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Photo:
Frank S. |
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Map: Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw,
Poland) where Frank
S. was born. |
Frank S. was born in 1921 in Breslau, Germany, a medium-sized
industrial town in Silesia. In Breslau, the Jewish population was approximately
23,000. In contrast to John J., who was born in Breslau and experienced
little antisemitism before Hitler came to power, Frank recalls being the
victim of antisemitism as a young boy in the 1920s when Germany was the
Weimar Republic. Frank says that he was always aware that he was different
from non-Jewish children.
After the Nazis came to power in January 1933, Frank recalls that antisemitism
became more open in Breslau. Frank’s father, a restaurant owner,
was forced to close his business. Frank's family, and other Jewish families,
were forbidden from watching Nazi parades or saluting the Nazi flag.
Frank also recalls increasing incidents of violence against Jews. The
SA (Storm Troopers) strictly enforced legislation barring Jews from the
civil service and legal profession. The SA humiliated Jewish lawyers and
pulled them out of courtroom proceedings. When the local police
sought to intervene, the SA silenced the opposition by placing an SA officer
in charge of the police.
An incident of antisemitism that had a long-lasting impact on Frank
was the time his mother came to school to pick him up. The non-Jewish
students
insulted her and made Frank uneasy about having his mother come to the
school.
Frank also recalls how he learned raceology in school. Raciology was
a false science that distinguished inferior from superior
races. On one
occasion,
Frank
was called to the front of the class as an example of “what a Jew
looks like”. Frank also sustained
numerous insults from his non-Jewish classmates.
Frank also found it difficult to fit in outside of school. As he explains,
the Nazis expected citizens to salute the Nazi flag with a raised arm and “Heil
Hitler” salute. Since Jews were no longer regarded as citizens in
Nazi Germany, Frank had a dilemma. If he failed to salute the flag, he
would be singled out for inappropriate behavior. If he did salute the flag
and was recognized as a Jew, he would also be punished for inappropriate
behavior. On several occasions, he tried to hide behind a store or house
so he would not have to decide what to do. This was no small matter since
Jews had no protection before the law and would be subject to the whim
of Nazi courts if caught violating the flag laws.
Frank could no longer bear attending public school after 1934. Thus,
he left school and became an apprentice for an electrician. Even in this
situation the non-Jewish apprentices taunted him because he was a “Jew”.
Frank’s circumstances were completely altered after Kristallnacht.
He left his job and managed to get an affidavit from his aunt in England,
guaranteeing that Frank would not be a burden on the British economy. Frank’s
parents were unable to go to England but found passage to Shanghai where
they survived the war.
Videos
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You will need Windows Media Player
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Frank
asks his schoolmates why they are against the Jews.
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DSL/Cable
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Frank is told to
be like a
cameleon.
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DSL/Cable
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Frank is teased
about his mother.
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DSL/Cable
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Frank describes Jews
after World War 1.
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DSL/Cable
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DSL/Cable
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