Anti-Semitism existed in Germany before the Nazis came to power in 1933. For example, after the First World War, the Jews were blamed for the defeat of Germany and the Great Depression. But under Adolf Hitler's government, anti-Semitism became the official state doctrine – a political guideline of the Nazi state. Anti-Semitism, which had been rather subliminally present until then, now became openly perceptible.
When the new town hall was built in Cottbus in 1934, the building received a special decoration. A sculpture was placed on one corner of the building. Its title: "SA-Man plunges Jews and Communists into the depths". The Jew could be identified by a purse that he carries in his hand. The "Cottbuser Anzeiger" commented on the sculpture on September 2, 1935 in an article with the headline: "The unique group of figures at the town hall-gable: an artistic symbol of Nazi clean-up work." During the Second World War, the sculpture was removed again. It is possible that the metal was needed for the production of arms and ammunition.
Gerard Herbst was not a Jew. Nevertheless, he found the anti-Semitism he witnessed in Cottbus very unpleasant. He recalled that during his interview.
Gerard Herbst was born in Dresden in 1911. He grew up in Cottbus with foster parents. He himself was not religiously educated, but even as a teenager he was attracted to Jewish culture. That is why he condemned the anti-Semitism that he observed in Cottbus. After graduating from high school, Gerard Herbst moved to Berlin, later to Munich. He made a career as a shop window designer. Because of his anti-fascist attitude, he was arrested in 1938 and imprisoned for several weeks. After “Crystal Night“, he hid Jewish acquaintances. They managed to escape abroad and they also helped Gerard Herbst to leave Nazi-Germany. At the beginning of 1939 he reached Australia, where he settled. Gerard Herbst was honored in Israel as a helper of Jews . His interview was recorded in Melbourne in 1997 by the USC Shoah Foundation