Der Judenacker : eine Erbschaft

Sketches the history of the Jews in the village of Geroldshausen (Würzburg district) and in the region of Unterfranken (northwest Bavaria) from the Middle Ages (pp. 103-159). Using interviews and archival material, focuses on their fate under Nazi rule. Some were able to emigrate; others were sent to extermination camps. Notes that there was no violence against Jews in Geroldshausen, but neighbors were glad to take over Jewish property. Tells the story of Eduard Wirths, the head physician at Auschwitz, who was from Geroldshausen, and reprints the protocol of his interrogation by a British officer. Describes the emigration of one Jewish family to the U.S. at the very last moment. Includes reminiscences of the son of the family, who returned to the village as an intelligence officer of the U.S. army and recovered the community archives hidden by his family. Völklein also relates the story of his father, a member of an elite unit of the SS (but not, according to the author, involved in war crimes). 1. Aufl. 253 pages ; 20 cm