Category: Jewish Military Casualties

In my prior post, I described the varied books published in Germany during, after not long after, the First World War, which covered the experiences of German Jewish soldiers through prose – soldiers’ letters and diaries – as well as statistics. 

But, descriptions can go only “so far”. 

This post presents the letter from soldier Martin Feist, of Frankfurt, which appears in Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden.

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Images of the cover of Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden, Max Liebermann’s sketch, and Martin’s letter (outlined in red) on pages 19 and 20, are presented below:

The book’s cover.

The title page.

Max Liebermann’s art:  An allegory of mourning.

Excerpt of Martin’s letter, commencing on page 19.  The format of the “header” – comprised of the soldier’s name, rank, and military unit; date and place of birth; date and place of death; date and place where the letter was actually written – is followed (with variations) for the 73 other writings in the book.

Excerpt of Martin’s letter, concluding on page 20.

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Martin’s letter, in German transcription and English translation, is presented below.  (Note the ellipses, indicating sections of the letter which were deleted left unpublished.  More about those in a moment..)

Martin Feist
Gefreiter
Inf. Regt. 81
Geboren: 3.11.1891, Frankfurt / M.
Gefallen: 7.1.1915, Frankreich

Martin Feist
Corporal
81st Infantry Regiment
Born: November 3, 1891, Frankfurt on Main
Fallen: January 7, 1915, France

Im schützengraben bei Andochy, 2.11.14
In a Trench at Andochy, November 2, 1914

     …Ich will in meinem gestrigen Bericht fortfahren.  Die Nacht vom Donnerstag auf Freitag verlief wider Erwarten ruhig.  Der Freitag selbst brachte uns etwas Ruhe, und ermattet von den Strapazen, ruhten wir ermüdet in unseren Gräben.  Der Schabbos begann, und wieder hiess es, leise sich von einem Schützengraben zum anderen wiederholend: “Tornister packen, alles gefechtsbereit, Seitengewehr aufpflanzen.”  Ein Gefühl des Schauerns durchzog mich, als ich auf diese Weise den Befehl ermittelte: “Heute nacht Sturm.”  Stumm lehnte ich mich an die Brüstung des Schützengrabens, scharf nach vorn aus lugend, von wo wir den Feind erwarteten: der volle eben aufgegangene Mond erleichterte die Aufgabe, das hügelige Gelände zu überschauen.  Ich sprach mein Maariw gebet, und dann schweiften meine Gedanken zurück zu Euch meine Lieben.  Ich sah Euch vereint um den Sabbathlichen Tisch, weihevoll und doch besimchoh schel Mizwoh aufgehend.

     …I want to continue in my report of yesterday.  The night, from Thursday to Friday, was calm.  Friday itself brought us some rest, and weary of the hardships, we rested tired in our trench.  Shabbos began, and again it was said, quietly from one trench to the other: “Pack knapsacks, everything ready for battle, plant bayonets [seitengewehr 98].”  A shuddering feeling ran through me when I understood the order: “Night assault.”  Silently I leaned back against the parapet of the trench, leaning forward, from where we expected the enemy: The full moon, which had just risen, facilitated the task of surveying the hilly terrain.  I spoke my Maariv prayer, and then my thoughts wandered back to you my dears.  I saw you gathered together around the Sabbath table, sanctified, and yet sober, mischievous.

Ich dachte an alle Freunde und Verwandte, an ihn vor allen, den teuren Freund, mit dem warmen Herzen und den glühenden Idealen in der Brust…  Fernab von der Heimat traf ihn die Kugel des Feindes und machte seinem jungen Leben ein allzufrühes Ende; nichts blieb mir von ihm zurück als die Erinnerung an die frohen und trüben Tage der Jugend, die wir gemeinsam verbrachten.  Gottes Ratschluss ist unerforschlich.  Und so zogen stundenlang meine Dedanken.  Sie hielten inne, als ich der Entsetzlichkeiten gedachte, die meine Augen geschaut haben.  Ihr Zuhausegebliebenen, was könnt ihr von Glück sagen, dass es Euch erspart blieb, die Schrecken des Krieges zu erfahren…  Möge auch diese Zeit, so gingen meine Gedanken weiter, reinigend hineinfahren in unsere Frankfurter Gassen, möge man verstehen lernen, dass man bisher zuviel danach gefragt, wer reich, wer arm ist.  Weg mit der Anbeter ei des Reichtums, entfernen wir diesen Götzen aus unserem Herzen, und unser Frankfurt wird sehen, dass es noch ein Höheres gibt, und das heisst “Mensch sein”.  Möge dieser Moment ein grosses Geschlecht finden, möge er uns veranlassen, uns selbst zu erziehen, dass wir nach dem Kriege ein Leben mit neuen Begriffen, neuen Vorstellungen beginnen können.

