Background
June 24th, 2003 by Joel Goldwein
This is a chronicle of the Bar Mitzvah heritage trip in June of 2003 for Eric Goldwein and Charles Baron. Eric’s Great-Grandfather, Moritz Goldwein, had been the Rabbi and Jewish teacher for a small town in Germany up until approximately 1939. In 1938, Eric’s Grandfather, Manfred Goldwein, was sent by his parents to live with cousins in Delaware, USA. He was only 13 years old at the time, and was probably the last to have had a Bar Mitzvah in the synagogue in Korbach Germany. The synagogue and school, where Moritz, Rosa and Manfred had lived, were destroyed on Kristallnacht in November 1938. Moritz and his wife Rosa were not able to get out of Germany and perished in Auschwitz. By the end of WWII, Judaism in the town of Korbach was all but destroyed.
The trip was inspired by a desire to show our children the town where their grandfather and great grandparents had once lived, the wish to link the tradition of a Bar Mitzvah to an important (albeit infamous) epoch in Jewish and our personal history, the desire to restore (even if symbolic) Judaism to the community, and the desire to fulfill the last wishes of Moritz and Rosa (based on their last letter to Manfred inscribed in his Diary).
My dear, dear Boy!
When you receive this book, it will not be sent thru us but others. So you must not be sad, for we are in God’s dear Hand and really in God’s own Land. I want you to walk His ways, for you are a son of the Chosen People; you are a link of the long chain that began in the past and reaches into eternity. Be a worthy man, a good and true Israelite and so I hope to see you again.
I love you for ever and ever.Your true Father.
My Dear Good Boy!
This book I send you through a good friend who was always good and brave to us and in our need and pressures always stood by our side. My thoughts are with you day and night, my dear boy. Perhaps if the dear God will let us live and grants us that we can be reunited. But if it should not come about, may dear God protect you. Remain good and brave as you have always been. I know that you and all the dear ones over there have done all to save us but fate decided otherwise. You know that we have always done good deeds and that we have remained in God’s path. Don’t forget us, my dear son, as we shall never forget you. Once more, remain a good mensch, do your duty. Regards to all the loved ones from us. Farewell, my dear child. I hug and kiss you fervently.
Your Mother!
The ceremony itself was coordinated with the very kind and generous assistance of Mrs. Debbie Tal-Ruttger of the Judische Liberale Gemeinde Emet we-Schalom congregation based in Gudensberg, Germany. That congregation numbers perhaps 25 to 30 members, and is composed of many recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union who have come to Germany to escape poverty, repression, and anti-Semitism. Some members of the congregation attended and participated in the ceremony. This was particularly fitting since such congregations represent the future of Judaism in Germany. Germany currently has one of the fastest growing Jewish populations in the World, largely due to the influx of Russian Jews.
Also in attendance were Korbach Burgermeister Klaus Friedrich, Herr Christoph Knebel (Kulturamt der Kreisstadt) and Korbach Stadtarchivist Herr Karl Wilke. Family in attendance included Doris and Richard Greenstein, Stanley and Cynthia Amberg, and Ms. Martine Wolff. Our very close friends, the Barons (Richard, Madeline, Lizzy and Charles), also joined us. Charles Baron, Eric's best friend, had his Bar Mitzvah in Korbach along with Eric.
Of note, Korbach is a wonderful town of approximately 75,000 located 45 km west of Kassel, Germany. The nearest active Jewish congregation besides the one in Gutensberg is based in Kassel, and is Orthodox.
14 Responses to “Background”
Dear Mark Goldwein–
Thank you for your letter. My memories of Moritz Goldwein are dimmed by time. I remember him as a good Hebrew teacher and as the man who led all of the services in our Korbach synagogue.
As to the identity of the Korbach family that befriended your great grandparents, I can be of no help. The only contact I made when my brother and I returned to Korbach in 1945 was with a former neighbor, a simple peasant woman, who saw the two of us in U.S. Army uniforms and burst out with an incredulous "What, you FOUGHT against US?’
