us-005578-irn109106
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Rabbi Dr. Georg Wilde (1877-1949) was born to Louis and Therese (nee Bab) Wilde in Meseritz-Stadt, Germany. He had three brothers, Max (1875-?), Alfred (1879-1880), and Albert (1882-1916). In 1897, he began studying at the University of Breslau and attended the Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland), earning a doctorate in 1901. Georg married Martha Spitz (1888-1959), who was born in Breslau to Baruch (1854-1932) and Elise Spitz (1859-1942). Martha had one sister, Hedwig (later Schüler, 1890-1975). George and Martha moved to Magdeburg, a city west of Berlin with almost 2,000 Jewish residents. On August 1, 1906, Georg began serving as rabbi for the largest of Magdeburg’s three congregations, the Synagogen-Gemeinde zu Magdeburg. During World War I, which spanned from 1914 to 1918, Georg served as a field rabbi and presided over both Jewish and interfaith burials. While in Magdeburg, Georg functioned as an integral part of the Jewish community. He was a member of the Allgemeiner Rabbinerverband Deutschlands (General Rabbi Association of Germany) and the Vereinigung der liberalen Rabbiner Deutschlands (Association of liberal rabbis of Germany). Georg also served as president of the Mendelssohn Loge and as president for the Provinzial-Verband für jüdische Wohlfahrtspflege (Provincial Association for Jewish Welfare), which spearheaded economic initiatives in response to the Nazi restrictions on Jewish economic life. The association also became the major source of welfare assistance to the Jewish community in Magdeburg. In addition to Georg’s activities, Magdeburg also had a Jewish school, several Jewish youth clubs, over 400 Jewish-owned businesses, and many Jewish professionals. While the ties among the Magdeburg’s Jewish community were strong, they were largely assimilated into the larger city culture, and Georg held a deep-seated German-Jewish identity. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. The German authorities p…
date: circa 1939
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: 43
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn109106
record resource extent: folder 1
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Contains a five page typescript text titled"Eleven Days in the Concentration-Camp Buchenwal" by Rabbi Dr. G. Wilde. The text recounts Wilde's arrest at his home in Magdeburg on the morning of 10 November 1938, his transfer to a cell in the local jail, and his transport to Buchenwald the following day. He describes conditions in the camp, the torture of other prisoners, the conditions surrounding his release, and attempts to prevent the shaving of his beard upon release. He concludes his account by describing how he and his wife were able to immigrate to England due to the efforst of the chief rabbi in London, Dr. I.H. Hertz.
title: "Eleven Days in the Concentration-Camp Buchenwal"