Themar The pogrom of Kristallnacht, the 9/10 November 1938, transformed Nazi policy towards German Jews from encouraged emigration to forced emigration. The burnings of synagogues, smashing of shop windows, incarcerations of men over 16 years of age, were all warnings to get out â fast. German Jews had been emigrating steadily in the six years since … Read more
Between June 1942 and February 1949, 67 Jews connected to the families of Themar were transported to Theresienstadt. The first were Georg and Rudolf Gassenheimer, both born in Themar, with their wives, sisters Selma and Thekla (nĂ©e Schwab). The last was Doris Lorenzen, nĂ©e Frankenberg, born in Themar. On 19 September 1942, eight (8) Jews were … Read more
by Fred Michael Brick Amram Iâm an only child. It was customary for young German adults during the Holocaust to have only one childâoften none at all. âWhy bring more Jewish children into a world like this?â my mother, Mutti, would often ask. Why, indeed. Papa had an older sister, Tante Beda, who married Ernst … Read more
On 12 November 1941, Martha Hahn, nĂ©e Katz, b. 1889 in Themar, was deported from Frankfurt am Main to Minsk Ghetto in Belarus, 1672 km to the east. Martha was a member of the Adolf & Meta (nĂ©e Schwab) Katz family. Martha probably lived in Themar until the early 1900s. We do not know much about her life once she … Read more
16 October 2011 â It is 70 years since the first deportation of members of Themar’s Jewish community to the ‘east.’ On this day in 1941, Hugo and Eva (nĂ©e Kahn)  Friedmann were deported from Luxemburg-Trier to the Ghetto in Lodz, or Litzmannstadt as it had been renamed by the Nazis. The Friedmanns lived in Themar in … Read more
15 December 2023: This post has been updated with documents made available online in the Arolsen Archives. Initial post, 26 June 2011: Ever vigilant to discover any new traces about Themarens, a recent google search for “Meta Krakauer” brought lots of news! Six months ago [2010], Anne Prior of Dinslaken published a book about the … Read more
On the 9th of December, 2010 a clock made by Karl Saam of Themar was unveiled in the window of the former Morgenroth Haus on the Church Square of Themar. The newspaper article describes the quasi-formal dedication of the clock in its window. And, although it may seem a little strange, this event had a … Read more
For the third time, Themarens commemorated Kristallnacht 1938. Barbara and Arnd Morgenroth began the city’s examination of the painful chapter in its past with the 2008 exhibit, “Sie Waren Themar/They were Themarens.” This year, they invited Julia de Boor to present her lyrical-musical conversations with three young German women, Anne Frank, Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger and Lisa … Read more
September 6, 2010 marked the 70th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Dunera into Sydney Harbour. The Dunera Scandal has not received a great deal of attention in countries other than Australia. But two men from Themar â Julius Kahn, b. 1896, and Adalbert Stern, b. 1917 â were among the 2500 men jammed on … Read more
September 6, 2010 was the 70th anniversary of the landing of HMT Dunera in Sydney Harbour, Australia. The ship carried close to 2000 Jewish refugees of Nazi oppression from Germany and Austria, plus about 500 German Prisoners of War and Italians. Owing to the appalling treatment of the refugees on the 8-week voyage from England, … Read more