Are you aware of the book researched and written by a "young people’s research organization," with the help of the town archivist, and published in 1989 by the city of Korbach? "Judenverfolgung in Kobach" (Persecution of Jews in Korbach) contains (on page 71) an eye-witness account by a Herr Plutz of events on Nov. 9, 1938. Here is my rough translation: "The Jewish teacher Moritz Goldwein and the houseowner family Straus were brought out of the Jewish school and were made to stand up against a fence, where bypassers would kick them in the ass or spit on them. All sorts of things happened in full public view." The book reports that both Moritz and Rosa Goldwein later perished in Auschwitz. The same youth group also prepared a detailed history of Jews in Korbach, beginning with the first settlement of Jews in the 18th century.
You may also be interested in a new bok by my cousin, Werner Neuburger, who grew up in nearby Battenberg. It is "Dark Clouds Don’t Stay Forever, Memoirs of a Jewsish German Boy in the 1930s and 1940s." The book, published by http://www.Publishamerica.com, has a number of references to Korbach. (I am identified as Hans, my given name). The U.S. Holocaust Museum here in Washington has scheduled a book signing for May 20, next year.
All good wishes for the new year,
–Henry Lowenstern (Oct 3, 2006)
[9/29/2006]
I lived in Korbach during this difficult time in the same house as the senior Goldweins and remember so well the hardships they had to endure. Marianne Weizenkorn was my dear friend and my heart was heavy to see the pain and suffering. Mr. Goldwein coducted classes and tried to keep his small flock together.
When Manfred left for the Unites States, the Goldweins had their appartment at the property of the Schleichers, which was adjacent to my parents store. I recall that Manfred came to Germany after the colapse of Germany in 1945 or 1946.
[10/2/2006]
I did read the text of "One in a Thousand" in it’s entirety. It has brought back many memories of my childhood in Korbach and a time in Germany’s history many would like to forget. This booklet will be a treasure for generations and I applaud you for you documentation part of your family’s history.
You asked me, if I would have knowledge about the person that might have saved the booklet for Manfred and I came across the name of one person , who had given Manfred some farewell gifts, not being Jewish. It is most likely, that she was the person to save it for him. The Neuhaus family had a grocery/gift store. located on the Bahnhostrasse. She was a woman of deep faith (catholic) and the most likely, that I can think of.
My parents did not own a building and therefor rented space for their store. My mother was a designer of fine needlework and embroideries, we also sold textiles. At the time of the Crystall night we were located on the Stechbahn, the house on the right, as you enter Tempel Strasse. It has since been "saniert", the show windows have disappeared and I think the Kohlhagen family owned it. Prior to this , we were located at the Klosterstrasse, directly opposite the "Alte Landesschule". To my earlier collection, I thought it was there, that I had seen Manfred for the last time. So we are going back almost 70 years….more than a lifetime…..
To come to a close, I wish all of you the best the life can offer, especially during this special time of the year. May you count your blessings and the day, when a young boy set out for a better life to a distant country.
[7/8/2003]
Hi Joel,
I have been away for a bit. Thanks for mailing us all that information. It, s great reading about the Bar Mitzvah and seeing the pictures. It must have been an unforgettable experience for your whole family.
I would not have recognized Corbach. When we lived there the population was about 8000 people if I remember correctly.
Best wishes,
Ruth
[6/9/2003]
Joel
I do not know who the woman who returned your father’s journal might have been.
I remember the Lebensbaums but do not know what happened to them. Their children are on the picture which i will send you today
Ruth
[6/7/2003]
Hello Joel
Your Grandfather was my teacher and rabbi and your father my and my brother’s friend and playmate. Of course I knew your grandparents very well. I have a picture of your grandfather in front of the Hebrew School with all his students,
I visited with your parents a number of years ago and he showed me the pictures that he had taken on a visit to Korbach.
What a marvelous idea to have a Bar Mitzvah at the site of the former synagogue.
I would love to hear all about it.
Best wishes,
Ruth Mosheim Rubin
[Fri 12/19/2003 11:04 AM]
Shabat Shalom,
Thank you so much for the home page.
It was a really marvellous Hanukka – present.
……it is not " a moment ", but, until now, more than 3 hours I spent on this very interesting and moving page!! Bravo!! it must have taken a very long time to put all of the huge material together.
I felt specially close to it because, as you know, I was born in Kassel in 1923. The Goldwein – family lived in Meimbressen a village next to Kassel, for a few hunderd years. My father also served in the German army , and very many things are very similar to my story …
I shall put a few things together and send to you.
maybe you will be interested in them ..
