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Rike Martha Münden
© Eric Wulff

Rike Martha Münden (née Heymann) * 1876

Agnesstraße 46 (Hamburg-Nord, Winterhude)

HIER WOHNTE
RIKE MARTHA MÜNDEN
GEB. HEYMANN
JG. 1876
FLUCHT HOLLAND
DEPORTIERT 1943
ERMORDET IN
SOBIBOR

further stumbling stones in Agnesstraße 46:
Daniel Münden, Gerhard Münden

Daniel Münden, born on 20 Jan. 1866 in Hamburg, deported on 18 May 1943 to Sobibor
Martha Rike Münden, née Heymann, born on 21 July 1876 in Hamburg, deported on 18 May 1943 to Sobibor
Gerhard Münden, born on 9 Nov. 1909 in Hamburg, deported in Aug. 1943 to Auschwitz-Birkenau

The son of the merchant Salomon Münden, who passed away before 1882, and his wife Hanna, née Koch (1839–1905), Daniel Münden was born in 1866 at the apartment at Grossneumarkt 49 in Hamburg-Neustadt. He had three siblings: an older brother (Max, born in 1865) and a younger brother (Anton, born in 1867), as well as a sister (Rosa). The father worked as an independent wholesale trader in feathers, hair, and furs. In 1875, the family moved to Kohlhöfen 35, an adjacent street that featured the Kohlhöfen main synagogue (Kohlhöfen 17 and 18) consecrated in 1859 and the Talmud Tora School (Kohlhöfen 19 and 16).

This was the school Daniel Münden attended. Afterward, he did a commercial apprenticeship and in 1887, at the age of 21, he founded the Schröder & Münden Company, an importing agency for raw tobacco. The business premises were rented from the Hamburger Freihafen-Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft ("Hamburg duty-free port Warehouse Company”) at Pickhuben 7 (in the free port).

In 1897, after marrying the Jewish Hamburg resident Martha Heymann, he moved from the apartment at Eichenallee 17 (in Othmarschen) to Klosterallee 31 (in Harvestehude/Hoheluft-Ost) and from there to Schlüterstrasse 44 (in Rotherbaum) in 1902/1903.

Martha was the daughter of the Hamburg merchant Hermann Heymann (1838–1914) and his wife Angela, née Jesmann. In 1898, 1901, and 1902, three daughters were born; in 1909, son Gerhard arrived. For the longest time (1911–1930), the family lived in the two-story urban villa at Agnesstrasse 46 built in 1898. Having purchased it in 1910, Daniel Münden had it converted to suit the family’s needs. To support Martha Münden, "Miss” ("Fräulein”) Hanna Preller was employed at the home as a tutor for some 30 years.

The Schröder & Münden Company had an excellent reputation in the Hamburg business world and it was very profitable. The firm imported and refined raw tobacco. It marketed its own cigar brand, which in the grandson’s recollections was called "Die lange Münden” ("The long Münden”). The integration of family members into the enterprise worked well over decades. The wife’s brother, Manfred Heymann (born on 6 Sept. 1879 in Hamburg), was the company’s authorized signatory since 1904 and in 1911, after the transformation into a general partnership he became, next to Daniel Münden, a partner in the firm.

The oldest daughter, Annemarie, was an authorized signatory of the company from 1920 until her marriage in 1923. Her husband, Ludwig Oscar Wulff, was also an authorized signatory at Schröder & Münden from 1928 until 1934. The son, Gerhard Münden, who had been working as a business employee in the firm at least since 1928 and was entered in the company register as an authorized signatory since Jan. 1935, joined the enterprise as a partner as well in Sept. 1935. The brother, Anton Münden (born on 8 July 1867), the co-owner of the business his brother-in-law Moritz Glückstadt had founded in 1880 (M. Glückstadt & Münden – Anfertigung von Ansichts-Postkarten und Alben [Production of Picture Postcards and Albums]), also did work at Schröder & Münden for, among others, the period from 1937 until 1938.

The older brother [of Daniel Münden], Dr. Max Münden, was listed in the Hamburg phone directories as a physician with his own practice on Grindelallee (Rotherbaum) since 1898. A grandson and a niece of Daniel Münden were unanimous in relating an incident that ended fatal for Max Münden. Reportedly, he borrowed Hitler’s Mein Kampf from a library, marking it with derogatory marginal notes. Upon returning the book and discovery of the criticism, the police was notified immediately. Max Münden was arrested and died in prison in Hamburg on 24 Sept. 1936.

