Valentin Senger in the house at the Dom: a Miraculous salvation

will be born As the child of one of the last days of the year 1918, the First world war just a couple of weeks to end. While the small Valentin Senger growing up in Frankfurt, he can not suspect that to him, his family and his home town in the not-too-distant future, a far larger war, led also to the purpose, to put the murder of the Jews of Europe. You would have according to the will of the German makes, the family of the author, commander-in-chief to fall victim to.

Florian Balke

culture editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

F. A. Z.

it is not, is one of the most unlikely events in the twelve years of national socialist reign of terror. Senger survived from 1933 until the liberation by the Americans under constant danger, but in the end, undisturbed in a familiar environment – the home of the family between the old Opera and the main station in Frankfurt city centre. Kaiserhof Strasse 12 is the address of the house in which the future author today, 100 years ago, the world has come. In 1978 he makes it to the title of a reminder tape where he describes what he calls “the history of our family, and her miraculous salvation”. Since he’s already a Journalist, works for the Hessischer Rundfunk and is head of its TV business editorial.

a reminder of the Survival of his family

The death of escape Senger and his family by private conspiracy, and the authorities ‘ help. The parents come from Russia, where they have learned as Communists in the struggle against the tsarist police, the Blurring of traces of life. As the family settles in 1911, in Frankfurt, stated to the authorities that she was pulled out of Zurich. In the years of the “third Reich” finally, for the Kaiserhof road responsible officer ensures that, on the resident registration card of the family to their Jewish origin. In the war of the as a technical draughtsman trained Senger in Frankfurt factories and works, in the autumn of 1944, he was drafted along with his brother, even to the Wehrmacht. Alex no longer falls on the Eastern front, the heart-sick mother experienced the end of the war.

In the Federal Republic of works Senger first, for the “Socialist people’s daily”, a daily newspaper of the KPD. With the party, he breaks into the fifties, because it ensures the in the Soviet Union the known crimes of Stalinism. Marriage Senger 1997 dies in Frankfurt, he writes more books, the memory of the Survival of his family but remains his most important work.

pain and humanity

In 2010, the Schöffling Verlag brings out it’s new and the first edition of the festival “Frankfurt is dedicated to him reads a book”. Once again, around 10,000 in Frankfurt in the factory, in the Telling of the town in the years of the bomb war, neither the 78 forced labor inside the frieze-works, forgets, coming in September 1944 at the Sachsenhausen school road by a land mine killed a woman, rotten houses, Luftschutzwartin of the house at the Kaiserhof street and an ardent follower of the regime. deepen Also this shape makes the pain and humanity-filled book justice. It holds the wife of a flick cutter in the Moment in which she has for Evil and for Good so much Power over their fellow citizens like never before in your life and on your way quite capable guardian of the Air-RAID shelter is.