in Braunschweig, father a critical Protestant pastor and opponent of Third Reich, avoided Hitler Youth, served in air force, escaped imprisonment, lived in East but completed Gymnasium in the West, studied theology, had run-ins with nationalist church hierarchy, became a critical clergyman and left the official church.
Joachim, Gerhard, *1926 in Stettin into half-Jewish business family, joined air force, tried to desert, was imprisoned, succeeded in reaching Russian lines, turned into a socialist idealist, became cultural functionary, ran afoul of party line, was disciplined, lost son to suicide in the West, hoped for Gorbachev, was disappointed in unification.
Johannsen, Horst, *1929 in Barmbek, father unskilled worker, Communist, as child sent to Transylvania, drafted at end of war, left unit and went home, slave laborer for SED, musical entertainer, studied engineering, worked as shipping clerk at railroad and dispatcher for chemical combine, critic of planned economy in GDR.
Klein, Fritz, *1924 in Berlin into upper-class nationalist publishing family, stepfather educator, served in military without enthusiasm, converted to Communism, studied Marxist history, served as editor of professional journal, was disciplined and sent to Academy of Sciences, became prominent GDR historian and Gorbachev supporter.
Krapf, Gerhard, *1924 in Meissenheim, father charismatic Protestant clergyman, patriotic youth, served as artillery officer in Wehrmacht, was imprisoned by Russians for several years, studied music at Karlsruhe, became organist and composer, due to exchange year emigrated to US, became University of Iowa professor.
Mahlendorf, Ursula, *1929 in Strehlen into middle-class family, supported the war, was caught in Silesia in the final fighting, expelled by the Poles, finished high school in the West, studied languages and enjoyed exchange year in US, emigrated there and became professor of German studies, fierce critic of National Socialism.
Neumaier, Robert, *1924 in Lahr into binational Swiss-German trading family, Catholic milieu, apprenticed as metal worker, air force volunteer, survivor of Stalingrad and Normandy, studied engineering after the war, specialized in circular-pump design, wrote several books and became international authority in his field.
Raschdorff, Hellmut, *1922 in Kassel into Catholic merchant family, skeptical of the Third Reich, apprenticed in business, volunteered for army, was wounded, sent to Channel Islands, started own textile business selling door to door, succeeded through hard labor typical of Economic Miracle, enjoyed car, house, mountain hikes, and travel.
Schöffski, Edith, *1928 in Berlin into sectarian Protestant family, poor household, limited schooling, cared for younger sister, worked as telephone operator, experienced saturation bombing, survived Russian occupation and postwar hunger and cold, met refugee husband, started her own family in spite of dire need.
Schultheis, Heinz, *1921 in Giessen, father wealthy store-owner, Hitler Youth member, drafted into Labor Service, construction soldier, survived combat, studied chemistry, worked as university research assistant, joined leading chemical company BSAF and had a successful business career.
2. Secondary Protagonists (more than forty mentions)
Andrée, Horst, *1927 in Pomerania, father forester, Wehrmacht service in Italy, POW, flight from East to West Germany, trained in forestry, forester in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Baucke, Gerhard, *1919 in Berlin, father baker and Nazi, Wehrmacht surviv
or, GDR journalist, West Berlin anti-Communist, successful printing company owner.
Debus, Hermann, *1926 in Buer, patriotic Navy SEAL, Rhine River captain, chemical shift worker, local real-estate official, disability retiree, amateur theater actor.
Eyck, Frank, *1920 in Berlin, father prominent Jewish lawyer and politician, sent to UK boarding school, served in British occupation force, European historian in Canada.
Feigel, Werner, *1924 in Plauen, military truck driver, East German police officer, despite problems with SED an unregenerate Communist, spokesman for ex-GDR elite.
Finckh, Renate, *1926 in Ulm, League of German Girls leader, study of German and history, mother of eight children, youth author, moved to southern France.
Gay, Peter, *1923 in Berlin as Peter Fröhlich into an assimilated Jewish family, escaped Nazi Germany 1939 via Cuba, arrived in the US 1941, distinguished historian.
Gompertz, Albert, *1921 in Gelsenkirchen, father wealthy Jewish furrier, émigré to US, served in the US Army, US citizen, successful businessman.
Grothus, Gisela, *1920 in Berlin into upper-class family, critical of Third Reich, trained as medical technician, management consultant assistant, feminist activist.
Huber, Anneliese, *1920 in Waldshut, father Communist, trained in fashion sales, war widow, worked for insurance company, second husband policeman, housewife.
