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Irmgard Pach Born: 1917 in Augsburg (no place of birth is given in the Annual School Reports). Father’s occupation: merchant. Flat and business: 5 Wertachstraße. Irmgard’s parents were Curt Pach (b. 1879 in Erfurt) and Selma, née Landauer (b. 1882 in Rothenburg on Tauber). They ran a shoe shop (“Schuhkönig”). Irmgard attended Maria-Theresia-School from 1927 to 1933 in classes 1–6. At the school Irmgard made close friends with Gerda Ruppin. Curt and Selma Pach had to sell their shop below value in 1938. In 1939, Irmgard emigrated to the USA; in Stuttgart she had to obtain her emigration documents at the American consulate and on this occasion met Gerda Ruppin once again, who was living in Stuttgart at that time. The friendship between them lasts up until this day (2007). Irmgard married Walter Hann from Zittau. In 1947, a daughter was born to them in New York City. Up to this day, Irmgard Hann, née Pach, lives as a widow in the USA (2007). Irmgard’s parents were deported to Piaski, Poland, in the beginning of April 1942 and are considered missing, as well as Irmgard’s aunt Frieda Pach (b. 1876), who lived with her brother Curt in Augsburg. (Gerda Ruppin completed this brief biography of her friend.) |
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Hedwig Polatschek Born: 1899 in Prague. Father’s occupation: merchant. Domicile: 14 Hallstraße, Augsburg. Shop: D 1 Maximilianstraße. Hedwig’s father, Emanuel Polatschek (b. 1874 in Prague), managed a shoe shop. His wife was Olga, née Altschul (b. 1875). Like Hedwig, her sisters Ida and Laura also attended Maria-Theresia-School. Hedwig had two brothers, Siegfried (b. 1903) and Otto (b. 1904). Hedwig attended the “Municipal School for Daughters” (“Städtische Töchterschule”), which from 1914 on was called “Maria-Theresia-School”, from 1910 to 1913 in classes 2–4. In 1919, Hedwig married Arnold Weinstock (b. 1899 in Heidenheim), who ran a shoe shop in Nuremberg. The couple had a son, Fritz (b. 1920), and a daughter, Ruth (b. 1921). In 1934, the family transferred to Berlin. At the beginning of the 1930s, the shoe shop Polatschek, which was located at the city centre, was the target of several anti-Jewish activities. On April 1, 1933, Jewish shops were boycotted in Augsburg as well as in the whole of Germany. A banner was hung over the display window of the shoe shop saying “Germans, avoid this Jewish shop! Support the government in the defence against the untruthful propaganda of the Jews!” Later, the shoe shop Polatschek was “Aryanized”. In 1938, Hedwig’s parents sold their apartment house at 14 Hallstraße to Karl Wassermann, the father of Margarete Wassermann, and to Max Schwab, the father of Liselotte and Paula Schwab and uncle of Susette Schwab. In 1942, the house was turned into a so-called “Jewish house” (“Judenhaus”), where Jewish families were relocated into small rooms. From here many were deported. Hedwig’s brothers, Siegfried and Otto, emigrated to Los Angeles, California, in 1938. |
Hedwig’s parents emigrated to Haifa, Palestine, in 1942 at the latest. Olga died in Israel in 1948, Emanuel died in Haifa, Israel, in 1959. The Weinstock family emigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1942 at the latest. Hedwig’s husband, Arnold, died there in 1952. Hedwig Weinstock, née Polatschek, also died in Johannesburg in 1977. Sources and further reading: Karl Filser and Hans Thieme, Hakenkreuz und Zirbelnuss. Augsburg im Dritten Reich, Augsburg, 1983, p. 41 (photograph of the Polatschek shoe shop with an anti-Jewish banner). Stiftung Jüdisches Kulturmuseum Augsburg-Schwaben, ed., Ein fast normales Leben. Erinnerungen an die jüdischen Gemeinden Schwabens. Ausstellung der Stiftung Jüdisches Kulturmuseum Augsburg-Schwaben nach einem Konzept von Gernot Römer, Augsburg, 1995, p. 163 (the same photograph). “Verfolgt, vertrieben, ermordet.” Das Schicksal der Jüdinnen an einer Nürnberger Oberschule 1933–1945, ed. “Arbeitsgemeinschaft Schulgeschichte des Städtischen Sigena-Gymnasiums Nürnberg” under the leadership of Wolf M. Hergert, Nuremberg, 2007, p. 73 (on Hedwig’s daughter, Ruth Weinstock). |