     I thought of all the friends and relatives, of him before all, the dear friend, with a warm heart and glowing ideals in his chest…  Far away from home, the bullet of the enemy struck him, and made of his young life too early an end; nothing remained for me of him but the memory of the joyful and gloomy days of youth that we spent together.   God’s decree is unsearchable.  And so my thoughts went on for hours.  They stopped when I thought of the horrors that my eyes had seen.  Your own home, you can fortunately say was spared to remain, to learn the horrors of the war…  May this time also, my thoughts went on, be a cleansing of our Frankfurter streets; may one understand, that one has asked too much about it so far, of who is rich; who is poor.  Away with the worship of wealth; may we remove these idols from our hearts, and our Frankfurt will see that there is still a higher one, that is to say, “to be human.”  May this great moment find a great lineage; may it lead us to educate ourselves that after the war we can begin to live with new things; can start new ideas.

Der Mond verschwand hinter inzwischen düster aufgezogenen Wolken, meine Blicke verfolgten ihn, wie er sich immer wieder durch die Wolken emporzuarbeiten versuchte.  Still und schwarz wurde es um mich her, da setzte rechts von mir ein heftiges Gewehrfeuer ein, die Kanonen donnerten, Maschinengewehre ratterten unaufhörlich, der Angriff der Franzosen begann.  Der Morgen fand uns als Sieger; aber manch braven Kameraden hatte es das Leben gekostet.

     The moon disappeared meanwhile behind dark clouds; my eyes watched it as it tried to work its way up through the clouds again and again.  There was about me stillness and blackness; violent rifle fire set in on my right, the cannons thundered, machine guns rattled incessantly, the attack of the French began.  The morning found us as victor; but had cost the lives of many good comrades.  

Den Samstag verbrachten wir in Ruhe.  Ich machte abends Hawdoloh mit altem Kaffee aus meiner Feldflasche, einer alten Petroleumfunzel und Zigarre als Besomim, und sang dann für mich allein die Semiraus.  Das Vertrauen zu hakodausch boruchhu begleitet mich von diesem Schabbos in die Woche hinaus, er wird mich behüten und beschützen, und mit seiner Hilfe werden wir uns gesund wiedersehen…

    We spent the Saturday in silence.  In the evening I made a Havdalah with old coffee from my canteen, an old petroleum fuse and a cigar as Besamim, and then sang the Zemirot alone.  The trust to HaKadosh Baruch Hu accompanies me from this Shabbos forth into the week; He will guard and protect me, and with His help we shall be well again…

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Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden is not the only source of information about Martin. 

Remarkably, the Center for Jewish History possesses the entirety of his correspondence, which (doubly remarkably!) includes the original text of the letter as excerpted in Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden.  Listed – appropriately enough – as the Martin Feist Collection, the documents, donated by Sonya Benjamin, are described as, “letters [sent] to his family over the course of two years, first as a businessman in Paris and then as a German infantryman in France.” 

The collection is comprised of four sequentially arranged folders, covering 1913, 1914 (January to October), 1914 (November to December), and 1915.  The first folder commences with a descriptive note penned by Sonya in 1991, contaning the following statements, “Martin, as did his 2 brothers, worked for the firm Beer-Sondheimer, both in Paris and in London, whence he returned home to enlist when war broke out in August, 1914.  He stayed in close touch with his five brothers and sister.  He was the second eldest.  Their father had died in 1912.”

“The letters describe an arc of changing attitudes and emotions in the mind of a young German Orthodox Jew, well-educated in an affluent home, as he embraces the lifetstyle of a young businessman in Paris, then adapts to the life of a German infantryman, imbused by the righteousness of his cause, and finally experiences deep sorrow and disillusionment, tempered only by abiding faith.”

Thanks to the CJH’s policy of making the Martin Feist collection freely available in digital format, I was able to locate the letter from Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden within the “3rd” folder.

The four pages of Martin’s original (typewritten) letter are presented below:

First page.

Second page.

Third page.

Fourth, and final page.

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This “full” version of Martin’s letter is – unsurprisingly – much lengthier than the book version, and in some parts is actually light-hearted.  Amidst all, Martin retained a sense of humor.

