The City of Ansbach and Edith Stein

Ansbach had always been well-known for the Jewish families who had resided there from the end of the 18th century. They set up a Jewish cemetery in the Rug Laender Strasse, but it was vandalized and razed under the Nazi tyranny. The Germans repaired it in 1946, but it was damaged several more times. A plaque on the wall of the cemetery commemorates these events. The Jewish congregation built its synagogue at No. 3 Rosenbadstrasse. Still, it, too, was damaged by the SA or Sturmabteilung (German for "Stormtroopers," also referred to as "Brownshirts"), although the Germans did not burn it down for fear of damaging the neighboring buildings. Today, it is a "Symbolic House of God." A plaque at the entrance serves as a memorial to the synagogue and Jewish residents murdered during the Holocaust.

This photo is closer to the entrance and captures the remaining headstones. There is a large gap separating the two sides, at least 5m. Again, the numbering of the headstones doesn't completely follow the usual count. On the far left side, the most miniature black tombstone is numbered 382, but the last monument on the far right (not in this shot) is numbered 363.

Edith Stein: Philosopher Edith

Edith Stein was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was canonized as a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church.

Teresia Benedicta a Cruce in 1938–39

In 1940, as part of the T4 euthanasia action, at least 500 patients were deported from the Heil und Pflegeanstalt Ansbach (the Ansbach Medical and Nursing Clinic) to the extermination facilities of Sonnenstein and Hartheim, which were disguised as psychiatric institutions. They were gassed there. At the clinic in Ansbach itself, around fifty intellectually disabled children were injected with the drug Luminal and killed that way. A plaque was erected in their memory in 1988 in the local hospital at No. 38 Feuchtwangerstrasse.

The location of the "special children's ward" was house 15, which was torn down and replaced by a modern building in 1965.

I spent one week in Breslau, Germany, and studied at the library. My Aunt's stories had brought many questions to my mind, and I was shocked at what seemed to be a complete denial of the Holocaust in this area. Here was a beautiful landscape with atrocities hidden just under the surface. It was a center of Jewish and spiritual activity until 1938. According to photos and articles from 1938, there used to be several synagogues in and around Ansbach. There were also supposedly 8,000 Jewish people buried in the local cemetery. I hoped to learn more history, but even though the people in the area were pleasant and cordial, they would not speak to me about the past. Although I spoke German and the locals understood me well enough, they suddenly didn't understand my speech when I asked about the cemetery.

It seemed that most of the synagogues had burned down, but there were no markers or signs to show locations in the cemetery. There was no indication of any of the Jewish population in the area. The cemetery was surrounded by a wall and was locked to prevent entry. I decided to hop the fence and check for any legible names on the tombs. Before the war, Jews had been well-respected in Ansbach and were well-known for being caretakers of the city's assets (including tax money) for hundreds of years before the Second World War. The headstones had Hebrew etched into them. I went to librabery in Breslau. An expert told me that Ana Frank went to the ovens at the same time. Edith Stein was a German university instructor and a Catholic who studied this kind of denial in the fanatic German culture. Edith Stein also sent a letter to the Pope: Holy Father! I am a child of the Jewish people who, by the grace of God, for the past eleven years, has also been a child of the Catholic Church. Responsibility must fall on those who brought them and those who keep silent in the face of such happenings. Is not this idolization of race and governmental power being pounded into the public consciousness by the radio open heresy? Isn't the effort to destroy Jewish blood an abuse of the holiest humanity of our Savior. That is an attempt to purchase peace with the present German government.

For the time being, the fight against Catholicism will be conducted quietly and less brutally than against Jewry, but no less systematically. It won't take long before no Catholic can hold office in Germany unless he dedicates himself unconditionally to the new course of action. Dr. Edith Stein, Instructor at the German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy, Münster in Westphalia, Collegium Marianum. Edith Stein was the youngest of eleven children. She was born as her family celebrated Yom Kippur, the most important Jewish festival, the Feast of Atonement. "More than anything else, this helped make the youngest child very precious to her mother." Being born on this day was like a foreshadowing to Edith. Edith's father, who ran timber, died when she had turned two. Her mother, a very devout, hardworking, strong-willed, and truly remarkable woman, had to fend for herself and look after the family and their large business. However, she failed to keep up a living faith in her children. Edith lost her faith in God. "I consciously decided, of my own volition, to give up praying," she said.

