Chapter 26

PANIC AND RESPONSE

The horrific events of Krystallnacht were reported from embassies, consulates and international reporters. News of the Nazi pogrom spread like the dreaded Black Death. The world was stunned. No one knew for certain what was happening inside the concentration camps in Germany, and for those not left on campus at Gross Breesen, no one knew exactly who had been imprisoned. Not knowing led to panic, and within the turmoil of Krystallnacht, communication broke down.

IN HOLLAND

The first news of Krystallnacht reached Töpper on November 10 through Dutch radio and newspapers. He learned that twenty-four Gross Breesen students plus staff were imprisoned in Buchenwald Concentration Camp, but he did not know all their names.¹³⁸ He was terrified for his friends and his beloved Bo. He felt so helpless. Immediately, he and a friend from Gross Breesen, Meui, who was living in Amsterdam and spoke fluent Dutch, went to the Jewish Committee in Amsterdam. Töpper hoped that if the Dutch Jewish Committee sent a guarantee of entry permits for the imprisoned Breeseners to the German authorities, release from Buchenwald would be attained sooner rather than later.

When he arrived at the headquarters, he was shocked by the chaos of hundreds of refugees pushing their way to enter the overflowing building to talk with an official inside. “Many had tears in their eyes, others paced back and forth in the square wringing their hands, desperation written on their faces. All had relatives or friends in Germany who had been arrested and whom they wanted to help get out.”¹³⁹ Töpper had never seen such anguish.

The building was a maze of offices and corridors. After the two talked their way through the front door, Meui took the lead because he spoke Dutch and most of the other petitioners did not. Calmly, and with a sense of authority, he confronted various officials sitting at desks in the hallways, and finally, the two found the office of the two people who would be of the greatest help. They knocked on the closed door, and without permission, the teenagers entered the room. Sitting at desks were Rudolf Elk and Gertrude van Tijn. Meui “presented [their] request calmly, succinctly, and with impressive resolve. Elk and van Tijn listened attentively.”¹⁴⁰ Töpper realized that he was too emotional to earn the attention of the officials. He marveled at how mature his friend appeared and how controlled he was. He was certain that such an attitude caught the immediate sympathy and approval of the Jewish Committee. This was the first step to free his friends. He was terrified that nothing would help, but he knew he had to try.

In the back of Töpper’s mind were the imagined scenes of his friends being brutalized by their Nazi captors. Getting the Breeseners released as quickly as possible was his first goal. His father supported his efforts and gave him money for telegrams and expensive long-distance telephone calls. Communication was dreadfully slow. In addition, telephone conversations to Germany ran the risk of being tapped by German intelligence, and letters from Europe to America took weeks. First, Töpper needed to procure the names of those in Buchenwald, and he had to secure funds to give to the Dutch authorities to cover the expenses of supporting the refugees in transit camps. He reasoned correctly that before the German authorities would release prisoners, they had to have evidence that the Breeseners in Buchenwald had Dutch entry permits and were also awaiting immigration visas.

Töpper sent urgent telegrams to the United States. Time seemed to drag in slow motion. He could not sleep at night and became irritable. Phone calls to Germany did not supply the needed information because everyone was afraid to speak. The two weeks after Krystallnacht dragged on, but then there was a breakthrough.

Töpper finally obtained the list of all the prisoners from Gross Breesen and also the list of those designated to immigrate to Thalhimer’s farm in Virginia. The financial guarantees to pay for the work camp in Holland were telegrammed from New York and presented to the Dutch authorities.

IN AMERICA

William B. Thalhimer was shocked by the reporting of the devastation and imprisonment of German Jews. His first thoughts focused on Dr. Bondy and the students whom he hoped to welcome at Hyde Farmlands. It had already been almost seven months since he purchased the farm and began negotiations with the State Department. He called the head of the visa division, Avra Warren, a person with whom he had developed a trusting, personal relationship. His questions were frantic: What did Warren know? Did he have a communication from Raymond Geist, the consul general in Berlin? Did he know if Bondy was imprisoned along with how many students? What would happen to them in a concentration camp?

Thalhimer’s calls to the State Department and to officials dealing with Jewish refugees in New York City soon gave him terrifying answers to his questions: Bondy and Gross Breesen students, most of whom were on the list to immigrate to Virginia, were imprisoned in Buchenwald. Efforts were initiated to contact the Dutch and the U.S. consulate in Berlin, but Thalhimer was frustrated as several more weeks passed. Being unable to help wore him down.¹⁴¹