More importantly, a careful reading and comparison of the two versions reveals where the editors of Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden significantly redacted the original text. 

For example in discussing an unidentified friend, the book presents, “I thought of all the friends and relatives, of him before all, the dear friend, with a warm heart and glowing ideals in his chest…  Far away from home, the bullet of the enemy struck him, and made of his young life too early an end; nothing remained for me of him but the memory of the joyful and gloomy days of youth that we spent together.”

Martin’s actual statement is, “I thought of all the friends & relatives, of him before all, the dear friend, with a warm heart and glowing ideals in his chest.  He began to rise more and more to the true, the beautiful and the good.  He should not achieve his goal.  Far away from home, the bullet of the enemy struck him, and made of his young life too early an end; nothing remained for me of him but the memory of the joyful & gloomy days of youth that we spent together.  

Likewise, the book presents, “God’s decree is unsearchable.  And so my thoughts went on for hours.  They stopped when I thought of the horrors that my eyes had seen.“.

In the same place, Martin’s original letter has the following, “God’s decree is unsearchable.  And so my thoughts went on for hours.  They stopped when I thought of the horrible abominations that my eyes had seen.”  

Other differences include the use of the word “and” in place of Martin’s liberal sprinkling of ampersand (“&”) symbols.

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The transcription and my translation are presented below:

Martin Feist
Gefreiter
Inf. Regt. 81
Geboren: 3.11.1891, Frankfurt / M.
Gefallen: 7.1.1915, Frankreich

Martin Feist
Corporal
81st Infantry Regiment
Born: November 3, 1891, Frankfurt on Main
Fallen: January 7, 1915, France

Im Schützengraben bei Andochy, 2.XI.14, nachmittags
In a trench at Andochy, November 2, 1914, in the afternoon

Meine Lieben,
My dear,

      Meinen gestrigen Brief werdet Ihr wohl erhalten haben.  Inzwischen kam gestern Abend wieder die Feldpost und beschenkte mich reichlich.  Von

      You will probably have received my letter [of] yesterday.  In the meantime the field post came yesterday evening and gave me plenty.  From

Schames: Tabak, Honig Kaffee (speziell der Honig mundete vorzüglich er stammt von Röbig & Funk ist besser als der von Pabst & Türk, sendet mir recht häufig von dieser Qualität.)

Schames: Tobacco, honey coffee (especially the exquisite honey coming from Röbig & Funk is better than that of Pabst & Türk; send me this quality quite frequently.)

Ludwig Beer: Chokolade, Cigarren

Ludwig Beer: Chocolate, cigars

Damen der Firma: einem Kopfschutz

Ladies of the Firm: A head guard

A. Klibansky:  3 Fläschchen Cognac, besonders gut bei der jetzigen Jahreszeit.

A. Klibansky: 3 bottles of cognac, especially good at the present season.

Gretel: Cognac, Cacao Tube

Gretel: Cognac, cocoa [butter] tube

Tante Lina: Sardellenbutter (Ia.Ia), Milch – Cacao Tuben, Bonbons, Taschentücher, Fusslappen, Biscuits, Papier für geheimnisvolle Zwecke (herrlich verwendbar), Feuerzeug (do.)

Aunt Lina: Anchovy butter (yes, yes), milk – cocoa [butter] tube, sweets, handkerchiefs, sandals, biscuits, paper for mysterious purposes (gloriously usable), lighter (ditto.)

Montefiore Verein: Cigarren, Cigaretten (ich schreibe direkt)

Montefiore Club: Cigars, Cigarettes (I write directly)

Selma Sondheimer: Chokolade

Selma Sondheimer: Chocolate

Frau Dr. Roos: Wurst

Frau Dr. Roos: Sausage

Ferner von Euch: 1 Paar Strümpfe, Unterhosen, Tuben, Pfeffermünz, Chokolade, Cigaretten, Kuchen, Theebomben, Tabak.

Further from you: 1 pair of stockings, underwear, tubes, peppermint, chocolate, cigarettes, cakes, Theebomben [pre-mixed and packaged tea in jute bags], tobacco.

