Stumbling Stones in Chemnitz
Siegfried Strauß, Dina Strauß, Ruth Betti Strauß, Walter Strauß
Siegfried Strauss
Born: 24 July 1885
Died: 18.04.1961
Dina Strauß, née Spiro
Born: 25.10.1894
Died: 15/05/1984
Ruth Betti Strauss
Born: 30/06/1927
Died: 03/05/2015
Walter Strauss
Born: 01.07.1928
Died: 19.01.2002
Laying location:
Stefan-Heym-Platz 1 (former Schocken department stores')Stumbling stone laying on:
29 May 2024
Photos of the laying of the Stumbling Stones
Life path
Siegfried Strauß was born in the municipality of Nieder-Wöllstadt in what is now the Wetterau district of Hesse. He began working for the Schocken department stores' group on 1 July 1908. He was head of department and buyer until 1914. After the outbreak of war, he was one of the Jewish soldiers at the front who were prepared to sacrifice their lives and health for their country.
After returning from the front, Strauß took over the management of the department stores' in Cottbus in April 1916, which was considerably enlarged in the 1920s through remodelling. At the age of 31, Siegfried Strauß married Dina Spiro. She was the daughter of the merchant Michael Lewin Spiro, whose brother was married to Lea Schocken, a sister of Salman and Simon Schocken. The couple had two children.
Strauß's professional career took him to Pforzheim a few years later. When the last branch of the Schock Group was to be opened there in 1931, an experienced managing director was needed. Strauß set up the newly opened branch at a time of upheaval. The National Socialists directed their first attacks against Jewish business owners, doctors and lawyers. The "Jewish boycott" of 1 April 1933 also hit the department stores' in Pforzheim with full force.
Siegfried Strauß moved with his family to Chemnitz to take over the management of the Schocken department stores' in autumn 1935. He was still assisted by the personnel manager Ludwig Kratochvil, who had persuaded the previous managing director Carl Lewin to emigrate.
The couple found a suitable flat on the Kaßberg. They initially lived in the rear building of the impressive semi-detached house at Hübschmannstraße 28/30, before finally moving to Friedrich-Schlegel-Straße 15.
As a result of the progressive "Aryanisation" of the company, Strauß gave up the management in July 1938. The family then moved to Frankfurt am Main. He was now preparing to emigrate to New Zealand, where the Sally Spiro family from Chemnitz had emigrated a few months earlier. The Strauß family arrived in New Zealand on 18 January 1940 and moved into a rented flat in Christchurch. Their belongings were destroyed in a bombing raid on Rotterdam, which made their new start considerably more difficult. Finding work was almost impossible at the time. They later opened a curtain shop in the Riccarton neighbourhood. The children attended Fendalton School in Christchurch. Ruth later gained a degree in economics and worked as a librarian. Walter became an electrical engineer and designed many of New Zealand's hydroelectric power stations. Ruth's first marriage was to Walter Freitag, who was also from Chemnitz. Walter was married to Pamela Reed.
The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Dina and Siegfried Strauß all live in New Zealand and welcome the laying of the Stolpersteine in Chemnitz.
Author: Dr Jürgen Nitsche
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.
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