' (German for "building up, construction") is a periodical targeted at
German-speaking
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...
Jews around the globe. Founded in 1934 in New York City as a newspaper for German Jewish immigrants, it was reinvented in 2004 in Switzerland as a glossy magazine for German-speaking Jews of the 21st century.
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt (, , ; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a political philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor. She is widely considered to be one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century.
Arendt was born ...
,
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
,
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
, and
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
wrote for the original publication. Until 2004 it was published in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It is now published in
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
.
History
The ' was founded by the German–Jewish Club, which was later renamed the
New World Club.
[Adam, T (2005) "Germany and the Americas", ABC-CLIO] The original purpose of the journal was as a monthly newsletter for the club, which included information and helpful facts for Jewish refugees.
The Early Years of the ''Aufbau''
1934
In December, the first issue of the journal was published.
1935
In February 1935, the ''Aufbau'' released its third publication that highlighted the Heinrich Heine, later renamed the Lorelei, Foundation in New York City, New York.
Later that year in June, the ''Aufbau'' released an issue detailing pro-Nazi groups as a warning for readers in Yorkville.
The passing of the
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of th ...
prompted the ''Aufbau'' to respond by continuing to publish their content.
In November, the focus of the ''Aufbau'' changed. The focus of the journal shifted from primarily being about the club and community promotion, to depicting more of what was happening to Jewish people in German cities. The November issue was the beginning of the ''Aufbau''
's evolution and expansion to not only New York Jewish communities, but Jewish communities everywhere.
1938
In November 1938, the primary mission for the ''Aufbau'' continued to evolve.
This particular evolution in their mission was in response to
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
gaining control of the
Sudetenland
The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
in Czechoslovakia. The ''Aufbau'' then began to strive for a greater sense of unity amongst the Jewish communities around the world by beginning to report on what the situations were like for those still in Europe as opposed to those who had immigrated to the United States.
1939
In February 1939, the ''Aufbau'' went through another transition. The general tone of the paper changed their design to focus more on the realities faced by the Jewish communities in Europe.
For example, a particular issue highlighted the story of how an
SS officer beat, humiliated, and tortured a group of German Jewish people as well as other acts against German Jewish people in similar situations. This report was specific only to ''Aufbau'' because it did not meet American journalist standards because the source of the stories was anonymous.
August marked the beginning of a new featured segment in ''Aufbau,'' titled "March of Time". This addition to the paper served the purpose of creating a convenient list of news sources for Jewish communities.
Manfred George was nominated as the new editor in 1939.
Manfred George
The purpose of the publication changed markedly when, in 1939,
Manfred George Manfred George (October 22, 1893 – December 30, 1965), born Manfred Georg Cohn, later shortened to Manfred Georg, was a German journalist, author and translator. He left Germany after the Nazis came to power, living in several different European c ...
was nominated as the new editor. George took the journal from a monthly newsletter to one of the leading anti-Nazi publications of the German press in exile (').
George, within the first 5 years of his tenure, took the circulation of the journal from 8,000 to 40,000.
Before Manfred George became the editor of the ''Aufbau'', he was a well-known editor of a Berlin daily, ''
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
'',
[Young-Bruel, E. (2004) "Hannah Arendt", Yale University Press] and a left-wing journalist in the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
When George became the new editor, he added three major themes for the ''Aufbau''. These three themes emphasized the connection between the German homeland and the newfound homeland of the United States. He encouraged a strong belief in
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
and loyalty to the
German culture
The culture of Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically, Germany has been called ''Das Land der Dichter und Denker'' (the country of poets and thinkers). German cultu ...
.
In one of the first issues with George as editor, he emphasized the uncertainty present in the futures of Jewish people at the time and encouraged sympathy and neutrality. This issue was released shortly after
Germany invaded Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after ...
in September 1939.
1940
In 1940, ''Aufbau'' faced backlash because they were reporting the violence and incidents occurring against Jewish people in Europe. The backlash revolved around people not approving of their content nor finding it to be credible.
The ''Aufbau'' editors responded by issuing a statement explaining that other publication's readers did not necessarily care as much about the suffering of Jewish people as the ''Aufbau'' readers did. Furthermore, editors explained that what the competing publications, like the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, were currently publishing, the ''Aufbau'' had published weeks prior.
As of February 1940, the ''Aufbau'' was continuing to promote club events for the German-Jewish Club.
In addition, throughout the summer, the journal highlighted various happenings and occurrences in American politics under the heading, “The Smoke-Filled Room”. The purpose of this was to educate Jewish immigrants in the United States on mainstream American culture and practices, like the presidential election between
Franklin D, Roosevelt and
Wendell Willkie
Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...
.
1941
In an effort to continue the support for
Americanization
Americanization or Americanisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the America, United ...
, the ''Aufbau'' published an ''Aufbau Almanac'' called, "The Immigrants Handbook". This “handbook” was used as a how-to guide for new German-Jewish immigrants within the United States. It included 192 pages detailing American life and everything that someone might need to know, like the political system or the lyrics to the
“Star Spangled Banner”.
Archives, curated collections, and reproductions
All issued, from inception through 2004, are accessible online ''via''
The Leo Baeck Institute at .
The ''Aufbau'' database
From September 1, 1944, through September 27, 1946, the ' printed numerous lists of Jewish Holocaust survivors located in Europe, as well as a few lists of victims.
The data include information taken from lists which appeared between late 1944 and early 1947. The lists published in ' were prepared by many different organizations, often by Jewish relief organizations or by officials in displaced persons' camps.
The ' Indexing Project
The ' Indexing Project (AIP) is an online database of names that appeared in announcements published in the '.
References
External links
*
Digitized copy of "Aufbau (New York, 1934–2004)" 14from the
Leo Baeck Institute, New York
The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...
Official website of The Indexing Project
{{Authority control
Exilliteratur
German-language magazines
Jewish magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1934
Magazines published in New York City
Magazines published in Zürich
German-language mass media in the United States