Klaus Langer / Jacob Langer (M / Germany, 1924), Holocaust survivor

Klaus Langer / Jacob Langer (M / Germany, 1924), Holocaust survivor

• KEYWORDS : <Germany> <Refugees> <Palestine>

Biography

Klaus (later Jacob) Langer was born on April 12, 1924, in the city of Gleiwitz in Upper Silesia, which at that time was part of Germany. Klaus, his parents, Erich and Rose, and his grandmother Mina settled in Essen, Germany, in 1936. Klaus was a member of a Zionist youth group and, at times, his membership was a source of conflict with his parents who felt socially, culturally, and nationally German.

Kristallnacht changed Klaus's life forever. His father was arrested and released only on condition that he and his family would leave Germany as soon as possible. The Langer family desperately attempted to emigrate from Germany, but with each attempt they were met with internal and external obstacles. Klaus escaped Germany on September 2, 1939, with a group of young people eventually settling in Palestine. His parents and grandmother were unable to leave Germany, and Klaus never saw them again. His mother died of natural causes, and his father and grandmother were deported from Essen and murdered by the Nazis.

Klaus changed his name to Jacob, and lived in Israel. He kept his diary with him.

Holocaust Center of Florida

Klaus Langer was a German-Jewish boy who wrote about life under the Nazis in his diary starting in 1937. He was thirteen at the time. His observations provide us with an early look at the Holocaust from before the period of the war, the ghettos, and the mass killings. His diary comes mainly from the time when the Nazis sought to drive Jews out of Germany through all manner of harsh treatment and discriminatory laws. As a result of these Nazi policies, many Jewish people were eager to get out, but making all of the necessary arrangements was not easy. As times became more desperate, families had to consider splitting up in order to find a way out for everyone.

ESCAPING GERMANY Klaus was an ardent Zionist. His main desire was to go to the Yishuv (the Jewish community in Palestine) to help build a Jewish state. He was willing to go elsewhere at first, but he had no doubt about his ultimate goal. For Jews after the Kristallnacht pogrom, avenues of entry into other places were quickly closing. Hopeful emigrants could not afford to be choosey. Klaus and his parents were forced by circumstances as well as preferences to consider going to different destinations. They had to try several plans at once to increase their odds of success. However, this could cause problems as well.

On December 23rd, Klaus wrote a progress report into his diary. “I have to make some additional entries regarding my emigration. England no longer is a possibility for me. I was not accepted because I was registered in Holland. My acceptance at the Jawne school in Cologne is in question.” As the quote indicates, Klaus was pursuing multiple and contradictory plans for his future. Unfortunately, the preliminary plans he had put in motion for Holland hindered his potential escape to England. As a backup plan in case he couldn’t leave Germany quickly, he sought admission to a Jewish school in another city where he might be able to continue his education. In the end, it was a different plan altogether that enabled Klaus to leave Germany, but the details from this day’s diary entry show how difficult and frustrating the process really was.

Excerpts from Klaus Langer’s diary may be found in Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust by Alexandra Zapruder.