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Ella Lange, geb. Goldschmidt, 1926
© Ian Goldsmith

Ella Lange (née Goldschmidt) * 1878

Hallerstraße 42 (Eimsbüttel, Rotherbaum)

HIER WOHNTE
ELLA LANGE
GEB. GOLDSCHMIDT
JG. 1878
DEPORTIERT 1941
RIGA
ERMORDET

further stumbling stones in Hallerstraße 42:
Clara Kaiser, Frieda Kohn, Johanna Kohn

Ella Lange, née Goldschmidt, born 24 Feb. 1878 in Hamburg, deported 6 Dec. 1941 to Riga-Jungfernhof

Hallerstraße 42

Ella was born on 24 Feb. 1878 as the second-oldest child of her Jewish parents Aron and Annie Goldschmidt. Like her five siblings, she too came into the world in Hamburg.

Her father, born on 22 Dec. 1840 in Emden, earned a living as a commission agent, meaning he was a self-employed merchant who conducted business on commission, either in his own name or on behalf of others. He died in Hamburg on 28 Jan. 1903.

Her mother Annie was born on 25 Apr. 1850 in London, and her maiden name was likely Neustadt. Surviving documents about her from Hamburg give her last name as "Newstadt”. She died in Hamburg on 8 July 1919.

The Goldschmidt Family lived at Kraienkamp 18, House 2 from 17 Mar. 1892 until May 1908. Like the houses at Kraienkamp 16 and 17, it was a so-called "free home”, accommodation set up by Berend Oppenheimer’s foundation of the same name in 1868 for needy Jewish families. From that we can conclude that the Goldschmidts had only a very small income. Anyone wanting to be taken in by that foundation had to demonstrate they led a religious life.

When Hamburg’s Neustadt was renovated, the foundation gave up those properties and built a new five-storey building in 1907-1908 at Kielortallee 22 with twenty two-room and three-room apartments. A synagogue was attached in which strictly orthodox services were held. (Like many other Jewish residential homes, the building at Kielortallee 22 was used from 1941 as a "Jewish house”.)

Ella Goldschmidt trained as an accountant. At the age of 23, she moved to Brüderstraße 14, into the mezzanine-floor apartment belonging to Neustadt, presumably relatives from her mother’s side. Then she lived in Lausanne for six months before moving into new accommodations on 4 May 1905 at Grindelallee 47.

Beforehand, on 1 Apr. 1905, she had taken over the offices from the company previously located there, the engineering office for power plants belonging to "Gebr. C. & E. Lange”. Attached to the space were sales offices for the following companies: The Dresdner Gasmotorenfabrik of Moritz Hille, Dresden, Sächsische Electricitätswerke of Pöschmann & Co, Heidenau-Dresden, Akkumulatorenwerke Syst. Tribelhorn, Dohna b. Dresden, Bogenlampenfabrik August Schwarz, Frankfurt a/M., Scheibler Automobil­Industrie, Aachen, Friedrich Streicher & Cie. Maschinenfabrik, Chemnitz and Nordische Zentralheizungsfabrik, Elmshorn. She continued to run them. According to the entry in the trade registry from 4 Apr. 1905, she did not take on "the liabilities from the business operations of the previous business owner”.

Shortly before on 24 June 1904, Carl Otto Lange, a civil engineer residing at Schlump 11, and his brother Johannes Albert Emil had founded the "Patent and Technical Office” at Holstenplatz 3. The commercial assistant Emil Lange, born on 20 Feb. 1872 in Hamburg, probably met Ella at her company. They were married on 23 Dec. 1922, Ella was 44 years old and Emil 50.

Emil Lange’s parents, the musician Johannes Carl Friedrich Lange – born in Braunschweig in 1837 – and Cathrina Margretha, née Dirks from Quickborn born in 1840, had married on 16 Apr. 1867. They lived at Steindamm 73.

In 1923 Emil moved into Ella’s mezzanine-floor apartment at Osterstraße 104 where she had lived since 1912. The company Gebr. C. & E. Lange had a bouillon cube factory registered at that address since 1912. We were unable to conclusively determine whether that name was just an office or if it was the factory for the brand "Sanos”.

On 29 May 1923, shortly after her wedding, Ella registered a new business as a "landlady”. The business registration certificate no. 1642/1923 instructed the future landlords "that a room rental requires a contractual agreement lasting a long period of time, whereas running a public inn for the purpose of housing guests requires a permit from the authority for liquor licenses”.

We do not know whether or not Ella could already see at that point in time that her company likely stood shortly before ruin. The entry in the trade registry does not give any insight as to why the company was struck from the registry on 29 Oct. 1924. The Hamburg address book also shows the last listing of "Gebr. C. & E. Lange Bouillon Cube Factory” in 1924.

