1943Jewish Life Becomes History

In March 1938, the teacher Karl Rausch (1879–1976) took over the management of the Alsfeld Museum after his predecessor passed away following a prolonged illness. Rausch had previously supported the museum on a voluntary basis. A long-standing, active member of the SPD, Rausch had been dismissed as a teacher for political reasons on March 30, 1933.

Upon taking over the museum, he redesigned the exhibition because, in his view, the rooms had become overcrowded and cluttered. Consequently, he reduced the number of exhibits, rearranged them, and had the rooms thoroughly cleaned. For this purpose, he “borrowed” Polish female forced laborers from a brewery. In his 1940 report, he also proposed exhibiting Judaica in the future:

“A special room illustrating Judaism in Alsfeld could also be very well arranged and exhibited. On the ground floor stands the massive Torah cabinet; cupboards and chests contain precious covers, mantles, Torah scrolls, and genuine silver items from Jewish ownership. The latter were acquired from the official utilization agency (Verwertungsstelle) in Frankfurt/Main for the price of RM 200, a sum donated by two local citizens for this purpose.”
From: Activity report by museum administrator Karl Rausch for the period from March 1938 to September 4, 1940 (History and Museum Association Alsfeld, File M I,4)

In 1943, the museum was ceremoniously reopened, although the Judaica were not mentioned in the press on that occasion.