In addition to his professional activities, Daniel Münden was very active in the Jewish Community: In 1918, he was a co-founder and board member of the Jewish School Association (Jüdischer Schulverein); from 1920 until 1930, he belonged to the college of representatives (Repräsentanten-Kollegium) and since 1922 to the board of the Temple Association (Tempelverband) on Poolstrasse. In 1931, he co-founded the Jewish Liberal Community Association (Jüdisch-Liberaler Gemeindeverein) and held the office of chairman of the Temple Association since 1933. It was no coincidence that the "Jewish School Association in Hamburg reg. soc.” ("Jüdischer Schulverein in Hamburg e. V.”) had its offices in the building where the Schröder & Münden Company had its business premises, in the years from 1920 until 1928, among others. The SS wrote about Daniel Münden in its list of influential and well-to-do Jews: "known in Jewish circles as a philanthropist.” Both business and private contacts existed to members of the Warburg family.

In 1930/31, all four children having married, the Münden couple sold the house at Agnesstrasse 46 and moved as tenants into an apartment at Heilwigstrasse 37 (in Harvestehude). In 1936, they changed to the second floor of the corner villa at Mövenstrasse 10/Agnesstrasse, very close to their former house at Agnesstrasse 46.

In 1938, the liquidation of the Schröder & Münden Company was a done deal from the perspective of the state authorities. On 23 Feb. 1938, Gerhard Münden was deleted from the company register as a partner. Six weeks later, he departed with his wife for the Netherlands. Gerhard Münden intended to continue practicing his occupation as a tobacco merchant. The elaborate emigration procedure for him was settled by the lawyer Dr. Ernst Kaufmann, who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. He applied for, among other things, taking along 58,000 RM (reichsmark) and the automobile (a 1933 Opel, type 1210).

As early as the years 1935/36, the daughters Irmgard Bachrach, née Münden, her husband Felix Bachrach, and their two sons had emigrated separately to Britain, and in 1941, they traveled on from there to the USA. The other two daughters also left Germany with their husbands, emigrating to the USA later: Elisabeth, married name Goldmann, in July 1936 and Annemarie, married name Wulff, in Mar. 1940.

After their children had left Germany, the parents tried to emigrate as well. When listing the apartment furnishings for emigration in Dec. 1938, Daniel Münden wrote to the foreign currency office, "I would like to note that the household, having been in existence for 42 years, has been continuously reduced over the past years. Mainly pieces of furniture have been sold.” A list of the SS dated 12 Dec. 1938 estimated Daniel Münden’s fortune at 1.5 million RM.

Prior to emigration, the parents first had to unwind the company. In late July/early Aug. 1938, the Hamburg Customs Investigation Department issue a "security order” ("Sicherungsanordnung”) against the remaining company partners Münden and Heymann in accordance with Sec. 37a of the Foreign Currency Law dated 4 Feb. 1935. With the Jewish owners’ consent and as agreed with the customers, the employee and authorized signatory Georg Rinne took over the business. On 1 Aug. 1938, the "Rinne & Schweitzer, Tabakmakler” Company was registered in terms of commercial law under the same address (Pickhuben 7). However, these precautions did not suffice, for three months later, the Schröder & Münden Company was forcibly "liquidated” after having operated for 51 years. Immediately after the company had closed, the Münden couple commissioned Herbert Eiden (Bankgeschäft – Devisenbank) "with handling their emigration to the Netherlands.”

Even after the firm had closed down and they had paid the "levy on Jewish assets” ("Judenvermögensabgabe”) of 88,000 RM, the Münden couple still had valuables and capital that could only be transferred to the Netherlands from Germany with official permission and after payment of horrendous "taxes.” For example, in exchange for securities amounting to 48,000 RM, they were paid out foreign currency to the value of 3,000 RM. They had to pay to the German state 2,340 RM in dues to have the contents of four rooms transported to the Netherlands. After the Hamburg Customs Investigation Department had obtained an opinion from an art expert, the Mündens were also allowed to take six oil paintings to the Netherlands. The silver objects as well as jewelry left in the apartment, valued at about 4,000 RM, were estimated by the Wempe Company in terms of their gold value; after their departure, these items were surrendered to the "Administrative Office for Economic Enterprises and for Commercial Affairs, purchasing point” ("Verwaltung für wirtschaftliche Unternehmen und für Verkehrsangelegenheiten, Ankaufstelle”) at 73 Bäckerbreitergang. They were appraised at 500 RM and this sum, minus an administrative fee of 10%, was transferred to the blocked bank account of Daniel Münden. On 15 Dec. 1938, the co-owner of Schröder & Münden, Manfred Heymann, residing at Hochallee 37 in the very end, emigrated to the Netherlands (Outzijds Voorburgwal 220 in Amsterdam).

On 28 Jan. 1939, Daniel und Martha Münden travelled by train from Hamburg to Amsterdam, where their son, Gerhard, already worked as a tobacco merchant. Daniel Münden rented for himself and his son’s family a house at Van der Hoochlaan 18 in Nieuwer-Amstel, without having received a permanent residence permit. Son Gerhard provided a guarantee for his parents’ immigration. Their residence permit clearly stated that they were not permitted to practice their occupation as tobacco merchants. To the sister-in-law remaining in Germany, Paula Reich, née Heymann (residing at Haynstrasse 15 with Levy), the Münden couple tried to send money from their account left in Germany, the "emigrants’ blocked account” ("Auswanderer-Sperrguthaben”). (Paula Reich was deported to Theresienstadt on 15 July 1942 and on 21 Sept. 1942 to the Treblinka extermination camp.) On her birthday, they sent to Ms. Preller, the long-standing domestic help, 150 RM from their blocked account to her retirement home.

