A family in Berlin, early 1930s. Photo by Roman Vishniac
Jewish identity in the Feidt family
His Jewish heritage did not seem important to Gerhard as a young man, but it was more complicated for Rosa.
Her late husband, Moritz, had been an active member of the Jewish community in Berlin, but he was not an observant Jew. As his wife, Rosa was also nominally a member, but Susie recalls that her grandmother was not in the slightest interested in religion and never observed a Jewish ritual of any kind.
Yet marriage inside or out of the faith was not just a matter of religion but also of culture. Even though religion was not an issue to Rosa, she thought that Gerhard should marry someone with a similar background, cultural traditions and attitudes. Gerhard firmly believed she wanted to marry him off to one of the various nice Jewish girls to whom she introduced him.
A generation earlier, such as with Rosa's own marriage to Moritz, a marital union would have been arranged for Gerhard, probably using the services of a traditional Jewish matchmaker. Moritz himself would certainly have wanted his son to marry in the faith, and beyond that she felt he it would make him happiest in the long run. Mother and son were extremely close, and of course she too would be greatly affected by his choice.
Naturally enough, Gerhard regarded Rosa's views as interference and he reacted strongly against it. Gerhard was always able to think outside the box, but on this issue he chose outright rebellion.
