Stumbling Stones in Chemnitz
Heinrich and Ilse Guttmann
Heinrich Guttmann
Born: 24 November 1892
Died: 26.07.1975
Godparents: Pupils and teachers of the Georgius-Agricola-Gymnasium
Ilse Guttmann, née Cohn
Born: 07.11.1898
Died: 23.11.1987
Godmother: Gisela Flämig
Installation location:
Theatre Street 40Stumbling stone laying on:
5 October 2020
Life path
The son of a merchant, Heinrich Guttmann was born in Chemnitz. Salo Guttmann, his father, had lived in Breslau until May 1886. He had made a name for himself as the owner of a shop for men's and boys' clothing, which he founded in the city centre in May 1893. At the beginning of 1921, Heinrich Guttmann became managing director of his father's business, which had been located at 34 Theaterstraße since 1903. In 1928, he married Ilse Cohn in Breslau.
In the 1920s, he became involved in the Association of Jewish Youth Clubs in Germany. He was also one of the activists of the German League for Human Rights in Chemnitz, which was founded in 1914. The Nazi takeover had serious consequences for the family. Due to his involvement in the DLfM, Heinrich Guttmann was taken into "protective custody" in March/April 1933. The Chief of Police advised him to leave the country. His son Werner Erich was born just at this time. The situation came to a head when the family business was also affected by the Nazi boycott of Jewish goods on 1 April 1933.
Heinrich Guttmann therefore gave up the business in the summer of 1934 and emigrated to Italy. From then on, he lived in Milan, where he worked as a representative for German textile companies. Four years later, his wife and son were able to follow him. After Italy annexed Albania in the spring of 1939, the family decided to emigrate to Palestine. In 1958, the couple returned to Germany (West). Their son remained in Israel, where he later made a name for himself as a master chef and co-organiser of the IKA/Culinary Olympics.
The couple joined the liberal Jewish community in Frankfurt/Main. Heinrich Guttmann supported the "Chronicle of the Jews in Chemnitz" published by Adolf Diamant and wrote a foreword for it. Heinrich and Ida Guttmann lived in the Main metropolis until their deaths. Uri Guttmann, their son, regrets not being able to take part in the laying of the Stumbling Stones.
Stumbling Stones in Chemnitz
It is a project against forgetting: stumbling stones have been laid in Chemnitz every year since 2007.
Embedded in the pavement, the memorial stones commemorate the tragic fates of fellow citizens who were persecuted, deported, murdered or driven to their deaths during the National Socialist regime.
more