{"id":19,"date":"2019-05-23T16:17:02","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T16:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/?p=19"},"modified":"2021-01-12T00:50:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T00:50:37","slug":"jewish-man-recognized-for-life-saving-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/jewish-man-recognized-for-life-saving-rescue\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewish Man Recognized for&nbsp;Life&nbsp;Saving&nbsp;Rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"credits text-right\">By Olaf Wittenberg<br>Published in Militaria, volume 29, issue 5, September\/October&nbsp;2006<br>Translated by Anuschka&nbsp;Tomat and&nbsp;Helen&nbsp;Brandshaft<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"smallcaps\">As I researched<\/span> how the state handles commendations for life-saving acts, one question kept coming up: How might National Socialist authorities have reacted to a rescue made by a person who was not of \u201cGerman or kindred blood.\u201d<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-1\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"1\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-1\">1<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"1\">Reichsb\u00fcrgergesetz, \u00a72 I. About the genesis and meaning of this term, cf. e.g., Andreas Rethmeier, <em>\u201cN\u00fcrnberger Rassengesetze\u201d und Entrechtung der Juden im Zivilrecht,<\/em> (Frankfurt a.M. u.a.: Lang, 1995), 151-155.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">Because it\u2019s hard to imagine that cases like this would ever have been reported to the responsible provincial ministry, I had very little hope of shedding light on this question with a concrete example. But while researching in the main state archive of Stuttgart, part of the provincial archive of Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg,<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-2\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"2\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-2\">2<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"2\">Provided no other source is given, all documents are from the Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart (HstA S): Best. E 151\/01, B\u00fc 2830.<\/span> I actually came across exactly such a case.<\/p>\n<h4>The Rescue<\/h4>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">On June 23, 1936, the 27-year-old Felix David saved a 54-year-old woman from drowning in the Neckar River near the public pool in Stuttgart-Untert\u00fcrkheim.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/inselbad-1024x657.jpg\" alt=\"Untert\u00fcrkheim Inselbad\" class=\"wp-image-47\"\/><figcaption>Postcard of the Stuttgart-Untert\u00fcrkheim Inselbad, a public swimming pool on a small island in the Neckar River, 1930<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>David gave his account of what happened:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ideaBlock\">\n<p>As I walked along the lower bank, I suddenly saw a woman in the water, awkwardly trying to swim on her back and apparently talking to herself. When, just then, she went under, I realized that the woman was drowning. I called, just in case, to two rowers, who were lounging in their boat on the opposite bank and went into the water. I swam to where the woman had gone under and just then had come up again. As I came close to her, she tried to grab on to me. I pushed her away and shouted that she should turn on her back. I immediately succeeded in approaching her from behind and was able to pull her to the riverbank, using a rear rescue carry. In the meantime, the two rowers had arrived in their boat and helped me carry the woman up the stairs.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-3\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"3\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-3\">3<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"3\">Felix David in a report about the rescue.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">The investigation of the Stuttgart police about this accident, or rather, rescue case, describes the rescue and David\u2019s efforts more clearly: \u201cthe rescue was made more difficult because he &#8230; could not bring Mrs. F directly to the shore, where the embankment was too smooth to land. He was forced to pull her to the nearest steps, which were 110 m away. The depth of the water at the site of the accident was about 2.5 m and was too deep to stand for the entire distance to the shore. The rowers arrived only in time to help get the victim up the stairs. After 45 minutes of resuscitation and with the help of oxygen, Mrs. F regained consciousness. Without the intervention of the teacher, Mr. David, she would surely have died.\u201d<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-4\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"4\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-4\">4<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"4\">The Police Commissioner in Stuttgart writing to the Interior Minister of W\u00fcrttemberg on Oct. 3, 1936. (Az.:I 1211).