Maiden & the Jew

by Christiane Kohl

"In 1932, Irene Scheffler Seiler, a vivacious, young photographer, arrived in Nuremberg from her provincial hometown and rented an apartment from Leo Katzenberger, the wealthy owner of a chain of shoe stores. The two became friends. From time to time he gave her presents of cigarettes and chocolates, and the neighbors began to talk. In ordinary times the rumors would have lead to nothing. But Irene and Leo were not living in ordinary times. The Nazis were in power and Nuremberg was the epicenter of the early promulgation and enforcement of race laws that dictated what Jews could and could not do." "The gossip eventually resulted in formal charges and a trial in 1942. The vicious, ambitious presiding Nazi judge, Oswald Rothaug, convicted Irene and sentenced her to two years of labor. Leo Katzenberg was condemned to death, and on June 3, 1942, he was beheaded." "The Maiden and the Jew is a minute reconstruction of this human drama and a portrait of everyday life under the Nazi Party. Thi