Stephani-Volksschule - Jüdisches Leben in Gunzenhausen

Researched and recorded by Marina Brunner and Anja Kirchner
And supplemented by Jessica Holzinger and Johann Lang
Free translation by Susanne Eisen

Builder:	Abraham Lehmann, Hops dealer
Built in:	about 1878
Changes in Ownership:	About 1885 Jacob Rosenau (died 1907)
	About 1909 his widow sells the house to Jacob Eisen
	December 18, 1935 sold to Friedrich Lutz, a Butcher
	September 22,1941 his widow sells the house to Peter und Johanna Meng from Nuremberg
	Today the owner is Bernhard Ebert, who runs a bus line

Jacob Rosenau was born May 26, 1845 in Obernzenn, the son of Model David Rosenau, a merchant, and his wife Jette Rosenau, born Kreglinger. Jacob was a raw materials dealer (Rauwarenhändler). In 1871 he was declared “official citizen of Gunzenhausen”. He had nine siblings, six of whom emigrated to the USA between 1850 and 1854.

Two of Jacob’s brothers lived close to him. His brother Samuel lived at Hensoltstraße 7 and his other brother Joseph R. at Burgstallstraße 7.

Jacob’s first wife was Gretchen Kraft, daughter of hops dealer Michael Kraft. Gretchen was born February 18, 1849 in Burgkunstadt. This marriage produced four children:

Emilie Rosenau	born July 8, 1878 in Gunzenhausen	died between August 5, 1942 and November 8, 1944 in KZ (concentration camp) Theresienstadt
Moritz Rosenau	born November 27, 1879 in Gunzenhausen	died in Gunzenhausen
Frieda Rosenau	born April 19, 1881 in Gunzenhausen	died May 11, 1881 in Gunzenhausen (as an infant)
Frieda Rosenau	born July 9, 1883 in Gunzenhausen	Frieda Rosenau married the merchant Hugo Heumann April 5, 1908, the son of merchant/dealer Samuel Heumann and Fanny Lindauer. Hugo Heumann was born an February 13, 1872 in Goeppingen und died on February 13, 1939. The couple lived at Zieglerstrasse 20 in Goeppingen

This first wife died August 9, 1883, only 36 years old, and only one month after the birth of her last child. Shortly thereafter Jacob married his second wife, Ernestine Sichel, daughter of Philipp Sichel and Regina born Morenwitz from Sommerach. Her father, Phillip Sichel was a wine merchant. He and his wife followed their daughter to Gunzenhausen. Ernestine’s mother Regina died there in 1900, and unfortunately her father Philipp Sichel and husband Jacob Rosenau both died in 1907.

David Rosenau	born October 1,1884 in Gunzenhausen
Siegfried Rosenau	born October 6, 1885 in Gunzenhausen
Martin Rosenau	born, February 12, 1887 in Gunzenhausen	died in KZ Piaski
Martha Rosenau	born March 9, 1893 in Gunzenhausen	Martha married Mr. Stein on July 17, 1919 in Augsburg. Around 1938 they were still registered as living in Augsburg at Mozartstraße 5. Martha was deported to Auschwitz and perished there.

After Jacob Rosenau had died in 1907, his widow sold the house to Jacob Eisen. He then added a new warehouse and office and stables in 1909. He was a wholesaler in coal and general merchandise. On December 1, 1934 he registered his business with the "Chamber of Commerce".

Unfortunately we do not know where the widow Rosenau went with her children after she sold the house.

The Eisen family had many branches and was one of the oldest families in the city, as told in the “Altmühl-Bote” of October 18, 1928

“Gunzenhausen, Oct.18.
The family of Jacob Eisen is among the oldest families here (8th oldest). In 1658 the first ancestor of the Eisens settled here. He was “Marx der Judt”. He immigrated from Öttelfingen near Mergenthal. For the last 270 years the family has shared their joys and sorrows with the Christian community. We now wish Mr. Jacob Eisen, our dear fellow citizen, good luck and all the best.”

The beloved merchant Jacob Eisen, born 1879, was the youngest son of the merchant/trader Heymann Eisen and his wife Jetta, born Schoen.

Jacob married Rosa Neumarck from Ansbach in 1906. In 1907 they already built the house Burgstallstraße 4, and ran a dealership in raw materials. The many ads in the "Altmühl-Bote” in the 1920's are proof that the business was doing well.

