by Merilyn Moos
What was also interesting was that none of the three considered flight or were not able to do so. As Rudi suggested: to flee, one needed money.
The person most aware of the significance of Hitler becoming Chancellor, (followed by the Reichtag fire) was Elfrieda. The Nazis had immediately banned their Bund of Revolutionary Writers in January 33. When they went to their usual meeting place in February, the SA were there waiting for them and they had to instantly scatter. During the burning of the books, they all individually turned up and were able to conduct discrete conversations as their books burned. They subsequently made themselves into small groups of 5 or 6.
Elfrieda was arrested in October 19 35, after Felix’s betrayal. She was tried before a Nazi judge and held in isolation in prison. She was released in 1936 but had to check in with the Gestapo three times every week. She ended up marrying a man who was not an active anti-Nazi but who provided her with a safe home and a child. She left him as soon as the war was over.
Hans was also arrested on 21 March 1933 after an illegal meeting, appeared before a proper judge (it was still the old system, he said) and was in prison for one year. Initially he said he was arrested twice, once for activity with the Freethinkers, once for the KPD, but he never returned to that, despite encouragement.
But we must not let the tragic mistakes of this period cloud our awareness of the bravery of these people. I will end this section with a comment by Rudi: By 1945, none of his old comrades from the early 1930s were still around. They were, he said, dead, exiled or in prison, but his emphasis was on being dead.
Appendix 3
Hermann Binnswanger
Hermann as will be seen throughout this biography was a key figure in Siegi’s life, and probably crucial in providing Siegi with funds. My guess is that Siegi had sufficient confidence that he could survive first on the road and then jobless and penniless in a foreign land because he expected (or anyway anticipated) that Hermann would provide for him. (From what I can gather, the amounts were small but sufficient to keep him alive.) Hermann’s affection for Siegi shines through the letters he sent Siegi and Lotte from 1933 till it became impossible to do so. Rather than break the thread of Siegi’s story in the bibliography itself, this appendix allows more space and attention to consider Hermann’s letters and Hermann himself.
Although the letters from Siegi’s uncle are not overtly political (indeed how could they be given the conditions in Nazi Germany between 1933 and Hermann’s ‘death’ in 1944), they do illuminate Siegi’s life. I did not even know of Hermann until a few years ago when, clearing my parents’ house, I came across a brown and battered packet, again buried deep beneath my father’s Economic Journal. In the envelope, were hundreds of sheets of paper, many written in archaic German hand writing, which proved very difficult to translate. I had no idea who they were from. Very slowly, the truth unfolded from these dusty and fragile sheets and I discovered that the ‘home’ my father had described had been with delightful Uncle Hermann and not with his mother or father, as I had presumed (and been led to assume). (See end of Appendix for extracts from these letters.) As already outlined, the exact scope of this relationship is not known but, if we judge from Hermann’s letters, Hermann cared a great deal for his nephew. We have no copies of Siegi’s replies to his uncle - which is curious, as Siegi kept copies of so much he wrote to others. Happily, Siegi preserved Hermann’s letters
The letters are written with amazing frequency till Herman was removed from his home. But much is written in heavy code, so any interpretation is open to question. It took me some time to realise, for instance, the frequent references to somebody called ‘Fritz’ actually referred to Siegi!
Hermann, Siegi’s only real family, is clearly doing everything he can to support his beloved nephew and his wife, Lotte. Hermann had no children and, as was more the way then than now, he and his wife, Rosa, took over the care of Rosa’s brother’s child. (Siegi’s father, Rosa’s brother, died when Siegi was little and his mother (supposedly) when Siegi was still young.)
