Holocaust Memorial Education Center

My family comes from Germany. My grandfather, Hans Moritz Vollweiler, was the son of Liebman Vollweiler and Frieda Einstein. Born on October 7, 1906, in Heidenheim, Germany, my grandfather had four siblings. Justin was the oldest followed by my grandfather, his sister, Ilse, brother, Werner and the youngest sibling, Victor. The family raised cattle on their farm in Heidenheim. The family was religious and kept a kosher home. My grandfather met my grandmother, Erna Lichtstern, in Germany. 

Erna Lichtstern was the daughter of Sigmund Lichtstern and Mallie Katz. My grandmother, Erna, had one older brother, Herbert and the family came from Munich. My grandparents got married in Germany and moved to Washington Heights, NYC in 1938 to escape the terror of the Nazi regime. There were several generations that lived in this household in NYC. In this apartment there lived my great-great-grandmother, known as the Alte Oma, my great-grandparents, Sigmund and Mallie and my grandparents, Hans and Erna in addition to their two children, my mother being the youngest child. The family belonged to an Orthodox Synagogue, Ahavath Torah Synagogue in Washington Heights. This is also where the children received their Jewish education. My grandfather, Hans, made his living selling children’s clothing. The family stayed in Washington Heights until the late 1960’s and then moved to Yonkers, New York once their children were married. Several years later they moved Hallandale, Florida. 

 Additional Biographical Information  from Michelle Edgar in regard to the Stumbling Blocks of her great-grandparents.

“Two stumbling blocks are located in front of the building at Wilhelmstrasse 11. They are in memory of Frida and Liebmann Vollweiler. Before the seizure of power in Heidenheim, the two belonged to a respected Jewish family and fled – stripped of their rights and property – to the USA in 1939, shortly before the start of the Second World War.”

Link to the Article below: https://www.hz.de/lokales/heidenheim/wo-in-der-heidenheimer-innenstadt-weitere-stolpersteine-verlegt-werden

Stumbling Blocks Article

There are currently 13 of these small memorial plaques in the Heidenheim city area. Four more will be added on Friday, March 15th. “So far it has been a one-man show to organize the laying of the stones in Heidenheim, albeit with many helpers in the background,” says former SPD city councilor Gerhard Oberlader. The distribution of tasks has now changed: Rudi Neidlein and Heiner Jestrabek turn the solo into a trio.

Raimond Gatter is one of the relatives who provided the impetus for the upcoming event. He grew up in Heidenheim and now lives near Lake Zurich in Switzerland. Two years ago he took the initiative to lay a stumbling block in memory of his great-aunt Friederike Gatter, who was murdered on January 9, 1941 in Bernburg an der Saale. This will now happen on March 15th at 11 a.m. on the corner of Theodor-Heussstrasse and Bärenstrasse near the Feuchtinger underpass.

Theater group from the Schiller-Gymnasium Performs

The Schiller-Gymnasium theater group with Helen Döbelin is performing a play written specifically for this purpose. Much to the delight of Gatter, who also hopes for readings at Heidenheim schools: “Democracy and freedom cannot be taken for granted. They only come from active participation and cooperation.”

Raimond Gatter described his great-aunt’s life story in a biography: After an accident in her parents’ home at Bärenstrasse 11, Friederike Gatter spent many years in sanatoriums. Assigned to the “life not worth living,” she became a victim of the euthanasia murders during the National Socialist regime. Her fate “was never discussed in our family,” says Gatter. “We don’t talk about murdered people, especially not about people with disabilities.”

Warning: Defend the beginnings

After finding letters from his great-grandfather in his estate, his interest was piqued, and from then on he collected more and more details of the family history, which he finally published. He wants his commitment to be understood as a “reminder that such crimes must never happen again and as a commitment to freedom, democracy and humanity.” This is particularly important in view of the current attempts by right-wing extremist circles to whitewash these crimes and divide society. That’s exactly how it began at the end of the Weimar Republic. “We must not wait until exclusion, expulsion and murder become socially acceptable again in Europe,” is his appeal.

Two stumbling blocks are located in front of the building at Wilhelmstrasse 11. They are in memory of Frida and Liebmann Vollweiler. Before the seizure of power in Heidenheim, the two belonged to a respected Jewish family and fled – stripped of their rights and property – to the USA in 1939, shortly before the start of the Second World War.

Commemoration on Schlossstrasse

Pupils from the Werkgymnasium and their teachers Sangram Pabla and Marco Graša make their own contribution at the third station. It is located on Schlossstrasse behind the City parking garage and brings Frida Lanksweirt to mind. She was killed in 1940 under the guise of the obfuscating name “T4,” which conceals the systematic mass murder of tens of thousands of people during the National Socialist tyranny.

Some time ago, Gerhard Oberlader appealed to all Heidenheim schools to take part in the laying, because “the stones are a reminder of what can happen if there is no democracy”.

Editor’s Notes:

Refer to Michelle Edgar in Voices of the Descendants

Refer to Related Textual Materials Below for Vollweiller document

Refer to Related Media for Photo of Stumbling Stones of Frida and Liebmann Vollweiler.

Refer to biography above by Michelle Edgar, granddaughter

Credits:

Biography by Michelle Edgar, granddaughter. Digital historic and family photographs donated by Michelle Edgar. Stumbling Stone Article and Vollweiler Stumbling Stones photo donated by Michelle Edgar, March 15, 2024.