German Jews and Migration to the United States, 1933–1945

This collection of mostly unpublished first-person accounts documents the flight and exile of German Jews from Nazi Germany to the USA. The thematic and biographical introductions by the editors, clear geographic framework, and well-defined time frame make this volume helpful to those new to the subject.

German Jews and Migration to the United States, 1933–1945 is a collection of first-person accounts, many previously unpublished, that document the flight and exile of German Jews from Nazi Germany to the USA,. The authors of the letters and memoirs included in this collection share two important characteristics: They all had close ties to Munich, the Bavarian capital, and they all emigrated to the USA, though sometimes via detours and/or after stays of varying lengths in other places of refuge. Selected to represent a wide range of exile experiences, these testimonies are carefully edited, extensively annotated, and accompanied by biographical introductions to make them accessible to readers, especially those who are new to the subject. These autobiographical sources reveal the often-traumatic experiences and consequences of forced migration, displacement, resettlement, and new beginnings. In addition, this book demonstrates that migration is not only a process by which groups and individuals relocate from one place to another but also a dynamic of transmigration affected by migrant networks and the complex relationships between national policies and the agency of migrants.

Table of Contents

Introduction: From Hitler’s Munich to American Exile

Andrea Sinn and Andreas Heusler

Part I: Heimat – Jewish Life in Germany and Nazi Persecution

Chapter 1: Munich, 1933–1938

Ernest B. Hofeller

Chapter 2: The Munich Years

Erich Hartmann

Chapter 3: A Student’s Fate, 1933–1945

Christine Roth-Schurtman

Chapter 4: The Jaws of the Swastika Tighten

Fred Bissinger

Chapter 5: An Emotional Handicap

Hugo Holzmann

Chapter 6: A Jewish Childhood in Nazi Germany

Pesach Schindler

Chapter 7: “… What One Leaves Behind”

Schwager Family Letters

Chapter 8: “I’m Alive: It’s a Miracle!”

Blechner Family Letters

Part II: Exile – Emigration and New Beginnings Abroad

Chapter 9: My New Life in the U.S.

Inge Moss

Chapter 10: Tossed by the Wind: A Proud Journey from 1920 to 1994

Ilse E. Scholle

Chapter 11: Tossed by the Storms of History: Experiences of a Survivor

Charlotte Haas Schueller

Chapter 12: Memories

Hanns Peter Merzbacher

Chapter 13: A Family History

Lotte Bamberger

Chapter 14: The Lost Home

Charlotte Stein-Pick

Chapter 15: The Tragedy of Emigration

Koppel Family Letters

Chapter 16: “Wanderer Between Two Worlds”

Hans Lamm