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Bernhard Schwarz * 1877

Husumer Straße 19 (Hamburg-Nord, Hoheluft-Ost)

HIER WOHNTE
BERNHARD SCHWARZ
JG. 1877
DEPORTIERT 1941
LODZ
ERMORDET

further stumbling stones in Husumer Straße 19:
Frida Haarburger, Selma Löwenstein, Toni Schwarz

Berisch-Bernhard Schwarz, born 8 Apr. 1877 in Samoluskovce, deported 25 Oct. 1941 to Lodz, died 29 Oct. 1941
Taube Rechel-Toni Schwarz, née Aberbach, born 23 Nov. 1883 in Belejov/Bolechov, deported 25 Oct. 1941 to Lodz

Husumer Straße 19

Berisch-Bernhard Schwarz and his wife Taube Rechel-Toni, née Aberbach, successfully transitioned within a short period of time from their traditional world in Galicia to the middle-class existence of assimilated Jews in Hamburg at the start of the 20th century. Their path took them to Vienna, where their two children were born and received German first names. Their son, born on 22 Aug. 1911 was named Julius and their daughter, born on 28 Sept. 1912 Herta. Berisch and Taube Rechel also changed their names to Bernhard and Toni. They became German citizens. The family had followed Taube Rechel-Tone’s brother Max. Max Aberbach, born Israel Meier Aberbach on 19 Nov. 1877 in Bolechow, was six years older than his sister and married to Helene née Lakser, born on 13 Jan. 1885 in Berlin. They had moved with their daughter Erna, born on 11 May 1907 in Vienna, to Hamburg in 1911 where they had their son on 24 Apr. 1912 who was also named Julius. Max Aberbach became the new owner of the corset company Otto Trier Successor and moved its official address from Stadthausbrücke to the Merkurhof at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße 89/91. It was an import-export business for corsets and accessories such as whalebone. Six days after the birth of his son Julius, Max Aberbach became a member of the German-Israelite Community in Hamburg. The family moved to Eppendorfer Landstraße 46. Max Aberbach brought his brother-in-law Bernhard into the company as an authorized representative. The brothers-in-law not only worked together, they also lived close to each other. Both had been born in 1877 in the western part of Galicia, in the Habsburg Crown Land, which today belongs to Ukraine. Why only Berisch-Bernhard Schwarz only served in World War I is not known. In 1915 he fell into Russian captivity which he didn’t return from until 1921. His tax debt with the Jewish Community accumulated during this period, since he joined on 13 Nov. 1913, but were finally waived after his brother-in-law intervened on his behalf. Bernhard Schwarz had first lived with his family at Isestraße 66. After his return from being a Russian prisoner of war, the family moved to Husumerstraße 19. In the meantime his wife Taube Rechel-Toni and their children had lived at the "David’s Guesthouse” at Grindelhof 52. Both brothers joined the orthodox Synagogue Association, however Bernhard later changed to the Neue Dammtor Synagogue. Max Aberbach also applied to become a citizen but was denied on 10 Aug. 1916. The authorities cited his Austrian-Galician heritage, his "mosaic” of religious associations and the amassing of his assets "in an unusual manner” as reasons with no further explanation. After his return, Bernhard Schwarz managed to re-establish himself financially, despite his income being smaller than that of his brother-in-law. They rode out the inflation years of 1922-23 and with effort the years of the world economic crisis of 1929-30. Even in 1940 Berisch-Bernhard still had to pay considerable contributions to the Community, which indicates he was well off economically.

At that point his brother, his brother’s family and his own two children had already left Hamburg. His daughter Herta Schwarz had become an authorized representative and in 1932 joined the Jewish Community as an independent member at the age of 20. She lived with her parents on Husumer Straße until she left Hamburg on 3 Mar. 1933 for an unknown destination. Her ultimate fate is not known. The fates of the two brothers-in-law were closely tied together through their business activity which stretched from Prague to London. In 1937, Max Aberbach and with him his wife Helene, their son Julius and Berisch-Bernhard aroused suspicion of preparing to emigrate and wanting to create a financial basis for themselves by exchanging money into foreign currency. Bernhard Schwarz was taken into remand prison on 17 July 1937. His trial at Hamburg District Court began on 19 Oct. 1937 and ended on 21 Jan. 1938. The offenses turned out to be smaller than initially suspected. Helene Aberbach and her son Julius were acquitted, Max Aberbach was given a one-year prison sentence and fined 7,500 RM. Bernhard Schwarz received a prison term of five months and was fined 1,000 RM. Taking the time he had spent in remand prison into consideration, his punishment was reduced to an overall fine of 1,000 RM. He was released on 18 Jan. 1938. For his brother-in-law Max Aberbach, his time in remand prison was also subtracted from his prison sentence.

Their son Julius Schwarz also became a member of the Jewish Community in 1932. He worked as an employee at an unnamed company in Fölschblock at Bergstraße 23 and continued to live with his parents on Husumer Straße. In 1933 and 1934 his income was so small that his contributions to the Jewish Community were waived, as was also the case in 1936. During the years 1935, 1937 and 1938, he paid moderate contributions. Apparently he had become self-employed. Following an interlude in Cremon, he moved back in with his parents. In Feb. 1939, he left the German Reich for an unknown destination. His cousin Julius immigrated to the USA in June 1939, where Erna Aberbach, married name Bogopolski, also fled.

After his release from prison, Max Aberbach and his wife Helene also left Hamburg on 13 Oct. 1938. They moved to Czechoslovakia via Austria. In 1939 they lost their German citizenship – apparently they had received citizenship in the intervening years. Max Aberbach died on 15 Apr. 1939 in Senov/Mährisch-Ostrau. On 12 Mar. 1940 Berisch-Bernhard and Taube Rechel-Toni Schwarz moved to Abendrothsweg 19. When deportations began in autumn 1941, allegedly to "develop the East”, the Gestapo drew up a list of 1000 people who were called up for the first transport on 25 Oct. 1941, and a list of 200 names as substitutes. The couple Schwarz was on the list of substitutes, Bernhard with his profession given as "accountant”. The transport ultimately included 1034 people and arrived on 26 Oct. 1941 at the ghetto in Lodz, called Litzmannstadt by the National-Socialists. Helene Aberbach née Lakser was also deported there on 26 Oct. 1941 from Prague. Three years after they parted in Hamburg, they probably saw each other once again. Berisch-Bernhard Schwarz died on 29 Oct. 1941 of "heart failure”, as it was noted in the record of deaths, and was probably buried in the Jewish cemetery, as was common practice. The last trace of Taube Rechel-Toni Schwarz is the note at the end of Berisch-Bernhard Schwarz’s obituary: "The deceased is survived by his widow Tauba-Ruchel, née Aberbach.”

Information as of Apr. 2016


Translator: Suzanne von Engelhardt

Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

Stand: November 2017
© Hildgard Thevs

Quellen: 1; 4; 5; 8; 9; Hamburger Adressbücher; StaH 213-11, 09651/39, 09917/39; 241-II, 26644 (Filmarchiv 741-4, A 262); 332-7, A III 21, Band 19, A VI 3, 960; 351-11, 3546; 522-1, 390; 992 e 2, Bd. 1; Dank an Fritz Neubauer für Hinweise auf Sterbefallregister Lodz: http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/39/278/0/18/1202/str/1/2/15/ntP5qVh00anymNp2qgDJRw/#tabSkany; http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/39/278/0/13.2/957a/skan/full/jvf--DKe_Af2840pvWaDWA
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