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Anna Kallmes (née Goldschmidt) * 1883

Hansastraße 37 (Eimsbüttel, Harvestehude)

HIER WOHNTE
ANNA KALLMES
GEB. GOLDSCHMIDT
JG. 1883
DEPORTIERT 1942
ERMORDET IN
AUSCHWITZ

Rosa Anna Lucie Kallmes, née Goldschmidt, born 1.2.1883 in Frankfurt am Main, deported to Auschwitz on 11.7.1942 and murdered

Hansastrasse 37, Harvestehude

"In case my dear wife Anna Kallmes emigrates, bequests written so far are void and Fanny Kallmes and Albert Kallmes, if they are alive, shall receive 10,000 RM each as a one-time inheritance instead."

This Excerpt from the so fateful will drawn up and signed on January 22, 1939 by Iwan Kallmes. Due to this addition in the will of Iwan Kallmes, the escape of Anna Kallmes later failed.

Rosa Anna Lucie Goldschmidt was born in Frankfurt am Main on February 1, 1883, the second of three children. Her parents were Jakob Goldschmidt and Cäcilie Goldschmidt née Essinger. (Jakob Goldschmidt died on 13.11.1901 and Cäcilie Goldschmidt on 27.4.1949 in the USA).

We know nothing about the childhood of Anna Goldschmidt.

She married the merchant Iwan Kallmes on December 4, 1903 in Frankfurt am Main.
Iwan Kallmes had been born in Hamburg on April 22, 1863, the second of five children of the merchant Israel Julius Kallmes and his wife Julie Kallmes née Schöning. He grew up in a culturally interested and artistic environment: His father actively supported the Hamburg Art Association and was also a member of it. His mother wrote poetry. The well-off household of the Kallmes family included, among other things, a piano.

Iwan and his brothers James and Israel Julius Kallmes founded a trading company, which they registered in the commercial register on January 1, 1886 under the name Kallmesius. The company's headquarters were located at Kleiner Burstah 11/Altstadt. Over the years, the partners developed the company into a flourishing importer and exporter of hides and skins, especially overseas. It grew to a respectable size.

In 1904, the couple Anna and Iwan Kallmes lived with their parents in the street Hallerplatz 13/Rotherbaum. The residential building with twelve rooms had been bought by Israel Julius Kallmes in 1901.

Since 1905 Anna and Iwan Kallmes lived in their own 6 ½ room apartment at Hansastraße 37 in the distinguished district of Harvestehude.

(By death, Israel Julius Kallmes left the company on March 28, 1911. He was buried in the Ilandkoppel Jewish Cemetery).

On January 1, 1912, another brother, the merchant Otto Kallmes, joined the company. On July 18, 1919, Ivan's brother James Kallmes left the trading company by death. (He was buried in the Ilandkoppel Jewish Cemetery).

With the beginning of the 1920s, Iwan Kallmes undertook to transfer 500 RM per month to his mother-in-law Cäcilie Goldschmidt, which he diligently fulfilled.

Financially he was well off: For the years 1927 to 1929 the turnover of the Kallmesius company was 10 - 11 million RM, in 1931 it was already 2.2 million and in 1932 1.6 million RM. The company employed a bookkeeper, a secretary ("Schreibfräulein") and two other employees.

On the occasion of their parents' golden wedding anniversary, the children Albert, Anna, Iwan and Otto Kallmes established "Die-Julius-und-Julie-Kallmes-Stiftung" (The Julius and Julie Kallmes Foundation) in Hamburg on January 1, 1930, and handed over the foundation money to the Jewish Community. The purpose of the foundation was to support needy and worthy persons in the broadest sense. Members of the Kallmes and Schöning families were to be given preference over other applicants until the year 2000. Iwan and Otto Kallmes were to be given the right to sit and vote on the foundation's board of directors for the duration of their lives.

The National Socialist takeover was also a caesura for the Kallmesius company.
On October 29, 1935, Hans Siegfried Kallmes (born 10.2.1869, died in London on 15.10.1948), who was distantly related to the Kallmes siblings, joined the trading company.

