Congregation Ohav Sholom
Tales of Survival
MICHAEL ROSENBLOOM
Milton Kaufman - Krystalnacht
Although Milton was away from his beloved parents, the Jewish school in Wurtzburg served as a haven for a while...until anti-Semitism again reared its ugly head. One night there was a hard knock on the door. Grown men with swastika arm bands and leather coats roused his roommate, the Polish boy, and took him away. Evidently, one of the first steps in treating the "Jewish problem" was to forcefully repatriate Jews from other countries who resided in Germany. Milton's roommate was one of these Jews. The hard knock on the door would become an all too familiar cue for future turbulent anti-Semitic events to follow.
Soon the authorities began to place restrictions on visiting the Jewish old age home where his grandparents resided, to the point where visiting hours were limited to a few hours a week at the most inconvenient of times. As an eight year old though, Milton found a way to sneak in by entering through an underpass, in the rear of the building, away from the SS guards, who guarded the front entrance. Milt became a favorite with the kitchen help, partly due to his gumption in sneaking into the facility to visit his grandparents. Often, they would give Milton meat bones, which he would take home to his "family" where he boarded so they could prepare a soup. Any extra food became a treat during such difficult times. One day, while Milton was making his way out of the kitchen, an SS guard spotted Milton and shouted "HALT." The SS guard fired his gun in Milton's direction, as Milt escaped by running away, underneath a train tunnel.
On November 9, 1938, after the ominously familiar hard knock was heard on the door, a bunch of ruffians dressed in leather coats and armed with clubs, knives and axes entered the apartment, where Milt boarded. They kicked all the inhabitants of the apartment, tore up, broke and destroyed everything including tables, chairs, kitchen cabinets, dishes and other things. Milton and the inhabitants of the apartment were abused, spat on, beaten and kicked. This night later came to be called infamously "Krystalnacht." The next morning Milt's father who had been traveling throughout the night on his motorcycle, arrived at Milt's and saw the damage to the many stores and to the apartment where Milt boarded. He then realized he had better return home to Laudenbach where his wife had been left alone. Mr. Kaufman returned home to find his home wrecked and his wife beaten. He was immediately arrested. Because he was a wounded German World War I veteran and the concentration camps could not yet absorb the multitude of Jews, he was released after a few weeks.
Milton, who still didn't fathom the extent of the damage, tried to go to school the next morning. Upon arrival at school, he was met by a scene of total devastation. All the windows in the four story building were knocked out and the doors broken. The synagogue on the premises was demolished. Prayer books, other religious articles and a torah lay on the floor in an ashen heap.
After Krystalnacht, Milt's mother was sheltered for a few days by some Catholic nuns. Later she made her way to Milton in Wurtzburg. Mr. Kaufman was finally able to join his wife and son and the family members quickly planned their future with their world crumbling around them.
October, 2002
Next Article: Milton Kaufman Part III - The Journey to France, Italy and America
Michael Rosenbloom is a member of Congregation Ohav Sholom. He can be reached at spidermr@aol.com.
