If they had listened they would have studied the lesson of middah k’neged middah when the Germans announced the Law Against Overcrowding German Schools – that’s the name of the law – on April 25, 1933. In Germany, before this, everybody had to go to school on Shabbos. They weren’t off on Shabbos, which meant that they were mechalel Shabbos and also they mingled with gentile boys and girls – and that was one of the big sources of intermarriage.
So here was a law that you could study with great profit – why did the Germans exclude Jewish children from public schools, from colleges and high schools? Isn’t it because German Jews were so eager to mingle and German Jews had so little regard for Shabbos? And so Hashem was putting a stop to it – with a heavy Hand Hakadosh Baruch Hu said, “No more!”
On September 15, 1935, they decreed a law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor. That means intermarriage between Jews and Christians came to an end – for a Jew and a Christian to live together was a crime. That’s something to think about. It was a message min haShamayim. Hitler had to come and teach them that it’s assur to intermarry and that if you do, there’s going to be a very big punishment.
No Accident!
On January 5, 1937, they decreed compulsory Jewish names. Ooh wah! That’s some decree! So Hans Cohen was now called Israel Hans Cohen and Gretel Cohen was now called Sarah Gretel Cohen – whether she liked it or not. And she didn’t! They hated Jewish names. Sarah! Gretel was fainting from embarrassment! All of a sudden Jews began carrying such genuine full blooded names. Israel Hans Cohen! Hans, who had tried his best to run away from Israel all his life and now they slapped the sticker on him: Israel. Wasn’t that a lesson from Heaven?
On December 3, 1938, Jews were barred from the streets on Nazi holidays. Now the Jews would have gone out in the streets and participated. They would have danced together with the Germans and they would have raised their hands and participated in everything. But now they were being told that they were Jews and they shouldn’t lose their identity because of patriotism. That was a great lesson.
December 28, 1939, the order was given that Jews should live only in all Jewish houses. You have to study that. You can’t mix – all Jewish houses. Two days later on December 30, 1939, there was a decree barring Jews from dining cars – to remind them of kashrus.
