Max Heinz Nathan – born in Berlin, Germany, 5th May 1920
Occupation in country of origin: plumber and pipe layer
Arrived in Britain as a refugee from Germany on 9th March 1939
A family friend kindly translated the above text as follows:
Herewith I apply for a one-time reparation in the amount of DM 5000 according to paragraph 55 of the BEG for the following reasons: As Jew I was prevented by the Nazi government and its laws from obtaining the education planned for me, and toward which I was striving, have, because of my forced emigration never been able to catch up, and have thereby suffered severe damage to my economic progress, as because of my lack of education I have been forced to work in badly paid positions. As proof of these assertions, I will describe the course of my life, please, however, be aware that I have no documentation at all, and that after all these years, I cannot remember every detail or even dates. All of the following information is nonetheless made with the best knowledge and conscience. LIFE From 1925–30 I attended the Grundschule Sybel Str. Charlottenburg 5. Thereafter the Goetheschule, Eisenzahn Str., Wilmersdorf, and was to make my Abitur there and after that enjoy an academic education. However in 1934 it was made impossible for Jewish students to be educated at this school, and my parents transferred me, from U3b [that’s a designation for a class level] on to the Theodor Herzl Schule at Reichskanzler Platz, which, however, as a Jewish school only offered one more year of education, the so-called ninth. With that, my education was forcefully ended at age 15. The only further training, which was now possible to me, particularly with respect to my future emigration, was a manual craft. [In] 1935 my father signed an apprentice contract with the Berliner Electroplated GMBH, according to which I was to be trained as Kronenguertler [an obsolete specialized trade for which the family has been unable to find an explanation] The (Nazibetriebsrat) Nazi Employment Council, however, invalidated this contract. Thereupon my father submitted a complaint to the Arbeitsgericht [Employment Court], which was declined with the reasoning that although damages had been incurred, the damage could only be assessed after I had my 21stbirthday. The following year, I became, because no training contract was possible for Jews anymore, an unskilled laborer at the firm Berliner Laternen Fabrikation [Berlin Lantern Fabrication], Elisabeth Str. Alexanderplats. I lost this job due to aryanization. After that I got a job as a sort of pipe laying apprentice with the Installationsfirma Goldschmidt [Installation Firm G], Kuestriner Str. 3. This Jewish firm was forced to close one year later. Thereafter followed a short, possibly 3 months’, position of the same sort with a firm Kaplun, Wilmersdorf, which I lost through the owner’s emigration. This was followed by a welding course from the Jewish Community Berlin, which lasted about 3 months. I think that by now it was early in the year 1938. I then got a position as pipe laying assistant at the Jewish firm Marx, Karl Str., Friedrich St., which ended because of the events of 9 November 1938, and the immediately subsequent arrest of the owner. In January 1939 I was forced to work at the Armaments Firm Kallmann, Landsberger Allee, until shortly before my emigration to England on 8 March 1939. In England I was assigned to the refugee camp Kitchener Camp, from which I volunteered for service in the British Army. In April 1944, after 4 years’ service, I was discharged for reasons of health, and had to start earning my living at age 24 without any skills whatsoever. I attest to the fundamental truth of this deposition under oath, and request a speedy disposition of my reparations application. [The stamp on the lower left is a notary stamp of the German Embassy in London, saying they watched him sign - the usual administrivia in such cases]
All documents submitted by Judith E. Elam for her father, Max Heinz Nathan