Obermayer German Jewish History Award

Peter Körner

Johannesberg/Aschaffenburg, Bavaria

When Peter Körner was a young journalist in Aschaffenburg, he covered a story that would change his life.

It happened in 1978, when his town, as often happens in Germany, invited former Jewish citizens, scattered throughout the world, to return for a visit. "I came to this event, and it was clear to me that there was very little knowledge about local Jewish history," said Körner, who writes for the Main-Echo. He realized that if he wanted to see Jewish history preserved, he had to do it himself.

Today, thanks to Körner and several colleagues, Aschaffenburg has a Jewish museum; its two Jewish cemeteries have been documented; and a memorial has been established where the synagogue and Jewish school once stood. Lasting contacts have been made with Jewish former citizens and their children. And younger generations of Germans have learned about history through these positive connections. In addition, a remarkable project has been created - an online database with no equal Germany - Juden in Unterfranken - that combines information gleaned from the cemeteries and local archives.

"It was remarkable to learn that my family's history went so deep in Germany. I really had no idea," said nominator Richard Hamburger, a New York lawyer whose paternal family stems from Aschaffenburg. Another nominator, Benjamin Gidron of Tel Aviv, said, "They set an example of what can be done in a small town… to uncover the footsteps of the Jewish community." 

From the very beginning, citizens and politicians in Aschaffenburg were supportive, Körner said. "And when I wrote in the newspaper about it, there were never any negative responses." According to town mayor Klaus Herzog, Körner sparked debate about dealing with the Jewish history of Aschaffenburg in the 1980s, when discussions began on what to do with the empty lot where the synagogue once stood. This [discussion] led to the first of what is commonly called 'memory work.' In Aschaffenburg, and this meant a complete reorientation," Herzog said.

In 1984, the Jewish museum was opened in the former home of the rabbi. One year later, Körner founded the Förderkreis [Support Association] "Haus Wolfsthalplatz" to promote the creation of a memorial at the site of the synagogue that was destroyed on Kristallnacht, Nov. 9 1938. Körner became the association's first president. Ten and a half years ago, Dr. Josef Pechtl took over the role, introducing lectures, readings and academic symposium. "I learned a lot from [Peter Körner]," Pechtl said, "particularly about what it means to create a lasting remembrance of Jewish history and culture."

In 1993, Körner published a handbook of biographies of Jews of Aschaffenburg from the mid-18th century to 1945. It complements the material in the museum, which school groups regularly visit -- and links to names in the cemetery and family trees. It is now in electronic form at http://www.historisches-unterfranken.uni-wuerzburg.de/friedhoefe/HausWolfsthalplatz/phpneu/logininclude.php?action=start. 

"The genealogy was all there for us," said Richard Hamburger. "So when we arrived in 2007, that was the day that my brother and I learned that we had great-great-great grandparents named Abraham and Karolina, buried in that cemetery." Benjamin Gidron wrote in his recommendation that he was "astounded to find very well-organized information [about his ancestors], starting at the beginning of the 19th century." Last April, he visited the small neighboring town of Altenau where his father's family lived. "I was taken to the Jewish cemetery and found my great-great grandfather's grave, Michael Gradwohl. And it says on the gravestone… that he was the one who built this particular cemetery. So this was really a very affecting moment for me."

Of the 400 Jews who lived in Aschaffenburg in 1933, about 180 were murdered, Körner said. Today, there is no Jewish community in Aschaffenburg.

Körner hopes to expand the database to include other towns. Eventually, he would like to see the material translated into other languages. For all this work, Körner wants to build teams of volunteers and interns. He finds it a good way to show younger generations how terribly easy it is for a civilized society to fall apart. And how diverse Jewish life once was here.

"It is not just the story of their death that is important," said Gidron, who recently discovered a long-lost relative thanks to the database. "It is even more important to document and show the story of their lives."