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ILSE
VOGEL
Uechtelhausen, Bavaria
Nominated by Claudine Hermann, Massy, France; Eliane Roos Schuhl, Paris,
France;
Joe Dispecker, Los Angeles, CA; Joel Dorkham Dispecker, Kibbutz Palmach
Tsuba, Israel;
Don Diespecker, Bellingen, Australia; Jill Alexander Fraser, Vancouver,
BC, Canada;
Louise Goodchaux, Canyon Country, CA; and Ernest Kolman, Middlesex,
England
2005
There was a joyous
celebration in Diespeck in 2003 when Ilse Vogel brought together branches
that once belonged to the same tree. People whose ancestors had made
their home in the Franconian village as well as those who live there
today enjoyed Klezmer music, kosher food, lectures, and guided tours
of Diespecks Jewish past. Residents learned for the first time
about the synagogue in their village and met people from distant countries
who hadnt even been aware their ancestors were Jewish. I
want to water the roots that have been cut, says Vogel, the 65-year-old
teacher who helped organize the festivities.
For more than 10
years, Vogel has unearthed information about the villages history.
She has photographed the gravestones in the Jewish cemetery and even
learned enough Hebrew to translate inscriptions. She lectures, leads
tours, and prepares exhibits. On a veterans ommemoration day, she organized
a ceremony honoring local Jewish soldiers who were killed during World
War I. Due to her work, people here have once again become aware
of the Jewish part of Diespecks history, which many didnt
know about at all, says Mayor Helmut Roch.
Vogel, who lives
near Schweinfurt in Bavaria, has roots in Diespeck, but she never planned
to chronicle the villages Jewish history. As a child, she spent
several years there with her mother and sister after fleeing the Allied
bombing in Nuremberg during World War II. At university in the early
60s, she wrote an assigned paper on its history. Although she
uncovered a lot of material about Jews, she didnt persist. I
felt like I was carrying the guilt of all Germans on my shoulders; that
feeling prevented me from dealing with the issue further, Vogel
explains. I needed to be pushed, shoved, and prodded to pursue
the subject again.
Her religion played
an important role in this push. She has been an active member of the
Protestant church for a quarter of a century, acting as a womens
representative within the church, leading a discussion group, and preaching
during services. In the late 70s, as she focused more intensely
on her religion, she began to ask herself, What are the
roots of Christianity? And that question led me to Judaism,
Vogel remembers. In 1989, when an archival research group contacted
her for information about Diespecks Jewish cemetery, her previous
interest was renewed, and she began her decade-long investigations.
Today, Vogel is
an expert. In her book, Kosher oder Terefa (Kosher or Treif), she describes
how Jewish and Christian Germans lived peacefully in Diespeck for more
than two centuries, forming a cohesive culture. During her research,
she noted an architectural style typical of Jewish homes. They
have five windows pointing to the street and two windows in the roof,
she explains. The five windows are for the five books of Moses,
and the two windows represent the two tablets of the Ten Commandments.
She is also completing a biography of David Diespeck, a well-known 18th
century rabbi.
She has researched
many family histories. Claudine Hermann, of Massy, France, met Vogel
in
1990 while searching for her German-Jewish roots. Due to her,
a small world is living again, Hermann says. The names of
the dead are rescued from oblivion. Eliane Roos Schuhl, of Paris,
says, Vogels message to the average German citizen is clear:
Jews used to live here, participating in and enriching the life of the
whole village. Let us not forget.
Although one of
Vogels projectsturning the buildings of the former Jews
Court into a center
for history and culturehasnt yet found sufficient support,
Vogel is accustomed to obstacles: Ive
learned to wait. Meanwhile, the restoration of the cemetery takes
precedence. Because of her efforts, Diespecks residents are aware
that its Jewish past should be preserved. The European Union has provided
matching funds to restore the cemetery, identify family connections
on gravestones, and electronically publish the results. And, inspired
by Vogel, the owner of a brewery in nearby Pahres is researching the
history of his familys enterprise and its connections with Jewish
traders.
Another celebration
will be held this year. This time, at least 30 people named Diespeck
will come from other countries to the village that gave them their name.
And so the branches that Ilse Vogel has nourished for more than a decade
will continue to grow.
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