Peter Lederman
Introduction
Peter Lederman lived in Gotha, Germany, with his parents and maternal grandmother. Peter's father, Ernst, owned a successful accounting practice. After Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Peter, then only 2 years old, experienced increased persecution.
During class, Peter and the few Jewish students in his school were forced to sit together in a corner. November 9, 1938, proceeded as usual. Peter went to school, and returned home. But, around midnight, Peter heard his grandmother and mother shouting with some men in black SS uniforms. Peter's grandmother put her hand over his mouth to quiet him, as Peter, frightened, was screaming. Earlier that night, the SS had taken his father away while Peter was asleep. However, the SS-men returned, searching for his father, who, they claimed, had escaped. The commotion woke Peter up and scared him. The next morning, Peter discovered that his father was in a concentration camp, at Buchenwald. The family knew nothing, not when he would return, or if ever.
Kristallnacht changed Peter's life completley. He could no longer attend his German public school. Instead, he went to a makeshift school organized by the local Jewish community. Fortunately, Peter's father returned home after a week. The Minister of Finance obtained a release for him so that Ernst would continue to do taxes, a work the Nazis deemed vital to their interests. Soon after his return, Ernst managed to leave Germany and find refuge in England. Peter and his mother followed thereafter. Learn more about Peter's story from his recorded testimony here.
Pictured left to right: Peter Lederman holding a German Schultüte (school cone) filled with candies for the first day of school. Peter recalled starting school on April 20th because it was Adolf Hitler’s birthday. Peter with his mother and Peter's parents, Ernst and Irmgard, together.
The borders of Germany in 1933, six years before the outbreak of World War II.
In the fall of 1938, Nazi authorities required all Jews in Germany to carry identity cards stamped with the letter “J” for Jude (Jew). German Jews whose names did not instantly identify them as Jewish had to add the name “Sara” for women and “Israel” for men. Peter Lederman, his father Ernst, and his mother Irmgard thus experienced increased exclusion in Germany.
Increased discriminatory violence, incarceration in concentration camps, economic boycotts, and Kristallnacht between 1933 and 1939 in Germany forced German Jews to flee the country. Forcibly segregated from society, German Jews had to turn towards their own communities and institutions to sustain life in Germany, but it became increasingly difficult and dangerous. However, emigrating from Germany was incredibly challenging, and more may have left the country if others, such as the United States and Great Britain been more willing to admit them.
After Kristallnacht, the Central British Fund for German Jewry (now World Jewish Relief) arranged with the British government for the rescue of about 4,000 Jewish men released from concentration camps. These refugees stayed in a former army base – the Kitchener Camp. Only a small number of Jewish families, among them Peter's, were reunited in England.
Peter did not live in the Kitchener Camp. Instead, he attended a boarding school where he continued his education and learned English. Separated from his parents, Peter contacted his father and mother through letters and occasionally visited them. (Select the image to read Peter's letter.)
Compulsory armbands or
badges were enforced by
the Nazi Regime.
Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels was the first to suggest a "general distinguishing mark" for German Jews in May 1938. German SS and police official Reinhard Heydrich reiterated the proposal idea on November 12, 1938, during a meeting with Herman Göring following Kristallnacht. Jews were responsible for buying and distributing their badges. Stars of David marked with the word "Jude" in German were likely from Germany or Austria. Armbands were often used in the ghettos and at concentration camps.
Peter's Maternal Grandparents
Peter's Paternal Grandparents
Peter Lederman's maternal grandparents, Julie and Kapel Hellbrunn, were deeply rooted in Germany. Both were born and raised there. They were steeped in German culture and language, and were integrated into German society. The Hellbrunns lived in Gotha, where Kapel was a successful physician. Peter's Paternal Grandparents sit with family: (Pictured left to right) Ernst Ledermann (Peter's father), Ernst's mother Minna, and his father, Max.
Minna's "Arrival Certificate"
Death Certificate
The German authorities deported Minna "Sara" Ledermann (née Brüll), Peter's grandmother, from Arnstadt, Germany, to Theresienstadt on October 18, 1942. Less than three months later, Minna died in the ghetto-camp at the age of 69.
Peter's grandfather, Max "Israel" Ledermann, also deported to Theresienstadt, died at 75, several days after his wife, Minna. Between 1941 and 1945, over 35,000 Jews died in the ghetto-camp of starvation, disease, and labor exploitation. The German authorities deported over 88,000 Jews from Theresienstadt to ghettos and killing centers in Eastern Europe. (Select the image to enlarged.)