{
  "id": 19082827,
  "title": "Ernst Marcus: “The Winter Sky Above Berlin Was Blood-Red”",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/ernst-marcus-the-winter-sky-above-berlin-was-blood-red",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-09T03:35:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Berlin Spectator",
    "slug": "the-berlin-spectator",
    "url": "https://berlinspectator.com/2026/11/09/ernst-marcus-the-winter-sky-above-berlin-was-blood-red/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On December 4th, 1945, Ernst Marcus wrote of a blood-red winter sky above Berlin, marking the events of the November Pogroms that occurred on November 9th and 10th, 1938. This account is now part of the Yad Vashem archive in Israel. As the news of fires in synagogues and the apathy of police reached him that morning, Marcus, who worked for the Paltreu Trust, rushed to his office in Potsdamer Strasse. He witnessed flames, smoke, and broken stores in the Kurfürstendamm area, a sight unprecedented even during the tumultuous years of 1918 and 1919. Ernst Marcus, aged 38 at the time, received several phone calls from colleagues expressing distress and asking for his intervention. He knew that SA and SS forces, ordered by Joseph Goebbels, had unleashed violence, and any unpredictable consequences could arise at any moment. Determined to speak to Werner Otto von Hentig, a diplomat he trusted, Marcus called his office from a payphone as he feared Gestapo arrest. Upon arrival at the Foreign Ministry, Marcus encountered further destruction and bewildered citizens who had never witnessed such brutality. He noted the stunned reaction of the Berliners and recounted that at least one of von Hentig's young attachés was appalled by the atrocities taking place. Despite von Hentig's opposition, the Gestapo and the ministry were aware of Marcus' political views but retained him due to his value as an experienced diplomat with linguistic skills. The diplomat agreed with Marcus that the planned march of Jewish men, overseen by the SA, needed to be prevented. However, his efforts to rally support among other ministry colleagues were unsuccessful. Marcus then visited the National Representative Agency of German Jews, only to find it already ransacked by the Gestapo. The march was canceled due to von Hentig's intervention, but uncoordinated violence remained allowed by Nazi leadership to maintain control and facilitate the theft of Jewish wealth. Ernst Marcus was arrested by the Gestapo shortly after the events and briefly held at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp before his release, thanks to von Hentig's influence. The two friends continued their efforts to aid Jews in leaving Nazi Germany. In the end, Marcus and his wife Irene emigrated to Palestine in the aftermath of the pogroms, while Marcus later returned to Germany to become Executive Director of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.",
  "summary": "Ernst Marcus, a Berlin lawyer, woke up in his apartment in the German capital's Grunewald district eighty-eight years ago. What he saw was unbelievable.",
  "key_points": [
    "Ernst Marcus witnessed blood-red sky in Berlin on Dec 4, 1945",
    "Pogroms occurred on Nov 9-10, 1938; Marcus documented aftermath",
    "Marcus and von Hentig prevented planned Jewish march, aiding refugees"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The preservation of Marcus's eyewitness account provides a critical historical record of how Nazi leadership leveraged uncoordinated violence to facilitate the systemic theft of Jewish wealth and property.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}