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Adele Friedberg (née Goldschmidt) * 1862

Rappstraße 15 (Eimsbüttel, Rotherbaum)

1942 Theresienstadt
ermordet 10.04.1943

further stumbling stones in Rappstraße 15:
Julie Hirsch, Bella Hirsch, Leopold Hirsch, Rosa Kuntzsch

Adele Friedberg, née Goldschmidt, born 9.6.1862 in Wandsbek, deported to Theresienstadt on 19.7.1942, died there on 10.4.1943

Rappstraße 15 (Eimsbüttel)

Adele Goldschmidt was born on June 9, 1862 in Wandsbek as the daughter of the Jewish couple Levy Goldschmidt and Bernhardine, née Hesslein. Her father was a butcher by trade and was also on record under the first name Louis. The family can be found for the first time in the Wandsbek address book in the year of Adele's birth under the entry "L. Goldschmidt, Schlachter, Kampstr. 7" and again in 1865 in the residential quarter in Mathildenstraße to the west of the Hamburg border. From 1866 she lived in Hamburg, first at 2. Marienstraße 14, in 1870 in the street Eichholz 10 near the harbor and from about 1875 to 1879 in the old town of Hamburg, Brauerstraße 7.

The repeated changes of residence suggest a growing number of children, and possibly also precarious income circumstances. It has not been possible to find out how many siblings Adele Goldschmidt ultimately had. One sister is mentioned by name in the files, Emma Cohn/Kohn, who lived in St. Pauli, Sophienstraße 27, in the early 1930s.

Nothing is known about Adele's or her sister's childhood, youth and possible education.

On December 7, 1884, at the age of 22, Adele Goldschmidt married Samuel Friedberg (born 1853 in Hamburg), who was also Jewish and nine years her senior. He was listed in the address books and records under the job titles Comptoirist (clerk/office worker), Agent (representative), and later as a commercial clerk.

At the end of 1885, son Alphons was born (biography see www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de), followed two years later by daughter Ella. Hugo, the couple's third child, was born in 1889, and Herbert in 1891. The Jewish community's Jewish religious tax card also lists a latecomer, daughter Bernhardine/Dina, born in 1902. In the family records, the number of children is sometimes given as "six". It can be assumed that another child - presumably born between 1890 and 1900 - died at an early age.

In this early period of family life, the Friedbergs lived in Altona at Adolphstraße 42 and 154. They were not listed in the address books of Altona and Hamburg between 1892 and 1895. It was not until 1896 that an entry reads "S. Friedberg, Agent, Rosenhofstr. 1". This meant that they had arrived in Hamburg's Schanzenviertel district, but in 1910 their address was Schlachterstraße 47 (today near Neanderstraße to the west of Großneumarkt). Five years later, they lived in what is now the Weidenstieg district at Lindenallee 18 and then at Margarethenstraße 35, where Adele Friedberg also lived after she became a widow in 1922.

As already mentioned, frequent changes of residence indicate a growing family, but can also point to precarious financial circumstances. Both were true of the Friedberg family, as they had been dependent on financial support since 1900. In 1905, Samuel Friedberg was sentenced to one day in prison for begging. Between 1912 and 1914, they received one-off payments of 50 to 150 marks from Jewish foundations. They apparently lived in great poverty, because on Jan.10, 1915 Samuel Friedberg (who possessed Hamburg citizenship) wrote to the "Special Fund of the General Poor Relief Institution" and asked that a rent for December 1914 be paid.

The reason he gave was that he was unable to work due to an old stomach and intestinal ailment and "therefore the M 3.50 is also cancelled (for a minor occupation A.L.), since (I) on the advice of the doctor Dr. Gottberg... am not allowed to work or even leave the house for the time being." He also pointed out that the earnings of his daughter Ella, who had contributed to the household income but had since lost her position as a result of the war, had been lost. Finally, Samuel Friedberg expressed the hope that his request could be granted, otherwise he would be "unconditionally suspended" by the landlord, i.e. expelled from the apartment.

It is not clear from the files how the matter was settled. In any case, the person responsible for the "special fund" rejected the request. An internal memo dated February 2, 1915 states: "No case for the special fund... have already received a lot of support in 1914."

