Search for Names, Places and Biographies

Bernhardine Levy (née Friedberg) * 1902

Bundesstraße 40 (Eimsbüttel, Rotherbaum)

HIER WOHNTE
BERNHARDINE LEVY
GEB. FRIEDBERG
JG. 1902
DEPORTIERT 1942
THERESIENSTADT
1944 AUSCHWITZ
ERMORDET

further stumbling stones in Bundesstraße 40:
John Levy

Bernhardine Levy, née Friedberg, born 12.7.1902, in Hamburg, deported to Theresienstadt on 19.7.1942, and to Auschwitz on 28.10.1944

John Levy, born 9.12.1884, in Altona, deported to Theresienstadt on 19.7.1942, then to Auschwitz on 28.10.1944

Bundesstraße 40 (Eimsbüttel)

Bernhardine Levy, née Friedberg, was the youngest child of the Jewish couple Adele Friedberg, née Goldschmidt (born in Wandsbek in 1862), and Samuel Friedberg (born in Hamburg in 1853). Her father worked as a clerk, agent (representative), and commercial employee. Nothing is known about her mother's occupation.

Bernhardine, also known as Dina, had four older siblings: Ella (born in 1887) and her brothers Alphons (born in 1885), Hugo (born in 1889), and Herbert (1891). In the 1880s, the Friedbergs lived in Altona, at Adolphstraße 42 and 154, respectively. Later, they lived in the Hamburg city area.

The family's life was marked by numerous moves, which, in addition to the growing number of children, suggests precarious income conditions.
From 1900 onwards, the family was dependent on financial support. Jewish foundations helped them to survive with one-off payments, but they remained poor. In 1914, they were in danger of being evicted from their apartment due to rent arrears.

Bernhardine's father died on March 21, 1922, shortly after his old-age pension had been approved.

Her now widowed mother continued to live at Margarethenstraße 35 in a four-room apartment, which she shared with her married daughter Ella and her son-in-law Carl Rühmke. Adele Friedberg earned her living from a disability pension and was also supported by the Jewish community.
Nothing is known about Bernhardine Friedberg's schooling or professional activities.

In 1922, at the age of 20, Bernhardine married Ernst Grohmann (born September 26, 1896), a clerk six years her senior who later became an insurance agent. He was the illegitimate son of Maria Cäcilie Bielfeld, née Grohmann (born in 1859 in Berlin), a Catholic woman who had been widowed for several years. Ernst and Bernhardine Grohmann initially lived with Bernhardine's mother at Margarethenstraße 35. Their son Egon was born on June 7, 1923.

In 1927, the family moved to Eidelstedter Weg 65. Ernst Grohmann was now listed in the address book as a sales assistant, i.e., a salesman. When their daughter Ursula was born on June 17, 1929, the family was living at Koppel 9 in St. Georg. Ernst Grohmann was once again working as an insurance clerk. Both children were Protestant. Their father must have converted to Judaism at some point, which was extremely rare for husbands, but we do not know when. On November 15, 1930, he left the Jewish Community of Hamburg.

There are no entries for Ernst Grohmann in the Hamburg address books between 1932 and 1936, because from July 1933 to August 1935 he lived in Lübeck, where he worked for the Volksfürsorge. According to a later note, he worked for this insurance company for 16 years, at times probably also on a part-time basis.

In 1935, the family lived in Hamburg at Grindelallee 44 and a year later at Beim Schlump 52b. We do not know what their everyday life was like. In 1936, their daughter Ursula was sent to the North Sea for several months of spa treatment. Their son Egon had been able to take part in such a treatment in 1932.

The couple had been living apart since April 29, 1937. A clerk noted in the family's welfare file: "The wife is not Aryan, which led to discord. Divorce proceedings have been filed. Reconciliation hearing on April 15, 1937, unsuccessful.” In other words, the marriage could no longer withstand the political pressure exerted on so-called mixed marriages.

