Station: [10] Memor Book


F:

What exactly happened at Creglingen town hall on March 25, 1933? Who were the 16 men that were physically abused on that day, how did people react, and what, if any, judicial consequences were there?

M:

You can read all about it in this Memor Book.

F:

The only public reaction we know of is a sermon by the pastor of Niederstetten, Hermann Umfrid. During a service on the day after the pogrom, he declared from the pulpit: “What happened in our town yesterday, that wasn’t right. Help, all of you, so that the German people’s shield of honor may once again be spotless!”

Umfrid was reprimanded by the Protestant High Consistory; interrogated, threatened, and harassed by the Nazis, and received no support from any side. He committed suicide in January 1934, less than a year after the events.

M:

That same year, 1933, the famous writer Lion Feuchtwanger published the second volume of his “Waiting Room” trilogy, the novel “The Oppenheim Family”, in which he faithfully describes the events. If you’d like to hear Feuchtwanger’s description, please select number 15, item 1.

Afterwards, we’ll continue by the piano just behind you.

 Foto: © Jüdisches Museum Creglingen, Fotograf Oleg Kuchar