At the end of 1921, another request for support for rent was recorded. The Hamburg Welfare Authority was now responsible. It was entitled to call on the children to support their parents, but Samuel Friedberg obviously wanted to avoid this and withdrew his application. At the end of February, however, the welfare authority temporarily granted him funds as his unemployment benefit had expired. However, the office once again referred internally to the adult children: the three sons Alphons, Hugo and Herbert Friedberg were in a position to pay, they each ran an agency in Weißwaren. The welfare officer also doubted that the daughter Ella had to run the household for her mother Adele Friedberg; the mother could do it herself or the daughter would have to do it after work.

In the meantime, Samuel Friedberg had been granted a disability pension of 88.90 M per month. But he was not able to enjoy his retirement for long, he died on March 21, 1922.

Adele Friedberg, now widowed, was also registered with the welfare authorities. At the end of 1922, the authorities again noted that she could be supported by her children and did not need to claim welfare. The file shows that she had been registered in Hamburg since 1903 and had lived in a 4-room apartment at Margarethenstraße 35 since 1916. Her daughter Ella, married name Rühmke, and her son-in-law lived in two of the rooms and paid rent. From 1916, Adele Friedberg was also a member of the Jewish Community, i.e. the German-Israelitic Community of Hamburg.

In the welfare file kept on Adele Friedberg, there are three admission forms according to which the authorities allocated benefits, in 1931, 1936 and 1939. The 1936 form already subdivided the applicants according to the Nazi policy of exclusion. It stated the following about Adele Friedberg in cold bureaucratic language: "Nationality: German Reich. Of German descent: no. Foreign race: Jewish. Religious confession: Mosaic. Without profession. Without income." The welfare benefit forms from 1934-1939 show that Adele Friedberg received sickness certificates for various health complaints. She supported herself with a disability pension and was also supported by the Jewish community. She now lived at Agathenstraße 3 as a subtenant.

The apartments were mainly in Weidenstieg, Grindelviertel and Eimsbüttel. By 1937 there were 12 addresses, she often moved in as a subtenant and once lived with her daughter Dina Grohmann for a short time.

According to the address books, her sons worked as sales representatives, although it is not clear whether they were still in the white goods industry. Alphons lived at Vereinsstraße 61, Hugo at Eimsbütteler Marktplatz 41 and Herbert at Collaustraße 5. All of them had married and Adele Friedberg had become a grandmother several times over:
Son Alphons, married since 1907 to the non-Jewish wife Wilhelmine Elsa, née Schwetscher (1886), had two children: Irma (1907) and Hellmuth (1921). His wife died in 1933. In 1939 he ran a tobacco agency and lived at Grindelallee 168. Apparently unaware that Jews were no longer allowed to own or run commercial or industrial enterprises, he applied for a permit to set up a wholesale business. The application was rejected by the Reichsstatthalter in Hamburg on March 1, 1939. He also no longer received a traveling salesman's license, which meant that he could no longer work as an agent. He had no assets, as the Jewish community had noted, so the Chief Finance Administrator did not issue any "security measures".

Adele Friedberg's daughter Ella Rühmke was also married to a non-Jewish spouse, had a child with him and was an unskilled worker. No further details could be found.

The son Hugo Friedberg had also been married to a non-Jewish partner, Hilda, née Hug (1898 Leipzig), since 1919. The couple had a daughter, Tosca (1922). Hugo Friedberg earned his living in the 1920s as a self-employed salesman working on commission. In 1926 he worked as an employee at the Eimsbüttel Welfare Office. He left the Jewish community in 1934 (Hugo Friedberg survived the Nazi era thanks to his mixed marriage and died in 1967).

His son Herbert Friedberg had been married to Pauline, née Nissensohn (1895 Hamburg), who was also Jewish, since 1920 and had a daughter Carmen (1920) with her. He was a self-employed merchant and linen salesman. In July/August 1938, he unsuccessfully applied for a foreign passport, which was refused, but led to investigations on suspicion of capital flight, as he probably intended to emigrate with his wife and daughter. Herbert Friedberg was also one of those arrested as a result of the November pogrom: from November 10, 1938 to December 23, 1938, he was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp. He was presumably released with the proviso that he should take care of his emigration and force it. He also had no assets. Herbert Friedberg managed to emigrate to Sao Paulo/Brazil at the end of January 1939, and Pauline Friedberg and her daughter Carmen were also able to emigrate there in April. Both spouses had registered the additional names "Israel" and "Sara" at the registry office, which Jewish Germans living abroad were also obliged to do.