Hübschmann, Klaus, *1932 in Thuringia, father doctor, studied medicine, became director of pediatric clinic in Potsdam, after retirement amateur musicologist.
Klüger, Ruth, *1931 in Vienna, father Jewish doctor, survivor of Theresienstadt and Auschwitz, emigrated 1947 to US, author and professor of German literature.
Mandelstam, Lucy, *1926 in Vienna into Jewish family of modest means, deported to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz, survived death march, emigrated to Israel.
Queiser, Hans R., *1921 in Oberstein, Hitler Youth leader, air force volunteer, tail-gunner, NS war reporter, postwar democratic journalist.
Sieg, Martin, *1927 in East Prussia, Wehrmacht soldier, studied theology, Protestant pastor in Osnabrück, theological author and critic of Nazi regime.
Sternheim-Peters, Eva, *1925 in Paderborn, enthusiastic Hitler Youth leader, postwar study of pedagogy, worked as high-school teacher and later as psychologist.
Taubhorn, Erika, *1928 in Barmen, poor family, BdM member, apprenticed as seamstress, overcame postwar privation, working-class housewife.
Tausch, Hans, *1922 in Wildstein, Sudeten German, military officer, POW, expelled by Czechs, high-school classics teacher in Bavaria.
Thamm, Gerhardt B., *1930 in Jauer, boy soldier in Silesia, Soviet slave laborer, expelled by Poles, emigrated to US, intelligence analyst and author.
Walb, Lore, *1919 in Alzey, enthusiastic Hitler Youth leader, wartime study of German, postwar journalist and feminist, worked for SWF and Bavarian Radio.
Weigelt, Ruth, *1922 in Schreiberhau/Silesia, family restaurant owners, Reich Labor Service, wartime marriage, released by Poles 1957, difficult new beginning in Swabia.
3. Minor Individuals (more than five mentions)
Alenfeld, Irene, *1933 in Berlin, half-Jewish survivor, translator, émigré in France.
Bässmann, Joachim, banker, SS perpetrator in Auschwitz.
Beilmann, Christel, *1921 in Bochum, Catholic youth activist.
Berger, Gabriel, *1944 in France, Jewish physicist, GDR refugee.
Bork, Ingrid, *1928 in Berlin, housewife.
Braune, Werner, *1936 in Berlin, East German Protestant pastor.
Busch, Marianne, Auschwitz teacher, NS accomplice.
Buschmann, Heinrich Johann, *1922 in Essen, East German agronomist.
Ehrle, Gustav, *1927, World War II soldier, Bundeswehr member.
Elias, Ruth, *1922 in Mährisch-Ostrau, Holocaust survivor in Israel.
Fehr, Bettina, *1922 in Frankfurt am Main, bookseller, housewife.
Ganor, Niza (Anna Fränkel), *1925 in Lviv, slave laborer and Auschwitz survivor in Israel.
Greiffenhagen, Martin, *1928 in Bremervörde, West German political scientist.
Gros, Günter, *1920 in Giessen, POW escapee, eye doctor.
Groschek, Christel, *1928 in Königsberg, expellee, housewife.
Hagemann, Günter, *1921 in Hamburg, worker and Social Democratic politician.
Hecht, Ingeborg, *1921 in Hamburg, author, half-Jewish survivor.
Homeyer, Wilhelm, *1913 in Hameln, Wehrmacht soldier, Russian POW.
Iggers, Georg, *1926 in Hamburg, Jewish émigré historian in US.
Keil, Jack Baruch, *1926 in Berlin, Jewish refugee, accountant in US.
Koch, Gertrud, *1924 in Cologne, Communist resistance fighter, housewife.
Kolesnyk, Sonja, *1928 in Letnia, Ukrainian slave laborer.
Kolesnyk, Wilhelm, *1927 in Vienna, Ukrainian Nazi accomplice.
Kosing, Alfred, *1928 in East Prussia, East German Marxist philosopher.
Krause, Günter, *1920 in Gera, mechanical engineer, GDR refugee.
Leithold, Albert, *1923 in Delitzsch, chemist and GDR critic.
Manz, Günter, *1922 in Berlin, East German economist.
Meyerstein, Heinz Jehuda, *1920 in Göttingen, Jewish escapee to Israel.
Moosmann, Agnes, *1925 in Bodnegg, Swabian housewife and official.
Mueller, Irmgard, *1920s in Halle, Auschwitz survivor, secretary in USA.
Neglein, Hans-Gerd, *1927 in Westphalia, Siemens board member, environmentalist.
