On Friday, July 15, I was originally scheduled to be picked up at 9:15 a.m., but a phone call from the teacher two days earlier changed it to 10:15 a.m. The next day, a second phone call changed it to 11:15 a.m. and it almost seemed to me that with this constant rescheduling, they would just as soon have me cancel it altogether. But if that was the case, I was not going to accommodate them. I had come to talk to the students in a school that had vivid memories for me, and I was determined to talk, come hell or high water.

Although I had been able to talk in English at the three previous schools, I had found out on Sunday, to my surprise, that the kids here were only 12 years old and knew little or no English. Therefore, unprepared as I was for the task, I was going to have to speak for half an hour in German for the first time in my life. Because of all these circumstances, I really was not looking forward to the task. But no one has ever accused me of not being stubborn, so I was going full steam ahead when I was finally picked up at the hotel at 11:15 a.m. This was the one time my wife was not able to go with me.

My personal connection to this particular school is as follows. Although the name is now Gagern Gymnasium, when I went to school in the 1930s it was called Kaiser Friedrich Gymnasium. I remember the building very well since I passed it twice every day for years, while en route to first the Israelitische Volkschule and then the Samson Rafael Hirsch Realschule whose building was immediately next door and attached to the Gagern Gymnasium where I was going to speak. It was that Realschule that we were on our way to, on November 10, 1938, when Herman and I were stopped by the burning synagogue and were sent home by a kind passerby.

The Hirsch Realschule building was taken over by the gymnasium next door in 1939 and it was torn down in the 1960s. There stands now a modern addition to the gymnasium attached to the original gymnasium building. On the main entrance to the old gymnasium building is a large plaque commemorating what stood there before and describing what happened in 1938. On the first floor, on the wall facing the former Hirsch Realschule is another descriptive plaque, and in the hallway stands a bulletin board with pictures and descriptions dedicated to the Hirsch Realschule.

There were two signs on the outside wall that I have reproduced here. The smaller one refers to the building which “stood” until 1960 when it was torn down. At the end it says “closed already 1939” which may be technically correct although classes ended there November 1938. The larger sign refers to the school itself and I will translate it:

“Here stood the Samson-Raphael-Hirsch-School

Realschule and Lyzeum of the Isrealitische Religionsgesellschaft.

Opened 1853, she had to be closed in March 1939, after the National Socialists

already had expelled most teachers and students.

Her founder and first Director was Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888).

The school conveyed traditional Jewish values together with secular culture.

She was model for modern Orthodox schools.”

Continuing the annoyance, I stood around for about 15 minutes while they were getting the class organized. But once I started speaking, having first apologized for any mistakes I was about to make, and with the help of one of the teachers who had to help me with a few words, I forgot about being annoyed and told my story. Unfortunately, I was not the first one to speak at their school that week. The day before there had been another speaker, who had kosher cake, crackers and drinks etc. served in the class. They had gotten so much that a basket full of goodies was left for my talk. While I was talking the kids were distracted by the need to cut up the cake and distribute it. All in all, it was not a very satisfying experience. Nevertheless, even this session ended with lots of questions not only from the students but also from the teachers who were present. I again had to stand around later while waiting for them to get themselves organized to have someone take me back to the hotel. Deutsche Ordnung obviously was missing here.

(To be continued next week)

By Norbert Strauss