Restrictions against Jews increased and the partners of the Kallmesius company could no longer conduct their export business abroad. In August 1938, the non-Jewish tanners received instructions from their trade association to stop buying hides and skins from Jewish traders. The Golddiskontbank no longer made grants to Jews for export promotion since 1938. The Kallmesius company had lost its competitiveness on the world market. It was also no longer able to operate its domestic business because non-Jewish customers refused to buy from Jews. In December 1938, the business came to an almost complete standstill.

In 1938, Cäcilie Goldschmidt moved to Paris to live with her daughter Hilda Alice Bohrmann, who in the meantime had married Leopold Bohrmann. With their move, Iwan Kallmes stopped the monthly payments of 500 RM to his mother-in-law.

Anna and Iwan Kallmes were called upon to pay the "Judenvermögensabgabe" (Jewish property tax). They paid installments of 18,700 RM each for this, beginning on December 13, 1938.

Nevertheless, Iwan Kallmes cared for people who were worse off, so in January 1939 he donated 5 RM for a Minna Geiß. (Minna Geiß born on 23.8.1894 was deported to Auschwitz on 11.7.1942 and murdered).

Shortly before his death on January 22, 1939, Iwan Kallmes drew up the will mentioned at the beginning, which later proved so fateful for Anna. The Kallmes family owned securities in the amount of approximately RM 165,000. So Iwan Kallmes drew up the will shortly before his death in the good faith that his widow would be able to pay off the other heirs.

Iwan Kallmes died of heart disease in Hamburg on January 25, 1939, and was buried in the Ilandkoppel Jewish Cemetery.

Even after her husband's death, Anna Kallmes remained at Hansastraße 37. She herself had neither a deposit nor an account. The account was in the name of her deceased husband, but continued to be maintained for Anna. Otto Kallmes and "Consulent" Morris Samson (born October 21, 1878 and died October 21, 1959) were appointed as executors of the estate. Anna Kallmes received a monthly payment of RM 1500 from the estate. To the Jewish Religious Association, the former Jewish Community, 1000 RM were paid, and to Fanny Kallmes and Albert Kallmes quarterly 250 RM each. Still outstanding were the four installments of the Jewish property levy of RM 18,700 each, which were then paid by the executors from the J. Kallmes jr. estate.

Anna Kallmes joined the trading company Kallmesius. However, there was no written entry in the commercial register.

On September 6, 1939, the Chief Finance Office ordered Anna Kallmes to disclose her financial circumstances. Otto Kallmes filled out the forms for her and stated that she would need RM 1,445 to live on each month. This included RM 84 in support for Fanny Kallmes and RM 50 for Olga Levien. However, Anna Kallmes was granted only RM 525 as of November 1, 1939.

On February 21, 1940, Anna Kallmes asked the Chief Finance Office to release an amount of 350 RM. She wanted to go to Stuttgart and Frankfurt am Main to say goodbye to relatives who wanted to emigrate abroad. She allowed herself to be influenced by their plans and now also planned to leave Germany.

On November 29, 1940, the "Julie-und-Julius-Kallmes-Stiftung" was dissolved at the instigation of the Gestapo.

On August 21, 1941, Anna Kallmes submitted the application documents for her planned emigration to Cuba to the foreign exchange office. On August 27, 1941, she received a visa for Cuba, and on September 18, 1941, she received a clearance certificate from the Chief Finance Office. On September 30, 1941, after prior approval by the Chief Finance Directorate, she ordered the sale of some securities. On October 1, 1941, she canceled a mortgage in the amount of RM 25,000, which was registered in the Rotherbaum land register.

Anna Kallmes also had a large part of her household effects packed by the firm Keim, Krauth & Co. The luggage list had been approved by the foreign exchange office on October 1, 1941, and all the boxes were ready for transport.

The Oberfinanzdirektion demanded 27,000 RM from Anna Kallmes in "Reichsfluchtsteuer". By October 1, 1941, she had transferred RM 22,956 from the estate of Iwan Kallmes to the Jewish Religious Association, which had been under the control of the Gestapo since September 27, 1939. In the estate of Iwan Kallmes there was still a remainder in the amount of RM 10,660. In order to be able to fulfill the will of her deceased husband Iwan mentioned at the beginning, she still lacked 10,000 RM. On October 27, 1941, Otto Kallmes, on behalf of Anna Kallmes, submitted a special application to the Chief Finance Office through the "consulter" Morris Samson, requesting the release of 10,000 RM.

