Hermann Maas and Paul Rosenzweig: copy correspondence

Hermann Maas was an evangelical minister from Heidelberg who, from a very early age had a great interest in the Jewish faith and empathy for the Jewish people. In 1903 he attended the 6th Zionist Congress where he met Theodor Herzl and even before the Nazis came to power he became a member of an organisation which campaigned against antisemitism. During the Nazi era he continued to help persecuted Jews and in 1944 he was deported to France as a slave labourer for these actions. He was the first German citizen to be formally invited to the state of Israel and in 1967 he was awarded the Yad Vashem medal of the 36 Righteous amongst the People of Jerusalem.

The correspondents, Paul and Martha Rosenzweig, came from a village in the Palatinate. They had the same mother, who was Jewish, became a Protestant and died at Auschwitz. The siblings had difficulty obtaining assistance from Jewish organisations because of their Mischling status- in fact Paul spent some time in Dachau. When they met Hermann Maas they were saved. In a letter (888/11) dated 1988 from Reginald Pringle (formerly Paul Rosenzweig) the relationship between Hermann Maas and Paul and Martha Rosenzweig is explained.

The letters, whilst containing little informational content, provide some insight into the character of Hermann Maas, and the special relationship, which he had with Paul and Martha Rosenzweig.

Hermann Maas - letters

Donated April 1989

Donor: Ruth and H. W. Lowenstein