Audiostation - Geschenk oder Raub? Wegmarken Jüdischer Geschichte

Glass Bowl with Stars of David

M: Well, it seems clear to me that this here is definitely a “Jewish object”. The engraved Stars of David on the bowl are quite obvious.

F: That’s true. Besides that, the bowl also came from a Jewish household.

M: And how did it end up in the museum?

F: It was donated to the Museum of Hamburg History by a non-Jewish family. Supposedly, it was given to them as a gift by their Jewish neighbours.

M: I assume “supposedly” means that there’s more to the story than meets the eye?

F: We don’t know for sure what the truth is. But we do know that the neighbours were named Minka and Julius Behrend. On December 6, 1941, they were deported to Riga, where they were murdered.

M: I was afraid of that. And if they gave things away because they were being deported, and couldn’t take anything with them, then it wasn’t by their own free will!

F: Exactly. And when Jewish people were deported, their remaining property was confiscated by the German state. The authorities then disposed of it — that is, they sold it.

M: So, the people were systematically robbed. What happened to the property of those who managed to flee abroad?

F: Research has proven that the personal effects of those who fled Germany were confiscated by the Nazi authorities. The things were auctioned off at extremely low prices, something many people were happy to take advantage of.

M: But… that means that many non-Jewish households now contain objects that… were stolen?

F: Well, that’s what it boils down to. Sometimes the things were
eventually donated to museums, like this bowl here…

M: … Maybe because the family didn’t feel right about keeping something that wasn’t really theirs? Even if the story about it being a gift was true?

F: That could be. In other cases, the things simply became family heirlooms – and where they actually came from was never given a second thought.

M: But a bowl with engraved Stars of David, like this one here, is rather conspicuous in a non-Jewish household.

F: That’s for sure. Often, a family legend would get spun around objects like this one. For example, it suddenly became a gift from somebody the family helped in a time of need. By the way, this might be a good opportunity for you to brush up a bit on your own family history.

M: Okay, I know where you’re coming from: one shouldn’t simply accept all stories without any questions.

F: Right. Who knows, maybe there’s something in your family that also originally came from a Jewish household…

M: That’s what I was just wondering. I’m going to have to do a little digging, I think!