Vox Populi. Listening and Witnessing in German-Jewish War Diaries Written During the Third Reich

Abstract

Times of crisis, such as war, which are characterized by drastic changes and fractures in daily life, call for reflection and explanation. The diary is a popular genre in this respect and is even described as “ the most appropriate written form in times of crisis”. (Nebel : 1948, p. 6) Not only reflecting, but also witnessing becomes highly important in the context of conflict and war. Diary authors endeavor to collect what seem at first sight to be unimportant details to record what has been said, what (rumors) circulated in their time, etc. These have significant value because they reflect the mood prevailing in the city and express the opinion of the population at that time – the so-called “ vox populi”. Diaries therefore represent a micrological archive of daily life which will be scrutinized by a close reading of German-Jewish war diaries written during the Third Reich. The focus will be on diary entries from Willy Cohn and Walter Tausk from Breslau that start from the beginning of the Second World War (September 1939) and run to the day of their deportation in November 1941. The analysis in the first part will revolve around three main topics : the opinions of ordinary people during war, the availability of information combined with criticism of the newspapers, and the consciousness (or not) of the fate of the Jewish citizens. The second part will reflected on the question of the genre of the diary and whether the diaries discussed here can be seen as war diaries.