Victor Klemperer's Diary as Holocaust Testimony

Introduction: Klemperer's Atypical Jewish Identity

Victor Klemperer was in many ways atypical of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. He held a relatively privileged position as an academic, writer, and journalist, and his identification with the Jewish community was rather tenuous. As noted by Martin Chalmers in his preface to Klemperer's journals, I Will Bear Witness, the "Observance and the Reform Synagogue" that Klemperer attended as a child "was extremely liberal" and entailed no dietary restrictions, no bar mitzvah, and — in contrast to Reform Judaism today — was regarded as a "halfway house" between conversion to Protestantism and Judaism.¹ Klemperer's beloved wife of forty-five years was a Protestant, which gave him a somewhat protected status when the Nazis came to power. His area of academic interest was Voltaire, not anything pertaining to Jewish theology.

His life experience is therefore particularly illustrative of the extent to which even relatively educated, assimilated, and privileged Jews were affected by Nazism. Klemperer's story also shows how thoroughly assimilated many Jews were and the degree to which Hitler's rise to power came as a shock. "Again it's astounding how everything collapses," mused Klemperer.²

Early Reactions to Hitler's Rise to Power

When Hitler was declared Chancellor, Klemperer was far from complacent about what this meant for the Jewish people of Germany. "How long will I keep my post," he wrote in his diary, and confessed to a "constant thinking about death."³ He acknowledged the tremendous volatility present in Germany at the time and noted, "I think it is quite immaterial whether Germany is a monarchy or a republic — but what I do not expect at all is that it will be rescued from the grip of the new government."⁴ Klemperer had grown cynical about democracy even while acknowledging that the government which replaced it was far worse than anything he could have imagined.

During the early years of Hitler's ascendency, Klemperer's diary entries mix ordinary observations about everyday life with a creeping fear of what is to come. In one entry he notes: "I do so enjoy going to the cinema; it takes me out of myself. But it is so difficult to persuade Eva to go."⁵ This mundane domestic observation ends abruptly with the words: "Fatigue and lethargy. Weariness of life and fear of death."⁶

The Yellow Star and the Psychology of Stigmatization

One turning point in the status of Jews in Europe was the forced wearing of a yellow star to mark their status as inherently "other." Klemperer dreaded this development for weeks, finally noting: "The Jewish armband came true as Star of David, comes into force on the nineteenth."⁷ As a result of being marked in such a manner, Klemperer reports experiencing serious depression, wanting only to leave the house after dark and leaving his wife Eva to run most of his errands.

This reaction highlights how, even though Klemperer was initially somewhat insulated — by virtue of his marriage — from some of the worst fates suffered by German Jews, including relegation to ghetto areas and economic destitution, he still experienced profound psychological harm from his stigmatization. His writings during the early years of Nazism demonstrate how prejudice carries debilitating psychological effects alongside its material, political, and economic consequences. Klemperer also felt agonizing guilt about his wife and their marriage, given that his survival was effectively in her hands. "Meanwhile Eva is constantly on errands and cooking. Our whole life has been turned upside down and everything weighs on Eva."⁸