A German circus man by the name of Adolf Althoff changed the the future of the Danner family. At a time of severe religious discrimination, Althoff lived by a simple creed, “Circus people don’t ask if you are Christian, Jewish, or Heathen.” - Adolf Althoff (Pace). With all the courage it takes to be a animal tamer, Adolf used it to disguise and hide Jewish descendants in his circus knowing that if caught he could be killed at any time.
Adolf was born on June 25, 1913 in Sonsbeck, Germany (Nevill). In true circus performer style, his mother, Adele Mark, gave birth to him in the circus wagon as a show was being performed (“Adolf and Maria Althoff”). His father, Dominik, owned and managed the circus. Dominik and Adele had eight children, Carola,
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Adolf’s brother and sister took over the family circus in 1939. Adolf and his sister, Helene, started their own circus tenting and they called themselves “Circus Geschwister Althoff”. Adolf’s father gave him his blessing along with an elephant, a couple of cars, uniforms, eight ponies, and four horses. Helene left “Circus Geschwister Althoff” to start her own show while Adolf continued as Circus Adolf Althoff. The Althoff circus survived the bombings during the Nazi era. Even after the Nazi period began they still toured as scheduled. With Adolf as the ringmaster his circus grew to consist of around 90 performers and and their families. He married Maria from another family circus (Nevill). Using centuries old routes, circus’ in Europe moved through national borders, small trails in the woods, and set up in villages (“Escaping the Holocaust in the …show more content…
Because she was half Jew they were not legally allowed to be married. Irene was an acrobat and Peter was a clown. Even though they were not allowed to get married they still had kids together and lived their life as if they were. While Irene was pregnant, Maria and Adolf always made sure she had the best medical care they could possibly give her ("Althoff, Adolf and Maria.").
On January 2, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized and awarded Adolf and Maria Althoff as “righteous Gentiles” ("Escaping the Holocaust in the Circus."). Yad Vashem has recorded and documented as much as possible. They have had interviews with Adolf, Maria, and even Irene. Even with their stories, there is still a lot missing from that time.
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Works Cited
"Adolph Althoff, (1913 - 1998)." ..Circus Anonymous.. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
"Althoff, Adolf and Maria." The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
"Adolf and Maria Althoff." Adolf and Maria Althoff. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
"Circus Williams." Circus Williams - Circopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2017
"Escaping the Holocaust in the Circus." Jewniverse. N.p., 05 Dec. 2016. Web. 28 Feb. 2017. "Gestapo." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
Nevill, D. "Obituary: Adolf Althoff." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 21 Oct. 1998. Web. 28 Feb.
“Nazi Hunting: Simon Wiesenthal.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 06 Feb. 2014
"World War II in Europe." 10 June 2013. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 18 March 2014 .
Tragically, the butchered upper-torso of Winter’s once-robust body was stumbled upon by his father, who had noticed the absence of his son since Sunday, March 11 (Smith 2002, 25-26). Unsurprisingly, an investigation occurred to obtain the identity and whereabouts of the murderer. When the various pieces of the body are found in differing areas of the town, theory begins to formulate that the murder was conducted by one of the two butchers in town; Adolph Lewy, a Jew, and Gustav Hoffman, a Christian, due to the precision of the cuts made upon Winter’s body (Smith 28). As fragile relations between Konitz-residing Christians and Jews increasingly began to deteriorate, rumors and speculation that Winter had fallen victim to ritual murder by local Jews, set the ball in motion for a virulent anti-Semitic nature characteristic of Imperial Germany.
"Jewish Resistance". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 19 May 2014.
On February 4, 1847, Adolph was born in Barmen, Prussia. His parents passed away only 15 years later. Finding necessity for a quick occupation, Adolph started an apprenticeship at the Henry Wenker Brewery. The ambitious young man paid for his apprenticeship by working at the brewery as a bookkeeper.
Did you know what hitler wanted to go to school for? He wanted to be an artist. Hitler was the leader of germany from 1933 to 1945. On September 1, 1939 he started World War I. In this paper will cover his early years (Like school, home life, mother, and father). His homeless years in Vienna. What was World War I like for him, and After World War I. The purpose of this paper is to show why hitler did what he did and how became what he was. The reason for this paper is to tell more people about hitler and how his childhood and things that happened as an adult and made him like he was.
The events which have become to be known as The Holocaust have caused much debate and dispute among historians. Central to this varied dispute is the intentions and motives of the perpetrators, with a wide range of theories as to why such horrific events took place. The publication of Jonah Goldhagen’s controversial but bestselling book “Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust” in many ways saw the reigniting of the debate and a flurry of scholarly and public interest. Central to Goldhagen’s disputed argument is the presentation of the perpetrators of the Holocaust as ordinary Germans who largely, willingly took part in the atrocities because of deeply held and violently strong anti-Semitic beliefs. This in many ways challenged earlier works like Christopher Browning’s “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” which arguably gives a more complex explanation for the motives of the perpetrators placing the emphasis on circumstance and pressure to conform. These differing opinions on why the perpetrators did what they did during the Holocaust have led to them being presented in very different ways by each historian. To contrast this I have chosen to focus on the portrayal of one event both books focus on in detail; the mass shooting of around 1,500 Jews that took place in Jozefow, Poland on July 13th 1942 (Browning:2001:225). This example clearly highlights the way each historian presents the perpetrators in different ways through; the use of language, imagery, stylistic devices and quotations, as a way of backing up their own argument. To do this I will focus on how various aspects of the massacre are portrayed and the way in which this affects the presentation of the per...
Kelly - Goss, Robert. "Hiding from the Nazis, a Jewish family survives the Holocaust." The Daily Advance. The Daily Advance, 09 Jul 2011. Web. 18 Nov 2013. .
Koehn, Ilse. Mischling, Second Degree: My Childhood in Nazi Germany. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1977.
Goldhagen, Daniel. Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust. New York: Afred A. Knopf, Inc., 1996.
“Angel Of Death.”, The Holocaust Crimes, Heroes and villains, Louis Bülow Privacy, 2012-2014. 7 February, 2014.
Goldhagen, Daniel Jonah. Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust. New York: Vintage, 1997. Print.
Irene Csillag was a survivor at Auschwitz camp born in 1925 in Satu Mare which was in Romania. She had a mother, father, and one sister named Olga which survived with her too. When her father passed, she had to help out with the family. She became a dressmaker. She knew how to speak German because her father knew how to speak it well.
Regine Donner, a famous Holocaust survivor, once said, “I had to keep my Jewishness hidden, secret, and never to be revealed on penalty of death. I missed out on my childhood and the best of my adolescent years. I was robbed of my name, my religion, and my Zionist idealism” (“Hidden Children”). Jewish children went through a lot throughout the Holocaust- physically, mentally, and emotionally. Life was frightening and difficult for children who were in hiding during the rule of Adolf Hitler.
"A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims." A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims. University of South Florida. Web. 19 May 2014.