From 1933 till about 1936, Hermann reassures Siegi that he will do whatever is possible legally do to support Siegi, although transferring money gets more and more complex and potentially dangerous. (The issue of legality appears to have mattered to Hermann morally, as well as because he wanted to stay out of trouble.) In December 1933, probably before he knew that Siegi has arrived in Paris, Hermann writes to Lotte: ‘Every hour my thoughts and my heart are with you, dear Lotte…I would love to make my contribution with all the strength still at my disposal. I do insist on it.’ However, he urges her to respond to his letters as her failure to do so (something she was never good at!) ‘irritates my nerves’. In a later letter from December 1933, he assures her that the next instalment is on its way. Hermann regularly reminds Siegi (for example in a letter from March 1934) that Siegi (and another person he refers to as August) will inherit a large amount each. (This was never to be but that is part of another story!) In March 1934, he writes that he has opened a new account for them.
But it is getting increasingly difficult to transfer money abroad and by April 1936, Hermann was finding it difficult to send his monthly transfer. He tells them: ‘I can only watch with my heart bleeding…Should you ever get into dire financial circumstances, show these lines to Lord Hirst.’ We know Siegi was in contact with Hirst so may well have done so. By 1937, draconian financial restrictions were being enforced to deprive Jews of their property. Hermann is creative in finding ways of supporting Siegi and Lotte. He appears to get money to Siegi via business contacts in the UK and through the USA, and even suggests - and probably does - send stamps. By March 1938, although he offers to send them his old furniture (which is legal), Hermann laments he cannot help them financially with their move from London to Oxford. In a sombre letter from April 1939, he writes about how many people now need his financial support. Was Siegi’s ability to flee Germany in part predicated on the knowledge that, if it came to it, his rich uncle would help him out? Certainly, he has no evident source of income till he starts his part-time job at the LSE in 1936.
Back in 1933, Hermann wrote a letter to Lotte giving her a variety of possible contacts in Paris, which she had reached before Siegi, and knew nobody. These contacts included reference both to members of the Dreyfus family (relatives of Alfred Dreyfus of the French Dreyfus Affair in the early twentieth century) - related through Rosa’s mother, and to cousins of Albert Einstein, also blood relatives of Siegi’s, as well as the exact address of another branch of the family that had apparently lived in Paris ever since the early C19th! These illustrious connections indicate that my father’s family, at least on his father’s and uncle’s sides, had deep roots in the radical wing of the nineteenth century European bourgeoisie. Whether Lotte made use of these contacts is unknown, but their existence surely must have been comforting.
The tensions and insecurities of Siegi and Lotte’s relationship after they had both separately fled Berlin also shows up in Hermann’s remarkably non-judgemental letters, though sometimes obliquely. Some of the passages, even written as early as 1933, require detective work to decipher. Hermann writes: ‘I can agree that the London traffic in question could play a part. If husband and wife can be together…the traffic should not play a big part, at least not for the next few years and then you can see which way the wind blows.’
Certainly, Hermann shows continuing concern for their relationship - as we know, not without cause. He expresses great anxiety (‘I am in a state of total groundlessness’) in a 1936 letter about Lotte’s planned departure (though it is never stated, it was to the USSR) but wants to know if he can provide her with anything for her trip, as long as it is lawful to do so. In the same letter, he assures Siegi that he has the addresses of relatives in the USA and offers to pay for a ticket to the USA - directly to the shipping company, confirmation that Siegi is seriously considering leaving for the US and again suggesting deep problems in his relationship with Lotte. (Hermann’s repeated
attempts to purchase tickets were frustrated.) Hermann expresses much hope when Lotte returns: ‘You are still young enough that that the difficulties of the past period can give way to a harmonious and happy future together.’ In a much later and almost final letter from 1939, after Lotte’s return from the USA, he expresses great happiness that Lotte and Siegi are back together again.