Ganz besondere Freude machte mir das erste Paket Wäsche & der feine englische Kuchen, die Wäsche zog ich sofort an, nachdem ich bald 4 Wochen die bisherige auf dem Leibe trug & der Kuchen hatte rasch das Zeitliche gesegnet.  Sagt Rosa meinen besten Dank, hoffentlich kommt bald Weiteres.  – Briefe erhielt ich von:

I was particularly delighted with the first package of underwear & the fine English cake; I immediately put on the underwear after I had worn the old one on my body for four weeks & the cake had swiftly blessed the time.  Say my best thanks to Rosa; hopefully coming soon.  –  I received letters from:

Tante Helene, Frau Dr. Roos, Perez Mosbacher, Rosy & Philipp von 20 / 22 X., da an das Bataillon gerichtet war, Frl. Sender, Frau Dr. Pick, Karten von Euch aus Mainz, Rosy mit der freudigen Mitteilung, do. Frau Moser, Marcus Roos, Lisel & Erni, Aba, Else Cassel und Ludwig Beer.

Aunt Helene, Frau Dr. Roos, Perez Mosbacher, Rosy & Philipp of 20 / 22 X., since the battalion was directed; Miss Sender, Frau Dr. Pick, cards from you from Mainz, Rosy with the joyous message, ditto Frau Moser, Marcus Roos, Lisel & Erni, Aba, Else Cassel and Ludwig Beer.

Allen sagt bitte herzlichen Dank, es ist mir durch die Fülle der Sendungen nicht möglich, jedem Einzelnen zu schreiben, am Tage ruhen wir eben stets, mit Ausnahme von eingien Stunden Wache, damit wir nachts gut wachen können und der Schlaf, den ich mir entziehe, möchte ich dazu benutzen, Euch recht eingelhend von mir zu berichten.  Ich habe mich mit allen seht gefreut & kann alles vorzüglich gebrauchen, es herrscht jedes Mal eine grosse Freude im Schützengragen, wenn die Feldpost kommt.  Ich fühle mich eben wie neugeboren, die Wäsche gewechselt, ein ordentliches Honigsbrot verzehrt, eine Wurst in Angriff genommen (die jetzt gesandten sind besser & handlicher als die Salami Würste) jetzt fehlt nur noch sich einmal frisch waschen zu konnen, was seit Donnerstag nicht mehr der Fall war.  – Doch ich will fortfahren in meinem gestrigen Berichte.  Die Nacht vom Donnerstag auf Freitag verlief wider Erwarten ruhig, der Freitag selbst brachte uns etwas Ruhe & ermattet von den Strapazen, ruhten wir ermüdet in unseren Gräben.  Der Schabbos began & wieder hiess es, leise sich von einem Schützengraben zum anderen wiederholend: “Tornister packen, alles gefechtsbereit, Seitengewehr aufpflanzen.”  Ein Gefühl des Schauern durchzog mich als ich auf diese Weise den Befehl ermittelte, heute Nacht “Sturm”.  Stumm lehnte ich mich an die Brüstung des Schützengrabens, scharf nach vorn aus lugend, von wo wir den Feind erwarteten: der volle, eben aufgegangene Mond erleichterte die Aufgabe, das hügelige Gelände zu überschauen.  Ich sprach mein Maariw gebet & dann schweiften meine Gedanken zurück zu Euch, meine Lieben.  Ich sah Euch vereint um den Sabbathlichen Tisch, weihevoll und doch besimchoh schel Mizwoh aufgehend, unner kleines Hausamütterchen für alles sorgend, unsere zwei sonnenstrahlen das Bild erheiternd & verschönernnd.  Ich dachte an alle Freunde & Verwandte, an ihn vor allen, den teuren Freund, mit dem warmen Herzen und den glühenden Idealen in der Brust.  Er ging darin auf, sich immer mehr aufzuringen zu dem Wahren, Schönnen und Guten.  Er sollte sein Ziel nicht erreichen.  Fernab von der Heimat traf ihn die Kugel des Feindes und machte seinem jungen Leben ein allzu frühes Ende; nichts blieb mir von ihm zurück als die Erinnerung an die frohen & trüben Tage der Jugend, die wir gemeinsam verbrachten.  Gottes Ratschluss ist unerforschlich.  Und so zogen stundenlang meine Gedanken, sie hielten inne, als ich der Gräueltaten Entsetzlichkeiten gedachte, die meine Augen geschaut haben.  Ihr Zuhausegebliebenen, was könnt ihr von Glück sagen, dass es Euch erspart geblieben blieb, die Schrecken des Krieges zu erfahren.  Oh könntet Ihr es richtig verstehen, Ihr Reichen, doppelt würdet Ihr Hand uns Kerz öffnen, um die Not und das Elend zu lindern, würdet Euch gross als Menschen und noch grösser in Euren Pflichten als Juden zeigen; Ihr würdet verstehen, dass es in dieser Zeit doppelt am Platze ist, zu spenden und zu geben.  Wohl sind Euch in diesem Jahre Einnah__equellen versiegt, ja vielleicht Verluste wahrscheinlich, doch Gott gag Euch ja so viele Jahre des Wohlstandes.  Möge auch diese Zeit, so gingen meine Gedanken weiter, reinigend hineinfahren in unsere Frankfurter Gassen, möge man verstehen lernen, dass man bisher zu viel danach gefragt, wer reich, wer arm.  Weg mit der Anbeter ei des Reichtums, entfernen wir diesen Götzen aus unserem Herzen, & unser Frankfurt wird sehen, dass es noch ein Höheres gibt und das heisst “Mensch sein”.  Möge dieser grosses Moment ein grosses Geschlecht finden, möge er uns veranlassen, uns selbst zu erziehen, dass wir nach dem Kriege ein Leben mit neuen Begriffen, neuen Vorstellungen beginnen können. – Der Mond verschwand hinter inzwischen düster aufgezogenen Wolken, meine Blicke verfolgten ihn, wie er sich immer wieder durch die Wolken emporzuarbeiten versuchte, still & schwarz wurde es um mich her — da setzte rechts von mir ein heftiges Gewehrfeuer ein, die Kanonen donnerten, Maschinengewehre ratterten unaufhörlich, der Angriff der Franzosen begann.