Shortly thereafter, on December 6, 1941, Otto Kallmes was deported to Riga, where he was later murdered. (See www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de.)

Anna Kallmes had to undergo a serious operation at this time, 1941/1942. The recovery was protracted. However, Anna Kallmes did not give up. In February and March 1942 she continued to take English lessons in view of a hoped-for emigration (which the Nazi state had forbidden in October 1941).

The emigration had failed when it would still have been possible because Anna Kallmes lacked 10,000 RM to fulfill her husband Iwan Kallmes' instruction from the will. She had never received any feedback from the Oberfinanzdirektion regarding her special request. The Oberfinanzdirektion had let Anna Kallmes' hopes and wishes for an imminent emigration come to nothing.

In February 1942, she was ordered to pay in advance the rent and utilities due for the house at Grindelhof 101, which Otto Kallmes had occupied. She was the only liable person from the Kallmes family still available to the Oberfinanzdirektion.

In February 1942, she had to move out of Hansastraße 37 and move into an apartment in the "Judenhaus" Warburg Stift Bundesstraße 43.

On February 20, 1942, Anna Kallmes applied to Max Plaut, the head of the Jewish Religious Association, for permission to move into one of the 10 rooms in the house at Grindelhof 101, in which she owned a co-ownership share. She was still struggling with the after-effects of the operation. Health recovery was not possible in the confines of the "Judenhaus" at Bundesstraße 43. Five days later, on February 25, 1942, she received a refusal from the housing office. A move was only permitted to the "Judenhäuser" properties managed by the Jewish Religious Association. Anna would have had to live in Grindelhof 101 beforehand for her request to have been granted.

On March 24, 1942, the Chief Finance Office approved the Jewish Religious Association to occupy the house at Grindelhof 101 as a "Judenhaus." But Anna Kallmes was denied a move there even after a renewed request on March 11, 1942.

In the course of 1942, Anna Kallmes donated 375 RM from the J. Kallmes estate, spread over several months, to Rosalie Kein, who lived in Frankfurt am Main. Presumably there was a close friendship between the Kein family and the Goldschmidt family.

On April 11, 1942, "Konsulent" Ernst Kaufmann took over the office of executor for the estate of J. Kallmes jr. He managed to get Anna Kallmes to move into a one-room apartment at Heilwigstraße 46/Eppendorf in April 1942.

After the failed emigration, Anna Kallmes had the customs seal removed from her removal goods on August 24, 1942, and had them brought to her apartment at Heilwigstraße 46. The "Reich Flight Tax" was not refunded to her.

During a new inspection by the Oberfinanzdirektion, Anna Kallmes stated that she needed RM 433 per month for her livelihood. After a written objection, she was granted 350 RM.

In July 1942, Anna Kallmes received her "evacuation order". The deportation took place on July 11, 1942 from the Hanover train station (today Hafencity). The train probably reached Auschwitz between July 14 and 16, 1942.

Presumably, 59-year-old Anna Kallmes was murdered on the very day of her arrival in Auschwitz.

On September 25, 1942, her household goods were sold at public auction. It yielded net proceeds of RM 1,220.10. The German Reich confiscated the securities and shares in the amount of RM 32,000.

On the fate of the siblings of Iwan Kallmes:
James Kallmes (born 5.10.1861) married Fanny Kallmes (born 26.10.1871), on April 10, 1894, and James Kallmes died in Bad Homburg on July 18, 1919. Fanny Kallmes escaped to her death with sleeping pills on July 15, 1942. The couple was buried in the Ilandkoppel Jewish Cemetery. (See www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de)

Anna Kallmes (born 4.12.1865), married Wolf Katzenstein (born 14.3.1859) on July 17, 1891. He died January 26, 1932, she on October 1, 1938. Both were buried in the Ilandkoppel Jewish Cemetery.

Albert Kallmes (born 2.2.1870) had married Minna Sophie Elisabeth Claussen (born 6.12.1882) a gentile, on April 12, 1916. He survived in this mixed marriage, died in Hamburg on June 8, 1949, and was buried in the Ilandkoppel Jewish Cemetery. Minna Kallmes died on July 17, 1955.

