November 9, 2023: A Comment

For German text, please see 09 November 2023: ein Kommentar November 9, 2023 marks the 85th anniversary of the Kristallnacht or “November Pogrom” in Germany, when Nazi forces destroyed over 1400 synagogues and places of worship; about 7500 businesses and homes were destroyed; and Jewish cemeteries and other Jewish community institutions were ravaged. Approximately 400 … Read more

Gassenheimer – a touching story

They have returned to their roots – members of the Jewish family Gassenheimer. In Themar, some of those who scattered all over the world scattered all over the world personally met. Von Wolfgang Swietek THEMAR. “What I have seen here on this trip to Themar and Hildburghausen, as well as to a few other places … Read more

The Windfege and the Gassenheimers

In Themar and Hildburghausen, two members of the same family made the same agricultural machinery. By Cornell Hoppe THEMAR. Some things can be recognized by their name. And some things you have to see to immediately understand their name. Do you know what a wind sweep is? It sounds a bit like an outdated word … Read more

A “Windfege” Tells Stories

Wind sweep – S. Gassenheimer & Sohn Hildburghausen The harvested and threshed grain must be separated from litter, weed seeds, ear parts and dust so that the grain can be milled. The principle of grain sorting is based on the elements of air flow and gravity. By hand, it works like this: the threshed grain … Read more

81st Memorial Day for Deportation to Ghetto Belzyce

On this 81st Gedenktag of the deportation of the 513 men, women, and children from Weimar, ThĂŒringen, we remember the 75 children, 18 years and younger, included in the transport. The names of the children, with links to the profiles in the geni.com database can be found at this link. Analysis and interpretation of the … Read more

“Digital Memorial to deported ThĂŒringen,” by S. Haak

Sebastian Haak, PhD, “Digital Memorial to deported ThĂŒringen Jews,” ThĂŒringische Landeszeitung, 05 May 2022 Themar/Weimar. The last lines, which Max and Clara MĂŒller wrote from their hometown of Themar to their son Meinhold, ended as so many other letters do — “Love”. Full of yearning: “Much love, your Papa,” writes Max MĂŒller on 8 May … Read more

19 September 2022: 80th commemoration day

On September 19, 364 people from 38 places in Thuringia were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto. Among these people were Hugo and Klara (nĂ©e Schloss) GrĂŒnbaum. Hugo GrĂŒnbaum was born in 1868 in Walldorf a/d Werra and came to Themar with his parents as a child. Klara Schloss was born in 1872 Schwanfeld/Bavaria. Hugo and … Read more

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