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In 1933 and again in 1935, Irma’s son-in-law Ferd, a rabbi, traveled to Hitler ’s Germany to assess the state of affairs there. Following his first trip, he wrote a pamphlet, “Sentenced to Death: The Jews of Nazi Germany.” Very few in the United States wanted to believe what he wrote. And why should they? Did not German Jews, by and large, belong to the vast urban middle class? Were they not prosperous business people, lawyers, and doctors? Since they were socially and culturally integrated into German intellectual , cultural, economic, and political spheres, they were no different from other Germans. Although the news that filtered out from Germany late in 1933 and 1934 refuted those perceptions, as late as 1937 some German Jews, both in the United States and in Germany, continued to deny that Hitler was a threat or that there were real problems. If they admitted there actually might be problems, they maintained that the reports were exaggerated. Monday, April 12, 1937 Happened to meet Jule G. who had lunch with us. Jule told us some things about Germany. She thinks 80% of Germans are against Hitler and his crowd. Said Germany and no other European country wants war. She seems to live very luxuriously and comfortably in Germany and said the stories of persecution are exaggerated. I didn’t agree with her. I think she didn’t like me. I quoted Ferd at times and she admitted that Ferd had been placed in situations where he would hear about things of which she and Ide and Abe had no knowledge. In the United States, the depression continued and, as so often had happened in the past when times were bad, anti-Semitism surfaced. War and Its Victims, 1933–1957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Monday, August 23, 1937 Maid did not appear this a.m. Did not notify me simply failed to show up knowing too, that I am having a dinner party tomorrow evening. Called her up and paid her. She tried to recommend some one else to me. It is a pity that such things upset one emotionally. I asked her, “Do you think this is an honorable thing to do?” She replied, “Nobody, now-a-days, thinks about being honorable.” Very interesting. She asked me Saturday if we were Jewish. Her husband works in a German Rathskeller. She was surprised that we were Jewish . Baked cookies — took me all morning what with telephoning, interviewing maids, Laurie’s coming etc. I do not mind the work I do — in fact, I rather enjoy it, but I regret keenly that it leaves me no time or energy to write and to read. By 1937, the European situation was becoming more serious, whether people wanted to admit it or not. Russia, Communists, Hitler, Jewish refugees , and Eastern Europe became dinner-table topics, as Irma’s diaries show. Sunday, August 1, 1937 Company for dinner. Emily and Albert, Ruth, Ferd, and Juny [grandson ]. Al G. and his wife. We ate on the porch. Discussions on politics, Russia etc. Afterwards Al G. told us about Trotsky. Ferd talked about Roumania and Poland. . . . In July 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt presided over a conference in Evian, France, to develop a solution to the German refugee problem. Over thirty nations participated but drafted no plan or resolutions. News from Europe was bleak. War in Europe appeared imminent. Saturday, September 24, 1938 Tried to put some closets in order. Dashed down to bank and to Woodlawn Market early in the p.m. Found Albert here upon my return playing croquet with Victor C. Cooked barley soup. Flo C. came. Essie called up, asked us to walk over to her house to see her new kitchen stove. Flo, Victor C. and I walked over and then Victor and I walked home. In the evening read and listened to news. European news very disturbing. wa r a n d i t s v i c t i m s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 ] Tuesday, October 4 Heard Dr. [Thomas] Mann speak on the radio —“The Individual and His Destiny”— a very disturbing and troubled address interpreting world events of last week. It is Yom Kippur eve. Tuesday, October 18 Heard Ethel Kawin talk on “The Over-privileged Child” in the a.m. Met Mrs. F. at noon. Attended luncheon of “The Round Table for Jews and Christians.” Rabbi Schulman of The North Shore Congregation [Israel] spoke on “Incorrigible Europe.” In August 1938, the Mauthausen concentration camp opened, as did...

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