Walter Natt, the son of Jewish doctor Hugo Natt, has written a fascinating article about life in Frankfurt. They even lived for a time on Huumboldstrasse where Wolf Fecher and his parents lived at the same time. Natt reports that before the NAZIs that the he got along fine with the other boys. He joined the Zionist youth movement in the late 1920s. He attended the Musterschule and managed to pass the "Abitur" examination. By this time in the middle of 1934, he was the only Jew among about l,000 students.

Humboldtstrasse

Natt explains. "We were a typical Frankfurt family, cozy and comfortable in this city of 400,000, knowing that our forefathers on my mother's side had lived there for over 400 years, or maybe even longer, since the records did not go back any further. The Natt family came from Langenlonsheim by the river Nahe (a, tributary of the river Rhine), about 50 miles west of the city of Frankfurt where our family had lived for at least 400 years. ... As children we had many friends, both Jewish and Gentile - at the time there was little difference. ... All this suddenly changed on January 30th, 1933, when Hitler came to power." HBC has acquired First Communion post cards sent in 1932 were all sent to a Wolf Fecher on Humboldtsresse. One of the cards sent to Wolf were from a Jewish family--the Siegel family.

Dr. Natt

Natt's father, Dr. Hugo Natt, was a successful and respected physician. He had a large practice and cared for patients regardless of their ability to pay. This changed after the NAZIs vame to power. Jewish doctors were not allowed to treat gentile patients and eventually Jews were not allowed to seek care from gentile doctors or obtain care in hospitals. Despite the dangers, Dr. Natt stayed in Germany to care fior his Jewish parents until expelled by the NAZIs. Disgracefully, the German medical profession became one of the strongest proponents of the NAZIs ans actively participated in the sterilization and medical killing of handicapped, mentally ill, amd mentally retarded children. Others carried out gastly experiments at concentration camps.

Youth Group

Natt tells that, "Although my parents were, at the time, rather opposed to it, I joined the Zionist youth movement in the late 1920s. We youngsters were at this time already becoming aware of the slow rise in anti-Semitism, which tended to bring the Jewish youth together. I spent many happy weekends and vacations on hikes and camping out all over Germany and Switzerland. At the same time, I was still in close contact with all my Christian friends and school mates." After the NAZI seized power, all German youth groups were either merged into the Hitler Youth are banned. The only exception were the Jewish youth groups.

School

Naat provides some informatiion about his schooling, "My first six school years were spent at the Philantropin, at the time the largest Jewish institute of higher learning in Europe. This school was founded in 1804 by one of our ancestors, Siegmund Geisenheimer. When I was 12 years old, I was transferred to the Musterschule, which was a very demanding high school with extremely high standards and an unusually difficult schedule. ... I was determined to finish my schooling at the Musterschule and pass the "Abitur" examinations and graduation equivalent to high school and four years of college in the U.S.--in order to be able to go to medical school thereafter. Few Jews were left in the school, and by the middle of 1934, I was the only Jew among about l,000 students. I did not want anything to deter me from finishing my schooling as planned, but this was not easy. All my classmates had to join the various NAZI youth organizations, and any social contact with, or even talking to, Jews was strictly prohibited. Only two of my classmates were avid NAZIs, and both of them perished on the Russian front. At the time of my graduation in 1935, and this was already the time when the campaign against the Jews was going into high gear, a delegation of my classmates came to my house to apologize for their behavior during the past year, inviting me to the graduation party as well." The experiences of Jewsish students in NAZI schools varied, but for most it was cery difficut. Many with drew from the state schiils. With the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws in September 1935, Jewish children were expelled from state schools.

Life in Frankfurt

Readers are incouraged to read about the Natt family in more deatail on the family website

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Created: June 13, 2002
Last edited: June 13, 2002