One year later, the address book shows Ella Lange as living alone at the address Osterstraße104. In 1933 the designation "widow” was added to her name. By that time she had moved to Hallerstraße 42.

No details are known about the time or place of Emil Lange’s death.

The growing political and economic pressure on the Jewish population and the increasingly difficult living situation forced Ella Lange to sublet rooms, even in her new domicile, to guarantee a regular income (see the biographies of Johanna Kohn and Clara Kaiser).

Early in Dec. 1941, Ella Lange received the order for deportation to "the East”, just like 23 of her neighbors on "Ostmarkstraße” (Hallerstraße). The 964 Jewish men and women in question were actually meant to have been deported to Minsk Ghetto, however their transport left Hannoverschen Train Station on 6 Dec. 1941 and headed for Riga Ghetto. They reached their destination three days later on 9 Dec. 1941, however the SS did not take the occupants of the train into Riga Ghetto and instead took them to the nearby Jungfernhof Manor because a "clearance operation” was still being conducted in Riga Ghetto, meaning 27,500 Latvian Jews were being shot dead.

Hundreds of Jews from Hamburg and other cities starved to death and froze in the primitive living conditions at Jungfernhof. Approximately 1800 who had survived the winter were shot and killed in the spring of 1942 during "Operation Dünamünde”.

A mere 35 people from Hamburg are said to have survived that deportation.

The exact date and circumstances of Ella Lange’s death are not known. She was officially declared dead as of 8 May 1945 at midnight by a ruling of the Hamburg Local Court on 19 Nov. 1953.

The treasury determined Ella’s cash assets she left behind to be 93.24 RM. The auction of her furniture, household items, a fur coat and jewelry brought in proceeds of 1,767.50 RM for the German Reich.

As for the fate of Ella Lange’s siblings:
Paul Aron Phillip Goldschmidt was born on 19 Dec. 1874. He was a businessman, owner of a button factory. He was deported to Thersienstadt on 24 Feb. 1943 where he perished on 21 Dec. 1943 (see www.Stolpersteine-Hamburg.de).
Sofie/Sofia/Sophia, born on 23 Feb. 1877 in Hamburg, died on 28 Dec. 1931 in Hamburg, had married Max Bukofzer born in Culm in West Prussia on 14 Dec. 1871. He succumbed to a severe illness on 7 Nov. 1940 in the Israelite Hospital.
On 22 Dec. 1898 she wed a second time, the "advertising distributor” Bukofzer who had fought as a soldier in World War I from 1914–1918. They had two children, Arthur, born on 22 May 1899, and Bertha, born on 20 Feb. 1903. Both were born in Hamburg and both survived the war and persecution.
Alfred, born on 19 July 1880 in Hamburg, a trained accountant, was married to Martha Clara Wilhelmine Härtel, born in Mallwitz on 23 Aug. 1885 who was not Jewish. They lived at Stellingerweg 2. Alfred fell during World War I in a stationary battle at the Yser in Flanders on 19 May 1916 as a Landwehr private in the 11th Company of the Reserve Replacement Infantry Regiment No. 4, "casualty no. 554”!
Elisa, born on 22 Feb. 1882, lived with her husband whom she married in 1933, the engineer Groth, at Grindelberg 74a. She was "evacuated” on 11 July 1942. The transport went to Auschwitz. Elisa Groth was also declared dead as of 8 May 1945, at midnight by a ruling of the Hamburg Local Court on 14 Sept. 1953.
Martha, born on 15 Sept. 1883, a trained accountant, lived with her husband Rudolf Levy who also worked as an accountant (born on 21 Aug. 1884, died on 28 Oct. 1941 in Hamburg) at Kielortallee 22, on the ground floor, a free apartment of the Oppenheimer Foundation. The couple had wed on 24 Apr. 1914 and had no children of their own, however they adopted Alfred Goldschmidt, born in Hamburg on 25 Dec. 1917, who took on the last name Levy. He was the first-born son of Martha’s divorced brother Barthold.
Alfred Levy was a victim of the pogrom on 9 Nov. 1938. The Gestapo arrested him on 10 Nov. 1938 and carried him off along with nearly 1000 other Jewish men from Hamburg to Sachsenhausen concentration camp where he remained in detention until 17 Jan. 1939. After his release, Alfred Levy immigrated to the Netherlands and in May 1939 he managed to get to Franeker in the Province of Frisia where he joined a kibbutz and began training as a farmer. From Oct. 1939 to Apr. 1940 he had to be treated at the psychiatric institution Apeldoornsche Bos, a clinic for behaviorially disturbed and disabled young people (it was closed in 1943). The reason for Alfred Levy’s stay is not known. Following his hospitalization, he stayed in Amsterdam for a time until he was readmitted to Apeldoornsche Bos in May 1942. On 22 Jan. 1943 Alfred Levy was deported from Apeldoorn via Westerbork to Auschwitz on a "special transport for the sick” where he was killed immediately following his arrival on 25 Jan. 1943.
Martha Levy was deported to Riga-Jungfernhof along with her sister Ella on 6 Dec. 1941. She, like her sister, was declared dead as of 8 May 1945.
Barthold, born on 20 Apr. 1893, trained as a salesman in a manufactured goods store. He worked for various companies as an "agent”, a sales representative or a travelling salesman for men’s clothing. However, the difficult economic conditions of the Great Depression only brought him a modest income, making him reliant on public welfare as of 1931 so he could feed his family. As a Jew without any prospect of a permanent position, he was continuously unemployed as of 1933 and drew unemployment benefits or welfare the whole time until 1937.
Barthold was married three times.
His son Alfred (see above) was from his first marriage, born in Hamburg on 12 Dec. 1917. He divorced after four years of marriage. On 9 July 1924 he married Laura Freid (born on 28 May 1892 in Smarczow, Poland) who was Jewish. He had two sons with his second wife, Salomon Robert, born on 19 May 1925, and Bruno, born on 24 Nov. 1926. Both were born in Hamburg. The family relied on unemployment benefits and welfare payments to survive. Laura Goldschmidt became very ill and died on 2 Jan. 1933.
Her death tore the family apart. Robert went to live with his mother’s sister and her husband Willy Lohde who ran a dye house at Bornstraße 3. Bruno went to live with his Aunt Martha Levy at Kielortallee 22. Their father Barthold, nearly penniless, sublet a one-and-a-half-room apartment at Heidestraße 18 from the Jewish dressmaker Esther Zirkmann of Russian extraction. He married her in 1933. That marriage was ill-fated from the start. Esther Goldschmidt accused her husband of having had an affair with a non-Jewish woman and filed for divorce in 1934.
Barthold was charged with "racial defilement” and sentenced to two years in prison, less time spent in prison awaiting trial. He served his sentence from 18 Sept. 1937 to 1 July 1939 at Fuhlsbüttel Police Prison. Immediately upon his release, he was taken into "protective custody” and transferred to Sachsenhausen concentration camp on 31 Aug. 1939 where he perished of "physical frailty” on 29 Mar. 1940.
His children grew up for stretches of time with relatives before they were sent into the care of a Jewish orphanage. From there they were taken to England on a children’s transport on 8 Dec. 1938 and were thus able to escape the persecution under the National-Socialist reign of terror.