At the same time, Hermann had persisted with an intriguing naivety to try to persuade Siegi to return to Germany, which I can only imagine Siegi must have had to dismiss. On the 26.12.1933, almost immediately after Siegi finally arrived safely in Paris, Hermann writes: ‘I come to the matter of our friend Alfons [Siegi]. ..Of course the filling of the job reserved for him [in Hermann’s factory] cannot be infinitely postponed…If our friend [Siegi] was to return to his homeland, it cannot be known what would befall him…For me, it is deplorable that my dream has come to nothing.’ He reasserts repeatedly (January, February and March letters) in 1934 how easy it would be for ‘Fritz’ / ‘Alphons’ to resume his former position in the firm. Even in a letter from 1936, he grieves that his nephew is ‘not showing much desire to breathe German air again’ (!) In a sad undated letter, but probably from 1939, written on thin paper and extremely difficult to decipher, Hermann again writes that he is still hoping that this ‘normally very clever man‘ will overcome his inhibitions, as German emigrants do not face ‘a land of milk and honey.’
Yet the real situation in Germany, even in 1933, that Hermann was hoping Siegi will return to, was revealed in this cheery - but damning - sentence : ‘I am steaming all correspondence that is not of historical significance because of these considerations [‘these’ is left to the reader to understand]. The steam from this drove our egg mixing apparatus and made wonderful egg liqueur [advocat - one of the liqueurs produced in their factory]. All the old bank notes, made worthless by inflation, are fuelling the boiler. I am very happy about this.’ In another letter from 1933, Herman is already writing that their liqueurs and wines are having to be sold cheap: ‘wines in balloons of 5-10 litres. Our rich reservoir of barrels has fallen into the well-known slumber of Sleeping Beauty.’ Except of course, there was to be no Prince.
Indeed, even by 1934, Herman is lamenting to Siegi about all the relatives who are leaving Germany and how he misses them, a theme which becomes increasingly insistent (Hermann appears to try to provide many of these friends and relatives with the means to get out). In March 1934, he writes that his beloved house in Solln is difficult to sell, a house he loved. We can imagine what is happening. There are no letters between March 1934 and March 1936. In the first 1936 letter, Hermann writes in his coded style but where the meaning is all too clear: ‘There may have been trespasses that had the injurious consequence of the revocation of the international passport.’ The ‘last’ letters are not dated, although there a terrible one line sentence from 1941, assuring everybody he was OK. But in letters almost certainly from 1939, Hermann writes that he no longer has income or property.
What is also significant about these letters is what they do not mention: Hermann never refers to himself - or indeed any member of the family - as Jewish, or to the observation of any Jewish rituals or ceremonies. This was not just to avoid the censor’s gaze but because these rituals and beliefs did not concern him. But he observes the growing anti-Semitism. In February 1938, he states that ‘Hermann Meyer and Co has been Aryanised.’ But, as always, he does not comment. (In the next sentence he complains of toothache, which may or may not be code.) In a letter dated 12.8 1938, he writes: ‘The flowers, plants, trees, even the compost heap, know no difference between Aryan and non-Aryan.’ Later in that letter, he says he would pay for Lotte’s parents to get out using a Jewish emigration institution, but doubts, correctly, whether it would be allowed. ‘Giving is always bliss,’ he adds.
By the end of 1938, he is writing almost exclusively but obliquely about what is happening to his family, and in his very last brief letters, about being repeatedly forced to move, aged over eighty, from one ‘residence’ to another. (Needless to say, his wonderful home in Munich, which survives, is still in the hands of the family who moved in after Hermann was moved out.) Hermann is emblematic of an ‘integrated’ group of the German high-bourgeoisie who did not perceive themselves primarily, or, possibly, even significantly, as Jewish, but as Germans. That was the influence that Siegi grew up under.
The Nazi’s view was different. Hermann’s life ended in Theriesenstadt, after his serious (and oh so rational) attempt at suicide failed. He was carried out of his house by the SS on a stretcher and then this wise old man ‘chose’ to starve himself to death in the camp. Nobody should ever have to die like that. I fear he was alone.
I do hope Hermann knew that Siegi and Lotte were expecting a baby, but I very much doubt it. The letters, from friends, not officialdom, informing Siegi of Hermann’s death arrived about the same time I was born. I am the grandchild he yearned for and never had. In 1937 he wrote: ‘If you have prospects of having an addition to the family [a baby]…I would be very happy if I was granted to have the child with me and if possible, care for it.’