The youngest daughter, Bernhardine/Dina, married Grohmann, had two children (Egon and Ursula), her non-Jewish husband worked as a commercial clerk. The marriage ended in divorce. She later married a Jewish man named Levy.

Back to Adele Friedberg: At Rappstraße 15, where the Stolperstein commemorates Adele Friedberg, she only lived as a subtenant with Kramer for a short time from October 4 to December 15, 1936, after which she moved to Kielortallee 4. From September 19, 1941, she was forced to wear the so-called Jewish star. From 18.3.1942, Adele Friedberg lived in a so-called. Jews' house at Schlachterstraße 46-47.

A year later, on July 19, 1942, she had to report to the collection point for deportation from Hamburg. She was not alone, her son Alphons and her daughter Dina/Bernhardine had also received the order. As Jewish partners from mixed marriages that had been dissolved by divorce or death, they no longer enjoyed protection from deportation. Adele Friedberg was listed under number 175 on the deportation list, Alphons under number 759 and Bernhardine, whose new married name was Levy, was given the number 397. They reached Theresienstadt on July 20, 1942 on transport VI/2. None of them survived there.

In a letter sent to Adele’s daughter Ella Rühmke in 1955 by the head of the Terezín Tracing Service, which was under the control of the Czechoslovakian military mission based in Berlin-Dahlem, it was stated that Adele Friedberg had died in Terezín on April 10, 1943. She added: "Death certificate was not preserved."

Alphons Friedberg also died there on 1.6.1943. "Mr. Friedberg was burned on 3.6.1943. The death certificate was not preserved." (A Stolperstein commemorates him at Vereinsstraße 61).

We learn about Bernhardine Levy from the Tracing Service's letter: "Deported to the East on 28.10.1944 on transport Ev 286, where she probably perished, as most of these people did not survive." Finally, it was noted: "This confirmation can serve the purpose of a judicial declaration of death." Bernhardine Levy was murdered in Auschwitz. (Stumbling stones for Bernhardine and John Levy are located at Bundesstraße 40).

Between 1949 and 1954, Adele Friedberg's three surviving children filed applications for compensation for their mother's imprisonment in a concentration camp. As an heir, Ella Rühmke was awarded 1/5, i.e. 270 DM, in compensation for imprisonment, but the tax authorities lodged an objection against this because she had missed a deadline. The application submitted by Herbert Friedberg from Sao Paulo was also rejected due to a missed deadline.

He also claimed his own injuries from imprisonment in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he had suffered frostbite on his hands. Without success. Hugo Friedberg had apparently adhered to the deadlines and was awarded compensation for his mother's imprisonment. More than ten years later, Adele Friedberg's four grandchildren, as descendants of Alphons Friedberg and Dina Grohmann/Levy, submitted a joint partial certificate of inheritance.

On April 6, 1960, the 7-member community of heirs received a total of 2,700 DM for Adele Friedberg's deprivation or restriction of liberty, less amounts already paid. The proceedings concerning her property dragged on until 1962, as the tax authorities again lodged an objection and used the welfare files from the Nazi era as evidence to prove Adele Friedberg's poverty. According to these, she had neither assets nor material assets and therefore the heirs' applications for restitution were irrelevant. In May 1962, the heirs informed the Office for Restitution that they were withdrawing all applications for restitution.

Translation by Beate Meyer

Stand: December 2023
© Astrid Louven

Quellen: StaHH 522-1 Jüdische Gemeinden 992b Kultussteuerkartei der Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeinde Hamburg; StaHH 213-13 25257 Landgericht Hamburg Rückerstattung; StaHH 351-11_756 Amt für Wiedergutmachung; StaHH 314-15_R1939/2042 Oberfinanzpräsident; StaHH 314-15_R1938/1176 Oberfinanzpräsident; Adressbuch Wandsbek 1862, 1865; Adressbuch Altona 1886 und 1891 u. 1895, 1905 Adressbuch Hamburg 1885, 1895, 1896, 1900, 1905, 1910, 1915, 1920, 1925.