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Paula Rothenburg, geb. Fryda
© Yad Vashem

Paula Rothenburg (née Fryda) * 1887

Kottwitzstraße 38 (vormals Blücherstraße) (Eimsbüttel, Hoheluft-West)

deportiert
1941 Lodz
1942 Chelmno
ermordet

further stumbling stones in Kottwitzstraße 38 (vormals Blücherstraße):
Hans-Joachim Rothenburg, Ingeborg Rothenburg, Max Rothenburg

Hans-Joachim Rothenburg, born on 30 Sept. 1922 in Hamburg, deported on 25 Oct. 1941 to Lodz
Ingeborg Rothenburg, born on 30 Sept. 1922 in Hamburg, deported on 25 Oct. 1941 to Lodz, deported from there on 10 May 1942 to Chelmno and murdered
Max Rothenburg, born on 23 Jan. 1883 in Hamburg, deported on 25 Oct. 1941 to Lodz, murdered there on 4 Jan. 1942
Paula Rothenburg, née Fryda, born on 19 Aug. 1887 in Wattenscheid, deported on 25 Oct. 1941 to Lodz, deported from there on 10 May 1942 to Chelmno and murdered

Kottwitzstrasse 38 (Blücherstrasse 38)

Max Rothenburg was a Jewish resident of Hamburg and the son of the merchant Isaac Rothenburg and his wife Ernestine, née Mühsam. When he was born in 1883, his parents lived in Hamburg-Neustadt at Wexstrasse 39. Max Rothenburg was a sales representative by occupation. From the first decade of the twentieth century, the phone directory contains entries on M. Rothenburg, sales representative or agent, residing at Grindelhof 68. In 1910, the address was Hansaplatz 2.

Paula Rothenburg was a native of Wattenscheid, today part of Bochum, and her maiden name was Fryda. Her parents were Salomon Fryda (born in 1859) and Rika, née Röttgen (born in 1851). For Salomon Fryda, it was the second marriage. His first marriage had remained childless. Salomon and Rika were married in Jan. 1882. In the nineteenth century, Paula’s father, born in the Netherlands, moved to Wattenscheid, where he traded in household goods. Between 1896 and 1899, he converted his house on a property of his own, building a department store that was ultramodern by contemporary standards. The local newspaper read, "The modern new structures of our city have once again been joined by an impressive building featuring architectural ornamentation, the department store of Mr. S. Fryda, at the intersection of Hochstrasse and Friedrichstrasse. … The ground floor and the second floor, connected by massive stairs, are brilliantly furnished as salesrooms in which huge shop windows provide light.” Paula Rothenburg was 12 years old when the department store opened and her father was a respected merchant in the city. She had two older and three younger siblings.

Max Rothenburg and Paula Fryda were married on 7 June 1921, probably in Wattenscheid. Paula was 34 years old. Her mother had passed away in 1916, with Paula perhaps managing her household after her death. In 1922, the twins Hans-Joachim and Ingeborg were born. The Rothenburg family lived at Kaiser-Friedrich-Ufer 9 until 1938. The large apartment building between Kaiser-Friedrich-Ufer, Heymannstrasse, and Hohe Weide was built between 1921 and 1925 by the cooperative building association within the Mieterverein von 1890, a tenants’ association (today KAIFU-NORDLAND Inc.), and the Rothenburgs were among the first tenants. Only after 1938, they moved to Blücherstrasse 38, today’s Kottwitzstrasse. The files reveal no traces of the two children. They must have started elementary school in about 1929. In terms of the parents, we also do not know how they lived in the Nazi period. One can assume that Max Rothenburg’s economic livelihood was destroyed after 1933 and that he did not get any contracts as a commercial agent anymore. His application for continuing to work as a commercial agent until 30 June 1939 was still approved. As of Jan. 1940, he became subject to a "security order” ("Sicherungsanordnung”).

We do not know whether the twins were able to finish school or contribute anything to the family’s livelihood. In 1941, they probably still lived with their parents because all four of them were deported to Lodz on 25 Oct. 1941. In the Lodz Ghetto, the family lived at Hohensteinstrasse 5/24. However, Hans-Joachim was separated from his family. He was likely enlisted for compulsory labor duties immediately. In Lodz, he was registered as a gardener. The father died already two months after arriving in the ghetto. The mother and daughter were taken to Chelmno on 10 May 1942 and murdered. We do not know whether the son was still alive at this time.

On 1 June 1927, Paula’s brother Walter had married Hamburg-born Elsbeth Gerson, who lived with her parents at Eimsbütteler Chaussee 94. Walter Fryda had probably met his wife in Hamburg when he was there on business. For her sake, he moved to Hamburg and started his own business. In Jan. 1923, he registered a trade and resided at Bismarckstrasse 31 on the second floor. He had tried his luck as a car dealer but starting in 1927, when his enterprise was entered in the company register, he specialized in the maintenance of typewriters. During the world economic crisis, it was very difficult to earn money but in the early 1930s, business went better. He always managed his company as an owner-operator from home. At the time of the wedding, he lived at Blücherstrasse 15. Elsbeth and Walter Fryda had two sons, Horst Manfred and Peter Jürgen, who were born in 1928 and 1937. Until the birth of the second child, the family lived in Eimsbüttel at Meissnerstrasse 15, moving to Grindelallee 138 in 1937 or 1938. Following the night of the Pogrom of November 1938, Walter was arrested and his business was closed by the Chamber of Commerce. The family of four managed to emigrate via Amsterdam to Australia in May 1939.

For Paula’s brother Emil Fryda (born in 1883), his wife and two children, Stolpersteine are located in Bochum-Wattenscheid on Hochstrasse. Sister Milly (born in 1885) also died in a concentration camp. Sister Helene (born in 1890) was able to emigrate. She subsequently lived in the USA.


Translator: Erwin Fink
Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

Stand: October 2018
© Susanne Lohmeyer

Quellen: 1; 2 (R1939/3100); 4; 5; Andreas Halwer, Die Wattenscheider Familie Fryda, Stadtarchiv Bochum; StaH 332-5 Geburtsregister, 2051 u. 514/1883; StaH 351-11 AfW, 17656; FZH/WdE 240, 63,64; HAB II 1910, 1914, 1935 und 1938; Sybille Baumbach, "Wo Wurzeln waren …", S. 110ff.
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