Frau Seibner's Story
Life in Berlin During the War
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Frau Siebner is a German Jew. Her father was Jewish and her mother was German. Her father had been an officer in World War One and had received a letter from Hitler thanking him for his efforts in the War.
After World War I Frau Siebner's father had opened a bookshop selling all nature of books. However in 1933, the Nazis banned any books that they felt inappropriate. Frau Siebner's father was not too concerned because he considered himself to be a proper German because he had received the letter of commendation.
In 1936 the Nazis came and shut down the shop, luckily he managed to save the books and hide them in his cellar. Then in 1938 the Nazis came again to take him to a Prisoner Of War camp. They told him that the only alternative he had to the P.O.W. camp was emigration. This meant he needed to emigrate. The Nazis told Frau Siebner's father that a ticket cost 5000DM (Deutsch marks) to go anywhere in Europe or to the USA, but a ticket to Shanghai cost 10DM. As he had not worked for two years he could only afford to emigrate to Shanghai.
Once he arrived in Shanghai, her Dad had to write to Frau Siebner as he was not allowed any communication with his wife. He was only allowed to write in 25 words or less and it had to be translated and checked to make sure he was not giving away vital information. In one of his letters he asked Frau Siebner to get him the forbidden books from his cellar so that he could start his business again in order to make a bit of money. Unfortunately she never saw her father again because he died in Shanghai in 1944.
Everyday life was very hard for Frau Siebner. She loved school and tried to make friends, but as she was a Jew she was left out and ignored. When the British bombarded Berlin the Germans took cover in cellars. Hitler demanded that no Jews were allowed in the cellars, so when Frau Siebner tried to enter the cellar during an air raid, one Nazi stopped her and she was left to fend for herself above ground. When she tried again one German was kinder. He felt sorry for her and let her and her mother hide out in his factory cellar. Her mother worked in the factory whilst she hid in the cellar, there were about 15 Jewish children in the cellars underneath the factory at a time but Frau Siebner recalled: "I knew about them but I rarely saw another and we never played."
There were also songs about the Jews saying they should splatter
against the walls with their blood filling fountains.
Frau Siebner said: "Most of these were put on the German radio which
was Hitler's idea. The Jews hated Hitler. In one of his speeches he said
all Jews smell and have horse noses and are the filth of the human race.
As the Jews and many Germans hated Hitler and the war so much they would
often say I would rather cut off my hand than see Hitler's final
victory."
When the Americans finally came in and defeated the Nazis they were very kind to the Germans. Frau Siebner was even able to get a job as a waitress at the mess tent and her mother was able to get a job as a cook in the same mess. She enjoyed her job; she saw it as freedom and her first chance at life. Frau Siebner stated that many Nazis killed themselves at the end of the war and many Germans were disgraced to be German when they discovered how they had been treating the Jews.
In total 6 million Jews were killed and many were scarred for life by what they had witnessed.
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Page last updated: 25th February 2014