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Ida Polatschek Born: 1907 in Augsburg. Father’s occupation: merchant. Domicile: 14 Hallstraße. Shop: D 1 Maximilianstraße. Ida’s father, Emanuel Polatschek (b. 1874 in Prague), managed a shoe shop. His wife was Olga, née Altschul (b. 1875). Like Ida, her sisters Hedwig and Laura also attended Maria-Theresia-School. Ida had two brothers, Siegfried (b. 1903) and Otto (b. 1904). Ida attended Maria-Theresia-School in 1919/20 in class 2a; perhaps she completed the fifth grade in 1923. In 1930, Ida married MD Erich Israel from Dortmund (b. 1899 in Bochum). The couple had a daughter (b. 1931). At the beginning of the 1930s, the shoe shop Polatschek, which was located at the city centre, was the target of several anti-Jewish activities. On April 1, 1933, Jewish shops were boycotted in Augsburg as well as in the whole of Germany. A banner was hung over the display window of the shoe shop saying “Germans, avoid this Jewish shop! Support the government in the defence against the untruthful propaganda of the Jews!” Later, the shoe shop Polatschek was “Aryanized”. In 1938, Ida’s parents sold their apartment house at 14 Hallstraße to Karl Wassermann, the father of Margarete Wassermann, and to Max Schwab, the father of Liselotte and Paula Schwab and uncle of Susette Schwab. In 1942, the house was turned into a so-called “Jewish house” (“Judenhaus”), where Jewish families were relocated into small rooms. From here many were deported. Ida’s brothers, Siegfried and Otto, emigrated to Los Angeles, California, in 1938. Ida’s parents emigrated to Haifa, Palestine, in 1942 at the latest, as well as Ida herself with her husband and her daughter. Olga died in Israel in 1948, Emanuel died in Haifa, Israel, in 1959. |
Ida’s husband, Erich, died in 1979. Ida Israel, née Polatschek, died in 1997 in Haifa, Israel. Sources and further reading: Karl Filser and Hans Thieme, Hakenkreuz und Zirbelnuss. Augsburg im Dritten Reich, Augsburg, 1983, p. 41 (photograph of the Polatschek shoe shop with an anti-Jewish banner). Stiftung Jüdisches Kulturmuseum Augsburg-Schwaben, ed., Ein fast normales Leben. Erinnerungen an die jüdischen Gemeinden Schwabens. Ausstellung der Stiftung Jüdisches Kulturmuseum Augsburg-Schwaben nach einem Konzept von Gernot Römer, Augsburg, 1995, p. 163 (the same photograph). Erich Israel, Beobachtungen über die differential-diagnostische Bedeutung des Blutbildes bei den akuten Infektionskrankheiten, diss., Würzburg, 1923 (with curriculum vitae). |
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Laura Polatschek Born: 1900 in Augsburg. Father’s occupation: merchant. Domicile: 14 Hallstraße. Shop: D 1 Maximilianstraße. Laura’s father, Emanuel Polatschek (b. 1874 in Prague), managed a shoe shop. His wife was Olga, née Altschul (b. 1875). Like Laura, her sisters Hedwig and Ida also attended Maria-Theresia-School. Laura had two brothers, Siegfried (b. 1903) and Otto (b. 1904). Laura attended the “Municipal School for Daughters” (“Städtische Töchterschule”), which from 1914 on was called “Maria-Theresia-School”, from 1911 to 1915 in classes 1–3; she had to repeat the first year. Laura died as a young woman in 1922. She was buried in the Jewish cemetery in the Haunstetter Straße, Augsburg. At the beginning of the 1930s, the shoe shop Polatschek, which was located at the city centre, was the target of several anti-Jewish activities. On April 1, 1933, Jewish shops were boycotted in Augsburg as well as in the whole of Germany. A banner was hung over the display window of the shoe shop saying “Germans, avoid this Jewish shop! Support the government in the defence against the untruthful propaganda of the Jews!” Later, the shoe shop Polatschek was “Aryanized”. In 1938, Laura’s parents sold their apartment house at 14 Hallstraße to Karl Wassermann, the father of Margarete Wassermann, and to Max Schwab, the father of Liselotte and Paula Schwab and uncle of Susette Schwab. In 1942, the house was turned into a so-called “Jewish house” (“Judenhaus”), where Jewish families were relocated into small rooms. From here many were deported. Laura’s brothers, Siegfried and Otto, emigrated to Los Angeles, California, in 1938. Laura’s parents emigrated to Haifa, Palestine, in 1942 at the latest. Olga died in Israel in 1948, Emanuel died in Haifa, Israel, in 1959. |
Sources and further reading: Karl Filser and Hans Thieme, Hakenkreuz und Zirbelnuss. Augsburg im Dritten Reich, Augsburg, 1983, p. 41 (photograph of the Polatschek shoe shop with an anti-Jewish banner). Stiftung Jüdisches Kulturmuseum Augsburg-Schwaben, ed., Ein fast normales Leben. Erinnerungen an die jüdischen Gemeinden Schwabens. Ausstellung der Stiftung Jüdisches Kulturmuseum Augsburg-Schwaben nach einem Konzept von Gernot Römer, Augsburg, 1995, p. 163 (the same photograph). |
Stella Politzer Born: 1907 (correctly: 1906) in Augsburg. Father’s occupation: businessman. Stella’s father was Sigmund Politzer, her mother was Berta, née Mayer (b. 1884). Stella attended Maria-Theresia-School in 1919/20 in class 2a; perhaps she completed the fifth grade in 1923. From December 1930 to March 1934, Stella lived in Memmingen, where she worked as manager of the department store “Wohlwert” (aka “Hansa-Haus”). In the beginning of April 1934, she returned to Augsburg. In March 1937, she married the textile salesman Max Freund (b. 1900 in Constance). The couple lived at 2 Auf dem Rain, Augsburg. Max was severely ill in the autumn of 1938 when he was picked up by the National Socialists. He died in October that year. Stella was deported from Munich to Kovno, Lithuania, on November 20, 