(Photo: Leo Baeck Institut, NY)
The Stern family came from Michelbach an der Lücke in the district of Hunsrück.
Wolf Stern, Ludwig Stern's grandfather, was a merchant and teacher. He left
Michelbach and moved to Laupheim to marry Eva Kaufmann in 1839. She was the
daughter of the sixth rabbi. Between November 1840 and December 1855,
approximately 14 years, they had 14 children. Four of them did not survive their
first year. Another stroke of fate was the death of their son Josef who was only
20 years old.2 He drowned while swimming in the Riss River in the
summer of 1868. His poetic epitaph says:
“He was twenty years old, and on the second day, on the 2nd of
Tammuz of the year 628, he went swimming in the Riss River, and the water
reached his soul and thus it was no more, for God took it…”3
Wolf Stern fathered 14 children and reached the age of 90. His epitaph describes
him as a “wise man who had much knowledge of books […] and who was old and
enjoyed many days”.4
But his wife Eva only reached the age of 53.
Their oldest son David was a merchant like his father. In 1872, he married
Rosalie Stern, who came from Michelbach like David’s father, Wolf. Due to the
fact that they shared the same family name and came from the same place, it can
be assumed that they had family ties.
David and Rosalie were blessed with five children. The family was living in
Bronner Strasse, in a house that now
has the number 19. Their oldest son Saul immigrated to the USA already in 1889.
Their youngest son Jakob, who was also called Benno, remained unmarried and was
unemployed. He lived in Hanover for some time. One of their daughters, Eva Emma,
married a member of the Heilbronner family and stayed in Laupheim. Their
daughter Peppi spent her life in Switzerland.5
Their second son Ludwig joined his father’s business which was a cattle and
horse trade. He married Ida Fuchs, who came from Buttenwiesen. They lived in his
parents’ house together with their only son Benno, who was born on March 5,
1907. When Benno was six years old, his grandfather died; that was one year
before the outbreak of the First World War.
On July 11, 1917, during the First World War, Ludwig received his call up papers
with an order to report as gunner in the 65th Artillery Regiment with
its headquarters in Ludwigsburg. On September 28, 1917, he was probably
discharged, as he was already 43 years old.6
His son Benno went to the secondary school Progymnasium in Laupheim and
successfully completed schooling in March 1923. Progymnasium must refer
to the Realschule with a Latin department (Realschule mit
Lateinabteilung, as was the school’s official name).
(„Laupheimer
Verkündiger“,
March 10,
1924 8)
(„Laupheimer
Verkündiger“,
November
27 19259)
Ludwig Stern was not only dedicated to the cattle trade, but he was also
active in the construction industry of Laupheim. As reported by the
Laupheimer Verkündiger on May 10,
1924, he was chair of the
Baugenossenschaft that held its annual general meetings in the hotel
Post. Already on December 5, 1925, there was discussion about
dissolving the Baugenossenschaft,
which was also announced by the
Laupheimer Verkündiger. The year 1935 saw the beginning of difficult
times for Ludwig Stern. His wife Ida died in January that year at the age of
55. Two years later, his mother Rosalie died at the age of 86.10
From then on, the family living at 13 Bronner Strasse only consisted of
Ludwig and his 28 year old son Benno who was still unmarried. In the
directory of Laupheim of 1938, Benno is also listed as a merchant. That is,
he was also a part of his father’s trade.11
In March 1938, Ludwig Stern had his trade licence renewed again; he was 64
at the time.
Just a few months later, systematic repression of the Jewish businesses
began, which literally meant the elimination of their existence. In early
November, the situation for Jewish traders escalated sharply. On November 9,
1938, during the Kristallnacht,
Benno was taken from his house and was deported from Laupheim to Dachau
along with 17 other young Jewish men. There they were held in “protective
custody”.13
49 years later, in 1987, Benno Stern wrote a letter to Ernst Schäll
describing the inhumane detention conditions in Dachau. He gave a detailed
description of the misery and distress of the prisoners and the harassment
of the SS, which resulted in a chronic intestinal disorder from which he was
never cured. Once in January 1939, “we had to stand still in the cold and
woe betide anyone whom the SS saw moving. […] Many people died during those
two days.”
