Ernst Rosenberg

Self-defence at the university

Ernst Rosenberg began studying law at Berlin University in 1932 and became involved in various organisations such as the Jewish student fraternity "Sprevia" and the social democratic "Reichsbanner". He often witnessed how National Socialist students attacked and expelled fellow students in the entrance hall. On the initiative of leading Reichsbanner member Theodor Haubach, students practised specific techniques with a police officer in order to better defend themselves against these attacks. Ernst Rosenberg was sent to this training by the Jewish Cartel Convention as a delegate. Ernst Rosenberg remembers that the attacks by the National Socialist students subsided as a result because the organised defence had intimidated them.

Studies and relegation

Ernst Rosenberg studied law in Berlin, but was particularly interested in the lectures of the newspaper scholar Emil Dovifat. However, in view of growing anti-Semitic tendencies at the university, he and his friends wondered whether it made sense to continue his studies. The answer, however, came from another quarter. Because of his political activities, Ernst Rosenberg was summoned by the university, interrogated by SA students and expelled by the university management as a "Marxist".

Emigration and return

At his father's urging, Ernst Rosenberg left the country as quickly as possible and emigrated to Palestine. In Tel Aviv, he became a convinced Zionist and even wrote his parents letters in English to avoid speaking German. He failed to resume his studies and joined the British Mandate Police for a few years. After the founding of the Israeli state in May 1948, he was taken on by the Israeli police, but was persuaded by his mother to return to Germany. In 1953, he moved to North Rhine-Westphalia and worked for the criminal investigation department in Düsseldorf until his retirement. However, he became disillusioned when he looked at the personnel files of several colleagues who had been involved in crimes during the Second World War.

Ernst Rosenberg died near Düsseldorf in 2008.