In August 1937, the couple divorced and were found equally guilty because, according to the judgment, they had been estranged for years.
The children initially lived with their mother, i.e., in 1936 at Grindelallee 93, and the following year they were registered at Eppendorfer Weg 88.
On June 21, 1938, Bernhardine entered into a second marriage with the printer (assistant) John Levy. He was the son of Jewish merchant Moritz Abraham Levy (1850 Apenrade – 1911 Altona) and Dorette Mathilde Christine Levy, née Abraham (1852–1929 Altona). Although John Levy's mother had presented a birth certificate from the main parish of St. Trinitatis in Altona, which also documented her baptism, the registrar had noted "Mosaic” as her religion. She had probably converted to Judaism. During the Nazi era, this meant that the son became a "Geltungsjude” (the Nazi term for "half-Jews” who were classified as Jewish and treated as a Jew) under the Nuremberg Race Laws.

John Levy had five older siblings who were also born in Altona.

This was John Levy's third marriage. His first marriage in 1909 was to Gertrud Jacobsohn (born August 20, 1887), who came from a Jewish family. They had a daughter, Mona (born June 19, 1910). According to the entry on the marriage certificate, John Levy worked as a cashier. He had been registered as a member of the Jewish community since 1912.

John Levy had served in World War I since 1916 as a soldier in the 2nd Company of Army Battalion 121 in Rostock and was discharged as a "private,” i.e., a simple soldier. In the post-war period, he found it difficult to regain his footing in civilian life. His marriage ended in divorce in 1923.
From the mid-1920s onwards, he tried his hand at selling tobacco products, especially cigars, from various addresses and temporary premises. Between 1926 and 1939, he was registered at eleven addresses, often as a subtenant, as can be seen from his welfare file. He also worked in his profession from time to time, and between 1927 and 1931 he was briefly employed in various printing shops. He married a second time, to a Christian wife, Adolfine, née Danckert, (November 4, 1888). She fell ill with a tumor at the age of 37 and was treated at the Israelite Hospital in 1926.
In 1927, John Levy applied for a loan from the welfare authority so that he could continue running his shop. An official visited the shop on July 5 of that year. In his visit report, he described the location of the shop on Kohlhöfen Street as good, as the street was very busy and the shop was accessible at ground level. He went on to say: "If there were sufficient stock, it would be possible to make a living. However, it must also be taken into account that Mrs. L., with her made-up and powdered face, does not make a good impression as a businesswoman.” He concluded by noting: "...the loan cannot be approved because of the wife.”

The marriage did not last long, and the couple divorced in June 1929.

In the early 1930s, John Levy fell ill and was treated as a patient at the Israelite Hospital and the Eppendorf Hospital. However, his application for a nursing allowance for recovery was not granted. John Levy repeatedly approached the welfare office with requests for assistance. An employee of the office visited Levy at Catharinenstraße 29, where his shop was now located and where he also slept. The official noted that Levy was in poor health. However, the welfare officer rejected Levy's suggestion to increase his sick pay so that he could eat better. The visit report notes: "...can hardly be approved from WB funds” (welfare authority). From June 1931, Levy received unemployment benefits.

In 1932, he was remanded in custody on suspicion of concealing evidence. We do not know the reasons for this. From prison, he wrote letters to his then fiancée, Hermine Müllner, who lived in his apartment at Zeughausmarkt 33.

In 1936/37, John Levy was imprisoned once again, this time under Nazi law, on charges of "racial defilement.” After his release, he applied for crisis maintenance in 1937. At that time, he was living at Eppendorfer Weg 88 with his "bride” Bernhardine Grohmann and her children – the couple married in June 1938. The couple must have taken up work for a short time, but both were laid off again in 1938.