In 1911, Edith Stein passed her school graduation exam with flying colors and enrolled at the University of Breslau to study German and history, though this was a mere "bread-and-butter" choice. Her genuine interest was in philosophy and women's issues. She became a member of the Prussian Society for Women's Franchise. "When I was at school and during my first years at university," she wrote later, "I was a radical suffragette. Then I lost interest in the whole issue. Now I am looking for purely pragmatic solutions." In 1913, Edith Stein transferred to Gottingen University to study philosophy.

At the beginning of the First World War, Edith Stein had done a nursing course and served in an Austrian field hospital. That was a hard time for her, during which she looked after the sick in the typhus ward, worked in an operating theatre, and saw young people die. In the German city of Freiburg, she passed her doctorate summa cum laude (with the utmost distinction) in 1917 after writing a thesis on "The Problem of Empathy." Edith Stein wanted to obtain a professorship, a goal that was impossible for a woman at the time. Because academic careers were not open to women, Edith could not pursue her first choice of admission to a professorship. Later, she was refused a professorship because of her Jewishness.

In 1933, darkness broke out over Germany. "I had heard of severe measures against Jews before. It dawned on me that God had laid his hand on his people and that the destiny of these people would also be mine." The Aryan Law of the Nazis made it impossible for Edith Stein to continue teaching. "If I can't go on here, then there are no longer any opportunities for me in Germany." Edith Stein went to Breslau to say goodbye to her mother and family for the last time. Her last day at home was her birthday, October 12, the last day of the Feast of Atonement. The Tabernacle is the portable dwelling place for the divine presence through the conquering of the land of Canaan. It was built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai. Edith Stein went to the synagogue with her mother. It was a hard day for the two women. "Why did you get to know Christianity?" her mother asked. "I don't want to say anything," Edith Stein responded.

On September 14, 1936, the renewal of her vows coincided with her mother's death in Breslau. "My mother held on to her faith to the last moment. But as her faith and her firm trust in her God were the last things that were still alive in the throes of her death, I am confident that she will have met a very merciful judge and that she is now my most faithful helper, so that I can reach the goal as well." On November 9, 1938, the antisemitism of the Nazis became apparent to the whole world.

I spent one week in Breslau, Germany, and studied at the library. My Aunt's stories had brought many questions to my mind, and I was shocked at what seemed to be a complete denial of the Holocaust in this area. Here was a beautiful landscape with atrocities hidden just under the surface. It was a center of Jewish and spiritual activity until 1938. According to photos and articles from 1938, there used to be several synagogues in and around Ansbach. There were also supposedly 8,000 Jewish people buried in the local cemetery. I hoped to learn more history, but even though the people in the area were pleasant and cordial, they would not speak to me about the past. Although I spoke German and the locals understood me well enough, they suddenly didn't understand my speech when I asked about the cemetery.

It seemed that most of the synagogues had burned down, but there were no markers or signs to show locations in the cemetery. There was no indication of any of the Jewish population in the area. The cemetery was surrounded by a wall and was locked to prevent entry. I decided to hop the fence and check for any legible names on the tombs. Before the war, Jews had been well-respected in Ansbach and were well-known for being caretakers of the city's assets (including tax money) for hundreds of years before the Second World War. The headstones had Hebrew etched into them. I went to librabery in Breslau. An expert told me that Ana Frank went to the ovens at the same time. Edith Stein was a German university instructor and a Catholic who studied this kind of denial in the fanatic German culture. Edith Stein also sent a letter to the Pope: Holy Father! I am a child of the Jewish people who, by the grace of God, for the past eleven years, has also been a child of the Catholic Church. Responsibility must fall on those who brought them and those who keep silent in the face of such happenings. Is not this idolization of race and governmental power being pounded into the public consciousness by the radio open heresy? Isn't the effort to destroy Jewish blood an abuse of the holiest humanity of our Savior. That is an attempt to purchase peace with the present German government.

For the time being, the fight against Catholicism will be conducted quietly and less brutally than against Jewry, but no less systematically. It won't take long before no Catholic can hold office in Germany unless he dedicates himself unconditionally to the new course of action. Dr. Edith Stein, Instructor at the German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy, Münster in Westphalia, Collegium Marianum. Edith Stein was the youngest of eleven children. She was born as her family celebrated Yom Kippur, the most important Jewish festival, the Feast of Atonement. "More than anything else, this helped make the youngest child very precious to her mother." Being born on this day was like a foreshadowing to Edith. Edith's father, who ran timber, died when she had turned two. Her mother, a very devout, hardworking, strong-willed, and truly remarkable woman, had to fend for herself and look after the family and their large business. However, she failed to keep up a living faith in her children. Edith lost her faith in God. "I consciously decided, of my own volition, to give up praying," she said.

