A Confrontation With the Past?
I’d like to dedicate this post to the memory of the late Dr. Ruth R. Pierson, formerly of the University of Toronto, whose 1974 article about the Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten (the RJF) in The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book was instrumental in my discovery of the two editorials presented below.
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(This photograph below is from Dr. Pierson’s obituary, which appeared in the Toronto Star on October 19, 2024 (…alas; just a month before my writing this post…)
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By its very nature, “this” blog is an exploration of the military service of Jewish soldiers, sailors, and airmen of all areas (well… for airmen obviously since 1914!) in the militaries of all countries, with a primary emphasis – thus far – on the First and Second World Wars. One impetus for the blog has been my curiosity about the military service of Jewish soldiers in the armed forces of the WW II Allies, given the ethos and ultimate aim of the Third Reich regarding the Jewish people. This poses a question: To what extent did Jewish military service during that war impart or reinforce a sense of Jewish identity and historical consciousness among Jewish soldiers who participated in that now nearly-century-gone-by global conflict?
Yet…
Having since moved beyond WW II to explorations of Jewish military service in the “Great War”, let alone (to a thus-far, far lesser extent!) the Viet-Nam war, and, works of fiction as books and film, there arise questions that are more abstract and perhaps philosophical in nature. Namely, what are the basis and ultimate end to any commemoration of Jewish military fallen? Does a soldier having served, been wounded, taken prisoner, or fallen in war … does a recitation of names, dates, military units, and specific details about his military service – actually perpetuate a sense of Jewish peoplehood?
These questions bring to mind skeptical musings about the many works of “apologetic literature” – to the tune of “Great Jews in Sports”, “Great Jews in pick-any-other-field-of-endeavor-or-pop-culture” (rock & roll, acting, art, music, etc., etc., etc.!) produced by Jewish authors in Europe and the Americas from the nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, largely prior to Israel’s 1948 re-establishment, yet still today albeit to a lesser extent today. Has such literature actually been of significance or made a positive impact in terms of the degree to which Jews are seen as equal citizens, whether in the 1930s or this year of 2024?
One of the several animating assumptions – there have been several – behind such literature is that the perception of Jews can be transformed and positively influenced by a presentation of factual information about the contributions of Jews – scientific, military, cultural, social – to the wider world. About this I wonder, for it’s largely based on the belief that attitudes toward Jews are based upon logic and reason. In reality, the perception of Jews – both recognized and unrealized – is “wired” deeply into Western Civilization, emanating from levels distant in time, near-irrevocably resistant to rationality, at perhaps founded at impenetrably deep level of consciousness.
The best and most recent explorations / explanations of this topic are Bernard Harrison’s Blaming the Jews (great book!), and, David Nirenberg’s Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition. , which I heartily recommend.
But, I digress. (A little.)
I won’t present my own beliefs about these issues “here”, but suffice to sat that I’ve most definitely entertained thoughts about them. Of course, innumerable others have pondered these questions as well. Two such explorations, brief yet provocative, appeared nearly a century ago in Germany. They took the form of essays in the newspapers Der Israelit (The Israelite), and, Jüdische Rundschau (Jewish Review), respectively published in 1931 and 1932. I learned about these short but pithy writings a few decades ago, while researching the military service of Jews in the German armed forces during the First World War. The impetus was Dr. Ruth R. Pierson’s article “Embattled Veterans: The Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten”, which was published in the The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book in 1974.
The essays were found within digitized (PDF) versions of these newspapers, among the many (many (did I say “many”?!)) such periodicals openly accessible via Goethe University Frankfurt’s (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) Digital Collections (Digitale Sammlungen) website: Der Israelit here, and Jüdische Rundschau here.
These essays are presented below, first in English, and then in German, translated via Oogle Translate. They approach the above-mentioned questions from perspectives reflective of the publications’ very different editorial stances regarding the nature, place (for lack of a better word … I mean that symbolically!), and perhaps the destiny of German Jews during a period of enormous and rapid social and technological change, and … to put it mildly … extraordinary political and social turbulence: Der Israelit from the standpoint of Orthodox Judaism, and Judische Rundschau from the standpoint of (I think secular) Zionism.
The excerpts are preceded by images of the newspapers’ mastheads, and also include images of the specific pages within these newspapers on which the two essays appeared.