On November 12, 1938, Bernhardine Levy arrived at the welfare office at 8 a.m. John Levy had been arrested during the November pogroms. According to the official record, she had "nothing to live on” and urgently needed money. In addition, she was in danger of losing her apartment at the end of the month due to rent arrears. "After being told that a home inspection would have to be carried out first, she demanded to speak to the manager in charge. Despite the prevailing sentiment against Jews, Ms. L. (Jewish) was very persistent and refused to be turned away,” noted the social worker.

On November 18, 1938, a home visit was made to Bernhardine Levy and her children, where the official inspected the poor living conditions. He noted that, in addition to John Levy, two of Bernhardine's brothers were also in concentration camp custody in Sachsenhausen (see also the biography of Adele Friedberg www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de). Levy had been unemployed for 1 ½ years and received RM 12.30 in crisis assistance per week. It further states: "The woman lives with the children from her first marriage, the children are of mixed race. Egon, a delicate blond boy, commercial apprentice. Daughter delicate and weak-chested, attends the Kielortallee elementary school." Bernhardine's first marriage had ended in divorce in 1937 after 15 years. Grohmann, the first husband, paid child support. He intended to take the children in after his remarriage, as it would be better for them to grow up in an "Aryan” household. However, Bernhardine Levy did not want to be separated from the children. Regarding the living conditions, he noted that the family lived in two dark rooms in a shared apartment, "furnished in the most meager way.” They also cooked and slept there. This accommodation had been terminated as of December 1, and there was no prospect of another one.

In view of these circumstances, the welfare office approved appropriate benefits, including payment of the rent. The official was particularly concerned with improving the situation of the children, who had been unjustly affected by the imprisonment of their stepfather. Furthermore, the standard rates for full Jews did not apply to "half-Jews.” Thus, the higher standard rate was approved for them, while their mother had to make do with the lower rate for Jews. The report ended with the words: "No help from third parties. The people are completely destitute. Immediate help is needed.”

After her parents' divorce, Ursula initially lived with her mother, but in 1939 she was living with her father, who had since remarried. The nine-year-old was only allowed to visit her mother every four weeks.

However, contact was lost when her mother was deported in 1942, when Ursula was 13 years old.

A motion filed by Ursula Busch mentions postcards from her mother as evidence, but these are no longer in the file. However, there had been no news from her since October 10, 1943. At that time, Bernhardine was still imprisoned in Theresienstadt.

Ursula finished elementary school in 1944 at the age of 15 and wanted to become a hairdresser. Since her mother was Jewish, she was unable to take up an apprenticeship "for racial reasons” and took a position in a household.

Egon and Ursula Grohmann were fortunate in all this misfortune that they were not treated as "Geltungsjuden” (see above), but as ‘Mischlinge’ (non-Jewish half-Jews). Although they were "half-Jews,” their father at the time of their birth had belonged to the Jewish community at the time of their birth. The authorities usually took advantage of this constellation to treat those affected as "Geltungsjuden” like Jews. In this case, this did not happen, perhaps because they lived with their father, who was no longer a member of the Jewish community, and his non-Jewish wife.

For the Levy couple, the downward spiral continued even after John Levy was released from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp on December 21, 1938. In 1939, the issue was rental assistance for an apartment at Klocksweg I near Katz. It is also on record for this year that Bernhardine did not want to perform "compulsory labor,” which was routinely imposed on welfare recipients, especially Jewish ones. She reported sick and had to see a medical examiner. John Levy did not comply with this request without giving any reason.

Since August 1939, Bernhardine and John Levy had been subletting a room from the warehouse clerk Simenauer at Bundesstraße 40. In the meantime, the Nazi state had enacted new anti-Jewish measures, and so at the end of February 1940, John Levy reported to the Altona registry office that he had taken the now mandatory additional first name "Israel” on April 18, 1939. A letter with the same content followed from Bernardine Levy, who had now been forced to take the additional name "Sara.” As required, the couple "requested” that a corresponding entry be made in the register. The Altona registrar sent Levy's letter to the Hamburg Legal Office, the competent supervisory authority, "due to late notification.” This notification had serious consequences.

