RE: [Cz-L] Again, a Czernowitzer - Berthold Storfer

Gabriele...

Welcome back to Berlin and thank you so much for that moving story. The meeting in Auschwitz between Berthold Storfer and Adolf Eichmann is mentioned in the article, you brought to our attention. This meeting has been subject to the Eichmann trial. Here is now the link to the respective Trial Session 99, dated 17 July 1961:

http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/e/eichmann-adolf/transcripts/Sessions/Session-099-01.html

BTW, Gabriele, in your posting from Florida you mentioned that you have got paintings from Solomon Lerner in Berlin. I wonder if you could send (high resolution) pictures to me, which I would very much like to integrate in our Czernowitz Art Gallery.

Thank you in advance and warmest wishes to you!

Edgar Hauster
Lent - The Netherlands

http://hauster.blogspot.com/

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> Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:48:13 +0100
> From: EGWeissmann_at_gmx.net
> To: czernowitz-l_at_list.cornell.edu
> Subject: [Cz-L] Again, a Czernowitzer - Berthold Storfer
>
> Dear All,
> Have been away a rather long time and back in Berlin I came across a
> highly interesting article published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine
> Zeitung on 27 January, written by Arno Lustiger. Lustiger is a historian
> (cousin of the late Cardinal Lustiger of Paris) and has written a book
> entitled "Rettungswiderstand. Judenretter in Europa während der NS-Zeit"
> - due to appear in May at Suhrkamp. It is about persons who during the
> Nazi-era saved many Jewish lives. Below, just a short ....from a very
> long article.
> A certain_Berthold Storfer_ - born in Czernowitz (!) on 16.12..1880,
> Jewish , but the only one of his family who converted. He lived in
> Vienna and until 1938 was a banker and a wealthy and successful
> businessman. Storfer had no contacts to the Jewish community. All the
> same, he became a member of the Austrian-Jewish Delegation ordered by
> the Nazi authorities to participate at the Evian conference on 6th July
> 1938. The other two delegates were Dr. Joseph Löwenherz, the president
> of the Vienna Jewish community and Dr. Prof. Heinrich Neumann von
> Hethars. Von Hethars, on behalf of the Nazi government, brought up the
> offer to exchange Jews foreseen.for the concentration camps, against a
> ransom of $250 per head. Unfortunately hardly any state reacted to this
> offer. Therefore, the Nazis decided on mass emigration and taking away
> all Jewish property, like various taxes, for exit, for passport, etc.
> closing all bank accounts, certainly a better deal for them. This was
> done with a great deal of enthusiasm. It is well-known what huge amounts
> of money and what fortunes were left in the hands of the Nazis.
> After his return, Storfer, started to engage in Jewish matters,
> established a committee for Jewish overseas transports and got more and
> more involved with the subsequent activities. At that time, Eichmann
> was in charge of the "Center for Jewish Emigration" in Vienna and in
> 1940 the SS ordered Storfer to take charge of Jewish emigration from
> greater Germany ( all occupied territories). He organized successfully
> naval transports to Palestine, most of them under the terribly difficult
> conditions of the time. He did this with tremendous energy and
> dedication. His brothers worked with him. During the next few years, he
> saved 2,042 Austrian Jews and 7,054 persons from the other German
> occupied regions. Some transports failed and lives were lost, as it is
> well-known, ("Patria") , persons were interned by the British, etc.
> When money became short Storfer paid the transports himself. Despite
> his contacts all over Europe, he did not try to emigrate but later went
> into hiding when he heard he would be deported. In 1944 he was caught
> and taken to Auschwitz where he was killed in 1944.
> Eichmann, at his trial, told of the meeting he had in 1944 with Storfer
> when he visited Auschwitz. He said to Storfer that he was sorry for him,
> that he had such bad luck but could not do anything to help...
> Yad Vashem refuses to honour him as a righteous among peoples since they
> only bestow this glory to non-Jews who have saved Jews. Although he had
> converted, in Jerusalen he is still considered a Jew, according to the
> Rabbinical laws. "Once a Jew, always a Jew".
> In my opinion he played a somewhat ambigious role, but as a matter of
> fact he saved more that 9,000 lives from perdition.
> Some of you probably know the story, and there are certainly quite a few
> survivors in Israel who remember.
> There are a few entries on Storfer in google, some in English as well.
> It is a fascinating story.
> Gabriele
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Received on 2011-02-17 05:16:32