Polak, Ilse, *1927 in Papenburg, Jewish survivor, émigré to USA.
Schirmer, Hans-Harald, *1924 in Wolfenbüttel, worker, SPD politician.
Schoenhals, Dieter, *1926 in Giessen, émigré Germanist in Sweden.
Schöffski, Benno, *1923 in Pillau, East Prussian refugee.
Scholz-Eule, Eberhard, *1921, in Reichenbach in Silesia, refugee.
Seelmann-Eggebert, Will, *1923 in Berlin, officer, Bundeswehr.
Simon, Marie Jalowicz, *1922 in Berlin, Holocaust survivor, professor.
Sölle, Dorothee, *1929 in Cologne, Protestant theologian and activist.
Stern, Carola, *1925 in Ahlbeck, liberal journalist in West Germany.
Stern, Fritz, *1926 in Breslau, Jewish émigré historian in US.
Warmbrunn, Werner, *1920 in Frankfurt, Jewish émigré, Germanist in US.
Witolla, Jakobine, *1923 in East Prussia, Red Army refugee to FRG.
Zöger, Heinz, *1915 in Leipzig, Communist journalist, refugee to FRG.
BROKEN LIVES
INTRODUCTION
Narratives of German Experiences
Conversations with older Germans about their pasts trigger amazing stories whose alleged facts are often stranger than fiction. For instance, during the night of March 16, 1945, Toni Schöffel huddled with her three small children in a shelter during a British bombing raid on the medieval city of Würzburg. When an air shaft was hit, “panic broke out since smoke spread through the room.” After digging through the blocked entry, they faced an inferno of flames that made the front of their apartment building collapse. “The firestorm was so strong that Toni had to hold onto the children to keep them from being swept away.” With the smallest girl sitting in a handcart, the bedraggled survivors had to walk twenty-five kilometers until a friendly farmer finally took them in. But there was no news of their father Paul, who served at the front: “Was he fallen, had he died?”1 Beneath the veneer of postwar recovery, almost every family has such tales of lives disrupted or lost, showing the devastating impact of dictatorship and war.
Listening to such life stories greatly expands one’s perspective on the twentieth century, since it puts ordinary people back into the well-known narrative of major events. Instead of concentrating on the course of high politics, this reverse angle illuminates the human dimension, revealing an extraordinary mixture of prolonged suffering and surprising happiness. As Bettina Fehr recalled: “Only by retelling an individual fate can one really understand the thousandfold misfortunes that befell people.�
�� On the one hand, many people struggled with forces beyond their control, becoming complicit with the demands of the Nazi or Communist dictatorships. On the other, the survivors who emerged from these disasters rebuilt their lives in spite of the Cold War confrontation between the liberal West and the socialist East. A sustained look at unexceptional lives therefore dissolves the grand story of calamity and reconstruction into countless individual tales of survival and recovery that reveal the irresistible impact of political conflicts that ruptured peaceful existences but also offered new opportunities.2
In these personal accounts, the Nazi dictatorship, World War II, and the Holocaust emerge as the central vortex that irreparably altered millions of life trajectories. While the suffering of the First World War and hyperinflation seemed bad, the Weimar Republic provided a beacon of hope that progress would resume. But the devastating effect of the Great Depression created the mass disappointment upon which the novel National Socialist movement rode to power, renewing German pride by providing a warped sense of a national community. Though these stories attest to Hitler’s initial popularity, they also demonstrate how the criminal war of annihilation eventually came back to haunt the German people themselves through mass death in military battle, civilian bombing, and ethnic cleansing. The drama of the final war years that turned erstwhile perpetrators into victims has deeply engraved itself in people’s minds, since it cost many lives and scarred even those fortunate enough to survive.3
These life histories also suggest that the more peaceful second part of the century offered some relief by allowing individuals to rebuild their broken lives and get on with their private affairs. But many postwar decisions consciously or unconsciously tried to avoid the potential repetition of past disasters. During the Cold War, the personal and collective attempt to restore a degree of normalcy required an enormous effort that focused on the present. The pursuit of material wealth in the West and social equality in the East absorbed much attention for several decades. Many people succeeded in forgetting their nightmares, resuming personal relationships, basking in professional success, and reaping the spoils of prosperity by buying cars, building houses, and traveling abroad. But for some, with retirement, the terrible memories of defeat, flight, and expulsion and postwar hunger returned, forcing a delayed reckoning. It is that painful process of self-examination that ultimately transformed many Germans into peaceful democrats.4
Broken Lives Page 1