CHAG URIM SAMEACH
(a happy feast of lights )
Dr. Eliezer Goldwyn
To the Goldwein family,
I did read the text of “One in a Thousand” in it’s entirety. It has brought back many memories of my childhood in Korbach and a time in Germany’s history many would like to forget.
This booklet will be a treasure for generations and I applaud you for you documentation part of your family’s history.
You asked me, if I would have knowledge about the person that might have saved the booklet for Manfred and I came across the name of one person , who had given Manfred some farewell gifts, not being Jewish.
It is most likely, that she was the person to save it for him.
The Neuhaus family had a grocery/gift store. located on the Bahnhostrasse. She was a woman of deep faith ( catholic)and the most likely, that I can think of.
My parents did not own a building and therefor rented space for their store.
My mother was a designer of fine needlework and embroideries,we also sold textiles. At the time of the Crystall night we were located on the Stechbahn, the house on the right, as you enter Tempel Strasse.It has since been “saniert”, the show windows have disappeared and I think the Kohlhagen family owned it. Prior to this , we were located at the Klosterstrasse, directly opposite the “Alte Landesschule” To my earlier collection, I thought it was there, that I had seen Manfred for the last time.
So we are going back almost 70 years….more than a lifetime…..
To come to a close, I wish all of you the best the life can offer, especially during this special time of the year. May you count your blessings and the day, when a young boy set out for a better life to a distant country.
My best wishes to you all
Ruth Rafajko-Hesse
Dear Joel,
I was delighted to have just recently found your web site titled “Korbach, Germany Bar Mitzvah Trip”.
I was most impressed with the content, the photos, and most importantly the precious diary. It truly is a reminder of the dark period in German history and the nightmare that played out in the many towns, villages and larger cities throughout the country. Your site is a true testament and a legacy that I am delighted you have created for your family and many others that understand and feel the pain.
I myself have a close connection to Korbach. My mother was born there in 1930. The house she was born in is known as the Haus Fischer and still stands in the Hagen Strasse just a few minutes stroll to the downtown area. The Haus Fischer today remains under historical protection laws as it was designed and built by one of Germany’s most prominent architects, a gentleman by the name of Carl Weidemeyer, 1882-1976. The city of Korbach is still today, attempting to purchase it from the current owners.
Since finding your site, it was actually a friend that just recently forwarded it to me, I have been sharing the names from the diary with my mother. I haven’t had the chance just yet to sit down with her and to view the site in its entirety. She seems to recognize a few of the names and the longer I stay on it with her, the more names she seems to remember.
In fact, my grandfather Eduard Fischer and Herr Lebensbaum were best friends. Both served in the German Army in WW I. If I’m not mistaken, I believe you had an inquiry from someone posting a comment in your site as to not knowing what became of the Lebensbaum family. It is my understanding that the entire family returned from one of the concentration camps to Korbach where they lived out their lives. They are buried in Korbach as well. They were true Korbacher and loved the town and were adamant about staying there after the war.
The Lebensbaum family also lived in the Hagen Strasse and took up residence once again in their original home. The Lebensbaums had one son and two younger daughters. The son was killed in an accident after the war and the two daughters moved to the United States. Herr Lebensbaums sister married my grandfathers cousin in the 30’s and she became the only Jewish resident to stay behind under the watchful eye of my grandfather to protect her and to ensure her safety. My grandfather tearfully had many heartbreaking goodbyes with his close Jewish friends and a few tearful moments of joy upon those few who returned.
I shall continue to pursue this topic and the names with my mother and should I discover anything of potential interest, will pass it along. It truly would not surprise me, if my grandparents knew the Goldweins. There are others in Korbach that we can ask as well. Thankfully, my mother is still with us and healthy. I’ll continue to seek information.
My father passed away in 2002. He was a young soldier in the 3rd Infantry and it was his unit that rolled into Korbach in the Spring of 1945 and occupied the town for a few weeks before moving onwards into southern Germany. He returned to Korbach in 1950 and married my mother. They spent their first honeymoon night at the Lebensbaum residence. It was Herr Lebensbaum along with some of his Jewish friends that located my grandfather who had become a POW in the Spring of 1945. It was Herr Lebenbaum and other Jewish friends that located his whereabouts to ensure that he was fine and to allow carepackages and letters to come his way from family and friends. My grandfather returned home to Korbach in 1948. He passed on in 1962 and my grandmother Maria Fischer passed away in 1984. The Fischer family was known throughout Korbach and Landkreis Waldeck in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Those that lived then, with their death, so dies the history. That is why it is so important to document and pass along to those that are willing to listen and learn and for that matter, have an interest in the subject matter.
