The Hofmann family of Samuel and Blümche was one of the founding families of the Jewish community of Themar. Like other families such as the Bärs, Frankenbergs, Müllers, and Walthers, the Hofmanns moved from the village of Marisfeld to Themar in the mid-1860s when the law allowed them to do so and when they realized that the larger urban place would offer more opportunity for their growing family. As well, children of Samuel and Blümche married into other major core families of Themar such as the Frankenbergs, who also came from Marisfeld, as well as the Sachses, who came from Berkach.
But the Hofmann family was not what we call a ‘core’ family of Themar; that is, one that was in Themar at the founding of a Jewish community and was still there in the last years of the community as it was extinguished between 1939 and 1943. The Hofmann family moved on from Themar completely; in other families, such as the Bär/Baers and Gassenheimers, some children moved to other, usually larger centres, but one member remained in Themar. This did not happen with the Hofmann family; twenty years after their arrival in Themar, there was no longer a member of the family in the Kleinstadt.
Samuel Hofmann was born in Marisfeld in 1800; his parents’ name and circumstances of their presence in Marisfeld are not known. In March 1823 he married Blümche Lippmann from Schwarza. They had four children in Marisfeld, Simson, b. 1823, died at 8 years of age.
We know most about the family of Lippmann Hofmann, born 1826. He married Riecke (Friederike) Sachs of Berkach in 1856 and initially they lived in Marisfeld. At some point after the birth of Frieda in 1865, the family moved from Marisfeld to Themar, one of several Marisfeld Jewish families who moved from the village to the Kleinstadt in the mid-1860s. In Themar, Riecke bore another 5 children.
In 1875 the Lippmann Hofmann family lived at Traubengasse 117 (the house on the corner in the photo). The Einwohnerliste/ List of Residents stated that 12 people lived at this address: they were, we believe, Lippmann und Riecke, some of their children, and Lippmann’s parents, Samuel and Blümche.
Lippmann was identified as a trader/Handelsmann.
Samuel Hofmann died in 1878, and four years later, in 1882, his wife Blümche also died. Both died in Themar
In November 1883, Lippmann and Riecke Hofmann, and some of their children — we do not know exactly how many — moved to Jena. There, they lived at Löbdergraben 14. Son Max died on 25 September 1886 and was buried in the Jewish cemetery. (Photo). Lippmann Hofmann died in 1904.
Moritz Hofmann, who had at first lived in his parents’ home, moved into his own quarters at Löbdergraben 34 with his wife Jetty (née Moses) in 1906. Moritz was a cattle dealer and operated a business with brother-in-law Abraham Frankenberg, husband of Regine Hofmann, at Löbdergraben 14. (Abraham Frankenberg. was the son of Nathan and Regine Frankenberg.)
Salomon Hofmann, Moritz’s younger brother, and his wife, Frieda née Plaut, also lived in Jena. They lived at Löbdergraben 34 and ran a real estate business and a tobacco products business at Lutherstraße 9. On the 28 November 1909, their one child, Paula, was born. In 1910, Salomon’s mother, Riecke, moved in with Salomon, Frieda, und Paula. Riecke Hofmann died in 1917 in Jena.
In an 1977 interview with the United States Holocaust Museum, Paula Hofmann, Salomon’s and Frieda’s daughter, described the life of her parents and grandparents. As well, Ulrike von Wölfen wrote about the family in her chapter (in German) ,,Zwei jüdische Biographien: Eduard Rosenthal und Paula Ehrenberg,” Paula and her husband, Heinz Ehrenberg, were able to flee Germany in 1940 for the United States. From there, they tried to bring Salomon and Frieda to America but, as the card in the Jewish Transmigration Bureau indicates, their attempt failed; the file was closed in June 1942 and the Ehrenbergs were refunded their deposit.
From May until September 1942, Salomon Hofmann was the contact person between the Nazi authorities and the Jewish community of Jena. On 20. September 1942 Salomon and Frieda Hofmann were deported from Jena to Ghetto Theresienstadt; two years later, they were transported further to Auschwitz where they were probably murdered upon arrival.
*****
On 7 May 2008, Stolpersteine were laid for Salomon and Fried (née Plaut) Hofmann in Lutherstrasse, Jena.
******
The Descendants List below identifies members of the family of Samuel and Blümche (née Lippmann) Hofmann. It is complied from the Jewish Registers of Marisfeld and Themar. The Matrikel/Jewish Registers, which were read in microfilm format, are poor as the copies on this page illustrate. But that is what we have at the moment and we are grateful. Of much importance in the case of this family is the evidence in the Matrikel of Marisfeld that the family came from Marisfeld, not from Mansfeld in Saxony, as several sources, such as the German National Archives, Memorial Book, entry does.
