Autobiographical interviews of Jews born in German speaking countries ("Yekkes") - 50/60 years after their immigration to Israel

Born 04/20/1921, Minsk (Soviet Union). Finished high school in Danzig. 1938-44 in a ghetto in Lithuania, 1944 transport to Dachau. Liberation in 1945. Emigration to Palestine: 1945. Work in a Kibbutz (Jam factory, bakery, lumber jack) Teacher training in History, works on his Ph.D. Interview: immigration in September 1945, 5 months after his liberation from Dachau where he had been for a year. Before he had been in a gettho in Lithuania called "Kovno". Occupation of Lithuania during the operation "Barbarossa". Jews were transported to Dachau via Stuthof (Poland) in a special train or were taken to camp Kaufering which belonged to Dachau. Liberation through American troops 05/05 + 05/06 1945. Fellow prisoners were liberated earlier because their train was bombed. Others escaped in Schwabhausen and asked the villagers for help. Circumstances in Schwabhausen. His parents and his sister were dead, his father had died next to him in the concentration camp. Emigrated officially to Palestine. First station: Giv'at Brenner. Family history: his father was born in Lithuania and exported wood in Danzig. 1940 he went back to Lithuania and the family followed. The German invasion of Russia, Stalin's reaction. C. tried to escape to Lettland but was captured by German soldiers. He had to walk back. The situation in Lithuania. The difference between the persecution of the Jews under Stalin and Hitler. About Ernst Nolte, Rosenberg and new material about the war. The situation in Russia. ; He thanks his life to a SS soldier who worked in the management of the camp and let him go. About the Nazi system. He started a completely new life in Israel and tried to forget. Cultural and language situation before emigration. About the differences between his and his wife's family. His parents spoke Russian, he still understands it, but doesn't speak. Attended a German private school and a German high school in Danzig. Refugees in Danzig. Assimilated non-religious family, little knowledge of Hebrew. No zionist attitude. Father and great grandfather. Family history. History of Lithuania. He was an early member of a Zionist youth movement and wanted to live in a Kibbutz in Palestine. About the Jews and different movements within Judaism. His ideal was agriculture in a Kibbutz. About Communism, Socialism and Zionism. Jewish groups and how they split. History: Munich treaty. Hitler and Mussolini. Why Hitler was defeated in Russia. Draws parallels between Hitler and Napoleon. Analyses Hitler's defeat. History teacher, studied in Wilna and from 1945 on in Palestine. He went to Palestine with a group that was connected to Jews from Lithuania. Ideal of the Kibbutz. No relatives nor family in Israel. Language situation within the group: Russian, Yiddish, German, Hebrew. The beginning was difficult, but they managed. Various earlier jobs, in Giv'at Brenner he worked in a jam factory and then as a baker. After the group split he moved to Nezer Sireni and organized a youth group. ; University: teacher training in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Taught jewish history and history of the state of Israel. 10 years of teaching in Nezer Sireni, then at a high school in Rehovot and later in Giv'at Brenner. He returned to the University and began to work on his Ph.D. Field of interest: opposition against anti-jewish politics, Holocaust and Endloesung. Academic interest. History of Anti-Semitism and WWII. A visit to Germany on which he visited the national archives. Language situation: Ph.D. in Hebrew, notes in German, French and English. Religion: he is not religious but also not anti-religious. For him religion is private. Jewish history, Israeli politics. Arabs. History. His attitude towards the Kibbutz system, Kibbutzim today. Social market economy and Capitalism. Problems with Arabs and settlements.