I trust and hope that this e-mail letter comes as a pleasant surprise. I very much look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience and hope that this letter finds you in good health and happiness.
Kindest regards,
Derrick Jones.
March 1, 2008.
Oceanside, CA.
Dear Mr. Goldwein,
The following is likely to become longish Letter, so ‘ll beg you to bear with me.
My name is Herbert D.Rosenbaum. I live with my wife of 60 years in Rockville Centre New York, one hour east of NYC on Long island. I am a retired Professor of Political Science, now 87 years of age. So much for my identity. My own hometown was Grossen-Linden, Kreiss Giessen and my family is descended from people in the villages of that area. The reason for my writing to you is that I and my wife have just finished reading "Don’t Wave Goodbye", that extremely moving account of Freddy’s and others’ rescue from Korbach. And lo and behold, the chapter following pages 123 brought back my own stay in Korbach from Spring 1935 to the fall of 1936. I was a merchant apprenctice in the textile store of the Loewensterns in tumultuous times.
Among my most treasured memories is the role played by your grandfather, the Rabbi, who took it upon himself to bring together under the roof of the synagogue most of the young people of our age for comfort and for the strength to face the travails of life in that community, then beset by hundreds of young Nazis deported from Austria and living in the old military barracks. I find it hard to imagine what our life would have been without Rabbi Goldwein. I was only 14 years old at the time and a good friend of Freddy’s, with whom I recall quite distinctly having gone on a short camping trip at one point. I was saddened to discover that he passed away in 1999. Would it not have been a great delight for me to see him again!
The description of Fred’s trip to Stuttgart rang a bell because we, too, made that trip in the late fall of 1936, in preparation for our own departure for New York in late June of 1937. The Korbach memories came alive for me also on reading the names of the families who endowed his trip to New York with modest gifts for his long journey. Almost every name on that list was familiar to me. I can still picture the youngsters my age, with whom we sometimes traveled by bicycle to the Eder Dam Lake in Wildungen for a Sunday swim. I confess to having been madly in love – at a distance – with one of the Stahl family daughters. She was then what I call now a "knockout". There’s more to tell,of course, but I will forbear doing that at this point.
Dear Marc, I will close for now in the hope that we may continue this contact.
My best wishes to you and your family.
Dear Joel,
Your welcome note intensifies long-dormant memories for me. Hour by hour the names, places and events of the past re-emerge from my mind. I left Korbach in the fall of 1936 when two of my New York cousins, originally from Frankenberg and visiting Germany at that time, urged me, in the Frankenberg churchyard, to lose no time in applying for a U.S.visa. My employer Lowenstern thought it was "an excellent idea" and I evacuated Korbach and my incipient career as a future merchant forthwith. At home in Grosses-Linden matters had turned bad enough so my mother and brother agreed to the idea. To prepare for that eventuality, brother Adolph and apprenticed ourselves to a nearby shop to learn whatever we could about operating machines of all kinds, the assumption being that without knowing English we had to have a way to make a living in America. That turned out to be an excellent idea for me, because I spent the years in New York as a machinist in a number of places until my service in the U.S. Army in ’43, where I also served as a machinist in the 25th Division’s Ordnance Company.
The point of this detailed recital is, simply, that my contacts and thoughts about the Korbach year vanished from my mind. We were so preoccupied with the daily painful details of getting ready to leave, that there simply was nothing else on our minds.
And, once in New York in early July of ’37, dealing with that change was, and continued to be totally absorbing. I don’t believe that even my very efficient and business-like mother wrote so much as a letter or made a phone-call to Korbach about our plans or our departure. Though later I often wondered what happened to all of those good people, I confess that I made little effort to find out first hand. ( Nor did anyone search after me, of course. ) Vague rumors, from where I do not recall, reached us that the Loewensterns had become chicken farmers in Toms River, New Jersey. You may now that quite a few immigrant families , including a few of my own distant family, populated that town.
