Sally Isenberg

Sally Isenberg , maiden name Salomon Isenberg , (born March 2, 1889 in Gilserberg , † October 4, 1961 in Saarbrücken ) was a German banker of Jewish origin. Isenberg became famous through the "Isenberg case" in Liechtenstein . He successfully defended himself in and out of court against the increasing anti-Semitism in the principality. Together with Schelomo Bar Eljokum , he wrote the book A Jew speaks for Germany in 1949 . In this book he argued against the collective guilt of the Germans.

Life

Sally Isenberg grew up in Gilserberg. In the First World War he served as a soldier for the German Reich and returned wounded. He was married to Ernestine (Erna) Marx and had three sons. Until 1928 he was director of Saarbank , which was liquidated in 1928 . In 1931 he settled in Liechtenstein as a private individual and was given permanent residence . He built a villa for himself and his family above Vaduz .

According to his own statements, he never wanted to get involved in politics. In 1935, as a former combatant at the front, he received the Cross of Honor on behalf of Adolf Hitler . Nevertheless, he was expatriated in 1938. In 1936 the Jewish community in Liechtenstein had grown to around 100 people. The National Socialist propaganda sheet Der Stürmer published a series of articles about the Jews in Liechtenstein in April 1936. The party sheet of the Fatherland Union (VU), the Liechtenstein Fatherland , reprinted the series. This led to a dispute with the ruling Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), which accused the opposition of driving investors out of Liechtenstein with its anti-Semitic propaganda. The series im Stürmer is said to have been written by an anonymous Liechtenstein citizen and accused Isenberg of being a bankruptcy fraudster, parasite, money launderer and tax evader. He was described as the typical Jew that Liechtenstein would accept in order to cheat the German economy out of billions.

In a letter to the editor in FBP's own newspaper Liechtensteiner Volksblatt, the Liechtenstein Jewish industrialist Rudolf Engel urged the author to come out of his anonymity and prove his allegations. But the Liechtenstein fatherland only responded with comments that Rudolf Engel only paid starvation wages to the employees of his knitting factory. In June 1936, an anonymous article was published in Stürmer in which Isenberg was described as "the greatest fraudster in Saarland" and the charge of embezzlement of 40 million marks was made. The Liechtenstein Fatherland also reprinted this article with the permission of the party leadership of the Fatherland Union, Otto Schaedler and Alois Ritter . This article was the beginning of the Isenberg case .

The Liechtensteiner Volksblatt of the Progressive Citizens' Party then demanded the condemnation of the Liechtenstein Fatherland and the Fatherland Union for sedition and a court case against their editor-in-chief Carl von Vogelsang . The Liechtensteiner Volksblatt would protect human honor just as much as the honor of Liechtenstein. The Fatherland Union and the Fatherland had accused Isenberg of tarnishing Liechtenstein's honor with his presence and that he should be expelled.

Isenberg also defended himself in court and publicly. In the Volksblatt he took a position and described himself as innocent. He did not do anything wrong with regard to the bankruptcy of Saarbank. He wrote: «I have initiated criminal proceedings against Mr von Vogelsang. I'm defenseless against the striker. " He also pointed out in this article that Catholics, Reformed and Jews would worship the same God after all.

The fatherland , Alois Vogt and Vogelsang asked Isenberg to refute the allegations and to travel to Germany to provide counter-evidence. However, due to the situation in Germany, this was unrealistic and resulted in a reversal of the burden of proof.

On June 18, 1936, the Liechtenstein Landtag dealt with anti-Semitism in Liechtenstein in a closed session . Schaedler (VU) argued against the naturalization of Jews in the principality. The President of the State Parliament Anton Frommelt (FBP) advocated Isenberg with the reference that "race" does not play a role in naturalization. Schaedler argued with racist statements: It should not be allowed that “Liechtenstein blood is mixed with strangers”. Liechtenstein was flooded by Jews. Prime Minister Josef Hoop (FBP) rejected this allegation and stressed that anti-Semitism would cause great damage to the country, including economically. Schaedler advocated a right of residence for Jews who would create jobs in the country, but at the same time spoke out against their naturalization. After this statement, there were protests by representatives of the communities who did not want to forego the taxes of the naturalized people. Isenberg had also announced that it wanted to support the Liechtenstein economy with a planned brewery with 30 jobs. Two days later, the Liechtenstein state government announced that it would continue to support the influx of job-creating Jews.

In the meantime, both sides were preparing for the libel trial. Vogelsang and Vogt traveled to Germany to collect incriminating material against Isenberg. The Volksblatt , meanwhile, continued to rush, published a list of Jews in the Principality and dubbed them “bloodsuckers of Liechtenstein”, “tax fraudsters”, “people fraudsters” and “droolers”. Alois Vogt took over the defense of Carl von Vogelsang himself.

Isenberg had drawn attention to this process several times on leaflets, so the party congress of the Fatherland Union called on the government in December 1936 to "silence the Jew Sally Isenberg and, if necessary, expel him". On January 10, 1937, the delegates of the Progressive Citizens' Party declared their solidarity with Isenberg. Isenberg announced a few days later that he had evidence that the Fatherland Union was involved in anti-subversive activities. The Patriotic Union thought this was a bluff. In mid-January 1937, Isenberg was able to prove that leading members of the Fatherland Union had passed on confidential information to government and party offices in Germany and Austria. This was the beginning of the Vogelsang spy affair , which shook the country in 1937 and triggered a wave of lawsuits against the representatives of the Patriotic Union. The anti-Semitism allegations formed only a small part of the accusations.

In 1938, the Progressive Citizens' Party and the Fatherland Union formed a coalition government to jointly oppose the new German party, the People's German Movement in Liechtenstein . This called for Liechtenstein to join the Greater German Reich . After the failed union coup on March 24, 1938, Isenberg announced that he would be leaving Liechtenstein.

Isenberg emigrated with his family to New York in the summer of 1938 . There he later campaigned for Germany by speaking out against collective guilt. Together with Schelomo Bar Eljokum, he wrote the book A Jew speaks for Germany in 1949 . In 1959 he returned to his home town of Saarbrücken, where he died in 1961.

Publications

• with Schelomo Bar Eljokum: A Jew speaks for Germany. K. Lüder, Frankfurt 1949.

Web links

• Documents on the Isenberg case in the Liechtenstein archive
• Refuge on installments - Liechtenstein and the Jews

Individual evidence

1. ↑ State Archives of the Principality of Liechtenstein
2. ↑ Sally Isenberg, a Jewish emigrant, declares himself ready to leave Liechtenstein voluntarily. Registered letter from Sally Isenberg to the government
3. ↑ Peter Geiger: Krisenzeit Volume 1, Chronos Verlag Zurich, ISBN 3-906393-28-3 page 442
4. ^ The "Liechtenstein Fatherland" reproduces anti-Semitic allegations against Sally Isenberg
5. ↑ Carl von Vogelsang defends his approach against Sally Isenberg
6. ↑ Carl von Vogelsang asks for incriminating material from Germany in the trial against the Jewish emigrant Sally Isenberg
7. ^ Press campaign of the National Socialist newspaper "Der Stürmer" against the Jews in Liechtenstein
8. ↑ Alois Vogt defends Carl von Vogelsang's actions against Sally Isenberg