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Der Israelit
February 26, 1931
“But is it necessary that we allow ourselves to be lured by the enemy
into his blood-soaked territories,
follow him into his medieval world of thought,
in order to turn death and destruction into an adorable cult
to which one cannot offer enough sacrifices?“
Insufficient Dead!…
A peculiar argument is currently being waged in the anti-Semitic and Defence press. The “Stürmer” seeks to destroy the “Tale of the 12,000 fallen Jews”. It only knows of 4700. The “C.-V.-Zeitung” [Central-Verein-Zeitung] and the “Schild” stick to their twelve thousand and don’t let them deal with a single piece. The “Stürmer” storms against this wall, as always, with assumptions, suspicions and slanders. The C.V. and R.j.F. but attach them with indications and lists. More and more dead, more and more, every single one a gain! But the gentlemen on the other side don’t begrudge us the dead, they are envious; mouth their number in the most shameful way.
Wouldn’t that be a motif for a Purim-grotesque? If only the background weren’t so gloomy and deeply sad!
Shame and pain seize us at the thought of the four years of human and cultural annihilation. All of mankind’s misery grips us when we only think of a dear head, that this unfortunate war has cost us. Pacifists on both sides of the border meet on the endless battlefields [ ויצאו וראו בפגרי האנשים ] “and they went out and saw the corpses of the people to learn to shudder”, to take the admonishing voice of the dead armies into their hearts. Full of horror, they rush back home with the cry: “No more war! Stop killing people!”
And then reasonable people who are certainly open to peace defend themselves against the accusation that they had not provided enough dead from their community…
Here the question arises: we valiantly defend our honor, the Jewish name, Jewish morality, the sacred doctrine, Jewish life and property, to defend ourselves against slander and defamation. But is it necessary that we allow ourselves to be lured by the enemy into his blood-soaked territories, follow him into his medieval world of thought, in order to turn death and destruction into an adorable cult to which one cannot offer enough sacrifices? … That seems to us to be a too far-reaching concession to the darkest night sides of antiquated souls, who only indicate the fever curve of a sick time.
The defense associations draw up lists. And since they want to protect themselves against attacks and doubts with numbers, dates and numbers from the outset, it will still take some time before they are completely established and concluded. Unfortunately, unfortunately! – said with certainty today.
But should we already today boast and brag about the number of deaths ? Just because the other side doesn’t begrudge us it?
However many of the dead there were, among Jews and non-Jews, in Germany or in France, in England, in Russia and Italy, there were too many! And once the victims have fallen, their blood cries out to us on earth. Not for revenge. The blood shed by a lost humanity cries: Reconciliation! War to war! Hate and fight hate! Amalek’s memory of fame should be eradicated, wherever and however it erodes human thought!
Zu wenig Tote!…
Ein eigenartiger Streit wird zur Zeit in der antisemitischen und der Abwehrpresse ausgetragen. Der “Stürmer” sucht das “Märchen von der 12 000 gefallenen Juden” zu zerstören. Er weiss nur von 4700. Die “C.-V.-Zeitung” und der “Schild” aber halten fest an ihren Zwölftausend und lassen sich kein Stück abhandeln. Der “Stürmer” stürmt gegen diese Mauer, wie immer, mit Vermutungen, Verdächtigungen und Verleumdungen. C.V. und R.j.F. befestigen sie aber mit Angaben und Listen. Mehr und mehr Tote, noch und noch, jeder einzelne ein Gewinn! Die Herren auf der anderen Seite gönnen uns aber die Toten nicht, sind neidisch, mundern ihre Zahl in schändlichster Weise.
Wäre das nicht ein Motiv zu einer Purim-Groteske? Wenn nur der Hintergrund nicht gar so düster und tieftraurig wäre!
Scham und Schmerz ergreifen uns bei dem Gedanken an die vier Jahre der Menschen- und Kulturvernichtung. Der Menschheit ganzer Jammer fasst uns an, wenn wir nur an ein liebes Haupt denken, das uns dieser unselige Krieg gekostet hat. Pazifisten dieseits und jenseits der Grenze treffen sich auf den endlosen Schlachtfeldern ויצאו וראו בפגרי האנשים um das Gruseln zu lernen, um die mahnende Stimme der toten Armeen in ihr Herz aufzunehmen. Voller Entsetzen spregen sie in die Heimat zurück mit dem Rufe: “Nie mehr Krieg! Schluss mit dem Menschenmorden!”