<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>The Rescuer<\/h4>\n<p>Born in Breslau on February 15, 1909, the rescuer Felix David was 27 years old at the time of the rescue. He was Jewish, married and taught at the Jewish School in Stuttgart. While at college, he had taken part in life saving courses and was considered <em>\u201ca good swimmer.\u201d<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-5\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"5\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-5\">5<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"5\">Cf.: The Police Commissioner in Stuttgart writing to the Interior Minister of W\u00fcrttemberg on Oct. 3, 1936. (Az.: I 1211).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h4>The&nbsp;Conditions&nbsp;for&nbsp;Jews in Stuttgart at the&nbsp;Time&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Rescue<\/h4>\n<p>In June 1936, as Felix David carried out the rescue, Jews already suffered considerable discrimination, as a result of numerous laws and ordinances.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-6\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"6\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-6\">6<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"6\">An\u2014incomplete\u2014overview is given, e.g., Hans-J\u00fcrgen D\u00f6scher, <em>\u201cReichskristallnacht\u201d: die Novemberpogrome 1938<\/em> (Frankfurt a.M. et al.: Ullstein, 1988), 15-21 and in tables, 180-184,. See also Anton Keim, ed., <em>Tagebuch einer J\u00fcdischen Gemeinde 1941\/43,<\/em> (Mainz: v. Hase &amp; Koehler, 1968), 15-28. According to Keim, between 1933 and early summer 1935, there were already 70 laws and ordinances issued specifically for Jews, and by 1945, they totaled 431, disregarding regional specifics or severity. (Keim, <em>Tagebuch,<\/em> 16 and 19, referencing Bruno Blau, <em>Das Ausnahmerecht f\u00fcr Juden in Deutschland 1933-1945<\/em>. 2. ed. [D\u00fcsseldorf: Verlag Allgemeine Wochenzeitung der Juden in Deutschland, 1954.]). About the situation in W\u00fcrttemberg and Stuttgart see, e.g., Roland M\u00fcller, <em>Stuttgart zur Zeit des Nationalsozialismus<\/em> (Stuttgart: Theiss, 1988) 281-309.<\/span> In their commentary on the Nuremberg Laws of 1941, Loesener and Knost sketched the deteriorating circumstances since 1933, as follows:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ideaBlock\">\n<p>The first step was to exclude people with alien blood from positions that govern or maintain the law, thus denying them public office or civil service positions.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-7\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"7\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-7\">7<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"7\">See <em>Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums. April 4, 1933<\/em> in German Government, Reichgesetzblatt, 1933, part I, 175.<\/span> &#8230; That was followed by the elimination of Jews from state positions in public life, public health and German culture. The law to revoke the citizenship of naturalized Jews and to rescind the citizenship of German Jews, which was enacted on July 14, 1933<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-8\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"8\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-8\">8<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"8\">RGBl, no. 35, April 8, 1933, part I, Berlin: Reichsverlagsamt, 1933.<\/span> &#8230; segregated those interlopers who, with no innate right to belong to the German nation, had claimed citizenship, and those who, like criminals, had dragged the state to which they inherently belonged through the mud in front of the whole world. After restoring military sovereignty, the Wehrgesetz or Military Service Law enacted on May 21, 1935<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-9\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"9\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-9\">9<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"9\">RGBl, part I, 1933, 378.<\/span> &#8230; stipulated that only those with German blood could serve in the Armed Forces. The same principle formed the basis of the law regarding the state labor service, enacted on June 26, 1935<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-10\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"10\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-10\">10<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"10\">RGBl, part I, 1935, 769.<\/span> \u2026However, legislation affirming the principle that only fellow Germans are allowed to influence policy making in the Reich had not yet been passed.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-11\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"11\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-11\">11<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"11\">B. L\u00f6sener and F. A. Knost, <em>Die N\u00fcrnberger Gesetze: Mit den Durchf\u00fchrungsverordnungen und den sonstigen einschl\u00e4gigen Vorschriften,<\/em> 4th ed. (Berlin: Vahlen, 1941), 11.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">Among other things, this regulation was incorporated in the \u201cNuremberg Laws\u201d<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-12\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"12\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-12\">12<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"12\">About the laws and by-laws, see L\u00f6sener et al., <em>Die N\u00fcrnberger Gesetze.