Fear of the Nazis

One of the things that struck me most about Inge Deutshkron’s Outcast was that there was always a sense of distrust for the Nazis amongst her and her family. As Socialist Jews, they had every reason to oppose and fear the Nazi party.

I always thought that the Nazis taking power through legitimate means was one of their tactical advantages; they never gave anybody reason to fear them until it was too late. With changing platforms and vague goals, it was hard for the general public to know exactly what the Nazis plan was. The Socialists and Jews would have been upset by the Nazis wins, but in the next election, there was always the ability to change the regime.

Deutshkron’s family knew to fear the power of the Nazis as early as 1933, when the began burning their more radical books. Despite all their attempts to get access to England, they were denied. There was still an air of ambivalence towards alternative options in the early days of Nazi power; everything was seen as temporary, as she would be leaving for England in the near future.

Because Deutshkron was ‘hiding in plain sight’ she was terrified of the very people ensuring her safety. Many bomb shelters that she found safety in were provided and run by Nazis. The people who helped her get papers and file paperwork for her ‘lost bags’ were people supposed to send her to a concentration camp. Nazi policy put German’s at risk, many lost their apartments, their freedom, their access to goods among many other things during the Second World War.

A passage of this book brought up the question of what it is to be sent to a concentration camp. Deutshkron uses quotation marks around the word arrest. I think this is a really interesting question: what were these people to the Nazis? The Nazis obviously knew that they should capitalize on the ability of these prisoners to work, but wasn’t the end goal for them to die? Were these people Prisoners? Slaves? Hostages? Political Prisoners?