Jewish scouts cycling through Bavaria, 1937
Two young Jewish cyclists rest at a crossroads near Füssen with map, bread and a mended tyre; elsewhere a sign declares that Jews are not wanted here.
At a crossroads below the limestone peaks near Füssen, with an onion-domed church in the meadow behind them, two young men with cropped hair have stopped their laden bicycles: one mends a tyre with his bicycle turned on its saddle, one cuts bread with a pocket knife, both bend laughing over a road map, and a companion in a peaked cap straps the baggage back on. Elsewhere, beneath a tree, stands a gabled roadside sign with a swastika: Juden sind hier unerwünscht.
The archive record calls the cyclists Hebrew scouts, after their badges. Jewish youth leagues were still tolerated in 1937 and many prepared their members for a new life in Palestine. The signs at village entrances told them what their future in Germany would be.
Film Jewish scouts with a map and bread, Füssen 1937
Film Jewish scouts on a bicycle tour near Füssen, 1937
Film Mending a bicycle on a tour near Füssen, 1937
Film Packing the bicycles, Jewish scouts near Füssen, 1937
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