History of the Jews in Berlin from Ernst's perspective

In the part of society from which my family came there had been, for generations, a sense of a respect and pride for the old traditions and culture but also a strong sense of treating these with honesty. There was no place for orthodox religious practices that had become meaningless in everyday life, nor any sense of guilt that they had been abandoned. Many had strong religious beliefs, but in the main, people attended religious services (if at all) only for the special festivals and family occasions such as weddings.

 

Until the Nazis made it impossible, the accepted view was that it was at least as important to play a full part in the wider society in which one lived - to be concerned with the issues of society as a whole and not use one’s background as an excuse not to get involved. This attitude covered helping to alleviate the hardships and problems as well as taking a full part in the culture of society as a whole, and it included 'patriotism', which meant, for many, tragically, becoming volunteers in the First World War.

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I should make it clear that the group of German Jews with very liberal religious attitudes was large. However, there was also a large orthodox religious group who, in the main, would still have considered themselves to be German Jews, and many of whom, exactly like the liberal Jews, made constructive contributions to the wider world.

 

A high proportion of the Jewish population of Berlin had come to Berlin during the 19th century, many from German provincial towns, attracted by the prospects of a better life that developed as a result of the industrial revolution.

 

In the 1870s Berlin had an added attraction because of the building boom at that time. This was partially financed by money from reparations that Germany received after the winning the Franco-Prussian war (and which resulted in a wider enthusiasm for militarism which, in turn was one of the most important contributory causes of the First World War).

 

Berlin was built up as a compact city of blocks of four storey flats, all built in continuous lines along the streets. They all had similarities of' layout but varied in size. The rooms in the flats that  I knew were generally large and had high ceilings . Most blocks had a 'garden' or at least a yard at the back, some also had a small gardens at the front. The gardens were generally not very well kept but the back gardens provided somewhere for children to play. A high proportion of the flats had balconies and these were very often large enough for people virtually to live on them on summer days. The photographs of the family a few days before I left for England were taken on our balcony.    ·

 

The layout of the town meant that schools, shops and the homes of nearly all our relations and friends were within walking distance in the part of Berlin in which we lived. This area was favoured by professional people and people with small businesses, and the Jewish population in the area formed a small minority.

 

Many of the Jews that had come to Berlin in the nineteenth century, as well as the older established families, prospered in business or did well in other fields and, in accordance with old traditions, gave a large part of their money to the work of the synagogue. This led to the building of several new ones and, alongside these, a Jewish Hospital and numerous very well appointed homes for the elderly and others needing special care.

 

There were also a number of community centres, rather like a Victorian equivalent of some of the better conference centres that we know today. They consisted of several large and small halls and at least some had catering facilities. They were used for lectures, concerts, amateur and professional theatricals, large weddings and similar parties as well as for religious purposes on the special festivals when a high proportion of the Jews wanted to attend a service. These community centres were built at a time when there was, of course, no television, no radio and no cinema.

 

When, in 1933, the Nazis seized power and started their program of expelling all Jews from public life and many other fields, so that they lost their livelihoods, these community centres became places from which help was organised. Others were turned into schools when all Jewish children were expelled from the state schools, which until then, nearly all Jewish children had attended. I transferred to one of these - parts of the building were very grand. For example, it had an extremely ornate Gymnasium.

 

There are many books about the various subjects that I have touched on. The Jewish community in Germany in general and Berlin in particular, produced a large number of people who made outstanding contributions to developments in civilisation, in the arts and in the sciences. Einstein, for example lived in the same block as two people that I knew very well, and who knew him well, although they had little idea of his importance in the world of science. In the main these talented people were, to a very great extent, integrated into society at large.