Please say many thanks to all; it is not possible for me to write to each individual because of the abundance of the parcels; during the day we are always at rest, except for a few hours’ watch, so that we can all keep watch well at night and sleep, which I deprive myself of; I would like to use on the other hand to report to you about me.  I was very pleased with all of them & can use everything excellently; there is always great joy in the trench, when the field post comes.  I feel like a newborn; the underwear changed, a decent honeybread consumed, a sausage taken in attack (those sent now are better & handier than the salami sausages) now the only thing missing is to be able to freshly wash, which since Thursday was no longer the case.  –  But I want to continue in my report of yesterday.  The night, from Thursday to Friday, was calm.  Friday itself brought us some rest, & weary of the hardships, we rested tired in our trench.  Shabbos began, & again it was said, quietly from one trench to the other: “Pack knapsacks, everything ready for battle, plant [seitengewehr 98] bayonets.”  A shuddering feeling ran through me when I understood the order: “Night assault.”  Silently I leaned back against the parapet of the trench, leaning forward, from where we expected the enemy: The full moon, which had just risen, facilitated the task of surveying the hilly terrain.  I spoke my Maariv prayer, & then my thoughts wandered back to you my dears.  I saw you gathered together around the Sabbath table, sanctified, and yet sober, mischievous, a little house-maid caring for everything, our two sun-beams amusing & beautifying the picture.  I thought of all the friends & relatives, of him before all, the dear friend, with a warm heart and glowing ideals in his chest.  He began to rise more and more to the true, the beautiful and the good.  He should not achieve his goal.  Far away from home, the bullet of the enemy struck him, and made of his young life too early an end; nothing remained for me of him but the memory of the joyful & gloomy days of youth that we spent together.   God’s decree is unsearchable.  And so my thoughts went on for hours.  They stopped when I thought of the horrible abominations that my eyes had seen.  Your own home, you can fortunately say was spared to remain, to learn the horrors of the war.  Oh, if you could understand it properly, to open your hand and your heart and would doubly extend, to alleviate need and misery, would show you great as people and even greater in your duties as Jews; you would understand that in this time it is twice the place, to donate and give.  Well in this year your sources of income may fail, yes presumably perhaps losses, but God will give you so many years of prosperity.  May this time also, my thoughts went on, be a cleansing of our Frankfurter streets; may one understand, that one has asked too much about it so far, of who rich, who is poor.  Away with the worship of wealth; may we remove these idols from our hearts, & our Frankfurt will see that there is still a higher one, that is to say, “to be human.”  May this great moment find a great lineage; may it lead us to educate ourselves that after the war we can begin to live with new things; can start new ideas.  –  The moon disappeared meanwhile behind dark clouds; my eyes watched it as it tried to work its way up through the clouds again and again.  There was about me stillness & blackness — violent rifle fire set in on my right, the cannons thundered, machine guns rattled incessantly, the attack of the French began. 