Jakob Eisen

Gunzenhausen
Burgstallstr.4 / telephone 170
recommends:

DRIVE BELTS

Leather and Camelhair, known for quality.
Known for lowest prices.
Drive belt wax, consistent engine grease,
polishing cotton, floor oil, cylinder oil,
motor oil, engine oil, auto oil,
leather- and axel grease, creosote factory prices

H. L. Eisen

Owner/Proprietor
Josef Gross GUNZENHAUSEN Judengasse Nr. 1
Manufactured goods
Textiles and yard goods
Ropes, bedding,
Bed feathers
Wool-exchange
Only A-1 quality wares lowest prices.

Burgstallstr. 4 Telefon 170
Coal / hops / skins
Furs / Wool / Drive belts
Polishing cotton / oils and grease

In 1929 Betty Eisen married the merchant Max Rosenbaum and followed him to Munich.

“I went to after-school dance classes. Everything was still peaceful and friendly, until Hitler put an end to that. From one day to the next our friends started avoiding us, my father was abused once, and he and all other Jewish men were taken to jail and kept overnight.”

When the outrageous acts against the Jewish citizens in Gunzenhausen increased, Jacob Eisen handed over his coal dealership to Ludwig Wucherer in December 1934, and on December 18, 1935 he sold the property on Burgstallstrasse 4 to a Mr. Friedrich Lutz.

In the files at the "Chamber of Commerce" of the city of Gunzenhausen however the following entry was found:

“December 31, 1937 – Jacob Eisen, Munich. The registration for the
warehouse, General-Ludendorff-Strasse 4 (formerly Burgstallstrasse 4) until now a dealership for skins and furs has been cancelled as of December 31, 1937. signed “Joseph Gross for J. Eisen.”

(Joseph Gross was the husband of Bertha born Eisen, the sister of Jacob Eisen. He continued to run the insurance agency for "Victoria-Feuerversicherung in the Judengasse till January 1938.) See Auergasse 1.

On March 16, 1936 Betty Eisen’s parents at her urging, joined their daughter in Munich already, hoping they would be safe there.

Jacob and Rosa Eisen stayed in Munich, from where they were deported to KZ Piasky, where they both perished.

Betty’s husband Max Rosenbaum was taken to KZ Dachau in 1938, but he was released 4 weeks later. As a result the couple fled to Amsterdam and from there took a ship to the USA .

Betty and her husband settled in New York, where she worked for the city government for 13 years.

Family of Albert and Betty Rosenbaum	Karin Albert of Gunzenhausen and her Jewish family went to visit Betty Rosenbaum in a retirement home in Florida. The family of Mrs. Albert’s grandfather, the attorney Michael Amrhein (Burgstallstrasse 7) had lived near the Eisen family (Burgstallstrasse 4) for a long time, namely at Burgstallstrasse 2. Mrs. Rosenbaum remembers that time very well.
Betty Rosenbaum today	Max and Betty Rosenbaum about 1940

Betty Rosenbaum 92 1/2 years old in 2001 and she wrote some letters to us. She told us that she had been in touch with quite a few friends from Gunzenhausen, who also emigrated to the USA when she did, but now she has outlived almost all of them.

She said: ”Just recently Theodor Theilheimer passed away. He was in the same class as I, a Genius, who worked for the Navy department in America.”

We also received the following Photo from her, showing the 1925 secondary school graduation (Absolvia) class. It was the first year that girls had been allowed to attend that school for boys.

The graduating students pictured here are from top left:
Unknown, Miss Reichel (Marktplatz 5), Hans Bueller, Josef Frei, Otto Hertlein,
unknown, Bertl Honig (died in KZ), unknown, Emma Rottenberger (fiance of Kurt Baer).
Frontrow from left: Else Lichtenstern, Heidi Sperl, Betty Eisen, Paul Hellmann, Feodor Theilheimer, Else Danner, Karl Minderlein, unknown.

Although Betty Rosenbaum accepted an invitation to Munich in 1982, she did not visit Gunzenhausen. She does keep in touch with the archivist of the city of Gunzenhausen, Mr. Muehlhaeusser, and keeps him up to date on her life.

The current owner of Burgstallstrasse 4, Mr. Bernhard Ebert, has opened a travel agency there, which ties in with his tour bus business.

He reported that his father bought the houses Burgstallstrasse number 4, and number 6 next door, from the city in WWII, but after the war he had to pay for them again.

Since there are no documents available about the former owners Friedrich Lutz and the Eisen family, he knows nothing about them.

Lazarus Schia Enoch Eisen was born 1792 in Gunzenhausen, the son of the merchant/trader Josua Schia Enoch Eisen and his wife Rifka, born Juedek. Her family had owned the property at Waagstrasse 7 since 1788.

Lazarus S. E. took over his father’s business in 1828 and dealt in scrap iron, bed feathers and quills. Ricka (Friedericke) Guggenheimer became his wife, and they continued to live at Waagstrasse 7.