- Samuel Moses HOFMANN, b. 05 Apr 1800 Marisfeld, d. 23 Aug 1878 Themar
- ∞ (13 May 1823) Blümche LIPPMANN, b. Apr 1806 Schwarza, d. Jul 1882 Themar
- 1. Moses HOFMANN, b. 14 Mar 1824 Marisfeld
- 1. Lippmann HOFMANN, b. 29 Oct 1826 Marisfeld, d. 10 Dec 1904 Jena
- ∞ (21 Nov 1856) Friederike/Riecke SACHS, b. 10 Feb 1832 Berkach, d. 21 Dec 1917 Jena
- 2. Malchen HOFMANN, b. 03 Mar 1858 Marisfeld, d. 03 Mar 1864 Marisfeld
- 2. Simon HOFMANN, b. 03 May 1859 Marisfeld
- ∞ (26 Oct 1887) Johanna KUPFER
- 2. Moritz HOFMANN, b. 19 Jan 1861 Marisfeld, d. 29 Jun 1917 Bad Nauheim
- ∞ (1881) Jetty/Jette Moses, b. 27 Feb 1866 Tann/Rhön, d. 29 May 1932 Münster
- 3. Friedel HOFMANN, b. 19 Apr 1893 Jena, 01 June 1939 to England, d. 25 Apr 1983 Manchester/Eng.
- ∞ Siegfried HERTZ, b. 23 Oct 1894 Borghorst, d. 15 Aug 1927 Königstein
- 4. Marga HERTZ, b. 10 Apr 1920 Münster, 01 Jun 1939 to England, d. 20 Sep 2009 Altrincham/UK
- ∞ (1944) Joseph PALASTRAND, b. 1907, d. 17 May 1959 Salford/UK
- 4. Ruth HERTZ, b. 21 Jun 1921 Münster, 01 Jun 1939 to UK
- ∞ (1941) Julius ASH, b. 24 Mar 1917 Manchester/UK, d. 8 Feb 1990 Manchester/UK
- 3. Erich HOFMANN, b. 4 May 1894 Jena, immigrated into Belgium
- ∞ Erica NN
- 3. Walter HOFMANN, b. 14 Sep 1901 Jena, 13 Dec 1941 deported to Riga/1944 murdered Riga-Kaiserwald (photo)
- ∞ Hildegard STEINWEG, b. 2 Aug 1912 Münster, 13 Dec 1941 deported to Riga/1944 murdered Riga-Kaiserwald
- 4. Marion HOFMANN, b. 13 Apr 1938 Münster, 13 Dec 1941 deported to Riga/1944 murdered Riga-Kaiserwald (photo)
- 2. Regina HOFMANN, b. 14 Mai 1862 Marisfeld, d. 11 Jan 1933 Münster
- ∞ (29 Nov 1882) Abraham FRANKENBERG, b. 15 Jan 1854 Marisfeld, d. 14 Dec 1925 Münster
- 3. Rosa FRANKENBERG, b. 1884 Jena, 1939 to USA, d. 17 Sep 1952 New York/NY
- ∞ Hugo HERTZ, b. 16 Sep 1875 Coesfeld, d. 21 Jun 1937 Münster (Suicide)
- 4. Lotte HERTZ, b. 1 July 1907 Münster, 1939 to USA, d. 10 Mar 2002 NY/NY
- ∞ Siegfried OSTBERG, b. 11 Feb 1896 Bocholt, 1939 to USA, d. Aug 1985 NY/NY
- 5. Heinz/Henry OSTBERG, b. 1928 Bocholt, 1939 to USA
- 4. Erna HERTZ, b. 7 Nov 1908 Münster, 1941 to USA from Buenos Aires, d. 12 Apr 1998 Dade/FL
- ∞ Adolf ROSENBERG, b. 30 Apr 1896 Ahlen, 1941 to USA from Buenos Aires, d. Nov 1977 Miami/FL
- 5. Rolf ROSENBERG, b. 28 Sep 1932 Münster, 1941 to USA from Buenos Aires, d. 29 Oct 2005 Miami/FL
- 4. Harry HERTZ, b. 7 Oct 1911 Münster, d. 19 May 1934 Münster
- 4. Arthur HERTZ, b.13 Nov 1912 Münster, 1937 to Brazil, 1938 to USA, d. 11 Dec 2006 Tacoma/WA
- 3. Berta FRANKENBERG, 22 Nov 1885 Jena, d. 10 Nov 1928 Münster
- ∞ (1908) Sally HERTZ, b. 12 Jul 1882 Coesfeld, d. 12 Mar 1938 Czech.