Der Morgen fand uns als Sieger, aber manch braven Kameraden hatte es das Leben gekostet.  Den Samstag verbrachten wir in Ruhe.  Ich machte abends Hawdoloh mit altem Kaffee aus meiner Feldflasche, einer alten Petroleumfunzel und Cigarre als Besomim & sang dann für mich allein die Semiraus.  Das Vertrauen zu Hakodausch boruchhu begleitet mich von diesem Schabbos in die Woche hinaus, er wird mich behüten und beschützen und mit seiner Hilfe werden wir uns gesund wiedersehen. – Mit der Nachricht des ersten lang erschuten Sondheimers habe ich mich ganz besonders, gefreut, ich gratulliere Euch allen, kein jirbu, an grüsst Euch alle

The morning found us as a victor; but had cost the lives of many good comrades.  We spent the Saturday in silence.  In the evening I made Havdalah with old coffee from my canteen, an old petroleum fuse and a cigar as Besamim & then sang the Zemirot alone.  The trust to HaKadosh Baruch Hu accompanies me from this Shabbos forth into the week; He will guard and protect me, and with His help we shall be well again.  –  With the first long news of the Sondheimers I am quite particularly pleased; I congratulate you all, may there be more, greetings to you all.

Euer                                                                                                                               Martin

Viels Grüsse an die Mädchen.

Many greetings to the girls.

Herr Geis möchte gerne Verschiedenes aus meinen Briefen in seiner Zeitung wiedergeben.  Ich gebe ihm hierzu die Erlaubnis.

Mr. Geis would like to present a variety of my letters in his newspaper.  I give him permission to do so.

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The fourth and final folder of the Martin Feist collection includes the telegram notifying Martin’s family of his death:

Martin’s name – like the names of thousands of other German Jewish soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War – can be found in Die Jüdischen Gefallenen Des Deutschen Heeres, Deutschen Marine Und Der Deutschen Schutztruppen 1914-1918 – Ein Gedenkbuch.  There, his name appears on page 211, where are listed – identical to all other entries in the book – his date and place of birth, date of death, the military unit in which he was serving (4th Company of the 81st Infantry Regiment), rank (Gefreiter), and the official casualty list in which his name was reported.

Martin was not the only German Jewish soldier to lose his life on Wednesday, January 7, 1915.  The other German Jewish soldiers who lost their lives that day included:

– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –
תהא
נפשו
צרורה
בצרור
החיים

Soldat Julius Asch, 5th Reserve Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 12th Company
Born in Breslau, April 20, 1897; Resided in Schonlanke

Soldat Siegfried Baendel, 21st Reserve Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 10th Company
Born in Gleiwitz, August 14, 1882; Resided in Gleiwitz

Soldat Martin Elsbach, 234th Reserve Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 5th Company
Born in Kassel, June 26, 1891; Resided in Walldorf

Gefreiter Otto Loser, 30th Reserve Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 7th Company
Born in Dusseldorf, July 3, 1888; Resided in Dusseldorf

Soldat Jakob Marx, 75th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, 3rd Company
Born in Lehmen (Mosel), May 6, 1892; Resided in Gondorf

References

“cacao tube”, at http://www.marichesse.com/article-elle-s-est-collee-les-deux-levres-en-confondant-son-beurre-de-cacao-avec-un-tube-de-colle-forte-118792411.html. 

“Honig mundete”, at https://steinhorster.blogspot.com/2016/02/burgerversammlung-koschale-eeten.html, and,
https://www.opentable.com/solevino-restaurant-and-sommergarten-a-la-provence.

“Theebomben”, at http://www.djk-adler-koenigshof.de/index.php/spielberichte/adlerfreunde/1094-adlerfreunde-besuchten-teekanne-in-duesseldorf

Martin Feist Collection at the Center for Jewish History

Martin Fiest Place of Burial, at FindAGrave

Einer von den 12000, (Illustration by Siegfried Ziegler), Der Schild, December 20, 1935, p. 5

Die Jüdischen Gefallenen Des Deutschen Heeres, Deutschen Marine Und Der Deutschen Schutztruppen 1914-1918 – Ein Gedenkbuch, Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten, Forward by Dr. Leo Löwenstein, Berlin, Germany, 1932

Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden, Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten E.V., Berlin, Germany, 1935

And, an acknowledgement

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my friend (and, Yiddish teacher / composer / choir director) Alexander Botwinik, for his assistance in accessing a copy of Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden.

Einer von den 12,000
Makkabäer von 1914-18

Ein jüdischer Frontsoldat, der nicht-mehr zurückgekehrt ist.  Aus dem Soldaten-Skizzenbuch von Siegfried Ziegler – München.
(Kriegswinter 1917).