<\/em> About antecedents, see, e.g., Cornelia Essner, <em>Die \u201cN\u00fcrnberger Gesetze\u201d oder die Verwaltung des Rassenwahns 1933-1945,<\/em> (Paderborn et al.: Sch\u00f6ning, 2002), especially 76-112; about the effects, e.g., Essner, <em>Die \u201cN\u00fcrnberger Gesetze\u201d<\/em>; Andreas Rethmeier, <em>\u201cN\u00fcrnberger Rassengesetze\u201d und Entrechtung der Juden im Zivilrecht in Rechtshistorische Reihe,<\/em> H.-J. Becker, Brauneder, W.; Caroni, P. et.al., eds., vol. 126. (Frankfurt a.M. u.a.: Lang, 1995), especially 291-386. The \u201cNuremberg Laws\u201d were lifted with Allied Control Council Law No. 1, Article 1, \u00b6 1 g (Blutschutzgesetz) and j (Reichsb\u00fcrgergesetz) in <em>Military Government Gazette, Germany, 21st Army Group Area of Control,<\/em> no. 3, 1.<\/span> that were introduced at the \u201cParty Rally of Freedom\u201d held on September 15, 1935. The Reich Citizenship Law<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-13\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"13\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-13\">13<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"13\">RGBl, part I, 1935, 1146. See also <em>Erste Verordnung zum Reichsb\u00fcrgergesetz<\/em> (VOzRB\u00fcrgG) in RGBl, 1935, part I, 1333; ibid., 1524; ibid., 1938, 627; ibid., 969; ibid, 1403; ibid., 1545; ibid., 1751; ibid., 1939, 47; ibid., 891; ibid., 1097; ibid., 1940, 872; ibid., 1941, 722; ibid., 1943, 268; ibid., 372. The first ten regulation in VOzRB\u00fcrgG, along with further implementation provisions, printed with commentary in L\u00f6sener et al., <em>Die N\u00fcrnberger Gesetze,<\/em> 28-30 and 36-114; all legislative texts in Rethmeier, <em>\u201cN\u00fcrnberger Rassengesetze,\u201d<\/em> 414-439.<\/span> established that <em>\u201ca Reich citizen &#8230; [is] only that subject of the state who is of German or related blood, and proves by his conduct that he is willing and fit to faithfully serve the German people and Reich\u2026The Reich citizen is the sole bearer of full political rights in accordance with the law.\u201d<\/em><sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-14\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"14\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-14\">14<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"14\">Rb\u00fcrgG, \u00a7 2 I, III.<\/span> According to the then prevalent view(!), this led directly to the conclusion: <em>\u201cA Jew cannot be a citizen of the Reich. He cannot exercise the right to vote. He cannot hold public office.\u201d<\/em><sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-15\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"15\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-15\">15<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"15\">1. VOzRB\u00fcrgG, \u00a7 4 I. In RGBl, 1935, part I, 1333.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">Rethmeier emphasizes that the Nuremberg Laws, which were comprised of two separate laws: The Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor played<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-16\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"16\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-16\">16<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"16\">RGBl, 1935, part I, 1146f. See also the implementation orders in RGBl, 1935, part I, 1334; ibid., 1940, 394; ibid., 1941, 384. The first two ErgVOzBlSchG, printed with commentary in L\u00f6sener et al., <em>Die N\u00fcrnberger Gesetze,<\/em> 30-31 and 114-140; all legislative texts in Rethmeier, <em>\u201cN\u00fcrnberger Rassengesetze,\u201d<\/em> 440-44.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ideaBlock\">\n<p>&#8230;a more important role than could immediately be recognized. Not only did the laws embody the Nazi racial ideology, but they also represented the crucial legal step in transforming this ideology into policy and implementing it. These measures were also crucial in the subsequent further disenfranchisement of Jews, which in the end led to the legal justification for genocide.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-17\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"17\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-17\">17<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"17\">Rethmeier <em>\u201cN\u00fcrnberger Rassengesetze,\u201d<\/em> see above.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">From today\u2019s perspective, the Nuremberg Laws were &#8230; an essential aspect of what is known as \u2018The Final Solution\u2019. They laid the comprehensive foundation for a rationally constructed system that helped justify the systemic disenfranchisement of Jews that continued to be perfected leading up to the \u2018Final Solution\u2019.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-18\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"18\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-18\">18<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"18\">Rethmeier, <em>\u201cN\u00fcrnberger Rassengesetze,\u201d<\/em> 387, cf. Uwe Dietrich Adam, <em>Judenpolitik im Dritten Reich,<\/em> in <em>T\u00fcbinger Schriften zur Sozial- und Zeitgeschichte,<\/em> vol. 1. (D\u00fcsseldorf: Droste, 1972.)