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[Page 100]
The Central Committee of Liberated Jews in Germany
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We already mentioned that the Feldafing D.P. camp in the American zone of occupation in Germany became an exclusively Jewish D.P. camp. The commandant of the camp was Lieutenant Irving Smith, a Jew[1]. Most of the Jewish survivors related with ease to Jewish soldiers or officers, especially to chaplains who carried tablets of the commandments on their collars. The Jewish military men tried to understand and help the survivors with their problems. They frequently mailed letters to relatives in the U.S., since there was no civilian postal service immediately after the war. The Jewish chaplains helped the survivors. One of the more active chaplains was Abraham Judah Klausner, born April 27, 1915. He was a Reform rabbi and United States Army captain and “father figure” for the more than 30,000 emaciated survivors found at Dachau Concentration Camp, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Munich, shortly after it was liberated on April 29, 1945. He also cared for thousands more left homeless in camps as the victorious Allied Forces determined where they should go. He travelled throughout the American zone and saw some of the worst camp conditions. At one of the camps, namely Feldafing D,P. camp, he met Zalman Greenberg, head of the Jewish community of Feldafing.
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Zalman Grinberg was born September 4, 1912 in Lithuania, and was educated as a medical doctor with a specialty in radiology. He survived the Kovno ghetto and many camps. Towards the end of the war, he was imprisoned in the concentration camp at Dachau. At the end of the war he was living near the St. Ottilien monastery, near Dachau. He managed to set up a hospital at the monastery, recruiting nurses and physicians among the concentration camp survivors. The hospital was critical for the survivors' many health needs. He then moved to the Feldafing DP camp where he assumed a leading role in the life of the community and met Rabbi Klausner. Grinberg was soon elected head of the Feldafing Jewish Council.
Rabbi Klausner was born and raised in the United States and was familiar with the American way of life. He realized that his appeals for the improvement of the DP condition were another piece of paper on some military desk collecting dust. But if the appeal was signed by a sizable number of DP camps it would carry weight. He started to explain to Grinberg the need for an organization that would speak on behalf of the Jewish DP camps. Rabbi Klausner and other military chaplains began to formulate ideas and present them to Grinberg. He accepted the ideas and saw the potential of such an organization. Grinberg began an active campaign amongst the various camps. With Klausner's help, Grinberg soon presented the commander of the American zone in Germany with a paper requesting permission to to operate in the DP camps in the American zone in Germany. The request was granted and the Committee decided to establish an organization known as “The Central Committee of the Liberated Jews in Germany”. The British DP camps decided to form their own organization. The Central Committee decided to alter the name of the organization to the Central Committee of the Liberated Jews in the American zone of Germany. The committee selected Grinberg as temporary chairman of the
organization. It also decided to open a main office in Munich. The office began to work hard to prepare a convention of delegates representing all the DP camps. The convention met in Munich, followed by other conventions in Bad Rechehal. 94 delegates showed up at the convention. Many guests of honor appeared, namely American military officers, various Jewish officials, JDC representatives and officials of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. Indeed a massive turnout. The convention elected Grinberg to be chairman of the organization, It also voted a special mention for Rabbi Klausner for his guidance and leadership. The organization created various departments namely education since there were no Jewish educational materials in Germany. It established a historical commission to collect testimonies of Shoah survivors. It established an information office that released news bulletins to the world. The organization also published a newspaper ‘unzer weg'or our way that was distributed amongst the DPs and helped shape Jewish public opinion. The paper was devoted to improving the living conditions of the Jewish DPs in Germany. The Jewish home in Palestine was also an important issue. The demand of opening the gates to Palestine was always present in the paper.
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There was a lack of Yiddish books and religious books namely “Haggadot” for Passover. The Nazi regime not only destroyed Jewish literature but also publishing facilities. The Central Committee started to revive the Yiddish printed word in Germany that has been destroyed by the Germans. Yiddish papers and pamphlets began to appear in the DP camps. Rabbi Klausner was very active in promoting Jewish culture. He undertook the project of writing, editing and publishing a Haggadah book that was badly needed by the DP survivors. Very few people had such a book and Passover was approaching. Every Jewish family wanted the book for the holiday. The Central Committee and other Jewish organizations helped to speed up the process. The Haggadah was named “Survivors Haggadah”
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Center top is the matza. Down left is the egg Further down is Karpas or greens Below the matza is the bitter herbs Below is lettuce or chazeret Top right is the shank bone Below is the harosset The bottom page gives the instructions on how to proceed with the “seder” |
The Haggadah was dedicated to the “Shearit Hapleita” or remnants of the Shoah. The task was immense for there was a shortage of paper, skilled printers, artists, editors and a host of other problems. Jewish religious books in the DP camps in Germany notably Passover Hagadot. Most Jewish families celebrated the holiday sitting together at the tableand reading the story of Passover. But there were not enough booklets to provide every Jewish family with a Haggadah. Rabbi Klausner and the Central Committee wanted to print copies but the problems were enormous, such as shortage of Hebrew typping material. In addition, it was difficult to get people to prepare the text. Slowly the project got under way and by Passover 1946, the Haggadah appeared. It was printed in the American military printing office in Munich. The cover symbolizes the American Army that helped immensely in printing the first Haggadah printed in Munich, Germany, following the Nazi regime in Germany. The big A indicates that it was printed by the United States Army in occupied Germany. The book was printed in Munich center of Jewish DP. The book was badly needed since most of the Jewish survivors did not have the book to conduct services. It took a great deal of work, research and editing to finish the book. Then it was printed and distributed to the Shoah survivors in the DP camps. We have to remember that the work was done immediately after the war when everything was in short supply especially Jewish items. Rabbi Klausner, chaplain in the United States Army, used his influence and position to print the book. Dow Shenson assembled and edited the materials. He was helped by many artists and writers. The project was indeed a cultural achievement after years of destruction of the printed Jewish word in Germany.
The US Army helped the Central Committee by providing print paper that was in shortage. Munich became the center of the Jewish DP activities. Each political Jewish organization established its head office in the city that also became the center for Yiddish publications and newspapers. The JDC, the Jewish Agency, the Vaad Hatzala, The Ort organization all had offices in Munich. All these activities required people and a Jewish DP community of about 7,000 people resided in the city. This community cooperated with the Jewish community of Munich and the Jewish residents who returned to the city. The Central Committee provided the DP camps with movies, shows, plays that were brought from the United States or Europe. The Jewish DP community in Munich came to an end when the D.P camps were closed.
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