The exhibition “Lawyers Without Rights – Jewish Lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich” was shown August 5-10 at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association (ABA) in San Francisco's Moscone Conference Center. Presented by the German Federal Bar, it highlights the lives and fates of Jewish lawyers in Nazi Germany and showcases the methods of discrimination and marginalization experienced by them.

While Jewish lawyers were accepted members of society and comprised about 40% of all members of their profession in the years prior to World War II, the National Socialist government under Adolf Hitler introduced decrees designed to exclude Jews from all areas of society. As early as 1933, a statute banning all judges, prosecutors, and lawyers of Jewish faith or heritage from the courts was issued. Formerly famous lawyers, such as the prominent judiciary scholar Max Alsberg, and many former World War I soldiers were no longer honored because of their merits, but ostracized from the very country that had lived in for all their lives. Only a few years later, when discrimination turned into outright hate and persecution, they had to choose between three very sad options – deportation, exile, or suicide. Enlarge image Panel on Jewish German lawyer Siegfried Guggenheim (© Germany.info)

Portrayed in the exhibition are more than 25 Jewish lawyers and judges, both well-known and lesser-known, some of whom successfully escaped to the United States or other countries. The exhibition panels feature both biographical information and photos of the persecuted as well as documents and historical evidence. The vivid presentation of individuals' fates is completed by several general panels ranging from the beginnings of exclusion until the end of persecution after 1945. The exhibition was first displayed in 2000 and so far has toured more than 80 cities in Germany, Europe, and worldwide.

“Lawyers without Rights” was co-presented by the Section of International Law at the ABA, which also hosted a reception at the Marriott Hotel on Friday night. Approximately 6.000 professionals attended this year's ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Founded in 1878, the ABA officially represents members of the legal profession in the USA. The biggest organization of its kind in the world, the ABA currently has 410,000 members.

Its German counterpart, the German Federal Bar (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer), was founded in 1959 and represents 150,000 lawyers. Axel C. Filges, the Bar President, attended the ABA conference and opened the exhibition. Any museums or organizations interested in hosting the exhibition “Lawyers without Rights” may contact the German Federal Bar.

Lawyers without Rights (German)

German Federal Bar (German)

American Bar Association