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h4>The Official Acknowledgment of the Rescue<\/h4>\n<p>In order to decide which official commendation should properly acknowledge Felix David\u2019s life-saving act, an assessment of the danger involved, among other things, was necessary. To this end, the Stuttgart Police Commissioner\u2019s report to the W\u00fcrttemberg Interior Minister, dated October 3, 1936, stated:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ideaBlock\">\n<p>David is a good swimmer, who during his studies also attended life saving courses. Under these circumstances, the risk to his own life was neither especially high nor high, so awarding the Life-Saving or Commemorative Medal doesn\u2019t come into consideration.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-19\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"19\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-19\">19<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"19\">Cf. Verleihung der Rettungsmedaille und der Erinnerungsmedaille f\u00fcr Rettung aus Gefahr des Deutschen Reiches, RGBL, 1933 part I, no. 35; ibid., part I, no. 71; W\u00fcrttemberg, <em>Regierungsblatt f\u00fcr W\u00fcrttemberg,<\/em> 1934, no.2, \u00a7 2, (Stuttgart: 1934)12.<\/span> Still, there was a risk to his life, even if a more diminished one, because of the great distance to the shore and the attempt of the victim to grab onto him, and the rescue should be appreciated as a courageous act at the risk of his own life. David deserves an award. I propose that he be publicly commended. In doing so, I assume that the circumstance that David is Jewish should present no barriers as to the kind of award given, because, in this case, it concerns the rescue of a human life, and by a Jew, from whom one would not readily expect an act of courage.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-20\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"20\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-20\">20<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"20\">The Police Commissioner in Stuttgart on October 3, 1936, writing to the W\u00fcrtt. Interior Minister (Az.: I 1211).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">Whether the assessment in the last sentence that this rescue was <em>\u201cby a Jew, from whom one would not readily expect an act of courage\u201d<\/em> was merely the opinion \u201cdemanded\u201d by society or also the personal opinion of the writer, cannot be determined on the basis of these records. The simultaneously expressed expectation \u201cthat the circumstance that David is Jewish should present no barriers as to the kind of award given\u201d could indeed indicate a certain contradiction of the opinion that society \u201cdemanded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">The W\u00fcrttemberg Interior Ministry, which was in charge of granting rewards and writing acknowledgments,<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-21\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"21\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-21\">21<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"21\">W\u00fcrttemberg, <em>Regierungsblatt,<\/em> 1934. See also Reichs Minister of the Interior Frick on April 26, 1933, writing to the Reich Governor and the state governments (Az.: I B 1737\/14.4). (HStS S.: Best. E 130 b, B\u00fc. 22, Bl. 184).<\/span> determined:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ideaBlock\">\n<p>The rescuer (David) is a Jew. The Police Commissioner has nevertheless proposed that David be given a public commendation, and indeed on the grounds that the rescuer deserves an award &#8230; According to the findings of the civil inquiry, the victim would surely have died, if David had not come to her assistance. Under these circumstances, David will likely have to be given a commendation. The [W\u00fcrttemberger] Ministry Framework for Commendations, from January 12, 1934 &#8230; does not distinguish between Arian and non-Arian rescuers. Despite all that, a public commendation should be denied, because the general public would not understand such an award without having more details about the situation. A monetary reward is the most that should be considered.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-22\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"22\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-22\">22<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"22\">W\u00fcrtt. Interior Department in a request from October 16, 1936 (Az.: I B 2815\/2).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">In fact, a monetary reward was requested from the Ministry of Finance and was granted. An interesting detail here is that the \u201cusual\u201d amount of 25 RM was initially entered on the application, but someone\u2014who cannot be identified\u2014crossed it out and replaced it with 50 RM. This amount corresponds to the reward granted for a rescue at the risk of the life of the rescuer, if the state does not confer a medal or if the rescuer preferred financial acknowledgment.