One of the 12,000
Maccabees from 1914-18

A Jewish front soldier, who has not returned. From the soldier sketchbook by Siegfried Ziegler – Munich.
(War winter 1917).
(From Der Schild, December 20, 1935)

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Whether in the life of nation, the life of a group, or the life of a man, every event – every moment – is remembered in its own manner.  Through unspoken memories; with tales and stories; by anecdotes; in images and visions. 

And, through the written word.

Every era; every historical event, produces a body of writing by those who witnessed or participated in it.  This is especially so of war, which by its nature compels men to communicate their experiences and observations – whether by letters, diaries, or random jottings – to family, friends, and love ones, or simply “the world” at large.  The need may be driven by a sense of personal, moral responsibility to fallen comrades; to retain a spiritual and psychological connection with “home” – a place still at peace; and ultimately, from a realization of the historical imperative to record the nature of the present for the sake of the future.

In terms of the experiences of German Jewish soldiers in the First World War, this was epitomized by the publication of the book Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden (War Letters of Fallen German Jews) by the Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten (RJF, or, Reich Federation of Jewish Front Soldiers) in 1935. 

Whether the book’s publication was prompted by the Enabling Act of March 1933, is unknown.

Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden is actually one of several books published in Germany from the latter part of World War One, through the 1920s and 30s, covering the experiences, memories, and military service of German Jewish soldiers in the Great War. 

Such works fall within four general categories.   

First, some books, in varying style and format, are composed of biographical profiles of fallen soldiers, in combination with transcribed letters, diary excerpts, and photographs. Exemplified by Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden, this category includes:

1) Unseren Gefallenen Kameraden – Gedenkbuch für die im Weltkrieg Gefallenen Münchener Juden (Our Fallen Comrades – Memorial Book of the World War for Fallen Jews of Munich), Verlag B. Heller, (B. Heller Publishers) Munich, 1929.

2) Kriegsgedenkbuch der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde Nürnberg (War Memorial Book of the Jewish Community of Nurnberg), J. Rosenfeld’s Druckerei (J. Rosenfeld Publishers), Nürnberg, 1920.

A second group describes the military service of German Jews, not restricted to men who fell in battle. 

Examples are:

1) Jüdische Flieger im Kriege – ein Blatt der Erinnerung (Jewish Aviators in the War – Pages of Memory), von Dr. Felix A. Theilhaber, Verlag von Louis Lamm, (Louis Lamm Publishers) Berlin, 1919

2) Jüdische Flieger im Weltkriege, Verlag der Schild, (Jewish Aviators in the World War, Shield Publishers) Berlin, 1924 (Dr. Theilhaber’s highly revised version of the above book.)

3) Ein Jahr an der Somme (A Year on the Somme), Feldrabbiner Dr. Martin Salomonski, Druck und Verlag der Königlichen Hofbuchdruckerei Trowitzsch & Sohn, (Printing and Publishing by the Royal Court Book Printing Company, Trowitzsch and Son), Frankfurt a.D., (Frankfurt on the Oder) 1917

4) Die Juden im Weltkriege – Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Verhältnisse für Deutschland, (The Jews in the World War – With Special Consideration of the Conditions for Germany) Dr. Felix A. Theilhaber, Welt-Verlag, Berlin, 1916

A third category – actually, epitomized by a single book – Die deutschen Juden als Soldaten im Kriege 1914 / 1918 – Eine statistische Studie (Hilo-Verlag, Berlin, 1922) (The German Jews as Soldiers in War 1914 / 1918 – A Statistical Study) is (as per the title!) statistical in nature.  Author Dr. Jacob Segall used various sources of information to calculate and show the relative percentage of Jews in military service vis-a-vis the German population as a whole, in terms of such criteria as place of residence or branch of service. 

A fourth category is embodied in two books, which present the names of all then-identified Jews, from all branches of the German military, who lost their lives (from all causes) during World War One. The books are:

1) Die Jüdischen Gefallenen des Deutschen Heeres, Deutschen Marine und der Deutschen Schutztruppen 1914-1918 – Ein Gedenkbuch (Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten (The Jewish Fallen of the German Army, German Navy and the German Special Troops 1914-1918 – A Memorial Book (Reich Federation of Jewish Front Soldiers, Berlin, 1932).  This book covers the entirety of Germany, and includes nominal biographical information about each of the tens of thousands of serviceman listed within its pages.  (A page of which is presented at the end of this post.)