- 4. Liesel HERTZ, b. 8 Oct 1910 Münster, 1938 to USA, d. 10 Sep 1994 Trumbell/CN
- ∞ (24 Mar 1932) Rudolf BRAUN, 25 Aug 1902 Piesting/Austria, 1938 to USA, d. 1985 Bridgefield/CN
- 5. Peter BRAUN, b. 23 Mar 1935 Wiener Neustadt, 1938 to USA
- 4. Fritz HERTZ, b. 29 Jun 1913 Münster, 1935 to Brazil, d. 4 Aug 1996 Petropolis/Brazil
- ∞ (1938) Elsa MEISTER, b. Brazil, d. 1942 Brazil
- 5. NN (daughter), b. 1939 Brazil
- 4. Walter HERTZ, b. 19 May 1915 Münster, 1934 to Palestine, d. 01 May 1966 USA
- ∞ Fenja NN, b. Lithuania
- 4. Rudolf HERTZ, b. 06 Nov 1916 Münster, d. 25 Apr 1917 Münster
- 3. Alfred FRANKENBERG, b. 7 Aug 1889 Jena, 1938 to USA
- ∞ Hedwig Marx, b. 25 Feb 1896 Siegburg, 1938 to USA
- 4. Hellmut Julius FRANKENBERG, b. 25 Sep 1921 Bremen, 1938 to USA
- 2. Fanny HOFMANN, b. 20 Mar 1864 Marisfeld, 1881 to USA
- 2. Frieda HOFMANN, b. 10 Dec 1865 Marisfeld
- 2. Dorchen HOFMANN, b. 20 Sep 1867 Themar, d. 20 Dec 1870 Themar
- 2. Salomon HOFMANN, b. 10 Dec 1869 Themar, 20 Sep 1942 deported to Theresienstadt Ghetto/Oct 1944 to Auschwitz, murdered 1944 Auschwitz
- ∞ Frieda PLAUT, b. 30 Jul 1885 Schmalkalden, 20 Sep 1942 deported to Theresienstadt Ghetto/Oct 1944 to Auschwitz, murdered 1944 Auschwitz
- 3. Paula HOFMANN, b. 29 Nov 1909 Jena, 1940 to USA,
- ∞ (1938) Heinz [Henry] EHRENBURG, b. 22 Jul 1912 Scholchau, d. Apr 1993 NY/NY
- 2. Max HOFMANN, b. 02 Mar 1871 Themar, d. 25 Sep 1886 Jena
- 2. Rosa HOFMANN, b. 10 Mar 1873 Themar, d. 12 Nov 1874 Themar
- 2. Sigmund Selig HOFMANN, b. 04 Oct 1877 Themar
- 1. Simson HOFMANN, b. 20 Jul 1828 Marisfeld, d. 04 Sep 1836 Marisfeld
- 1. Mirjam HOFMANN, b. 29 May 1831 Marisfeld
- 1. Marianne HOFMANN, b. 05 Aug 1838 Marisfeld
Sources:
Jüdische Gemeinde Marisfeld (Kr. Hildburghausen). Matrikel 1768-1938, Koblenz: Bundesarchiv 1958, and
Jüdische Gemeinde Themar (Kr. Hildburghausen). Matrikel 1820-1938, Koblenz: Bundesarchiv 1958,
Jenaer Arbeitskreis Judentum, Hrsg. Juden in Jena. Eine Spurensuche. Jena: Glaux Verlag, 1998.
Thüringisches Staatsarchiv, auswanderungen_aus_dem_herzogtum_sachsen-meiningen.pdf
German National Archives, Memorial Book (online)
Siegfried Wolf, ”Juden in Thüringen 1933-1945: Biographische Daten”. (2000), vol 1
Ancestry.com. Jewish Transmigration Bureau Deposit Cards, 1939-1954 (JDC) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
Jüdischer Friedhof Münster http://www.juedischer-friedhof-muenster.de
Gisela Möllenhoff / Rita Schlautmann-Overmeyer, Jüdische Familien in Münster 1918 – 1945. Teil I Biographisches Lexikon, Münster 2001
“The Days of Her Life,” https://www.manhattantimesnews.com/the-days-of-her-life-los-dias-de-su-vida/