UC Santa Barbara > History Department > Prof. Marcuse > Courses > Hist 133D Homepage > 133D Book Essays Index page > Student essay
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Hide and Seek: A Look at Author Mark Roseman’s Uncovering of Marianne Strauss’s Hidden Past Book Essay
on:
Mark Roseman,
A Past in Hiding:
by Lauren Vanlochem for Prof. Marcuse's lecture course |
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& Abstract |
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Bibliography |
Plagiarize! |
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About Lauren Vanlochem I am a graduating French major with an interest in European history. As the grand-daughter of a Holocaust survivor, I am inspired by the stories of those lucky, brave, and strong enough to have lived through the Jewish genocide in Nazi occupied Europe. My grandfather was a recipient of altruistic hospitality as was Marianne Strauss. My interests in survivor testimonies is also my way of paying respect to my extended family that was murdered and who I never had the opportunity to meet. With the number of survivors dwindling, I think it is important to educate myself and ask questions before it becomes too late. Abstract (back to top) uncovers the life of Marianne Ellenbogen, neé Strauss throughout Nazi Germany. Mark Roseman made it a point to detail how this lucky Jewish woman survived the largest genocide known to mankind. Roseman met with Marianne after becoming intrigued by her story, but after an initial interview Marianne passed away. Roseman uncovers her life in greater detail through the documents and papers that supported her testimony. Roseman was initially inspired, as was I, by curiosity to know how Marianne avoided deportation, imprisonment, or simply being murdered in the street in Germany during the 1940s. Mark Roseman shows how Marianne’s family’s status paired with a remarkably strong character saved her life during the Holocaust. Roseman finds that in order to have survived Nazi Germany, connections, karma?, luck, and courage of conviction were necessary, and that the slightest doubt could cost one’s life. |
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Essay (back to top)
Marianne Ellenbogen, neé Strauss hid her entire adult life. Whether she was hiding in Nazi Germany, repressing her past, or inhibiting her desires from the past, she is an expert hider. Mark Roseman made it his work throughout his monograph, A Past in Hiding, to seek her hidden past. In a detective tone, Roseman describes interviews and clues he came across that provided evidence to support Marianne’s story. Roseman searched for explanations for her survival. Every Holocaust survivor, especially in Nazi Germany, must have an incredible story. Roseman realized Marianne’s when he came across an article Marianne had written in a journal called Das Münster am Hellweg, in 1984 titled “Escape and Life Underground During the Nazi Years of Persecution, 1943-1945.” Roseman was initially inspired by his curiosity to know how Marianne avoided deportation, imprisonment, or simply being murdered in the street in Germany during the 1940s. Mark Roseman shows how Marianne’s family’s status paired with a remarkably strong character saved her life during the Holocaust. Roseman finds that in order to have survived Nazi Germany, connections, karma, luck, and courage of conviction were necessary, and that the slightest doubt could cost one’s life. Siegfried and Regina Strauss settled in Essen, Germany where they raised their two children, Marianne and Richard. Marianne respected her parents, although Roseman does not present an especially warm rapport between Marianne and her mother. For example at nine years old, Marianne wrote a Father’s day card to Siegfried lovingly expressing her best wishes and promising to work hard for him. On Mother’s day Marianne wrote, “rather stiffly,” that she would try to help Regina more (Roseman 15). Marianne and her mother, as far as Roseman understood, had very different personalities. Marianne was a strong, independent woman while her mother is described by a close friend of the Strauss family, Hanna Aron as, “A very obedient wife […] Siegfried was a big heavy strapping guy; she was a little itsy bitsy of a woman […] She always seemed to be doing what he wanted”(Roseman, 246). Siegfried Strauss along with his brother Alfred invested their money in property and farms during the depression in Germany in the early 1920s. The Strausses lived comfortably however Marianne recalls she “never had pocket money because my father [Siegfried] had the feeling that we had everything we needed and I found that very difficult” (Roseman, 30). She went on to say: “Money was regarded with great seriousness in a most extraordinary way”(Roseman, 30). Money soon became one of the essential tools that allowed the Strausses to avoid deportation and continue their life in Germany for so long. Money during the Holocaust became not only a means of trade, but also a means of survival. The corrupt Nazi system could turn a blind eye on their “Jew-hating-ideologies” for a couple of extra Reichsmarks. Unfortunately, in the end the Strauss family was not able to pay their way out of their ultimiate deportation and on December 18, 1943 Siegfried, Regina and Richard were gassed in the chambers at Auschwitz. Marianne’s fiancé Ernst Krombach and his family were deported to Izbica in Poland. There the Krombachs suffered