Otto Kallmes (born 4.10.1872, was deported to the Riga-Jungfernhof concentration camp on December 6, 1941, and murdered. (See www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de)

On the fate of the siblings of Anna Kallmes, née Goldschmidt:
Recha Clara Goldschmidt (born 15.9.1881) married Alfred Alexander Weiler (born 25-10.1871) on April 24, 1903, and the couple had two children: Erna Weiler (born 17.6.1904 and Gertrud Ilse Weiler (born 16.4.1909, died 27.5.1947) in Paris. Alfred Alexander Weiler died on November 10, 1935 in Frankfurt am Main. We have no further information about Recha Clara Weiler.

Hilda Alice Goldschmidt (born 3.8.1885) married Leopold Bohrmann (born 26.6.1876) on October 22, 1909. The couple emigrated to Paris in 1933 and moved to the United States in 1946.

Translation Beate Meyer

Stand: March 2023
© Bärbel Klein

Quellen: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 8; StaH 213-13 Landgericht Hamburg – Wiedergutmachung 1526 (Hermann Ernst Laser), 6830 und 19444 (Albert Kallmes), 6839 (Iwan Kallmes), 6835 und 6836 (Minna Kallmes), 6837 und 6838 (Anna Kallmes), 26198 und 1678 (Rosa Anna Kallmes), 6832, 16088 und 20942 (Fanny Kallmes), 15177 und 16091 (James Kallmes), 6831, 6833, 6834, 6840, 15047, 19373 (Otto Kallmes); 214-1 Vollstreckung – öffentlicher Verkauf 383 (Fanny Kallmes); 351-8 Aufsicht über Stiftungen B 184 (Julius und Julie Kallmes Stiftung); 351-11 Amt f. Wiedergutmachung 5590 (Minna Sophie Elisabeth Kallmes), 6198 (Rosa Anna Lucie Kallmes), 7991 (Alice Bohrmann), 55753 (James Kallmes); 332-3 Zivilstand Geburtsregister A 85 Nr. 1282/1870 Albert Kallmes, Geburtsregister A 119 Nr. 6437/1871 Fanny Kallmes, Geburtsregister A 286 Nr. 237/1872 Otto Kallmes, Heiratsregister 8551 Nr. 262/1891 Wolf Katzenstein/Anna Kallmes, Heiratsregister 8565 Nr. 138/1894 Fanny Nathan/James Kallmes, 332-5 Sterberegister 8006 Nr. 168/1911 Israel Kallmes, Sterberegister 8065 Nr. 664/1921 Julie Kallmes, Sterberegister 8112 Nr. 55/1932 Wolf Katzenstein, Sterberegister 8153 Nr. 377/1938 Anna Kallmes, Sterberegister 8163 Nr. 51/1939 Iwan Kallmes, Sterberegister 8180 Nr. 373/1942 Fanny Kallmes, Sterberegister 8212 Nr. 355/1949 Albert Kallmes, Sterberegister 10066 Nr. 1774/1955 Minna Sophie Elisabeth Kallmes; 522-1 Deutsch israelitische Gemeinde 696c Geburtsregister 75/1839 (Julie Schöning); 331-5_3 Akte Polizeibehörde – unnatürliche Sterbefälle 1188/1942 Fanny Kallmes; 621-1/84 Firmenarchiv 49 (Nachlass Iwan Kallmes); Fotoarchiv 741-4_K2443 (Grindelhof), 6345 (Kallmes); Frankfurt am Main Heiratsurkunde Nr. 2687/1903 Iwan Kallmes/ Rosa Anna Lucie Goldschmidt; Frankfurt am Main Heiratsurkunde Nr. 931/1909 Leopold Bohrmann/Alice Goldschmidt; Frankfurt am Main Sterbeurkunde Nr. 1201/1935 Alfred Alexander Weiler; Bad Homburg Sterbeurkunde Nr. 126/1919 James Kallmes; Alfred Gottwaldt, Diana Schulle, Die Judendeportationen aus dem Deutschen Reich 1941 1945, Marixverlag, Wiesbaden 2005, Seite 395; www.wikipedea.de; www.geni.com; www.ancestry.de (Einsicht am 9.1.2021).
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