1941, together with Rosa Deller, Johanna Bär and Dina Strauss. Five days later, the displaced women, men and children were shot in Kovno. “In Munich, the Stapo (State Police) Headquarters in the Wittelsbacher Palace in Brienner Straße was in charge of this operation. ...Upon arrival...those deemed for deportation immediately underwent a body-search. Those concerned were allowed to take 50 kg baggage; they were charged 50 Reichsmarks for transportation expenses. ...Many objects were confiscated. Nevertheless, the Gestapo feigned an aura of ‘normalcy’, they tried to hide the deadly purpose of the transport and tried to give the impression that this was really an ‘evacuation’ to the East, a dispatch to a labor assignment to an, up until that time, unknown place. In the early morning hours of November 20, 1941, finally, the approximately 15 minute walk from the camp on Knorrstraße to the train station Milbertshofen took place. ... Just before the train departed, the officer in charge...was informed that the transport was not, as planned, going to Riga, but to Kovno in Lithuania. ... |
According to the accompanying security guards, the transport to Kovno went ‘smoothly’. Only the lack of sufficient water caused unrest. ...The train ride lasted three days; it is no longer possible to reconstruct the exact route. The train reached Kovno on a Saturday evening. The Munich Jews were marched the 6 kilometers to Fort IX Northwest of the city. ...On November 25, 1941—thus, after they had been held an additional two days in the rotten dungeon of the fort—, the persons who had been deported from Munich, together with other Jews,...were shot. The dead bodies were hastily buried in already dug trenches. The persons were left, up until the end, in uncertainty as to their predetermined fate” (A. Heusler). Stella Freund’s name is listed on a glass plaque of the shoah memorial that can be visited in Augsburg’s City Hall (artist: Klaus Goth). |
Aside: In the Gedenkbuch edited by the “Bundesarchiv” (2nd edition, 2006), as well as in the Buch der Erinnerung (2003) and in the brochure Erinnerung stiftet Erlösung (Memmingen, 1999), the year 1906 is given as Stella’s year of birth. The Annual School Report of 1919/20 gives the year 1907 instead. Sources and further reading: Christoph Engelhard, compiler, Erinnerung stiftet Erlösung. Gedenkheft für die jüdischen Frauen, Männer und Kinder aus Memmingen, die zwischen 1941 und 1945 verfolgt, verschleppt und ermordet wurden, ed. Memmingen City Archives (“Stadtarchiv Memmingen”), Memmingen, 1999, p. 9. Gernot Römer, ed., “An meine Gemeinde in der Zerstreuung.” Die Rundbriefe des Augsburger Rabbiners Ernst Jacob 1941–1949, Augsburg, 2007, p. 230 (a testimony by Stella’s relative Grete Schreiner, née Politzer, on Max Freund). Andreas Heusler, “Fahrt in den Tod. Der Mord an den Münchner Juden in Kaunas (Litauen) am 25. November 1941,” Munich City Archives (“Stadtarchiv München”), ed., “…verzogen, unbekannt wohin.” Die erste Deportation von Münchner Juden im November 1941, Zurich—Munich, 2000, pp. 13–24. |
Berta Priester Born: 1900 in Augsburg. Father’s occupation: “Käufler”, trader. Berta’s father was called Albert Priester (b. 1872), her mother’s name was Aloisia, née Stein (b. 1870). In the Annual School Report of 1910/11, Albert’s occupation is given as “Käufler”. Käufler were characterised as merchants, junk dealers (according to the Brothers Grimm dictionary also auctioneers in the old Augsburg dialect). From 1911/12 on, the Reports give “trader” instead. Berta attended the “Municipal School for Girls” (“Städtische Töchterschule”), which later was to be called “Maria-Theresia-School”, from 1910 to 1914 in classes 1–4. In 1923 Berta married Simon Kupfer (b. 1899 in Munich), who had a business for leather goods on Annaplatz. The couple had two daughters, Edith (b. 1924) and Ruth (b. 1925). Simon was a Polish citizen. At the end of September 1938, several weeks before the “Reichskristallnacht”, he and his family (?) were taken to Poland by force, like many Jews from Augsburg and Munich who were of Polish origin. However, they were not allowed to enter the country. On October 2nd, the Kupfers and the other deportees were back in Augsburg again. In the morning after the pogrom night of November 9/10, 1938, Simon was arrested and taken to the Dachau concentration camp, where he was held for some time. At the end of the year, the family went on board of the ship “Washington” in order to emigrate to the USA. In the USA, Simon was a factory worker at first, Berta a cleaner. The two girls, Edith and Ruth, could not attend school any longer, they had to earn money, too. After several years, however, Berta and Simon could open a leather shop again. Berta Kupfer, née Priester, died in Brooklyn, New York, in 1952; her husband, Simon, followed her two years later. |
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