According to a character reference by his business partner Georg Rinne, the new company owner Rudolf Schweitzer (born in 1903) apparently visited the previous company owners Daniel Münden and Manfred Heymann in Amsterdam.

After German troops occupied the Netherlands in May 1940, all Jewish residents were registered. In Apr. 1942, seizure of their property followed. All of the Münden family’s household items, categorized according to rooms, were listed meticulously. From 5 May 1942 onward, the Mündens were required in the Netherlands, too, to wear the obligatory "Jews’ star” ("Judenstern”) clearly visible.

According to a statement by a grandson, Daniel and Martha Münden tried to hide but were discovered by the Gestapo and arrested. In mid-Apr. 1943, they were committed to the Dutch Herzogenbusch (Dutch: Vught) concentration camp in Vught, and from there transferred to the Westerbork concentration camp three weeks later. Shortly thereafter, on 18 May 1943, they were deported to the Sobibor extermination camp. After that all traces of them disappear. In its decision dated 6 Oct. 1951, the Hamburg District Court (Amtsgericht) declared Daniel and Martha Münden officially dead.

Anton Münden, whose business was removed from the company register on 4 Oct. 1939, was deported on 15 July 1942 to Theresienstadt and from there on 23 Sept. 1942 to Treblinka. A Stolperstein was laid for him in front of his former house at Beim Andreasbrunnen 3 (Eppendorf).

For Max Münden and his wife Martha, née Gräfenberg, Stolpersteine have been laid in front of the house at Grindelallee 153. Martha Münden was deported on 6 Dec. 1941 to Riga. Gerhard Münden, the son of Daniel and Martha Münden, was deported in Aug. 1943 from the Netherlands to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The exact date of his death is unknown. His wife, Erna, née Schwarzenberger (1914–1967), and their daughter Yvonne, who was born in Amsterdam, were able to emigrate to Argentina.


Translator: Erwin Fink

Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

Stand: October 2017
© Björn Eggert

Quellen: 1; 2; 5; AfW 20166; StaHH 221-11, Staatskommissar für die Entnazifizierung, Signatur C 5336; StaHH 741-4, Alte Einwohnermeldekartei; Bezirksamt Hamburg-Nord, Bauamt/Bauprüfabteilung, Agnesstraße 46 und Mövenstraße 10; Sonderarchiv Moskau, Liste des SS-Oberabschnitts Nordwest, Liste einflussreicher und vermögender Juden vom 12.12.1938, Signatur 500-1-659, Blatt 56-58; www.joodsmonument.nl (eingesehen am 8.2.2007), Haushaltsaufstellung vom 24.4.1942; Handelskammer Hamburg, Firmenarchiv: Schröder & Münden (1920–1939); Handelskammer Hamburg, Firmenarchiv: Glückstadt & Münden (1921–1939); Handelskammer Hamburg, Firmenarchiv: Rinne & Schweitzer (1938-1968); AB 1860, 1866, 1870, 1875, 1896–1898, 1913, 1920, 1928, 1932, 1936; Amtliche Fernsprechbücher Hamburg 1895–1940; Hamburger Börsenfirmen 34. Aufl., Hamburg Februar 1933, S. 270, 771; Ina Lorenz, Die Juden in Hamburg zur Zeit der Weimarer Republik, Hamburg 1987, S. 1406; Andreas Brämer, Judentum und religiöse Reform. Der Hamburger Israelitische Tempel 1817–1938, Hamburg, 2000, S. 244; Hamburger Familienblatt (HFB), 16.01.1936, S. 1–2; Martin Gilbert, Endlösung, Die Vertreibung und Vernichtung der Juden. Ein Atlas, Reinbek 1982, S. 160; Heiko Morisse, Jüdische Rechtsanwälte in Hamburg. Ausgrenzung und Verfolgung im NS-Staat, Hamburg 2003, S. 139; Harald Vieth, Hier lebten sie miteinander in Harvestehude-Rotherbaum, Hamburg 1993, S. 23–24; www.ancestry.de Passagierlisten: SS Queen Mary (Irmgard), SS Westernland (Elisabeth), SS Aconcagua (Anna Marie) (eingesehen 22.9.2007); Schreiben des Enkels C. B. (USA) vom 28.1.2008; Telefongespräch mit der Nichte A.B. (USA) am 10.2.2008; BArch Berlin, Liste der jüd. Einwohner des Deutschen Reiches 1933–1945.
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