In 1922, Inge Deutschkron was born into a Socialist, nonreligious, albeit Jewish, family, living in Berlin. Her father held “some sort of office in the Social Democratic Party” (Deutschkron 6), and Inge happily subscribed to Socialist beliefs. In the early 1930’s, there was political unrest between the different political parties, namely the Communists, the Socialists, and the SA, in which the SA ultimately triumphed. Inge grew up knowing that the Nazi’s and Hitler meant “terror, dictatorship, [and] war” (Deutschkron 6). Therefore, the rise of Hitler, in early 1933, meant danger for the Deutschkrons. Up until 1933, Inge had been raised as an Atheist, however, in 1933, Inge’s mother informed her of their Jewish heritage. So, when the…show more content… The Nazi regime declared that all Jews over the age of 15 had to carry an identity card with a photograph, and the cover and inner pages of this card was stamped with a large “J,” so everyone knew they were Jews. These cards also contained the fingerprints of the Jew’s left and right index finger. They also forced Jewish people to add “Sara” to their name if they were a woman, and “Israel” to their name if they were a man. So, Inge Deutschkron became Inge Sara Deutschkron. These regulations indicated to the Jewish population, that the Nazi regime was serious about solving the “Jewish question.” The night of November 9, 1938, the Night of Broken Glass - Kristallnacht, was the beginning of the end for the Jews in Germany. Nazi’s went through the streets of Berlin and shattered the windows of Jewish owned businesses, synagogues, and homes: “Before the events of Kristallnacht, [Inge’s father] had not been completely convinced of the absolute necessity of emigration, but that day in November persuaded him that life in Germany had become impossible” (Deutschkron 35). He managed to emigrate to England, without Inge and her mother, before the Gestapo could capture him. The Deutschkrons were under the impression that he would be able to secure them a spot in England where they could emigrate before the war began. Unfortunately, countries began shutting their borders shortly after Inge’s father left, and Jews still believed that they
