The Political Role of the Judenrat

An important document on the role of Jewish functionaries in the Nazi era.

In the mid­1970s, the French documentary filmmaker Claude Lanzmann interviewed the former Jewish functionary Benjamin Murmelstein. During significant phases of the Nazi persecution of the Jews, Murmelstein had been an active member of key sections of the Jewish administration, and thus directly confronted with the reality of the persecution. The sharp criticism of his role »between the hammer and the anvil« – between the perpetrator and the victim, even though he was himself a victim – did not become any less severe after the war.
On the basis of Lanzmann’s extensive interview material, Lisa Hauff investigates how Benjamin Murmelstein carried out his function, focusing on the strategies he developed in face of Nazi pres­ sure and the constantly changing situation. The interview becomes a unique empirical finding, throwing new light on the role of a controversial Judenrat elder throughout the history of National Socialism. It also makes an important contribution to the »activity trap« into which Jewish functionaries were driven.
Up to the time of his deportation in early 1943, Benjamin Murmelstein (1905–1989) was the leader of the emigration department of the Jewish community of Vienna. In 1944, after his deportation, he became the last Jewish elder in Theresienstadt Ghetto.

Lisa Hauff, born in 1969, is a member of the editorial team for »Judenverfolgung 1933–1945« (The Persecution of the Jews 1933–1945), published by the Topography of Terror Foundation. She was a co-curator of the exhibition »Der Prozess – Adolf Eichmann vor Gericht« (The Trial – Adolf Eichmann before Court, 2011). Publications include: Mahnort Kurfürstenstraße 115/116. Vom Brüdervereinshaus zum Dienstort Adolf Eichmanns (Kurfürstenstraße 115/116, a Memorial Place. From Brethren Clubhouse to Adolf Eichmann’s Workplace, 2012).