a horrible fate, as most Jews in the Holocaust did, and were experimented upon and eventually killed. How is it that nearly everyone Marianne loved died, yet she was able to survive the war physically unharmed? Roseman explains the Strauss family’s connection to a counterintelligence arm of the German Wehrmacht, the Abwehr. The Abwehr was involved in wartime conspiracies against Hitler and protected some German Jews by helping them get abroad (Roseman 131). The Abwehr were not well known for these salvation actions because normally they helped prominent families that had gained access to government circles (Roseman, 131). Marianne believed that her family’s connection to the organization stemmed from the family’s banker, Friedrich W. Hammacher. Hammacher was the deputy director of the Deutsche Bank in Essen, Germany and had always had a cordial and respectful relationship to the Strauss brothers. Hammacher bought Ladenspelderstrasse 47, the property where the Strauss family lived, and in turn provided them with eight passports to Sweden and the help of his friends in the Abwehr. Hammacher also promised not to move into the home until the Strausses had confirmed departure dates. The Abwehr exercised its power over the Gestapo and demanded that the Strauss family deportation be delayed. On October 26, 1941, Marianne and her family reported to the train station to face their fate of deportation, but they were met with orders to return home. Hammacher had stayed true to his word and had his friends protect the Strauss family. Marianne’s family experienced a very different life during the Holocaust compared to other German Jews. They were spared deportation until later in the war. Second, her family was watched over by the Abwehr and had connections to other oppositional groups, such as the Bund. Finally, Marianne was able to keep an ongoing correspondence with her fiancé while he was in Izbica—a Jewish ghetto. Marianne was an independent, passionate, caring individual. Her one weakness was her love, Ernst Krombach. Roseman explains that still decades later when he interviewed Marianne, she spoke of Ernst with the same passion and love as she had written to him before his death during the war. Marianne was a humanitarian and often participated in philanthropic relief efforts during the war. Marianne sent Ernst and his family care packages of non-perishable food items, clothing, underwear, and other necessities. She was able to do so through a connection to a man named Christian Arras. Christian was a mechanic for the SS and did service for them in Ibiza. Roseman explains: It was a incredible coincidence that this little town […] should have been serviced by someone she knew in Essen. And then there was the equally extraordinary fact that Christian was willing to perform what might prove to be a dangerous mission. (Roseman 182) Marianne’s connection to Christian Arras helped the Krombach family survive just a little bit longer and more comfortably in Izbica, until they were transported again. Roseman comments on the abnormality of receiving letters, let alone packages, by loved ones in the camps. Through her correspondence with Ernst, Marianne was encouraged to continue fighting for her life while her fiancé fought for his. Both Marianne and Roseman questioned the intentions of Arras and wondered what fueled his ulterior motives. Roseman explains that Marianne felt “ambivalent” about Arras. She elaborated, “Christian was an opportunist […] they [Christian and his wife Lilli] were useful, but of course they were very well paid for it, and in the end they got a lot of my aunt’s things” (Roseman 201). Marianne had another explanation for it too, “I think he [Christian] just enjoyed taking risks. He was a … daredevil type” (Roseman 202). Roseman comments: “It seemed that I would never be able to resolve the mystery of a man […] sufficiently motivated to risk seeking out and helping a young Jew whom he barely new” (Roseman 203). Although it must have been very difficult to entrust a man sufficiently intigrated into Nazi Germany, he helped protect and deliver goods to the Krombachs, so I disagree with Marianne and Mark Roseman. I believe that Christian Arras was just a man following his countrymen but who also had a strong conscience. Maybe it was difficult for Marianne to see this perspective because she was such a strong individual, but those who opposed the Nazis were not treated well. I believe Arras was integrated into Nazi Germany to appease the demands placed on him as a German citizen, but I do not believe he was fully indoctrinated into the Nazi ideology. If Arras were completely immersed in the “Jew-hating-philosophy,” he would have never given Marianne the time of day. It seems that Arras would not have risked his life to simply gain some of Marianne’s aunt’s valuables. Although I have no concrete admission from Christian Arras or any way to confirm my perception, he and his wife Lilli later named their daughter Marianne, in 1947 “on purpose” Lilli explains. (Roseman 203) When the Strauss family’s “protective bubble grew thinner and thinner,” they were met with the hostility that the majority of the Jews in Germany had become all too familiar with (Roseman, 243). Their bubble grew weaker when the Abwehr sold out to a deal proposed by Himmler. Himmler said that the Abwehr organization could survive so long as they stop using “unreliable elements,” or Jews, as agents. The Abwehr’s