Und da verteidigen sich vernünftige und gewiss dem Frieden zugewandte Menschen gegen den Vorwurf, sie hätten zu wenig Tote aus ihrer Gemeinschaft gestellt…
Hier entsteht die Frage: Wir verteidigen tapfer unsere Ehre, den jüdischen Namen, die jüdische Moral, die heilige Lehre, jüdisches Leben und jüdisches Eigentum, wehren uns gegen Verleumdung und Verunglimpfung. Aber ist es nötig, dass wir uns vom Feinde auf seine bluttriefenden Gebiete-locken lassen, ihm in seine mittelalterliche Gedankenwelt folgen, um aus Tod und Verderben einen anbetungswürdigen Kult zu Machen, dem mann gar nicht genug opfern kann? … Das scheint uns doch eine zu weitgehende Konzession an die dunkelsten Nachtseiten antiquierter Seelen, die ja nur die Fieberkurve einer kranken Zeit angeben.
Die Abwehrvereine legen Listen an. Und da sie sich mit Zahlen, Daten und Nummern von vornherein gegen Angriffe und Anzweifelungen sichern wollen, so wird es noch einige Zeit dauern, bis die ganz hergestellt und abgeschlossen sind. Dass die Zahl 12 000 noch weit übertroffen wird, lässt sich – leider, leider! – heute schon mit Sicherheit sagen.
Aber sollen wir heute schon mit unserer Totenzahl prunken und prahlen? Nur darum, weil sie die Gegenseite uns nicht gönnt?
Wieviel der Toten es auch waren, bei Juden und bei Nichtjuden, in Deutschland oder in Frankreich, in England, in Russland and Italien, es waren zu viel! Und sind die Opfer einmal gefallen, so schreit ihr Blut zu uns aud der Erde. Nicht nach Rache. Das von einer verirrten Menschheit vergossene Blut schreit: Versöhnung! Krieg dem Kriege! Hass und Kampf dem Hasse! Ausgerottet sei das Ruhmesgedächtnis Amaleks, wo und wie immer es am Menschheitsgedanken zehrt!
The original editorial…
Here are the first two pages of this issue of Der Israelit. The editorial appears in the first and second columns of page two.
Descriptive information about Der Israelit, from Digitale Sammlungen
Der Israelit had been published weekly since the spring of 1860. In late autumn 1938 the magazine was banned by the National Socialists. The circulation in October 1934 was 4250 copies. Against the backdrop of increasing secularization, growing assimilation efforts and the profound reform of Jewish ritual and worship since the beginning of the 19th century, Der Israelit was the most important publication organ of German-Jewish Orthodoxy for almost eight decades. Under the leadership of its founder, the renowned rabbi and writer Marcus Lehmann (1831-1890), the tradition-conscious magazine saw itself as a counterweight to the liberal-reform Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums and its successor, the CV-Zeitung.
Der Israelit was considered by its long-time editor to be a forum for all interests and areas of life of German Jewry, with the most attention being paid to Jewish rituals and cults. After the old edition of the monthly magazine Jeschurun merged with Der Israelit in 1870, Lehmann initiated a Hebrew parallel edition of the paper in 1871 and a Yiddish edition in 1873, which meant that it could also be noticed beyond the borders of the German-speaking area. After Lehmann’s death in 1890, his son Oscar Lehmann (1858-1928) took over the management of the magazine.
Source reference: The graphics in the magazine Der Israelit are partly based on the original templates of the magazine in the German National Library in Leipzig (DNL).
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Jüdische Rundschau
November 29, 1932
“It may be, that this book,
which arouses the most painful feelings in many Jewish families,
makes an impression on some parts of the German public,
but in our opinion this impression is bought too dearly,
if in this way we have to refer to the highest possible number of our dead.”