Returning from Japan in February ’46 I pressed ahead with getting the most from the G.I. Bill and enjoyed finishing High School, going to NYU and then to Columbia for graduate work.
Oh yes,not so incidentally, on July 4th ’46 I met the girl I then married in ’47, even while we were both going to school.
Until the summer of 1974, when we visited Korbach to show our then college-age sons, I had little thought of that place and its people, though I remember vividly trying to locate the Synagogue when we were there, and talking about Rabbi Goldwein and others.
This narrative has omitted mention of one friend, Werner Katz, a man my age, who was a boon companion from Wildungen and also an apprentice in Korbach, whom, believe it or not, I found in Newton Mass. about ten or eleven years ago, entirely by accident. But that, as the saying goes, is another story. We talk about lives in Korbach during our infrequent phone conversations. I must call him to tell him about the latest installment of that saga.
Don’t you think, Joel, that the above narration has used enough of our time for one day ?
And yes, you may use whatever suits you of the story on your Bar Mitzva Archive.
Meanwhile, keep well. I send my best wishes to you and yours.
Herb Rosenbaum
======================================================
On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 11:22 PM, Joel Goldwein wrote:
Dear Dr Rosenbaum:
Thanks for this note. I am Manfred’s son, and I can’t tell you how much it means to us that you have made contact. I am trying to put together as many pieces of my family’s history as possible, and you clearly hold some of the keys. Among the mysteries, I still do not know who the friends were that held my father’s diary with his parents’ last notes. I am very interested in whatever you can contribute to this story, and would like to post the material you add to the http://barmitzvah.goldwein.net web site.
Warm regards, and again, please add whatever you can to help us complete our story.
Joel Goldwein
Hello Joel, My name is Sally Mansberg Rosenberg. I am actually your second cousin once removed. My father, Roy Mansberg is your second cousin. I gave my father a Family Tree DNA kit for his 70th birthday; so we’re on the path of discovery. Your father, Mortiz was my great great Uncle. Moritz was the sister of my great grandmother, Helene Goldwein Wexler. As you probably know, there were four siblings: Helene, Julia, Amelia (Emilie) and Moritz. I think Moritz must have been the youngest because Helene and Julia came to America together before he did. Julia stayed in NY and Helene became a milliner in Montgomery, AL. Helene’s daughter, Hulda married my grandfather Emanuel Mansberg. I’m sure you’re completely confused now! I’ve read One in One Thousand by Marc. It was SO informative. My grandmother told us nothing. I realize how busy you must be, but I would love to talk to you if you could find a few minutes. Hoping to hear from you soon,
Sally Rosenberg
Hello,
I am s cousin–My Grandmother was Meta Goldwein who married Nathan Goldmeier. We did not keep up with much of the family, although my father and his brother, Max and Fred Goldmeier did. I read this with great interest. We live in Atlanta, GA and the Goldmeier’s have a large family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. The only relative we have contact with is Daniel Baer, whose Mother was Hertha Goldwein.
All the best.
I am a mamber of the history club in D-35510 Butzbach/Hesse. I found a letter from Henry Lowenstern 1 st.Lt.Inf. CI/MII I.C.99 in Butzbach /Hessen.
When he still lives I send him his letter from the jear 1945 .
With the best wishes
Bodo Heil
Hi Joel,
Just came across a recently published article dated December 14, 2010 that talks about Korbach and their Jewish past.
Here is the link: http://www.wlz-fz.de/Lokales/Serien/Internationaler-Suchdienst-ITS/Lebensbaum-du-hast-hier-nichts-verloren-Nathan-und-Wittgenstein-ITS-Serie
I wanted to put the story in your possession while it is fresh on my mind.
Trust and hope all is well on your end.
Kindest regards,
Derrick Jones.
January 20, 2012.
Oceanside, CA.
Hi Joel,
Thought you might find this link of interest in the event you were not already aware of it.
http://resources.ushmm.org/Holocaust-Names/List-Catalog/display/details.php?type=nlcat&id=140525&ord=21
Trust and hope you are in good health and spirits.
Kindest regards,
Derrick.
I was compelled to post this photo to this site as it seems it belongs here.
http://www.geschichtswerkstatt-als.de/album/slides/gw-als0032.html
Kindest regards,
Derrick.