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Q: Quakers in Nazi Germany ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Quakers in Nazi Germany
Category: Reference, Education and News > General Reference
Asked by: deseven-ga
List Price: $25.00
Posted: 19 Mar 2003 07:05 PST
Expires: 18 Apr 2003 08:05 PDT
Question ID: 178183
I have received excellent answer to my historical questions so hope I
am pricing this correctly.  I am now looking for references for any
part that the Quakers made in assisting Jews and others in Nazi
germany or Mazi occupied countries. I am making an assumption here as
i do personally know of any incidents. Like woth the Quakers and wagon
train journeys I wouuls like personal accounts. diaries, journals etc.
I know Quakers were renowned for keeping such records of personal
experience
Answer  
Subject: Re: Quakers in Nazi Germany
Answered By: websearcher-ga on 19 Mar 2003 09:44 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hi deseven: 

Thanks for the interesting question. 

There is a good amount of information out there about Quakers that
helped Jews during WWII. While there are references to several Quaker
diaries of the period, there are not as many of them available online
as there are for the "Wagon Train" era. However, I have provided you
with a summary of what I was able to find below.


Perhaps the best site that I found with actual relevant Quaker diary
excerpts is:

The Integrity of German Friends During the Twelve Years of Nazi Rule
by: Brenda Bailey
URL: http://www.quaker.org/minnfm/peace/integrity_of_german_friends_duri.htm

There are simply too many excellent quotes in here to try to pull out
a few. Please read the entire article.


One larger "effort" that the Quakers took part in was called
"Kindertransport", an attempt to get Jewish children out of Germany
and other Germen-occupied territories. The following websites detail
this effort and the Quaker part in it.

RESCUED BY A KINDERTRANSPORT
URL: http://www.wsherc.org/Kindertransport.htm
Quotes: 
"Steve’s mom joined his father, and Ralph went to live in a home in
High Wycombe operated by the Society of Friends, also known as the
Quakers."
"The last rescuers were the unknown persons in the Quaker organization
who took him in so he could be with his brother."

QUAKERS' HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS ASSISTED THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES
URL: http://www.holocaust-heroes.com/quakers.html
Quote: "During the early years of Hitler's Third Reich, the Quakers
established a reputation for their willingness to assist Jews or
anyone else who sought refuge in Nazi Germany. In fact, the Quakers
and the Jehovah Witnesses are the only churches which extended help to
Jews in distress as a formal church policy. Hard on the heels of the
Kristallnacht's warning signals in 1938, they funded Jewish
immigration from Germany. They also responded to the growing problem
of caring for thousands of children and infants whose parents were
shipped to detention or concentration camps by taking an active role
in the Kindertransport."

QUAKERS - AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC). 
URL: http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/text/x27/xm2797.html
Quote: "As a result of the division of work among the relief agencies,
the AFSC devoted its major efforts to helping Christian refugees, but
Quaker assistance to Jewish refugees in Paris, Marseilles, Lisbon, and
Madrid was sometimes crucial. Feeding and rescuing children in France,
helping refugees in neutral Portugal, and coordinating the activities
of relief agencies in Spain were among the achievements of the AFSC."


The following books would also provide many diary excerpts from this
period.

Quakers and Nazis: Inner Light in Outer Darkness
URL: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0826211348/qid%3D1048095228/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-7896279-3758343
Quote: "Hans Schmitt knows well the humanitarian work performed by
German Quakers during World War II--he was a recipient of their
kindness and faith. In a world torn by hate and war, the Society of
Friends ministered to all people in pain--Jews and Nazis alike--while
risking their lives during meetings in open opposition to Hitler's
Reich. In this excellent historical account of both German Quakers and
Germany itself, Schmitt details the lives of the Quakers, their
fearless work of peace, and the criticism they received for not
choosing sides."

Two Weeks in May 1945: Sandbostel Concentration Camp and the Friends
Ambulance Unit
URL: http://www.holocaustbookstore.net/sections/historical/ghettos.htm
Quote: ". This is the first significant work in English on Sandbostel
and an important contribution to the history of Quaker war relief
work."


I hope this information helps with your research.       
       
If you need any clarification of the information I have provided,
please ask using the clarification feature and provide me with
additional details as to what you are looking for. As well, please
allow me to provide you with clarification(s) *before* you rate this
answer.
       
Thank you.        
       
websearcher-ga        
       
       
Search Strategy (on Google):        

quakers nazis
nazi OR nazis quaker OR quakers diary OR diaries 
'kindertransport' quaker OR quakers
deseven-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $10.00
Many thanks. This gives me suffcient to work with and saves me a great deal of time

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