FAMILY

The Hadda brothers pose together for a photo that dates back to their service in the German army during World War I. Already then, their interests and career plans led each of them in different directions. The eldest, Siegmund, became a surgeon and the head of the Jewish hospital in Breslau; Moritz and Albert pursued […]

When World War I broke out in 1914, Jews were also drafted into the German army, and among them was 25-year-old Felix Peritz. His grandson Joseph Pearce recalls that Felix went to war as if it were an adventure and was proud of his service as a non-commissioned medical officer. He sent this photo picturing […]

What theatrical or opera performances did Else Peritz enjoy using these opera glasses? Her passion for art and her refined tastes were cultivated in her family home: one of her nephews was a composer; an uncle was a pianist and a choir conductor; and her niece was an opera singer at the Breslau Stadttheater.

“For my beloved daughter-in-law, Else,” reads the dedication on this cup that Mathilde Peritz presented to her daughter-in-law Else, née Durra. The gesture speaks of warmth, despite the difference in worldviews, between the two families: the Peritz family was conservative, while the Durra family was liberal. For Mathilde’s son, Felix, the progressiveness of his wife […]

Ursula Beyer and her two-years-younger sister Helga grew up in an interfaith family. Their father, Adolf, was Jewish and their mother, Else, although born to Christian parents, was an atheist. When the girls were 13 and 11, the peaceful childhood was disrupted by Else’s death. Ursula remembered how their widowed father made scrambled eggs for […]

Ursula Beyer and her two-years-younger sister Helga grew up in an interfaith family. Their father, Adolf, was Jewish and their mother, Else, although born to Christian parents, was an atheist. When the girls were 13 and 11, the peaceful childhood was disrupted by Else’s death. Ursula remembered how their widowed father made scrambled eggs for […]

Little Gabrielle Freund reads a book in a room filled with toys. However, toys were not the only objects surrounding her during her childhood. Gabrielle also grew up among mementos of her ancestors. Her father, pediatrician Walther Freund, kept portraits of, among others, her grandfather Wilhelm Salomon Freund, a city councilman, and her great-grandmother Babette […]

The initials engraved on each of the items point to their owners: the egg cup belonged to young Werner Peritz, and the hairbrush to his younger brother Ernst. Their parents, Else and Felix Peritz, gave their sons typical German names as a way of expressing their attachment to German culture. Just two generations earlier, most […]

The initials engraved on each of the items point to their owners: the egg cup belonged to young Werner Peritz, and the hairbrush to his younger brother Ernst. Their parents, Else and Felix Peritz, gave their sons typical German names as a way of expressing their attachment to German culture. Just two generations earlier, most […]

The initials engraved on each of the items point to their owners: the egg cup belonged to young Werner Peritz, and the hairbrush to his younger brother Ernst. Their parents, Else and Felix Peritz, gave their sons typical German names as a way of expressing their attachment to German culture. Just two generations earlier, most […]

When Berta and Albert Hadda’s first child – a daughter named Ruth Elizabeth – was born in November 1921, they received many congratulations from family and friends. The young parents decided to express their gratitude by sending special thank-you cards. They bore the portrait of little Ruth drawn by artist Heinrich Tischler, Albert’s cousin.

In 1892, Wilhelm Salomon Freund and his wife Clara celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. During the celebrations, Clara wore a silver tiara and brooch. They thus initiated a tradition that has survived among their descendants in the United States, with slight modification, to this day: on the tenth and twenty-fifth wedding anniversaries, the ladies still […]

In 1892, Wilhelm Salomon Freund and his wife Clara celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. During the celebrations, Clara wore a silver tiara and brooch. They thus initiated a tradition that has survived among their descendants in the United States, with slight modification, to this day: on the tenth and twenty-fifth wedding anniversaries, the ladies still […]

In 1892, Wilhelm Salomon Freund and his wife Clara celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. During the celebrations, Clara wore a silver tiara and brooch. They thus initiated a tradition that has survived among their descendants in the United States, with slight modification, to this day: on the tenth and twenty-fifth wedding anniversaries, the ladies still […]

In 1892, Wilhelm Salomon Freund and his wife Clara celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. During the celebrations, Clara wore a silver tiara and brooch. They thus initiated a tradition that has survived among their descendants in the United States, with slight modification, to this day: on the tenth and twenty-fifth wedding anniversaries, the ladies still […]

In 1892, Wilhelm Salomon Freund and his wife Clara celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. During the celebrations, Clara wore a silver tiara and brooch. They thus initiated a tradition that has survived among their descendants in the United States, with slight modification, to this day: on the tenth and twenty-fifth wedding anniversaries, the ladies still […]

In 1892, Wilhelm Salomon Freund and his wife Clara celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. During the celebrations, Clara wore a silver tiara and brooch. They thus initiated a tradition that has survived among their descendants in the United States, with slight modification, to this day: on the tenth and twenty-fifth wedding anniversaries, the ladies still […]

Crayfish soup, marinated eel, veal fillet, goose, Pückler’s Bombe ice cream, and mini cheesecakes – these specialties were included in the wedding menu of Hilde Bornstein and Walter Herz. Some dishes, such as crayfish and eel, were not kosher, meaning that Jewish religious law prohibits their consumption. The newlyweds and their guests, however, did not […]

After a 9-month-long engagement, Ursula Beyer, called Ursel by her friends and family, and Erwin Zadik married in September 1938. The wedding took place in the White Stork Synagogue. Erwin came from a much more religious family than Ursula. After the ceremony, the bride and groom posed for a photo on the balcony of the […]

After a 9-month-long engagement, Ursula Beyer, called Ursel by her friends and family, and Erwin Zadik married in September 1938. The wedding took place in the White Stork Synagogue. Erwin came from a much more religious family than Ursula. After the ceremony, the bride and groom posed for a photo on the balcony of the […]

In October 1936, 13-year-old Franz Tischler had his bar mitzvah – a ceremony that formally marks the transition from boyhood to manhood, signifying the moment when the young individual assumes responsibility for his actions in accordance with Jewish religious law. It was an opportunity for two related families, the Tischlers and Haddas, to celebrate together. […]