2) Jüdische Frontsoldaten aus Württemberg und Hohenzollern (Herausgegeben vom Württembergischen Landsverband des Centralvereins deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens (Jewish front soldiers from Wurttemberg and Hohenzollern ((Edited by the Wurttemberg Landsverband of the Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith, Stuttgart, 1926)).  As implied by the title, this book is limited to coverage of Jewish soldiers from the state of Württemberg, and, the region of Hohenzollern. 

The impetus for the creation of these books arose, I suggest, from different, overlapping, yet entirely complementary and understandable motivations:  To validate, if not prove, the patriotism of German Jewry in the eyes of Germany and German society, as a whole.*  To serve as epistolary memorials to fallen soldiers on behalf of their loves ones.  And, from a genuine, sincere, and deep expression of patriotism and love of country – simply for its own sake, on the part of German Jewry.

In terms of recording and commemoration of Jewish military service during World War One, German Jewry seems to have gone to far greater effort, in terms of intellectual effort, and, the total number of works that were eventually created (both wartime and postwar) than Jewish communities of other nations, regardless of whether those nations had been members of the Allies, or, the Central Powers.  Remarkably, unlike the Jewish communities of Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom (specifically England and Australia), no such body of work was ever produced covering American Jewish military service of the First World War, a topic beyond the scope of this post…)

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To the best of my knowledge, there have been no German-to-English translations ofthe above-mentioned German works.  To that end, I’ve created preliminary translations of Unseren Gefallenen Kameraden – Gedenkbuch für die im Weltkrieg Gefallenen Münchener Juden, and, Kriegsgedenkbuch der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde Nürnberg, which I hope to finalize in the future.

More importantly, I have finished a translation of Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden, which I hope to make widely available.

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Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden is comprised of letters and / or diary excerpts from 74 soldiers, and includes 13 poems composed by 8 different authors (4 of those 8 authors being among the 74 soldiers).  The contents are arranged alphabetically (the exception being Soldat Walter Heymann’s letter, which appears first), with the poems being interspersed at relatively even intervals through the text.  Otherwise, there is neither a table of contents nor an index.

The book also includes a color sketch by artist Max Liebermann, showing an allegory of mourning: a woman – the mother of a fallen soldier – a scarf covering her hair, is seated upon the bier of her son, over which is draped the black-white-red tricolor flag of the German Empire, with a larger version of the same flag suspended above.

Some of the passages in Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden are lengthy; others are brief.  A few are profound, approaching questions of philosophy, religion and theodicy with great power.  Others are relatively straightforward, focusing on the practicalities of life in the trenches or varied combat theatres.  Some letters present vivid – sometimes humorous; sometime appalling – and straightforward depictions of warfare and suffering, in quite startling detail, depth, and clarity.

Each passage is moving in its own way, especially in light of what the future would hold for the families of these soldiers, and the Jewish people as a whole, two decades hence. 

But, it has always been the case that foreknowledge is not given to men or peoples. 

We can only know, what we know now.

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One particular writing of 74 authors stands out:  A letter by Gefreiter Martin Feist, of the 81st Infantry Regiment.  Born in Frankfurt on Main on November 3, 1891, Martin was an Orthodox Jew, and – to the extent possible, as indicated by his letter – did his best to maintain religious observance, and religious faith, in the midst of his experiences as a front-line infantry soldier. 

The excerpt of his letter in Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden concludes with the text, “Das Vertrauen zu hakodausch boruchhu begleitet mich von diesem Schabbos in die Woche hinaus, er wird mich behüten und beschützen, und mit seiner Hilfe werden wir uns gesund wiedersehen…” [The trust to HaKadosh Baruch Hu accompanies me from this Shabbos forth into the week; He will guard and protect me, and with His help we shall be well again…]

Martin did not survive the war.

He was killed in action almost two months later, on January 7, 1915.

He is buried at the Alter Jüdischer Friedhof (Old Jewish Cemetery) at Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 

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I will present translations of two versions of his letter in my next post.

* This would have rested on the understandable yet fallacious assumption that antisemitism can be refuted by logic and reason.

References

Einer von den 12000, (Illustration by Siegfried Ziegler), Der Schild, December 20, 1935, p. 5, at http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/cm/periodical/titleinfo/4911661.

Die Jüdischen Gefallenen Des Deutschen Heeres, Deutschen Marine Und Der Deutschen Schutztruppen 1914-1918 – Ein Gedenkbuch, Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten, Forward by Dr. Leo Löwenstein, Berlin, Germany, 1932

Kriegsbriefe – gefallener Deutscher Juden, Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten E.V., Berlin, Germany, 1935