Stumbling stone laying on 29 May 2024

Stumbling stone for Anton Richard Tauber

Anton Richard Tauber was general director of the Vereinigte Stadttheater in Chemnitz from 1912 to 1930. In view of fierce disputes within the parties of the city council over cultural and theatre policy, he decided not to extend his contract in 1930. From 1936, he lived in Italy and Switzerland. He died on 4 August 1942 in Pergassona near Lugano.

Sponsors: Rotary Club Chemnitz

Stumbling stones for Siegfried, Dina, Ruth Betti and Walter Strauß

Siegfried Strauß was director of the Schocken department stores' in Chemnitz from 1935 to 1938. Due to the ongoing "aryanisation" of the company, he handed over the management in July 1938 and fled with his family to New Zealand to escape persecution by the National Socialists. They arrived there on 18 January 1940.

Sponsors: Friends of smac e. V., pupils of the G.-Agricola-Gymnasium Chemnitz, Steffani Löser-Föhse, Nadine and Stefan Grießmann

Stumbling stones for Henoch, Rahel, Doris Ida and Max Josef Bulka

The merchant Henoch Bulka (born in 1898) and his wife Rahel Bulka, née Paperno (born in 1905), married in August 1933. Their children Doris Ida and Max Josef were born here in 1934 and 1938. Rahel Bulka and her children were deported in May 1942 and murdered in the Belzyce ghetto. (The ghetto had been set up in the Polish town by the National Socialists during the Second World War). Henoch Bulka had previously tried to flee Germany. His fate is unknown.

Sponsors: Claudia Radelow, private, Chemnitz evening grammar school, Chemnitz Montessori secondary school

Stumbling stone for WillyLesser

The businessman Willy Lesser (born in 1901) had been secretary of the Chemnitz General Consumers' Association and the surrounding area since 1927. As a staunch social democrat, he was quick to point out the dangers of National Socialism in lectures. In 1935, he was in "protective custody" in the Sachsenburg concentration camp. After the end of the war, he was the first managing director of the Chemnitz consumer co-operative.

Sponsor: Susan Lesser

Stumbling stones for Elsbeth Sommerfeld and Gerda Kaes

The seamstress Gerda Kaes was last employed in the auxiliary kitchen of the Jewish old people's home on Antonplatz. Her mother Elsbeth Sommerfeld and daughter were deported in May 1942 and murdered in the Belzyce ghetto.

Godparents: Dr Susanne Schübel

Stumbling stone for Irmgard Goeritz

There are already three Stumbling Stones in Hoffmannstraße for husband Karl Goeritz and children Frank-Stefan and Irene Beatrice. Irmgard Goeritz was the only family member to survive the violent sinking of the passenger ship "Simon Bolivar" off the coast of England. She lived in London for a short time before marrying the educationalist Heinrich Selver in 1942. This marriage produced two daughters: Irene and Veronica.

Sponsors: Buntmacher*innen e. V.

Stumbling stones forBerek, Henoch and Erika Kagan

Berek Kagan was expelled from the country on 28 October 1938 and later murdered in occupied Poland. His son Henoch and his wife Erika Kagan emigrated to Latvia in 1939 and met their violent deaths in the Riga ghetto at the end of 1941.

Godparents: Martina and Karl-Michael Hanisch, AGIUA e. V., Tobias Arnold

Stumbling stones for Hersz, Recha and Ingrid Rappel

The merchant Hersz Rappel (born in 1896) lived in Chemnitz from 1919. His wife Recha Rappel, née Friedmann (born 1891) came from Berlin. The couple and their daughter Ingrid (born in 1921) lived in Chemnitz until 1938. They managed to emigrate to England and Italy respectively.

Godparents: Karl-Heinz Kleve, Gabriele Mehrfert, Marika Lang

Stumbling stone forJohannes Strauch

Due to a mental disability, Johannes Strauch (born in 1928) was only able to attend the André School until June 1936. From September 1943, he was in the Großhennersdorf state sanatorium, where he "died" a few months later. The exact circumstances of his death are not known.

Sponsor: private

Stumbling stones for Hugo and Martha Hoff

Mr and Mrs Hoff were among the Sinti families who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazi regime. The musician Hugo Hoff (born in 1887) was arrested in June 1938 as part of the large-scale arrest operation "Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich" and was held in Buchenwald concentration camp until his death on 25 February 1940. His wife Martha Hoff, née Braun (born 1894), was murdered in the Auschwitz extermination camp on 25 September 1943.

Godparents: Robert Djordjevic and Albrecht Bodenschatz

Stumbling stone forRudolf Dähnert

The resistance fighter Rudolf Dähnert (born in 1909) was arrested several times by the National Socialists in the spring of 1933 and spent several months in "protective custody" in the Sachsenburg concentration camp that year. After the end of the war, the staunch communist worked in the main administration of the city of Chemnitz.

Godparents: Barbara and Dr Frieder Jentsch