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/hauptstaatarchiv.jpg\" alt=\"Petition\" class=\"wp-image-46\"\/><figcaption>Petition from the W\u00fcrttemberg Interior Department that a monetary reward be granted. <span class=\"photocredit\">(HStA S.: Best. E 151-01, B\u00fc. 2830.)<\/span>\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"indentpara\">Seventy [now eighty-two] years ago, on October 31, 1936, the W\u00fcrttemberg Interior Ministry finally issued this official order to the Police Commissioner in Stuttgart:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ideaBlock\">\n<p>Herewith, the Finance Minister has allotted a monetary reward of 50 RM to the teacher Felix David &#8230; for the life-saving rescue at the risk of his own life, that took place on June 23, 1936. The state treasury is directed to pay David the amount. He is to be informed accordingly. Because of the circumstances of the case, a public commendation does not come into consideration.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-23\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"23\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-23\">23<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"23\">W\u00fcrtt. Interior Department on Oct. 31, 1936 in a decree to the Police Commissioner in Stuttgart (Az.: I B 2815\/3). Emphasis in orginial.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h4>The Further Life of the Rescuer<\/h4>\n<p>Finally, this raises the question, what happened to Felix David, a man who, during the terrible years under the National Socialists, was honored by the state for his heroic rescue. Here, the pogrom in November 1938\u2014trivialized by the name Reichskristallnacht\u2013assumes critical importance.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/FelixRuthDavid1938-1024x633.jpg\" alt=\"Felix and Ruth David\" class=\"wp-image-45\"\/><figcaption>Felix and Ruth Rosenzweig David, 1938. <span class=\"photocredit\">Photo courtesy of Evelyn&nbsp;Beckman and Debbie&nbsp;Beckman&nbsp;Bloch<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h4>The Pogrom in November 1938<\/h4>\n<p>On October 27 and 28, 1938, twelve thousand men, mostly Jews with Polish citizenship were arrested and deported to a German-Polish no man\u2019s land, where they remained trapped for several days in catastrophic conditions, until Poland took them in. This action by the National Socialist regime was in response to the Polish government\u2019s decision on October 6, 1938 (made public on October 15, 1938) to require a special symbol in the passports of all Polish citizens who had been living outside of the country for more than 5 years. Otherwise, their Polish passports would become invalid as of October 30, 1938, taking away their Polish citizenship and, with it, the possibility of returning to Poland. So, the deportation, according to the contemporary point of view (!), should prevent Germany from \u201chaving 50,000 stateless, formerly Polish, Jews dropped in its lap, as a consequence of their expatriation.\u201d<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-24\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"24\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-24\">24<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"24\">v. Weiz\u00e4cker, according to M\u00fcller, <em>Der Branddirektor als Brandstifter,<\/em> 490.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">Even the Grynszpan family, who lived in Hannover and had Polish-Jewish roots, found themselves among the deported. Their son, Herschel Feibel Grynszpan, who was living illegally in Paris, found out about the deportation of his family and their calamitous circumstances at the same time that the French regime denied the legalization of his stay in France. On November 7, 1938, he attempted to assassinate the Secretary of the Legation, Ernst vom Rath, in the German embassy. Two days later, vom Rath succumbed to severe gunshot wounds.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-25\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"25\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-25\">25<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"25\">Cf. e.g., D\u00f6scher, <em>\u201cReichskristallnacht,\u201d<\/em> 57-67; M\u00fcller, <em>Der Branddirektor als Brandstifter.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">In response to the assassination, Pogrom-like attacks against Jewish businesses and synagogues occurred in some cities as soon as the nights of November 8 and 9, 1938. Joseph Goebbels spoke at a memorial celebration in Munich honoring Hitler\u2019s 1923 attempt to overthrow the government. His implicit exhortation<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-26\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"26\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-26\">26<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"26\">For the significance of November 9th, see, e.g., J\u00fcrgen Genuneit, <em>Blutfahne und Totenkult<\/em> (Stuttgart: Stuttgart Kulturamt, ed., 1984).