Wertheim

Wertheim has a glass blowing school here, so we had a glass blowing demonstration. Deiter had 4 ½ years of schooling and apprenticeship to become a scientific glass blower. He then went to Anaheim where he learned artistic glass blowing. His most unique creation was a crystal pyramid that sounds like a bell chiming. We bought an unique oil and vinegar vase.

Wertheim was a duchy between two larger bishoprics so it was caught in the middle of their feuds. The town is built at the confluence of the Mein and Tauber rivers. The tower here was used at for a time as a prison. Drunks and quarreling women were lowered to the dark bottom of the tower for their sentence. As we walked through the town we saw several remembrances for the Jews who had lived here: a support beam from the synagogue and memory stones in front of houses. But we also saw a Chapel to Mary, built over a middle aged synagogue, a common practice of the time.

Memory Stones

Wertheim from the castle

We climbed to Wertheim Castle above the town. Its primarily a ruin, but the views were spectacular. We got our exercise climbing up and down stairs to the ramparts and towers. We also found two owl chicks hiding in the shadows.

Two owlets in the shadows

We had the pleasure to have dinner with Captain Boris from Croatia. Actually the majority of our crew is from former Yugoslavia with most others from Eastern Europe. Working on river boat is a better job than they would have at home. Though our Romanian hotel manager pointed out that there now is a shortage of workers in Romania, so perhaps wages will go up.

Jews in Europe

That evening , we had a lecture on the Jews in Europe. Beginning in 1215, Jews were not allowed to be tradesmen or farmers, so they became scientists and money lenders (forbidden to the Catholics as usury). This created a natural animosity, when you couldn't pay back your loan. What better way to solve your problem than to get rid of the Jew who made the loan. During the plague times, the Jews were less prone to the plague because they had ritual baths weekly, but they were accused of poisoning the wells. The synagogues were torn down three separate times in medieval times. Napolean changed things, announcing freedom of religion. The Jews were actually German soldiers in World War I. Hitler made use of this by blaming the Jews for losing WW I and for hoarding the wealth of the country. They owned 10% of the riches of the country while being only 1% of the population.

In 1933, Wertheim made Hitler an honorary citizen. Soldiers were placed outside each Jewish business to discourage business. When a Jew shot a German diplomat in Paris, the SS arranged "spontaneous demonstrations", destroying 7000 Jewish businesses and 1300 synagogues. Most Jews left the country, but as Germany conquered other countries, the Jewish population grew. Few other countries would accept Jewish refugees, fearful that they would change their culture because they weren't Christian. The “Final Solution" started as soldiers shot up to 40,000 a day a total of a million were shot. Gas chambers were built to be more efficient. Didn't the German population know? Even if you knew, you wouldn't jeopardize your families lives by saying or doing something. It was best to not know. After the war, it wasn't talked about, because you had your own problems. Finding food and shelter in a destroyed country. Many had also suffered during the war from the Allied  bombings. The war was something to forget.