A Stumbling Stone in remembrance of Ella Lange lies in front of the building at Hallerstraße 42. Stumbling Stones will also be laid for her family members deported from Hamburg.
Her family members who died of natural causes are buried at the Hamburg-Ohlsdorf Jewish Cemetery at Ilandkoppel.


Translator: Suzanne von Engelhardt
Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.


Stand: September 2019
© Michael Steffen

Quellen: 5; StaH 213-11 Landgericht Strafsachen _7076/37; StaH 213-13 Landgericht Wiedergutmachung _2829; _6594; StaH 231-3 A 12 Bd. 51, Nr. 38833; StaH 231-7, Handels- u. Genossenschaftsregister _A1 Bd. 57, A13587; StaH 332-5 Melderegister _1928/1000/1878; _2058/4391/1883; _2313/1555/1893; _2808/978/1893; _2910/1398/1898; _6469/201/1909; _8037/562/1916; _6034/464/ 1917; _8771/900/1922; _6080/548/1924; _981/562/1931; _1004/1933; _8169/543/1940; StaH 332-3Zivilstandsaufsicht_ A125 Nr. 990; StaH 351-11 Amt für Wiedergutmachung _15317; 741-4 A254; E-Mail Josè Martin, Kampwesterbork, Niederlande am 16.2.2016; www.dasjuedischehamburg.de (Zugriff am 27.3.2016); www.gerechte-der-pflege.net/wiki/index.php/Apeldoornsche_Bosch (zugegriffen am 20.2.2016); www.joodsmonument.nl/page/408346?lang=en (zugegriffen am 18.2.2016);diverse Adressbücher Hamburg; www.wikipedia.org/wiki/206._Division_(DeutschesKaiserreich) (zugegriffen am 23.1.2016); www.denkmalprojekt.org/verlustlisten/rjf_wk1.html (zugegriffen am 23.1.2016); Gottwaldt/Schulle, "Judendeportationen", S. 111, 113, 125f., 221; Stein, "Jüdische Baudenkmäler", S. 114f.
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