Guest lecturers educate community about Judaic, peace studies

Ralph Jacobson speaks about his experiences in Nazi Germany to help others gain better perspective on this atrocity. Jacobson is currently a pro-bono Lawyer based out of Pinehurst NC. Photo by Holt Menzies | The Appalachian

The year was 1935, two years after Adolph Hitler had been appointed chancellor of Germany, ushering in the Nazi party and severe anti-Semitic policies.

Jacobson, being Jewish, had already experienced the injustices implemented by the Nazis: confiscation of Jewish-run businesses by SS troopers, forced compliance with ‘No Jews allowed’ signs at local shops and restaurants, and constant ridicule by Aryan children, among other things.

When asked, “What time is it in this picture?” Jacobson looked at the pastoral landscape and responded “a better time.”

Jacobson presented “Survivor Testimony: Remembering the Holocaust” lecture Tuesday in Belk Library & Information Commons at Appalachian State University.

His wife, Vivian R. Jacobson, accompanied him, presenting a lecture Wednesday titled “Chagall and the Women in his Life,” which focused on the life and works of Russian-French Artist, Marc Chagall (1887-1985).

For 15 years, Ralph has traveled to the United States and Germany recounting his experiences as a little boy growing up in Nazi Germany (1933-1945), most notably the murder of his father, a prominent Jewish lawyer, Oct. 8, 1938.

Ralph was 10 years old when his father was found dead in his family’s private garden.

Ralph remained unaware of the cause of his father’s death until a book, “Stations on the Way to Auschwitz,” revealed his father had committed suicide.

Unwilling to accept this as the truth, Ralph continued to search for answers until Vivian, whom he married in 1957, returned to Osnabruck first by herself in 1994, and then two years later with Ralph to settle the matter.

Official documents provided by the Osnabruck mayor proved his father’s death was not a suicide, but rather a murder committed by a top Nazi chief, which had been staged to appear as a suicide, as suggested by a chair with a wash line noose hung in the garden.

“My father violently opposed the destruction of the synagogue to build a building for [Nazi troops],” Ralph said. “The people that [murdered my father] were never brought to justice. When I give this talk in Germany, someone always asks ‘Do you hate me?’ and I always say no. There is time to forgive, but not to forget.

This should never happen again,” he said. “Sadly there are still many wars going on.”

This lecture series was hosted by the N.C. Humanities Council and the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies at Appalachian.

European and German history professor and co-director of the Center Rennie W. Brantz said the Center was initially established in 2006 to prepare teachers and students to figure out ways to prevent future holocausts.

“The Jewish experience is more than just the Holocaust, the 12 years of Nazi Germany,” Brantz said. “We need to have more emphasis on Judaic studies. After the Holocaust, what do you do?  You’ve got to have some next step, some way to take action, [and that would be] peace studies.

“There are lots of Judaic and Holocaust centers,” Brantz said, “but the combination of the three – Judaic, Holocaust and peace – is a bit different, but it seemed to fit what we wanted to do.”

Brantz, who also helps coordinate “Remembering the Holocaust: A Summer Symposium for Educators and the Community” held annually at Appalachian, first became interested in learning about Jewish culture and history while attending a college seminar in 1996 at Northwest University in Evanston, Ill.

Since then, Brantz, when teaching his classes, has placed Jews and their contributions to history in a wider, more universal context.

“The Holocaust is more than just a historical event.  I think it introduces life issues, the kinds of questions that are similar to all of us,” Brantz said. “What’s the meaning of life? Would we do things like [what the Nazis and Jews did] when put in similar situations? I always see myself as a facilitator, as a person who can support and help others make a difference in their teaching and their understanding and their commitment [to learning about the Holocaust].”

Ralph, who escaped Nazi Germany and arrived in the U.S. with his mother in January 1939, followed in his father’s footsteps and became a lawyer.

Today, at age 82, Ralph lives with his wife in Pine Hurst, N.C., and continues to conduct legal work pro bono (for free) for charitable and religious organizations.

Vivian, who often travels with Ralph selling copies of her book “Sharing Chagall: A Memoir,” fully supports her husband and his accomplishments.

“When you reconcile with a country like Ralph reconciled with Germany, you have to be an extraordinary person,” Vivian said. “I don’t think we’d have this strong a marriage today if we had not joined together and found out about his father’s murder.”

Story: MEGAN NORTHCOTE, Lifestyles Reporter
Photo: HOLT MENZIES, Chief Photographer

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