Class of ’31: A German-Jewish Émigré’s Journey across Defeated Germany

by Walter Jessel, Michael J. Neufeld (Foreword), Brian Crim (Editor)

Class of ’31 is a beautifully written memoir from Walter Jessel, a German Jew determined to answer the question that haunted him since emigrating to the United States in 1938: “Would the people of other nations, if they were placed in the same position as the German during the Hitler regime, behave in the same manner?”  Born in 1913 in Frankfurt, Jessel led an extraordinary twentieth-century life on three continents. In 1945, Jessel returned to Germany as an American soldier and sought out his former classmates, hoping to understand how they survived, or thrived, in Nazi Germany. Incredibly personal and honest, Class of ‘31 is a valuable primary source for anyone interested in the history of German Jews.

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2017

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an exceptionally moving series of essays. The author, Walter Jessel, fled Nazi Germany as a very young man when it became obvious that Hitler was serious about enslaving and/or massacring the Jews. He found as many of his old classmates from his high school from the Class of '31 after the end of World War II, in late 1945. He trekked across the ruined country to find them. Some were dead or missing so he interviewed their surviving family members.

The Germans were, by and large, unapologetic about their lack of resistance to Hitler's evil plans. Their "justifications" were indeed shallow.