On the basis of a denunciation, on 13 September 1939 the Munich Gestapo accuses Felizi Weill of inciting hatred against the German state leadership¹StA Mü, Staatsanwaltschaften Nr. 5463, fol. 6r–v. This document has been translated from German.

Gestapo interrogation report from the Gestapo Head Office in Munich (B. Nr. II. B), signed Detective Constable Schipferling,²Georg Schipferling (1900–1945), police officer; joined the NSDAP in 1933; SS-Untersturmführer; declared dead in 1945. dated 13 September 1939³At the end of the report, which was written on a standard form, is a typewritten note accompanied by the stamp of the Munich Gestapo (B.Nr. 35 766 II B), Schi., 13 Sept. 1939: ‘Forwarded, with ID card no. Munich 05 352 and interrogation transcripts, to Munich Local Court – for the attention of the investigating judge – while the accused is transferred pending a decision on her arrest.’

Subject: 1. Last name (and maiden name, in the case of women): Weill, née Hamburger; first and middle names (underline name normally used): Felizi Sara.⁴Felizi Weill, née Hamburger (1903–1980), housewife; emigrated to the USA in March 1940 together with her husband, Eugen Weill (b. 1896). 2. Date of birth: 22 March 1903; birthplace (parish, administrative district, country, if abroad): Bad Kissingen. 3. First name and surname (a) of father: Nathan Hamburger; (b) of mother: Pauline, née Wimmelsbacher; occupation and place of residence of parents: family butcher’s business in Bad Kissingen. 4. Marital status: single, married, widowed, divorced. 5. (a) Occupation; (b) capacity (self-employed, salaried employee, manual worker and service or post; in the case of wives the name, occupation, capacity, date of birth, and birthplace of the husband must also be stated): wife (husband: Eugen Israel Weill). 6. Place of residence and address (or address of last overnight stay): 12/3 Albanistr., Munich. 7. Nationality (foreigners must also state their home parish): Reich subject. 8. Identification papers (type, issuing authority, date and number): identity card no. Munich 05 352, issued 27 March 1939. 9. Driving licence: –; regarding: violation of the law of 20 December 1934.⁵The Law against Treacherous Attacks on State and Party and for the Protection of the Party Uniform (Heimtückegesetz), enacted on 20 Dec. 1934, prescribed a jail sentence of up to two years for ‘malicious, inflammatory, or vulgar’ comments about the Reich government and the NSDAP: Reichsgesetzblatt, 1934, I, pp. 1269–1271.

According to confidential information received here, the Jewess Felizi Sara Weill, resident at 12/3 Albanistr., Munich, made inflammatory and derogatory remarks about the [German] state at around 2 p.m. on 29 August 1938,⁶Date as in the original. The alleged offence was presumably committed in the summer of 1939. while she was putting her washing through the mangle in the Kegel laundry at 9/0 Entenbachstr. Among other things, she is alleged to have said, quite unprompted: ‘Now there’s another war coming. If they bomb us, there’ll be nothing left of Munich after four weeks. Let’s hope we’re still around to see all the high-ups snuff it. People care more about dogs than they do about us Jews.’ The housemaid Luis Rehl,⁷Correctly: Luise Rebl, married name Eder (1918–1980), had worked in the laundry since March 1938. of the Kegel laundry at 9/0 Entenbachstr., Munich, was cited as a witness.

When questioned, Rehl confirmed the alleged remarks by the Jewess cited in the confidential communication, and added that the Jewess Weill had also said:

When a dog dies in the road these days, they care more about the dog than about us Jews. But hopefully the high-ups will soon drop dead too – I hope that we will get to see that happen before long. Now they want to throw me out of my apartment too – I might as well jump straight in the Isar [river]. They’ve taken all my silver, and now my gold too;⁸According to the Third Directive based on the Regulation on the Registration of Jewish Assets, issued by Göring on 21 Feb. 1939, Jews of German nationality were required to surrender all gold, platinum, or silver items, as well as precious stones and pearls, within two weeks, in return for financial compensation which was to be specified: Reichsgesetzblatt, 1939, I, p. 282: see also PMJ 2/258. they’ll be wanting my clothes next – I wouldn’t put anything past them.

The main door to the laundry was open, apparently, so that anyone walking past in the street could have overheard the conversation, especially as the Jewess was talking very loudly.

The owner of the laundry, Kegel,⁹Rosa Kegel, née Dobmeier (1898–1975), had owned the laundry since 1929. described the Jewess Weill as very loud-mouthed and aggressive. She had already made it clear to the Jewess that she would prefer it if she didn’t come to her shop again, but the Jewess kept on coming regardless, in typical Jewish fashion.

When questioned, the Jewess Weill, who was very loud and outspoken with the officials, denied that she had made the alleged remarks, and said, quite unprompted, that she was not in the habit of conversing with such a common girl. By this she meant the female witness of German blood, Luise Rehl, who at the time in question had to help her put her washing through the mangle. From the results of our enquiries and the behaviour of the Jewess herself, it is apparent that at every available opportunity, and in typical Jewish fashion, she seeks to incite the German-minded populace against the state leadership, and to do serious damage to the welfare of the Reich and the standing of the Reich government by causing the people to lose confidence in the Reich leadership. Further details can be found in the attached documents.¹⁰StA Mü, Staatsanwaltschaften Nr. 5463, fol. 6r–v: in addition to the interrogation transcripts, the file contains documents relating to subsequent proceedings, which were suspended on 15 Jan. 1940 – after three months in ‘protective custody’ – in accordance with the so-called Führer amnesty issued on 9 Sept. 1939 (Reichsgesetzblatt, 1939, I, p. 1753). Felizi Weill had booked a crossing to New York with her husband, and on 22 Jan. 1940 she was to finalize her travel arrangements at the US consulate general in Stuttgart.