20 Apr 2020: The Arolsen Archives Online

“A remarkable “paper monument” On 14 April 2020 the Arsolen Archives posted the exciting news  that almost all of the historical collections were now available online. People from all over the world can use the online archive to access 26 million documents containing information on 21 million names* of victims of Nazi persecution. In 1943, before … Read more

1945: 75 Years since the Liberation of Auschwitz.

On Saturday 27 January 1945, Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz. Of the 7,000 remaining prisoners, one man had a direct connection to Themar. His story — although we know little of it — gives us a glimpse into the life of one of those who survived Auschwitz. Otto Baer was born in Themar on 12 July 1895. His father was Samuel … Read more

2019: Stolpersteine for the Frankenberg & GrĂŒnbaum Families

  The text below is a translation of the article, “,,Ein Quadrat auf der Erde — Ein Mensch,“written by Cornell Hoppe. “Year after year, the residents of the city of Themar commemorate their former Jewish inhabitants. Thirty-eight (38) Stolpersteine/stumbling blocks have already been laid in the city to commemorate them. Another 13 were added on Wednesday November … Read more

80 Years Ago: World War II

Barely twenty years after the end of World War I, war erupted again. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. On 3 September Britain — and the Commonwealth countries such as Canada — and France declared war on Germany. The circumstances in 1939 were completely different for German Jews than they had been in 1914, … Read more

ThĂŒringen Democracy Prize 2017

On 5 December 2017, Themar and Kloster Vessra were awarded the 2017 Democracy Prize for ThĂŒringen for their peaceful protests against the right-wing extremist activities in Themar. As you may know, three right-wing concerts were held in the meadows abutting Themar, drawing over 8,000 right-wing extremists from all over Germany as well as Austria, Czechoslovakia, … Read more

Lothar Guthmann — who was he & why was he in Themar in 1941?

Quelle: Stadtarchiv Themar, Ordner 109 On 18 March 1941, Lothar Israel Guthmann, b. 1898, paid the fee of 20 pfg to register his arrival in Themar; six months later, on 12 September 1941, Guthmann once again paid a fee to register his departure. The entry was startling because the name Guthmann — spelled with ‘th’ … Read more

9 November 2015

“Jewish Life in Themar” by Achim Hess for Rennsteig.tv “On November 9 2015, Themar remembered its Jewish citizens. The artist Gunter Demnig laid more Stolperstein, to remind people of the crimes committed against the Jewish population. Dr. Sharon Meen from Canada, who has been researching  the fates of the of the Jewish community of Themar … Read more

Collections: Memories of Themar

This website began with a ‘collection’ — the Photo Album of Manfred Rosengarten, Themar, My Hometown. The creation of the photo album in the early 1980s led to renewed connection between Manfred Rosengarten, who had very reluctantly left Themar in 1936, and his former non-Jewish classmates. Twenty years after Manfred’s death, his photo album served to connect … Read more

Summer 1921 — Minnie & Lloyd visit the rellies!

On 3 March 1921, Minnie Marks applied for a passport for herself and her five-year-old grandson Lloyd Marx to travel to Germany. Her purpose? To visit her three brothers — Julius, Albert, and Leopold — and Lloyd’s paternal grandmother, Helene Marx. Little did Minnie know that, close to a hundred years later, this note would go a long … Read more