agreement to this deal meant “There are no longer any grounds for excluding the Strauss brothers and their families from evacuation measures.” (Roseman 251) The Essen Gestapo promptly marched to the Strauss’s residence and imprisoned them so that they would not be able to flee the country. While the Gestapo was in the Strauss’ home, Marianne knew this would mean her family’s death. Rather than waiting for that to happen, she walked right out the front door and did not look back. She says, “I was expecting any minute now, absolutely--I was quite clear about that--that there would be some shooting and I would have had it” (Roseman 255). But the shots never came, and Marianne walked away from her home knowing that her family was as good as dead. Marianne knew there was only one place to turn, the Bund. The Bund was an underground league that helped hide Jews in Germany. Arthur Jacobs and his wife Dore Jacobs founded the Bund federation in the early 1920s. The objective of the Bund was to bring together Marxist thinking about society with Kant’s view of the objective ethical laws governing the individual” (Roseman 232). The Bund bought the Blockhaus in Essen, which would become a place of refuge for Jews. Roseman explains: “The Bund was influenced by the notion of the Orden, or order […] An order consisted of a group bound together by a common oath under the natural authority of charismatic leader” (Roseman, 233). The Bund spoke of important values for its members to observe, such as equality in marriage, gender issues, and racism. The Bund included Jewish members like Dore Jacobs, which opened the members’ eyes to the issue of antisemitism. The Bund connected Marianne with several different “hosts” who would house her, feed her, and care for her for approximately three weeks at a time during her hiding. For two years Marianne traveled across Germany to stay with these generous hosts who would be largely responsible for saving her life. Roseman makes clear that, “To dwell on the Bund’s qualities is not to question Marianne’s own contribution to her survival” (Roseman 337). Roseman goes on to explain how Marianne defied the typical Jewish: “Nervous looks, […] self-effacing gait, the consciousness of being a pariah [...] Marianne under pressure was all coolness and confidence. Hers was an astonishing performance” (Roseman, 337). Marianne was an anomaly to the Jewish stereotypes of a hooked large nose and big ears. She had an “Aryan” look, so when she went into hiding and dyed her hair red, she looked like just another pretty German girl. Marianne’s confidence saved her many times. In fact, one instance, Marianne was walking with one of her host’s sons, when police stopped them and ordered to see their papers. Marianne remained calm and charmed her way out of the police officers’ demand with conversation. Marianne seemed fearless in the face of danger. She explained “I wanted to outwit them [Nazis]; it was like a game. I made a very conscious effort never to show fear. I couldn’t do it now, but then I felt I had nothing to live for” (Roseman, 292). Marianne’s fearlessness did not end with her ability to not appear intimidated, she was fearless in the face of bombs as well. For instance, while at the Blockhaus one day, a bomb was dropped in the outdoor gymnasium. Marianne ran to it and threw it as far as she could and watched it explode from a safe distance. Roseman explained, “Before it went off, Marianne told me: ‘I summoned the couage to grab the hissing bomb, corss the long hall to the window, and throw it into the garden, where it exploded immediately.” (Roseman, 272) Marianne’s confrontational demeanor help carry her through her wartime experiences. While explaining her hidden past in noticed, Marianne regarded Roseman’s amazement. She stated, ‘I’m a fighter, otherwise I wouldn’t be here now.’(Roseman, 292) Marianne wanted to live but promised herself that in the face of imminent danger with the Nazis, she carried cyanide with her. Marianne elaborated, “That was the most important thing for me – that I would either get out of this inferno healthy or not at all” (Roseman, 293). When Roseman could not find a document to confirm something about he felt it was: “entirely fitting, almost a tribute to her that some part of Marianne’s past should forever remain in hiding” (Roseman, 421). Marianne spent most of her life hiding herself, her past from her consciousness, and her disappointments. Marianne could never part with her “hiding” character, so when Roseman questioned her about her present life and the hardships she faced, such as the death of her daughter by what Roseman suggests was inflicted by anorexia, Marianne refused to tell more, Roseman states, “She had kept the latter [her present life] largely off limits” (Roseman, 421). So Roseman and the rest of the world will always unsuccessfully seek the full story of Marianne Ellenbogen. However, Marianne will remain an anomaly as one of the few Jews to survive Nazi Germany in hiding.
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Annotated Bibliography and Links (back to top)(links last checked 3/23/10) Book Reviews
Books and Articles
Relevant Websites
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Any student tempted to use this paper for an assignment in another course or school should be aware of the serious consequences for plagiarism. Here is what I write in my syllabi:
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