Below are substantial extracts from Hermann’s letters. I am including them because they give a sense of how important Siegi and Lotte were to him and give us a rare, if not unique, ‘primary source’ about what is happening in Siegi and Lotte’s lives between about 1933 and 1939; also because the letters give both a sense of the iron boot descending in Germany and the poignancy of Hermann’s response. Hermann referred to my father sometimes as Fritz, sometimes as Friedl, sometimes in terms of ‘My Beloved Ones’ (indeed, when I first read the translations, I did not appreciate he was writing to my father). I assume these names were in part an attempt to conceal Siegi’s identity. Hermann regularly writes in code and it has not always been possible to establish his meaning. I have cut-out his ‘address’ to make understanding these letters easier, except for the letter addressed specifically to Lotte.
12.12.1933 My dear Lotte, My congratulations to your moving [to Britain]. May contentment and blessing come from it for you and dear Louise. Every hour my thoughts and my heart are with you both.
20.2.1934 I congratulate you both that you can be together again and that you dear Fritz got out of the Paris pandemonium. I’ve been worried sick.
12.3.1934 Today you would have had occasion to compare the English and Bavarian beers. The Bavarian gets my vote. For today the Salvator festival started on the Nockherberg. You, dear Fritz, can tell dear Lotte a long story about the Nockherberg. And may your mouth, dear Lotte, be watering now and so prevent many tears that you might otherwise cry. It is a pity that there isn’t a service, similar to Interflora, to send you the special sausages and beer.
Let’s hope that one day luck - long yearned for and well deserved - will come to you and will help you overcome all miseries.
30.3.1934 Between you, me and the gatepost, my evening menu includes a special kind of cheese, dark rye bread, grated reddish, vinegar, oil and ¾ litre Löwenbräu Bock. Cheers.
7.2.1936 I’m burning all correspondence that is not of historical significance, because of considerations. The steam from this drives our egg mixing apparatus and made wonderful egg liqueur. Lots of other material, including old inflationary bank notes, has turned our apparatus into a boiler! I’m very happy about this.
12.3.1936 The revocation of the international passport has taken away from me the possibility of seeing and speaking to you again. I have anxiously taken care not to violate the laws and rules, which are in force after all, by one iota. The longing for you would have helped me overcome all physical difficulties, even if I had suffered from it for weeks afterwards. After a few exchanges of letters with your dear parents I have now gained the opinion that you have thought through this plan to emigrate again.
10.4.1936 As your dear wife is not with you, I can confess that I can surely understand your feeling of being deserted. But you can thank God look forward to seeing each other again soon and sharing
a hopefully very long, happy and successful journey through life.
I eat quite well and in summer I’ll offer my stomach reddish salad, cheese and dark bread again.
21.4.1936 Dear Fritz, I haven’t heard from Louise directly but my dear friend Sam [no doubt code] mentioned in his latest letter that she is fine and heading for her goal. Let’s hope that you remain healthy and that the separation won’t last long.
17.10.1936 Today, I’ll work with the flower boxes in the loggia and cellar, and repair the shutters but also I’ll pack and send a sausage which found the special approval of my guests in Solln……Let’s hope the parcel will arrive well and you’ll both like its taste.
24.4.1937 If you have prospects of having an addition to the family, I would be very happy for you, your dear parents and very much so for myself, if I could have your off-spring with me and if possible to care for them. If this family addition comes often, if you are yourself in a secured position, it’ll be easier for you and a child in every respect to overcome any financial difficulties.
7.2.1938 That you have got wobbly tables is not as bad as if your feet were wobbly. How easily I could share some of my plates and bowls with you without missing them, but it is not worth the freight. You my dear Lotte are a troubled child and I feel sorry for you that you have to run around such a lot and haven’t got the success hoped for. But untroubled joy of life has never been granted to any earthly being, so just take courage. Arriving together with yours, is a negative letter from America - the prospect hinted at has met a setback. [This could refer to early attempts to get Lotte’s parents an American visa but it could equally apply to many other family members wishing to get out.]