In 1911, Edith Stein passed her school graduation exam with flying colors and enrolled at the University of Breslau to study German and history, though this was a mere "bread-and-butter" choice. Her genuine interest was in philosophy and women's issues. She became a member of the Prussian Society for Women's Franchise. "When I was at school and during my first years at university," she wrote later, "I was a radical suffragette. Then I lost interest in the whole issue. Now I am looking for purely pragmatic solutions." In 1913, Edith Stein transferred to Gottingen University to study philosophy.

At the beginning of the First World War, Edith Stein had done a nursing course and served in an Austrian field hospital. That was a hard time for her, during which she looked after the sick in the typhus ward, worked in an operating theatre, and saw young people die. In the German city of Freiburg, she passed her doctorate summa cum laude (with the utmost distinction) in 1917 after writing a thesis on "The Problem of Empathy." Edith Stein wanted to obtain a professorship, a goal that was impossible for a woman at the time. Because academic careers were not open to women, Edith could not pursue her first choice of admission to a professorship. Later, she was refused a professorship because of her Jewishness.

In 1933, darkness broke out over Germany. "I had heard of severe measures against Jews before. It dawned on me that God had laid his hand on his people and that the destiny of these people would also be mine." The Aryan Law of the Nazis made it impossible for Edith Stein to continue teaching. "If I can't go on here, then there are no longer any opportunities for me in Germany." Edith Stein went to Breslau to say goodbye to her mother and family for the last time. Her last day at home was her birthday, October 12, the last day of the Feast of Atonement. The Tabernacle is the portable dwelling place for the divine presence through the conquering of the land of Canaan. It was built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai. Edith Stein went to the synagogue with her mother. It was a hard day for the two women. "Why did you get to know Christianity?" her mother asked. "I don't want to say anything," Edith Stein responded.

On September 14, 1936, the renewal of her vows coincided with her mother's death in Breslau. "My mother held on to her faith to the last moment. But as her faith and her firm trust in her God were the last things that were still alive in the throes of her death, I am confident that she will have met a very merciful judge and that she is now my most faithful helper, so that I can reach the goal as well." On November 9, 1938, the antisemitism of the Nazis became apparent to the whole world.

View of the interior of the Essenweinstrasse synagogue in Nuremberg following its destruction during Kristallnacht. —Yad Vashem.

They burned the Synagogues, and the Jewish people were subjected to terror. The prioress of the Carmelite Convent in Cologne did her utmost to take Sister Edith Stein abroad. On New Year's Eve 1938, she was smuggled across the border into the Netherlands.

But it was not too long until Edith and her sister Rosa were captured by the Nazis and taken, together with many other Jewish Christians, to a transit camp in Amersfoort and then to Westerbork. That was an act of retaliation against the letter of protest written by the Dutch Roman Catholic Bishops against the pogroms and deportations of Jews. Edith commented, "I never knew that people could be like this, neither did I know that my brothers and sisters would have to suffer like this ... I pray for them every hour. Will God hear my prayers? He will certainly listen to them in their distress."

On August 7, 987 Jews were deported to Auschwitz early in the morning. It was probably on August 9 that Sister Edith Stein, her sister, and many other people were gassed.

Edith Stein was honored in Cologne on May 1, 1987, as a daughter of Israel. Later, as an adult, when I thought about people like Edith Stein, one thing that bothered and troubled me was why so many Jews did nothing to help others of their religion. For example, I visited my brother-in-law, General Weiss, in Springfield, Virginia, for the holy day. It sounded as if Israel was too much trouble for his interdepartmental team. I was shocked, especially after my term with the U.S. Army in his previous area of Bavaria. Had he become as barbarian as his non-Jewish counterparts in the town of his birth?

Henry was a fortunate fellow. He had been born in the Ansbach area; his father, Louis, was a high school teacher, and his mother, Paula Stern, the daughter of a cattle dealer living at Stockhausen, near Ansbach. After the Germans established a cattle market in Nuremberg, the needs in Ansbach lost importance, and business fell off sharply during and after the war. Many attempts were made to revive the industry, but the Germans did not keep their promises. Unfortunately, the Jews, the largest contingent (up to eighty percent) of dealers, were excluded from markets.

Later, the city council ordered that dealing in the Jewish language was forbidden, and plainclothes police were called to "intervene ruthlessly" to expel any Jews from "interfering" in cattle and other markets. Finally, signs were posted in markets declaring that "attendance by non-Aryans is not wanted." And all this occurred between 1934 and 1935, years before World War II.