After Hitler’s Rejection
It is high time that the German Jews remembered to protect their interests. The previous defensive activity of individual organizations may have had a certain benefit here or there, but it is completely irrelevant to the overall position of German Jews. And also actions such as the “Reich Association of Jewish Frontline Soldiers” memorial book of the fallen, which was sent to the authorities last week, cannot be seen as a positive policy of the German Jews. It may be, that this book, which arouses the most painful feelings in many Jewish families, makes an impression on some parts of the German public, but in our opinion this impression is bought too dearly, if in this way we have to refer to the highest possible number of our dead. What is needed would be a completely different, new Jewish policy that would have to be supported by the Jewish generation, which has become aware of the value and meaning of Judaism. Only a Jewry that actively stands up for its own future with all its might and therefore carries the certainty of this future within itself can also pursue Jewish politics with pride and calm. We certainly do not claim any partisan point of view in this matter; there are situations and times when the empirical party groupings take a back seat or have to be restricted to a narrower area; but the spirit on which Jewish politics is based must be that of a real will to assert and renew. It would be time for a leadership to emerge within German Jewry that has the authority to speak and act. We do not want to decide whether a general representation of this kind by the Reich Association, which has been a long time coming, or in some other way, whether it must be created out of spontaneous need, out of the feeling of shame about the previous laissez-faire. But nothing would be sadder than returning to a vague optimism after Hitler’s defeat. The reality in Germany is clear enough, even without Germany reporting to the world under a Hitler government. Just think of the incidents in Breslau, where a politically completely neutral professor was prevented from reading and physically threatened just because his name was Cohn. This state of the milieu in which we have to live cannot be overcome by intervening with the authorities (although this, too, is of course necessary). The discussion about our future destiny has to take place on a much broader basis, and this can only happen if the leadership that we need, both externally and internally, is finally there.
Nach Hitlers Abweisung
Es ist hohe Zeit, dass die deutschen Juden sich auf eine Wahrung ihrer Interessen besinnen. Die bisherige Abwehrtätigkeit einzelner Organisationen mag im kleinen da oder dort einen gewissen Nutzen gehabt haben, für die Gesamtstellung der deutschen Juden ist sie völlig irrelevant. Und auch Aktionen wie etwa das in der vergangenen Woche den behörden überrichte Gefallenen-Gedenkbuch des “Reichsbundes jüdischer Frontsoldaten” können nicht als positive Politik der deutschen Juden gewertet werden. Es mag sein, dass dieses Buch, das in vielen jüdischen Familien die schmerzlichsten Gefühle weckt, bei manchen Stellen der deutschen Oeffentlichkeit einen Eindruck macht, nach unserem Empfinden aber ist dieser Eindruck zu teuer erkauft, wenn wir in dieser Weise auf die möglichst hohe Ziffer unserer Toten uns berufen müssen. Was not täte, wäre eine ganz andere, neue jüdische Politik, die getragen seine müsste von der jüdischen Generation, die sich des Wertes und des Sinns des Judentums bewusst geworden ist. Nur ein Judentum, das selbst mit aller Kraft aktiv für seine eigene Zukunft einsteht und daher die Gewissheit dieser Zukunft in sich trägt, kann auch mit Stolz und Ruhe jüdische Politik machen. Wir vollen in diser Sache gewiss keine Partei gesichtspuntke geltend machen, es gibt Situationen und Zeiten, wo die empirischen Partiegruppierungen zurücktreten oder auf ein engeres Gebiet beschränkt werden müssen; aber der Geist, von dem die jüdische Politik getragen ist, muss der eines wirklichen Behauptungs- und Erneuerungswillens sein. Es wäre an der Zeit, dass im deutschen Judentum eine Führung entsteht, die die Autorität besitzt, zu sprechen un zu handeln. Ob eine Gesamtvertretung dieser Art durch den Reichsverband, der jetzt schon zu lange auf sich warten lässt, oder auf andere Art, ob sie aus dem spontanen Bedürfnis, aus dem Gefühl der Beschämung über das bisherige Laisser-aller geschaffen werden muss, wollen wir nicht entscheiden. Aber nichts wäre trauriger, als wenn man nach dem Misserfolg Hitlers sich wieder einem vagen Optimismus hingeben wollte. Die Wirklichkeit in Deutschland tritt deutlich genug hervor, auch ohne dass Deutschland der welt gegenüber unter einer Regierung Hitler firmiert. Man denke nur an die Vorfälle in Breslau, wo ein politisch völlig neutraler Professor nur aus dem Grunde, weil er Cohn heisst, am Lesen verhindert und tätlich bedroht wird. Dieser Zustand des Milieus, in dem wir leben müssen, ist nicht dadurch aus der Welt zu schaffen, dass wir bei Behörden intervenieren (obwohl auch dies selbstverständlich notwendig ist). Auf viel breiterer Basis muss die Auseinandersetzung über unser künftiges Schicksal aufgenommen werden, und dies kann nur geschehen, wenn endlich die Führung da ist, die wir nach aussen und innen brauchen.