They had six children, all born in Gunzenhausen, four of them emigrated to the USA in the 19^th century:

Lazarus Schia Enoch Eisen and his wife Friederike, born Guggenheimer

1	Babetta	born 1928 died in Hurley, Wisconsin in 1899	She married Johan Rubel and lived with him in Hurley, Wisconsin USA. They had five children: Albert Rubel * 1859 Rebecca Rubel * 1860 Henry Rubel * 1861 Josef Rubel * 1861 Martha Rubel * 1867
2	Josua	born December 6, 1830	He married Jetta (Henrietta) Blumenthal from Baden (Germany). They apparently also lived in Wisconsin, since all seven children were born in Milwaukee: Rebecca * May 30, 1857 Albert * May 1, 1863 Sarah * February 1866 Harry * 1868 Pauline * ? Laura * 1869 Salomon * after 1869
3	Albert Henry 'Josef'	born January 23,1834 died February 1, 1897 in Gunzenheim
4	Lazarus Henoch (Henry L.)	born 1840 died 1883	He married Recha Rosenbaum from Zell near Wuerzburg on June 16, 1875. They emigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and had three children: Ernst Joseph * May 16, 1876 Paul Mendel * August 27, 1877 Alice * September 23, 1878
5	Arnold	born December 8, 1842 died 1902 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin	He married Henrietta Wetzlar from Langstadt and also emigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their two daughters were born there: Meta Eisen * 1879 Edna Eisen * 1892
6	Heymann Lazarus (Hermann L.)	born March 4, 1844	1844 he married Jetta Schoen from Gunzenhausen. As the youngest son of the family he took over business from his father and lived in the house at Waagstrasse 7 and sold coal. Almost all the children were born there: Friederika * March 20, 1875, died as a young child Babetta * September 17, 1876, died as a young child Bertha * January 10, 1878 see “House Auergasse 1” Jakob * July 2, 1879 + KZ Piaski House Burgstallstraße 4 Lazarus * September 29, 1882 He emigrated to New York about 1937 and died 1971 in Brooklyn. (See “visit by Walter Reed” and also “House Hensoltstrasse 7”.) Lazarus Eisen in New York abt 1952. Photos provided by Walter Reed.

Additional information about the children of Lazarus Henoch (Henry L., # 4 above) and Recha born Guggenheimer:

Although their father died early, both were able to attend universities with the help of friends. The following photo shows Ernst Joseph with his university class mates about 1900.

Ernst Joseph with his son Edwin

Susanne Eisen writes:
“Ernst Joseph died at age 40 in an Auto accident, when the car he was
driving collided with a streetcar. Paul’s wife’s brother, who was visiting from Germany, also died.
Little Edwin and another passenger survived. Paul Mendel Eisen, my father-in-law, was a physician who specialized in Roentgenology in Minneapolis and Chicago. Ernst Joseph thought, that Roentgenology could be applied to dentistry too and promoted that idea. Unfortunately at that time the harmful effects of Roentgen (x) rays were not fully recognized, and the practitioners were not protecting themselves from the x-rays, and Paul Eisen died from massive cancer.”

About 70 years later their was a meeting of the children of Ernst Joseph and Paul Mendel Eisen:

Left to right: Elisabeth Eisen-Boogher, daughter of Ernst Joseph Eisen, Carl Georg Eisen, son of Paul Mendel Eisen, Edwin Eisen, son of Ernst Joseph, brother of Elisabeth

Susanne Eisen

Susanne Eisen, born Noack, the wife of Paul Friedrich and daughter-in-law of Paul Mendel Eisen, is the one who sent us the information about the Eisen family in the USA, and also some photos. She is not Jewish.

Her father Hans Noack emigrated to Detroit, Michigan USA in 1927 and Susanne was born there in 1930. Paul Mendel Eisen and his wife Elisabeth, née Strieder, were friends of her parents.

As Mrs Inge Noack felt homesick the family returned to Germany in 1937. So during the WWII until 1950 Susanne has been visiting schools in Germany. After her (Abitur) high school graduation friends in Detroit invited her to the USA.

There she became reacquainted with the Eisen family and married their son Paul Friedrich and stayed in the USA. The couple has three children and six grandchildren.

Paul Friedrich Eisen's older brother Carl Georg an his wife Mercedes Miller had a daughter, 3 grandsons and 2 great-granddaughters.

Paul Mendel and his brother Ernst Joseph Eisen both married non Jewish women and were not active in their religion. It was never an issue.

Susanne Eisen is living in San Francisco surrounded by people of all races, nationalities and philosophies of life – which is truly an enriching experience. Three of her 6 grandchildren have a Jewish father.