The surviving Jews who became citizens of East Germany faced a precarious existence when the GDR was established. Not only was Stalin, the Soviet dictator, becoming ever more anti Semitic in the final years of his life, but the establishment of the state of Israel and its ties to the Western allies made Jews in Eastern Europe suspect in the eyes of the various communist regimes. In East Germany Jews presented a challenge to the established memory of the war and their supposed connection to the western powers began years of official persecution.

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