<\/span> to high-ranking National Socialists led to the events of the nights of November 9 -10, when<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ideaBlock\">\n<p>&#8230;in all parts of the German Reich from east Prussia to the Rhineland and from Schleswig-Holstein to the Tirol, &#8230; almost all synagogues were burned down, and most Jewish businesses and homes demolished as well&#8230; Before the fires were set, many places saw desecration of synagogues and abuse of individual Jewish community members. &#8230; During the course of the pogrom, many Jews, regardless of age or gender, were beaten, derided, humiliated or killed.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-27\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"27\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-27\">27<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"27\">D\u00f6scher, <em>\u201cReichskristallnacht,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;80. cf. ibid., 77-108.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h4>The Situation in W\u00fcrttemberg and Stuttgart<\/h4>\n<p>On November 12, 1938, the American Consul General in Stuttgart, Samuel W. Honaker, informed the American Ambassador in Berlin, Hugo R. Wilson,<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ideaBlock\">\n<p>&#8230;that the Jews of Southwest Germany have suffered vicissitudes during the last three days which would seem unreal to one living in an enlightened country during the twentieth century if one had not actually been a witness of their dreadful experiences, or if one had not had them corroborated by more than one person of undoubted integrity. To the anguish of mind to which the Jews of this consular district have been subjected for some time, and which suddenly became accentuated on the morning and afternoon of the tenth of November, were added the horror of midnight arrests, of hurried departures in a half-dressed state from their homes in the company of police officers, of the wailing of wives and children suddenly left behind, of imprisonment in crowded cells, and the panic of fellow prisoners. &#8230; So great had become the panic of the Jewish people in the meantime that &#8230; Jews from all sections of Germany thronged into the [Stuttgart Consulate\u2019s] office, &#8230;begging for an immediate visa or some kind of letter in regard to immigration which might influence the police not to arrest or molest them. &#8230; Jewish fathers and mothers with children in their arms were afraid to return to their homes without some document denoting their intention to immigrate at an early date. &#8230; Practically all the Jewish shops in the Stuttgart consular district are reported to have been attacked, ransacked, and devastated. &#8230; Most of the Jewish shops in Stuttgart are situated in the main business section of the city. On the K\u00f6nigsstrasse, the principal business street, no looting was observed, but in the side streets looting was noticed in a number of cases. &#8230;It has been learned from reliable sources that practically the entire male Jewish population of the city of Stuttgart, ranging from the age of eighteen to sixty-five years, has been arrested by authorities representing the police. &#8230; During the course of November 11th some of the persons arrested were transported to Welzheim, which is the most important concentration camp in W\u00fcrttemberg. Arrests were also made as late as 10 A.M. on Saturday, the 12th of November. &#8230; Many Jewish men, some of whom are of excellent business standing, are reported to have left their homes on Thursday [November 10, 1938] and to have disappeared in the meantime. Their friends assume that they are wandering about, in the hope that possibly the storm will blow itself out and they will be left unmolested. &#8230; Particularly among older Jews, there are naturally rumors about a lot of suicides that have so far remained unconfirmed. Although the writer has spoken with the proprietors of homes which have been demolished in other parts of Germany during the last few days, no attacks on private houses and apartments occupied by Jews in W\u00fcrttemberg have been reported, &#8230; with the exception of two isolated instances. &#8230; After a period of three days during which persecutive measures against the Jews have been unprecedented in this part of Germany, depression among this section of the population has become indescribable. Many Jewish women are afraid that the worst is yet to be experienced. They look forward with dread to the day on which Herr von Roth [sic]will be buried.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-28\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"28\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-28\">28<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"28\">The American General Consul S. W. Honaker on Nov. 12, 1938 in a confidential letter to the American ambassador H.R. Wilson in Berlin. Printed in Stuttgart, Kulturamt, ed., 1984, 508-510. Extract in Thalmann R. et al., 1987, 99. See also M\u00fcller, <em>Der Branddirektor als Brandstifter,<\/em> as well as the eyewitness accounts in Maria Zelzer, <em>Weg und Schicksal der Stuttgarter Juden. Ein Gedenkbuch herausgegeben von der Stadt Stuttgart<\/em> (Stuttgart: Klett, 1964), 196-202. English language source: <em>German History in Documents and Images,<\/em> vol. 7. Nazi Germany, 1933-1945. <em>American Consul Samuel Honaker\u2019s Description of Anti-Semitic Persecution and Kristallnacht and its Aftereffects in the Stuttgart Region (November 12 and November 15, 1938),<\/em> url: http:\/\/germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org\/pdf\/eng\/English_33.pdf, accessed April 19, 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>During these riots, the workplace of Felix David, the Jewish School near the devastated Stuttgart Synagogue, remained spared, although its furniture was indeed looted and the building immediately seized by the National Socialists. Only later, after tough negotiations, was it given back.