Stolpersteine in Kronach: remembrance work against forgetting

"Ludwig mosbacher jg lived here. Deported in 1874 murdered in 1942 krasnystaw" and "here lived luise mosbacher geb. Comb jg. Deported in 1876 murdered in 1942 in krasnystaw": while one car after the other rolls by in bahnhofstrabe 13, the eleventh graders alexandra and anna recite the life story of the couple murdered by the national socialists. Several times they had to interrupt, because their words were lost in the traffic. Unimpressed by all this, gunter demnig, kneeling on the ground, lays the two stumbling stones.

They were rooted here in their beloved homeland for centuries, until they became victims of expulsion and murder after the takeover: families of the jewish faith from kronach, for whom everything changed after 1933. More than 70 years after the end of the second world war and after the last jewish inhabitants of kronach were deported, the kronach synagogue action group wants to bring the fates of those jewish families to life for the population: by laying so-called stolpersteine (stumbling stones).

16 such commemorative plaques were already laid in the district town in 2017. Nine more were added on wednesday morning. They were laid again by gunter demnig, the inventor of the stolperstein campaign. Since 1996, the berlin native has been placing his stones, each covered with a one-millimeter-thick layer of brass, in the sidewalk in front of the last voluntary residence of nazi victims – at first illegally, but now with official permission. Since 2000, his schedule has been full and the federal cross of merit bearer is constantly on the move.

The memorial plaques, made by hand, are now produced by employees. With his conceptual work of art – the world’s largest decentralized memorial – he wants to keep alive the memory of the millions of victims of national socialism. The chairwoman of the kronach synagogue action group, odette eisentrager-sarter, was overwhelmed by the large number of participants. She thanked the donors of the stones, the building yard and its employees as well as mayor wolfgang beiergroblein with the city council for the approval of the project. Several city and district councillors took part in the laying of the stones, as did the head of the city himself and pastoral advisor birgitta staufer-neubauer for the catholic church.

Eisentrager-sarter paid great respect to the eleventh graders of the "stolpersteine" P-seminar at kaspar-zeub-gymnasium under the direction of ulrike konrad. Under the scientific direction of christian porzelt, the project – called for as part of the federal program "living democracy" – is being developed!" – a brochure with short biographies of the jewish mitburgers to whom the stolpersteine are dedicated.

"Every stone – a human being, appealed to beiergroblein to keep the memory of the victims of national socialism alive. What was seen with all these people must not be forgotten – especially in our current, so turbulent times. "Our democracy, which was built up with so much effort, is in danger", he reminded. That’s why it’s important to make a mark – as the young people of kaspar-zeub-gymnasium did in their P-seminar. The brochure should be available by 9. November – the 80. Anniversary of the reichspogromnacht 1938 – to be finished and presented on that day.

The biographies of the victims honored on this day by the stumbling stones were read out by them during the laying of the stones. The route led to bahnhofstrabe 10 and 13, adolf-kolping-strabe 8 and 11, and alte-ludwigsstadter-strabe 5. A film team from the school recorded the relocation action. The film is shown at the "long night of democracy" on 15. September between 6 p.M. And midnight in the kuhnlenzpassage.

Stations
bahnhofstrabe 10: sophie mosbacher and josef mosbacher sophie mosbacher was born on 25. July 1875 born in bamberg as the daughter of the merchant abraham koburger and his wife babette, nee gutherz. On 19. June 1898 she married josef mosbacher from kronach, with whom she had a son, erst, born on 6. February 1900, had. She was active for decades in the local group of the bavarian women’s association in kronach. In 1934, the couple moved from kronach to nurnberg and were married on 10 april 1933. September 1942 to theresienstadt, the so-called "altersgetto", deported in what is now the czech republic. Here they had to spend the rest of their lives in miserable conditions, along with about 40,000 other elderly jews. According to the official death certificate, she died on 13 april 1933. Died of pneumonia on february 1943.
Josef mosbacher was born on 22. August 1872, the son of the merchant zacharias mosbacher and his wife babette schmitt in kronach. He lived there with his family, including his brother ludwig mosbacher, at bahnhofstrabe 10. He was a merchant by profession. In private life he was, among other things, a member of the kronach guardian society. Before he and his wife were deported to theresienstadt, he and his wife sophie had been deported to "heimeinkaufsvertragen" forced to leave the country, suggesting that they be transported to a jewish home for the aged. In fact, many of the prisoners died in theresienstadt within a short period of time due to lack of food, inadequate hygiene and lack of medical care. Josef mosbacher died there on 26. June 1943 according to official death certificate from a stroke.

