In the Country of Numbers, where the men have no names tells the story of 6,000 Jewish men, most from Berlin, who were imprisoned in Sachsenhausen following the November Pogrom Night known as Kristallnacht. November 9, 2018 marked the 80th anniversary of the Pogrom Night in 1938 when Nazis went through the streets of Germany and set synagogues on fire, smashed the window fronts of Jewish businesses, attacked Jewish people and vandalized their apartments. Well over 1,300 Jewish women and men were killed during the riots or as a direct consequence of them. Much less attention, however, is given to the over 27,000 Jewish men throughout Germany who were arrested after the riots and taken to concentration camps. These mass arrests were intended to dramatically escalate pressure on German Jews to leave the country. The Gestapo targeted young and middle-aged Jewish men, and once in the camp, they were subjected to much harsher treatment and singled out for SS terror and abuse. Over 80 perished in Sachsenhausen, the rest were released by the spring of 1939 on condition they would leave Germany immediately.
It is through interviews with family members of the second and third generation of those who survived the Pogrom Night of November 1938, the idea for this exhibition was conceived. The exhibit highlights five well-documented life stories with images and video as told by their children and grandchildren. Several video stations will be on display with clips from the family interviews, as well as additional stations showing clips from Houston-area survivors, such as Lea Krell Weems, Ruth Steinfeld and Norbert Lachman, who also experienced the November Pogrom.
In the Country of Numbers, where the men have no names is a joint project of the Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum, the Capital Cultural Fund and the Axel Springer Foundation.
Resources
Learn more about this exhibition here.