14
Trade licence card for Ludwig Stern, issued by the Landrat
in Laupheim.12
Due to his illness, Benno Stern was unable to undertake long trips. In 1988,
he had to decline the invitation to go to Laupheim, which he regretted very
much. Benno Stern was one of the last leaving Dachau in 1939.
According to reliable sources, the prisoners were only released from
“protective custody” after having fulfilled certain requirements. They were
forbidden to speak about the detention conditions, forced to sell their
possessions and to leave Germany.15
Approximately one year later, Benno immigrated to the USA on March 19, 1940.16
Ludwig was the only member of the family who remained in Laupheim.
Inevitably, the 66 year old man became a victim of the NS regime.
He had to abandon his house and he was forced to relocate in the rabbinate
at 2 Judenberg, which had been converted into a Jewish retirement home.17
His younger brother had also been forced to relocate from Hanover to
Laupheim into the rabbinate on July 4, 1942. But from then on, all traces of
him are lost. The only thing we know is that he died on March 25, 1945.
Ludwig Stern was deported to Theresienstadt on August 19, 1942, where he
died on February 23, 1943.18
After his death, the Nazi government repossessed the entire property of the
Stern family consisting of their house, barn, stables, various plots of land
and a pasture in Taubenried.
After the war had ended, Benno Stern, as the only heir, applied for the
restitution of his family’s properties. His petition was accepted and thus
Benno Stern was listed in the register as the owner of the aforementioned
properties. At that time, he was living in Forest Hills, New York.
In October 1952, the properties were resold to Franz and Maria Kölle from
Mietingen.
To this day, the Kölle family lives in the house in the Bronner Strasse that
today has the number 19.19
Sources:
1)
John-Bergmann-Nachlass, Leo-Baeck-Institut, New
York,
1984.
2)
John-Bergmann-Nachlass. Microfilm
No 1834,
S.132,
315.
3)
Hüttenmeister,
N.:
Der
jüdische
Friedhof
Laupheim.
Laupheim
1989. S.
240.
4)
Hüttenmeister
N.
S.
367.
5)
John-Bergmann-Nachlass. Microfilm
No 1834
S.132,
315.
6)
Erinnerungsblatt
1. Weltkrieg
1914–1918 für die
israelitische
Gemeinde, HdG,
2003/0084/09/01
7)
Laupheimer
Verkündiger,
19. März
1923.
8)
Laupheimer
Verkündiger,
10. Mai
1924.
9)
Laupheimer
Verkündiger,
27.
November
1925.
10)
John-Bergmann-Nachlass. Microfilm
No 1834,
S.
132, 315.
11)
Adressbuch Stadt
Laupheim,
1938.
12)
Staatsarchiv Sigmaringen,
Wü 126/2,
Finanzamt
Biberach Nr.
1–19.
13)
Hecht,
C.,
Köhlerschmidt,
A.:
Die
Deportation
der Juden
aus
Laupheim.
Laupheim
2004. S.
10, 23.
14)
Hecht,
C.,
Köhlerschmidt,
A.
S.
26.
15)
Hecht,
C.,
Köhlerschmidt,
A.
S.
23.
16)
John-Bergmann-Nachlass. Microfilm
N0 1834,
S.132,
315.
17)
Hecht,
C.,
Köhlerschmidt,
A.
S.
91.
18)
Hecht,
C.,
Köhlerschmidt,
A.
S.
117.
19)
Staatsarchiv Sigmaringen,
Wü 126/2
Finanzamt
Biberach Nr.
1–19.
STERN,
Ludwig,
cattle trade, 19 Bronner Strasse
