Benno had authored and mailed a total of fourteen postcards. His "trial" in Berlin's People's Court was staged to serve as a lesson and example to the German people. The Nazis implemented the Court in 1934, and those accused of crimes were never afforded the presumption of innocence. An appeal was of no avail. It is a warning of what happens when a country's legal system is co-opted and perverted.
Benno was executed on September 18, 1942. His wife Anna was killed the following day in Treblinka.
I was able to interview Neuburger, who was open to discussing all my questions about analogies to contemporary America, world events, ethno-nationalism, and the need for citizens to be proactive in responding to these threats.
Neuburger detailed how the book reflected his outlook on social and political structures. He qualified Fascism as a "death sentence" for humanity, as it builds "iron walls between human beings". He said, "It takes cultural differences and makes them into absolutes." When we spoke about "nationalism", the conversation shifted to Gaza and the displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian population. Neuburger explicitly delved into the racialization of the Jews, who before the Nazis were "viewed as a religion".
During a recent book tour to Germany, including Laupheim (Anna's birthplace), Neuburger gave remarks to a diverse audience at a girls' high school. His speech's conclusion emphasized his feelings. He was in the country to honor the memory of his relatives, "not in the name of one group, or one religion, but in the name of that sentiment that demands dignity and rights of all people".
When I expressed my concerns about the future of America, Neuburger maintained, "There was no mass movement in Germany to counteract the Nazis." He underscored, "We know about German Fascism. The onus is on us. There is a lot of resistance here already. This has to be our determination."
His final thought was concise: "Fascism creates division. We have the capacity to cooperate."
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