Language:
German
Year of publication:
2003
Titel der Quelle:
Leipziger Beiträge zur jüdischen Geschichte und Kultur
Angaben zur Quelle:
1 (2003) 283-310
Keywords:
Goerdeler, Carl,
;
Jews History 1933-1939
;
Jews
Abstract:
Discusses numerous instances in which Goerdeler, as mayor of Leipzig, was called upon to decide on matters concerning Jews - whether it was the dismissal of Jewish directors of cultural institutions or clerks in municipal offices, discrimination of Jewish clients of municipal services, or the obliteration of Jewish names from street signs and endowments. Asserts that in almost all these cases, contrary to his reputation as a defender of Jews, Goerdeler deferred to Nazi demands or compromised. He opposed anti-Jewish measures only when he thought they were detrimental to the city's interests. He opposed the removal of the statue of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy from the Gewandhaus square because he perceived it as an attack on the Gewandhaus itself and on the cultural center of the Leipzig elite; when his deputy had it removed in his absence, the slight to his authority left him no choice but to resign as mayor. Goerdeler shared the antisemitism of most German conservatives; Nazi persecution of the Jews became a central motive for his participation in the resistance only when he learned of their mass murder.
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