Bahnhofstrabe 13: luise mosbacher and ludwig mosbacher luise mosbacher, nee kamm, arrived on 19. September 1876 born in ober heiduck, today’s chorzow in poland. Together with her husband ludwig mosbacher, an ironmonger, she had lived in kronach since their wedding in 1898. Here she supported her husband in his work and took care of their three children kurt (b. 1907), emmy (b. 1899) and else (b. 1900). At the end of april 1933 the couple moved to bamberg. From 1939 they were forced to live in a so-called "judenhaus". During the deportation of jewish citizens, the 65-year-old was deported with her husband on the 25th. Taken to poland in april 1942. Each person had to pay 80 reichsmarks in cash for the train trip to kranistaw near lublin. In the course of the summer of 1942, due to the unspeakable living conditions in this camp or in another camp, she perished or was murdered in an extermination camp in the region.
Ludwig mosbacher was born to zacharias mosbacher, a merchant, and babette, nee schmitt, on 23. January 1874 born in kronach. Since 1898 he was married to luise mosbacher. Together with his brother josef mosbacher he ran a hardware store in the house of today’s lowenapotheke. At the end of april 1933, ludwig and luise mosbacher moved to bamberg, where two of their children lived. As a result of the november pogrom, ludwig mosbacher was killed on 10. Arrested in november 1938, taken to bamberg prison, but released again. Together with his wife luise mosbacher, he was deported on 25. April 1942 to the ghetto of krasniczyn. From there, numerous jews were taken to the belzec and sobibor extermination camps. His further fate and the circumstances of his murder are not known.

Adolf kolping straub 8: julius straub julius straub, born on 30. August 1901 in kronach, was admitted to a sanatorium for the first time at the age of 18 due to depression. In june 1925, at the instigation of his relatives, he was finally sent to the kutzenberg sanatorium and nursing home. As with his father, he was diagnosed with manic depression, which is why he was taken to kutzenberg again only a few months after his release in march 1927. This time the stay lasted almost twelve and a half years. In his last letter of 12. September 1940 julius straub reports to the director of the institution that he is "leaving kutzenberg on saturday, which I am certainly not excited about". He was one of the ten jewish people who were killed on the 14th. September were transferred from kutzenberg to the institution eglfing-haar in upper bavaria. Only six days later, he was transported to a so-called death camp, where he became a victim of the so-called euthanasia, along with other jewish patients.

Adolf-kolping-strabe 11: emil adler emil adler arrived on 3. February 1903, the only child of the merchant leopold adler and his wife rosa, nee krell, born in kronach. He attended the local secondary school here and then completed a commercial apprenticeship. After the death of his mother in 1932 – his father had already died two years earlier – he took over the textile business "geschwister krell" founded by her in the railroad station. Presumably he was one of the businessmen arrested as early as march/april 1933. Under pressure from the nazis, he was forced to sell his business in the same year. He left kronach and went to berlin, where he married in 1934.
Together with his wife charlotte, nee mayer, he managed to emigrate to argentina in july 1936. Here he died on 25. June 1976.

Alte-ludwigsstadter-strabe 5: bernhard bohm, hedwig bohm, helene bohm bernhard bohm was born on 12. December 1883 born in oberlangenstadt, where he lived until 1929. In 1920 he married hedwig frank. Nine years later, they both moved to kronach in johann-nikolaus-zitter-strabe, where he opened a textile business. 1937 the couple moved to wurzburg to augustinerstrabe 4. Like all other jews, they had to hand over all their silver, gold and jewelry in 1939. While her daughter managed to emigrate, bernhard bohm did forced labor. At the end of november 1941, the couple was deported to the riga-jungfernhof concentration camp. In this very provisionally furnished camp, the inmates experienced the winter in grim cold up to minus 45 degrees, since there was no heating possibility in the barns used as sleeping quarters. 20 to 30 people died every day, and they could not be buried because the ground was frozen. Of those deported from wurzburg, only two survived. Among the hundreds killed there was bernhard bohm.
Hedwig bohm was born on 24. Born on december 1883 in bad bruckenau in lower franconia with the maiden name frank. She was born a member of the judaic faith. She lived for a time in nurnberg and worked there as a saleswoman before marrying bernhard bohm at the age of 37. In 1929, she moved with her husband and their six-year-old daughter hella to johann-nikolaus-zitter-strabe and later lived at ludwigsstadter strabe 5. In 1937, hedwig and her husband moved to wurzburg to live with her mother. After they had to give up all their possessions, they were deported in 1941 to the intermediate camp jungfernhof near riga, where hedwig and bernhard bohm spent the last days of their lives under cruel conditions. Hedwig bohm either died in the camp in the winter of 1941/42 from hunger, forced labor and cold, or was shot along with a large number of the prisoners in the nearby forest of bikernieki in march 1942.
Helene "hella bohm was born on 17. August 1923 born in bamberg. She lived in kronach until the age of ten. In 1934, her parents sent her to live with relatives in wurzburg, where she went to school. Because of acute danger from the national socialists she had to emigrate five years later. She immigrated to london in june 1939 at the age of 15. In the following years she married and took the name axelrad. She never returned to germany.