An official note dated March 5, 1940 states that the Levys had declared that they were not aware of the legal requirement to adopt an additional first name because they did not read newspapers. It was only an acquaintance who had pointed this out to them.

The couple were then visited and questioned by Police Sergeant Hoheim from the 25th police station. The police report indicates that John Levy had worked as a printer's assistant but had been unemployed since October 6, 1939, and was receiving weekly unemployment benefits of RM 16.70. His wife was also unemployed and was supported by her husband. They had to pay RM 15 per month for an unfurnished room. When asked about his parents, John Levy stated that his father was Jewish and his mother was "Aryan.” (A birth certificate issued in 1957 lists both parents as "Mosaic,” but the mother's first names (see above) indicate a Christian background; as mentioned above she may have converted to Judaism when she had married.) With a non-Jewish mother, John Levy would later have had the chance to escape deportation. However, he was apparently unable to prove that his mother was of non-Jewish origin. Bernhardine Levy was undisputedly Jewish.

The Levy couple had no identity documents other than their registration form.

In May 1940, penalty orders were issued for the late registration of their additional names: the Levys were each fined 15 RM, with the alternative of three days' imprisonment. Their confession was considered evidence.

The couple appealed against the decision at the district court. On June 5, however, they withdrew their appeal and agreed to pay 3 RM per day for 14 days. By July 15, John Levy had paid three installments to the district court, totaling 9 RM.

In the meantime, the couple had submitted a petition for clemency to the "Führer of Hamburg,” Reich Governor and NSDAP Gauleiter Karl Kaufmann, dated June 11, 1940. In his letter, John Levy described his professional and personal situation. Bernhardine Levy also wrote a similar letter to Kaufmann. It cannot be determined with certainty whether the letters played a decisive role in protecting the couple from the loss of their money and freedom. In any case, on July 9, 1940, the district court waived the enforcement of the substitute prison sentence "because the fines cannot be collected through no fault of the convicted persons.”

The Levys were apparently not satisfied with this partial victory, because on July 27, 1940, they wrote to Kaufmann again. First, they expressed their gratitude that the prison sentence would not be enforced. While they were still waiting for a decision on their petition for clemency, John Levy wrote, they had already paid 9 RM of their fine in accordance with the court order. Now they had a "heartfelt request” to the Reich Governor: he should arrange for the amount to be refunded to them.

However, the official note dated August 6, 1940, which preceded the reply to the couple, thwarted their plan: "There will be no refund of fines already paid. The Reich Treasury will not waive the penalty." And then followed a passage—whether naively or cynically worded is difficult to discern: ”So if you have assets again, the Reich Treasury will demand the money from you immediately. Incidentally, no remission of punishment has taken place."

From September 19, 1941, the couple were forced to wear the so-called Jewish star. At that time, they were subletting a room at Peterstraße 33 from Simon (see biography of Louise Simon www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de).

Their last residence was in the so-called Jewish house at Schlachterstraße 46/47. From there, they had to report to the collection point for deportation from Hamburg on July 19, 1942. They were not alone; Bernhardine's mother Adele Friedberg and her brother Alphons had also received the order. Adele Friedberg was listed as number 175 on the deportation list, Alphons as number 759, Bernhardine as number 397, and John Levy as number 403.

They reached the Theresienstadt ghetto on July 20, 1942, with transport VI/2.

A letter sent in 1955 by the head of the Theresienstadt Search Service—which was subordinate to the Czechoslovak Military Mission based in Berlin-Dahlem—to Alphons' sister Ella Rühmke revealed that Adele Friedberg had died in Theresienstadt on April 10, 1943. (A Stolperstein at Rappstraße 15 commemorates Adele Friedberg; for her biography, see www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de)

Alphons Friedberg also died in Theresienstadt on June 1, 1943. "Mr. Friedberg was cremated on June 3, 1943. The death certificate has not been preserved.” (A Stolperstein at Vereinsstraße 61 commemorates him; for his biography, see www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de)

From the letter sent by the tracing service, we learn that Bernhardine Levy was "deported to the East” on October 28, 1944, on transport Ev 286, where she was presumably murdered. John Levy suffered the same fate. Both were murdered in Auschwitz and declared dead after the war on May 8, 1945. Stolpersteine commemorate them on Bundesstraße 40, where they had lived as subtenants.