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-29\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"29\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-29\">29<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"29\">Cf. M\u00fcller, <em>Der Branddirektor als Brandstifter,<\/em> 503; M\u00fcller, <em>Stuttgart zur Zeit des Nationalsozialismus,<\/em> 307; about the creation of the Jewish school in Stuttgart in April 1934, see ibid., 289.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>The Death of the David Family<\/h4>\n<p>In the wake of the deadly violence and waves of arrests, the married couple, Felix and Ruth David committed suicide with their two children (Benjamin Wolff, born in August 1936 and Gideon Isaak , born in June 1938) on November 12, 1938. The man who the state had \u201csecretly\u201d commended for saving a life had been driven to his death by that same state only two years later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indentpara\">The grave of the family can be found in the Jewish section of the Prague Cemetery in Stuttgart.<sup id=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-30\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop \" data-mfn=\"30\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000054d0000000000000000_19\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000054d0000000000000000_19-30\">30<\/a><\/sup><span role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"30\">Personal note from Ms. E. Warscher in the Genealogy Office of the Jewish Community W\u00fcrttemberg in Stuttgart to the author on Feb. 22, 2006. In my research, I found indications in Paul Sauer, <em>Die Schicksale der j\u00fcdischen B\u00fcrger Baden-W\u00fcrttembergs w\u00e4hrend der nationalsozialistischen Verfolgungszeit 1933-45<\/em> (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1969), 370-371; R. Thalmann and E. Feinermann, <em>Die Kristallnacht<\/em> (Frankfurt a.M: J\u00fcdischer Verlag bei Athen\u00e4um, 1987), 100; Zelzer, <em>Weg und Schicksal,<\/em> 196. The David family is named in the commemorative book published by the directors of the Stuttgart archive on 407 und 461 (Rosenzweig, married name David, Ruth). Sauer cites, for the period between 1933 and 1945, a total of 165 confirmed suicides among the approx. 32,000 Jewish citizens, who resided prior to Jan. 30, 1933 in today\u2019s Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg, 61 of which in 1938 and 1939. Sauer considers it indeed <em>\u201cvery likely, that the number of [actual] suicides is substantially higher than 165.\u201d<\/em> (Sauer, <em>Die Schicksale der j\u00fcdischen B\u00fcrger Baden-W\u00fcrttembergs<\/em>, 265). For further suicides directly connected to the November pogroms, Sauer cites one case each in Heidelberg, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, as well as two cases in Mannheim (ibid., 266). Thalmann et al., <em>Die Kristallnacht,<\/em> mention cases in Berlin (92), Hilden (110) and N\u00fcrnberg (98).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/felixGravestone-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Gravestone for the David Family\" class=\"wp-image-48\"\/><figcaption>Gravestone for Felix and Ruth Rosenzweig David, and their sons Benzion (Benjamin) and Gideon in the Jewish section of the Pragfriedhof in Stuttgart, Germany<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"text-center endcredit\">The translators wish to thank Olaf Wittenberg for his kind permission to reproduce this article. Mr. Wittenberg informs us that, despite his extensive research into the subject, Felix David\u2019s bravery on June 23, 1938 remains the only known example of the National Socialist authorities having honored a Jewish person for&nbsp;saving&nbsp;a&nbsp;life.<sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote modern-footnotes-footnote--expands-on-desktop\" data-mfn=\"31\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">31<\/a><\/sup><span class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" data-mfn=\"31\">Olaf Wittenberg in an email to Anuschka Tomat on April 17, 2019.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Olaf WittenbergPublished in Militaria, volume 29, issue 5, September\/October&nbsp;2006Translated by Anuschka&nbsp;Tomat and&nbsp;Helen&nbsp;Brandshaft As I researched how the state handles commendations for life-saving acts, one question kept coming up: How might National Socialist authorities have reacted to a rescue made by a person who was not of \u201cGerman or kindred blood.\u201d Because it\u2019s hard to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-d"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1862,"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions\/1862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ismardavidarchive.org\/indexofnames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}