Die Familie Mosse: deutsch-jüdisches Bürgertum im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert

Traces the careers of members of the extended Mosse family from the early 19th century to the present. When the Nazis came to power, prominent family members were in danger, not so much for racial as for political reasons (one, Rudolf S. Mosse, died of an "accident" while in Gestapo custody). The Mosse publishing house and related enterprises were already bankrupt or close to bankruptcy before 1933; the Nazis only gave the final push. Most of the family emigrated. Pp. 570-595, "Überleben und Selbstbehauptung im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland: Das Beispiel Martha Mosse", traces the life of this social worker and jurist (1884-1977). Dismissed from her position in the Berlin police administration, she was appointed to the administration of the Berlin Jewish community, responsible for finding accommodation for families evicted from their homes. Later, she was required to participate in drawing up lists of Jews for deportation; after the war she asserted that she did not know they were going to their deaths. She was deported to Theresienstadt in June 1943 and worked in the judicial system there. After her return to Berlin, Jewish survivors accused her of collaboration; a court of honor brought in an inconclusive verdict. Discusses possibilities and degrees of resistance, and suggests that it was Mosse's work ethos and sense of duty that kept her at work, even in the service of the Nazis. She used every chance to intervene for special hardship cases.