The original editorial…
Here are the first two pages of this issue of Judische Rundschau. The editorial appears in the lower right on page one and continues at the upper left of page two.
Descriptive information about Jüdische Rundschau, from Digitale Sammlungen:
Publisher: Heinrich Loewe Changing editors-in-chief: Julius Becker, Felix Abraham, Hugo Hermann, Leo Hermann, Fritz Löwenstein, Hans Klötzel, Robert Weltsch, Hans Bloch and others. Jüdische Rundschau initially appeared once a week, but since 1919 twice a week at three – to four-day intervals. Special issues have been published mainly since 1932. In 1925 and 1936 the Rundschau briefly returned to weekly publication. From 1934 to 1938 Jüdische Rundschau had a circulation of 25,300 to 37,000 copies.
Countless supplements:
Von jüdischer Musik (On Jewish Music) (occasionally attached to the relevant issues)
Palästina-Beilage (Palestine Supplement) (occasionally attached to the relevant issues)
Jungzionistische Blätter (Young Zionist Paper)
Jüdisches Frauenblatt (Jewish Women’s Paper)
Zionistisches Frauenblatt (Zionist Women’s Paper)
Unterhaltungs-Beilage (Entertainment Supplement)
Frauen-Beilage (Women’s Supplement)
Musik-Blatt (Music Paper)
Palästina-Blatt (Palestine Paper (occasionally attached to the relevant issues))
Wirtschafts-Blatt (Business Paper)
Palästina-Wirtschaftsblatt (Palestine Business Paper) occasionally attached to the relevant issues)
Literatur-Blatt (Literature Paper) (in later years also occasionally attached directly to the relevant issue of the Judische Rundschau)
Sport-Blatt (Sports Paper) (occasionally attached to the relevant issues)
Berliner Rundschau (occasionally attached to the relevant issues)
Die Jüdische Schule (The Jewish School) (occasionally attached to the relevant issues)
Kinder Rundschau (Children’s Review) (occasionally attached to the relevant issues)
Jüdische Rundschau (1902-1938) – which emerged from the Berliner Vereinsboten (1895-1901) and the Israelitische Rundschau (1901-1902) – is, alongside the C.V.-Zeitung, one of the Jewish weekly newspapers with the highest circulation in the German-speaking world. Founded as the official ‘organ of the Zionist Association for Germany’, the magazine aimed, especially among young people, to “clearly and distinctly express the political idea as expressed in the Basel Program of the Zionist Party” and “to create a homeland in Palestine for the Jewish people” (H. Loewe). Zionism is considered the “national bond” that guarantees this program.
As an influential weekly newspaper, Jüdische Rundschau reported on all areas of Jewish life at home and abroad. In this context, the modern, decidedly combative reporting contributed significantly to the politicization of the Jewish press in the German-speaking world.
Due to its commitment to combating increasing anti-Semitism, the magazine was able to increase its circulation to 40,000 copies at the end of the Weimar Republic. After the National Socialists took power, Jüdische Rundschau reduced its Zionist activities in order to report more on the difficult living conditions of Jews in Germany and to provide readers who wanted to emigrate with detailed information about emigration options.
Jüdische Rundschau had to stop publishing after the so-called Reichskristallnacht on November 8, 1938; its successor, the Jüdische Weltrundschau, was published from 1939 to 1949, initially in Switzerland and later in Jerusalem.
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Here’s the entirely simple cover of Die Jüdischen Gefallenen Des Deutschen Heeres, Deutschen Marine Und Der Deutschen Schutztruppen 1914-1918 – Ein Gedenkbuch, Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten, forward by Dr. Leo Löwenstein, published in Berlin in 1932 This book has been the primary (I’d say truly central and essential) source of information for my posts about German Jewish WW I military casualties.
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The (original) article of inspiration…
Pierson, Ruth R., Embattled Veterans: The Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten, The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, V 19, N 1, January 1974, pp. 139–154 (https://doi.org/10.1093/leobaeck/19.1.139)
Dr. Ruth Roach Pierson, at…
… The Toronto Star (Obituary (1938-10/13/24))
… Literary Review of Canada (articles)