Bernhardine's children filed claims for compensation and restitution for their murdered mother in 1950. It was not until 1960 that a settlement was reached between the authorities and the siblings Egon Grohmann and Ursula Busch, née Grohmann, and they received compensation.

Ursula Busch was also recognized as having suffered educational damage and was compensated. At the end of the 1960s, she developed physical and psychological complaints, which she attributed to the persecution she had suffered. However, the medical experts found "no connection to the persecution” and ruled out a reduction in earning capacity. Ursula's application for hardship compensation under § 171 BEG was also rejected in 1973.

John Levy's daughter from his first marriage, Mona Becker, née Levy, who was widowed, had also filed a claim for reparations in 1958. She had been a pediatric nurse and had lived in Berlin in 1932, where she worked as an employee in a children's home. In 1933, she became responsible for supporting her father.

At the end of 1940, she married Julius Franz Hans Buchholz (born March 6, 1910, in Berlin).

According to her own statements, she spent the Nazi era in Berlin, at times hiding underground. However, she was arrested in Berlin and deported to Auschwitz on July 14, 1944. From there, she was transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp about three months later (as a political-Jewish persecuted person). By that time, her husband had already died. The circumstances of his death are unknown. (He could not be assigned to a deportation transport). Mona Buchholz experienced the liberation of Buchenwald in April 1945. She may have spent some time in Germany in a DP camp (where former concentration camp prisoners were temporarily housed) before arriving in the United States.

In 1948, Mona Buchholz was living in New York and had acquired American citizenship. She was her father's sole heir. In 1960, a settlement was reached in which the claims of the three descendants of Bernhardine and John Levy were combined.

According to the 1940 address book, Ernst Grohmann lived in Wilhelmsburg, Siebenbrüderweide 62. He earned his living as a dock worker. In 1962, his two children also lived at this address, as can be seen from the restitution files. Their father died in 1963.

The example of the Friedberg and Levy families shows how poverty can be "inherited” across several generations and how economic crises and war can further entrench precarious conditions. It also highlights the extent to which spouses and children were affected by the murder of their relatives, especially since there was little space within families and society in the early Federal Republic to help them process their trauma.

Translation Beate Meyer

Stand: November 2025
© Astrid Louven

Quellen: StaHH 522-1 Jüdische Gemeinden 992b Kultussteuerkartei der Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeinde Hamburg; StaHH 213-11_60175 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht Strafsachen; StaHH 213-13_20999 Rückerstattung; StaHH 351-11_25831 Amt für Wiedergutmachung; StaHH 351-11_7134 Amt für Wiedergutmachung; StaHH 351-11_49420 Amt für Wiedergutmachung; StaHH 351-11_30787 Amt für Wiedergutmachung; StaHH 351-14 Arbeits- und Sozialwesen, Einzelfälle Nr. 1459 + 1460; StaHH 332-5_6355+2769; Adressbuch Wandsbek 1862, 1865; Adressbuch Altona 1886 und 1891 u. 1895, 1905 Adressbuch Hamburg 1885, 1895, 1896, 1900, 1905, 1910, 1915, 1920, 1925; 1926-1931, 1937, 1940; Mona Buchholz Karteikarte https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/search/person/11215445?s=hans%20buchholz&t=2575414&p=0
Mona Buchholz https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/archive/1-1-5-4_01010504-008-017; Gedenkbuch Bundesarchiv https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/de/search/person/11225406?s=hans%20buchholz&t=2575181&p=0
Mails von Jutta Wrage vom 12.11. + 13.11.2025.