Prayer Book of Berta Müller (née Schwed). Courtesy: Müller Collection
A Descendants List, or Nachkommenliste as it is known in German, can look pretty straightforward in its 2016 computer programmed representation. But behind each list lie precious documents such as the ones shown here, held and treasured in family archives for centuries.
For an historian, such a document is a treasure trove of valuable data. The Nachkommenliste hints at decisions made and strategies implemented as family members engaged with the political, social, and economic change sweeping Germany in the late 1800s/early 1900s. As the Meier & Karoline (née Eisenfresser) Descendants List illustrates, the results were varied: some left Germany and Europe altogether; most, however remained in Germany: a few Friedmanns remained in Berkach but most moved to other, usually larger — but not too large — urban centres in Germany, including Themar. As well, the Nachkommenliste reveals connections between families that were probably well known then but have faded or disappeared in the years since — for example, the connection between the Schwab family of Berkach, and the Ernst Gassenheimer and Moritz Sachs families of Themar!
The links below take you to Descendants Lists for the following Jewish families of Themar. Included are lists of branches of families closely linked to the Themar families, such as the Gassenheimer families of Salomon & Babette Gassenheimer, as well the families of the religious Lehrer/Teachers, who were only part of the Jewish community for the period of the Lehrer’s appointment.
Please note:
- The outlines uses the word ‘murdered’ in the sense defined by the Yad Vashem database, namely, “During the Shoah, Jews were murdered in a variety of ways, among them gassing, shooting, burning, drowning or burial alive, exhaustion through forced labor, starvation, epidemic diseases, deprivation of medical care and minimal hygienic conditions, and more.”
- As always, these outlines are works in progress and we welcome any corrections/ amendments/ additions, etc. s.meen79@gmail.com
The Bär/Baer Families
1. Samuel & Jette Baer
2. Nathan and Sara Reis
3. The Schloss Family of Oberwaldbehrungen
4. Samuel Bär (1793-1854)
5. Emanuel Bär 1797-1873
The Frankenberg/Wertheimer Families
1. Löb & Jette Frankenberg
2. Mendel & Sarah Wertheimer
The Friedmann Family
1. Hugo & Eva Friedmann
2. Salomon & Johanna Friedmann
3. Berman & Rachel/Rosa Kahn
The Gassenheimer Family:
1. Samuel & Charlotte Gassenheimer
2. Salomon & Babette Gassenheimer
3. Samuel & Pauline Gassenheimer
4. Gustave & Minnie Gassenheimer
The Grünbaum Families
1. Löser & Johanna Grünbaum
2. Jacoby & Bertha (née Grünbaum) Seckel
3. Noa Grünbaum
The Kahn/Rosenberg & Haas Families
Josef & Hulda Kahn
The Katz Family
1. Abraham & Paule Katz
2. Adolf/Abraham & Meta Katz
3. Ludwig & (1) Hannchen & (2) Esther Katz
Leopold & Adelheid Ludwig
The Mayer/Levinstein & Wolf Families:
Meier & Karoline Mayer
The Müller/Sachs Families
1. Salomon & Karoline Müller
2. Hermann & Babette Schwed
3. Leopold & Therese Steindler
4. Simon & Marianne Sachs
5. Gabriel & Bertha Betty Schloss
The Schwab/Rosengarten Family
1. Mayer & Riecke Schwab