A brotherly conversation early in the Hitler regime. (as I image it)
“What do you want me to do it about? Help whom and how?” It is September 1933.
The two brothers are sitting together, having a beer and schnaps in the souterrain bar of Kiel’s city hall called “Rathauskeller”. Wilhelm Anschuetz, my mother’s father, is snapping back at his brother Gerhard.
A moment ago, Gerhard had raised his voice.
Wilhelm is offended, defensive, “Help the communists, the socialists?” he is bitter. “Or just their wives and children? Just tell me, you high priest of morality”.
Gerhard had touched a sensitive spot, Wilhelm’s religion and ethics. “Willy, this is your Christian duty’! ‘Deine Christenpflicht’,” That’s what Gerhard had said.
And Gerhard had added “You can’t just stand by. You have influence. Important party people listen to you. Please speak to them. They can help.”
Earlier in the month, Gerhard had asked Wilhelm to help a few of their Jewish colleagues at the Kiel University. One of them is Prof. Rausch von Traubenberg. He is a neighbor of the Anschuetz family in Kiel. He also is the father of Dorothee von Traubenberg, my mother’s high school classmate and best friend. I told about the girls’ friendship in the first story I read.
The two brothers had agreed to discuss the details when they meet in person at Wilhelm’s mother-in-law’s birthday. Until now, they have not seen each other in about a year. There is so much to catch up on, professionally, personally, and then the politics.
They both are prominent academics, internationally recognized contributors in their fields.
Wilhelm Anschuetz, my grandfather, is a successful surgeon, a prominent medical researcher, a professor and the dean of the medical faculty at the Kiel University.
His brother, my great-uncle Gerhard, is a constitutional law professor at the University Heidelberg. He has become a well-known contributor to, and interpreter of the constitution for the “Weimar Republic”. That’s what the democratic republic prior to Nazi takeover was called.
Gerhard’s and Wilhelm’s views towards the democratic republic and its constitution have always been quite different.
The Law Professor Gerhard Anschuetz, my great uncle, is committed democrat and supporter of the republic. Today you would say a “small d” democrat. This is in stark contrast to the monarchist and autocratic leanings of his brother, the medical professor Wilhem Anschuetz. Right now, that difference matters. It matters a lot.
Hitler has been appointed Chancellor of the Republic on January 30, 1933, eight months ago. He immediately has taken a series of drastic and brutal steps to concentrate power and control the country. Between the Anschuetz-Brothers the response has been very different.
In March, Willhelm Anschuetz, my grandfather, had joined the Nazi Party and a few weeks later he had signed an open letter of support for Adolf Hitler, organized by hundreds of university professors across Germany.
His brother Gerhard, on the other hand, in April 1933, had resigned from his professorship at the University Heidelberg in opposition to the new regime. “My conscience does not allow me to promote the support and closeness to the new German state and its new legal system” (from his resignation letter).
Was their conversation now leading into a serious fight. They are both mature man, used to controlling their temper. They both take a moment of silence after the sharp and bitter exchange they started out with. They take a sip of their beer and call for another schnapps. Wilhelm, my grandfather, speaks first “You are right, Gerhard”, he says,” The chaos and the Nazi party thugs need to get stopped. Police need to step in. In March, our city council member Wilhelm Spiegel, a socialist and a Jew, was killed by the thugs, another Jew was wounded. He ran into my clinic for treatment and shelter. With great effort, I barely could hold back the Stormtrooper bullies who wanted to take over my hospital and drag him out. Whatever you think of Jews we cannot allow that laws are broken and hospitals ransacked.”
There is loud singing in the bar, we cannot hear Gerhard’s response, who is turned in the other direction from us. The schnaps arrives, and Wilhelm continues. “You say Hitler is behind all this thuggery and chaos, the Nazi are creating this on purpose. I don’t believe it, why would he? The chaos and looting come from the left. All those communists who joined the Nazi party since January. They want to take our property, our freedom, collectivize this, collectivize that. Even the children are collectivized – look at Russia. It’s getting worse and worse over there.” Again, we cannot really understand Gerhard, my great-uncle. Maybe he is speaking too softly. “Jews are German citizens – protection of the constitution – due process”, is that what he says? Well, he is a law professor, sounds like something he would say. Wilhelm’s tone is warmer now, the rapprochement of the brothers is under way. “I agree,” he says, “we need get together as one country, one nation, and treat everybody fairly, everybody who is German. We just need to make sure that we are protected from those folks who don’t want to belong here, who don’t like how we live. If that gets a little rough for a bit that is not great, but maybe it cannot be avoided.” Now a pause, Wilhelm adds, “this is not against the Jews, it is against people who undermine our country, our families, our morals. And yes, Gerhard, I will speak to Professor Loehr, my wife’s Hilda’s brother-in-law. His brother Hannes, also in Medicine, is big in the NSDAP Doctors' League.” Hannes will take care of it, but …. If I was Jewish, I probably would get out for a while, until a blows over. It’s too bad, a lot of really talented people. And some of them have converted and sitting right with us in our Paulus Kirche up the hill, like the Traubenbergs and the Tannenbaums down the street. Kids with our kids in the same gymnasium, Christmas tree, … more Christian than both Hilda and I have ever been. But …” he whispers, “these Nazi Idiots don’t get it.”