Georg Schindler was born on July 14, 1888 in Breslau. His parents were the merchant Josef Schindler (born August 10, 1857 in Sohrau ) and Goldine Weiss (born January 20, 1860 in Lohnau / Kosel ). The family was Jewish.
According to the available birth certificates, Josef and Goldine Schindler had five children:
- Clara, born December 5, 1886 in Berlin Friedrichshagen, Amalienstr . 19
- Georg, born July 14, 1888 in Breslau
- Arthur, born February 15, 1896 in Breslau
- Rosa, born June 25, 1897 in Breslau
- Julius, born December 24, 1898 in Berlin Friedrichshagen, Wilhelmstr. 36
Clara's life dates could only be ascertained from her birth and death certificates. After Clara's birth in Berlin in 1886, the Schindler family moved to Breslau, where Georg, Arthur and Rosa were born between 1888 and 1897.
After Rosa's birth in 1897, the family moved back to Berlin, as the youngest child, Julius, was born in Berlin-Friedrichshagen in 1898.
The Berlin address books do not reveal exactly where the Schindler family lived in Berlin during their first years. From 1917, Josef Schindler, a merchant, was listed at Schildhornstrasse 96 in Berlin Steglitz.
Georg Schindler was a businessman and on September 21, 1919 he married his fiancée Klothilde Stern, who was born on August 16, 1894 in Buttenwiesen in Bavaria. According to the registry office entry in the prepared marriage certificate, the wedding was actually planned for September 19, 1919. Georg's father Josef Schindler was listed as his witness. On November 1, 1919, the couple registered in Berlin - a corresponding note can be found in the files of the Brandenburg State Archives, which were kept in the inheritance case of Friederike Wangenheim, née Weiß, the sister of Georg's mother Goldine , who died in 1940. The address at which Georg and Klothilde Schindler lived after their wedding could not be determined with certainty from the Berlin and Jewish address books. As far as is known, Georg and Klothilde's marriage remained childless.
Father Josef Schindler died on March 12, 1924 at the age of 66 in his apartment at Schildhornstrasse 96. Georg's youngest brother Julius reported his father's death to the registry office. Josef Schindler was buried on March 17, 1924 in the Weissensee Jewish Cemetery (Field K, Section 5, No. 66175).
Georg's mother Goldine remained living at Schildhornstrasse 96. In 1934, at the age of 74, she moved to Schlossstrasse 9 to live with her daughter Rosa and her son-in-law Georg Kaufmann. On August 27, 1936, Goldine Schindler, née Weiss , died in the hospital at Trautenaustrasse 5. Her son Arthur requested that she be buried in the Jewish cemetery in Weissensee near her husband. (Grave No. 94451)
In the census of May 17, 1939, Georg and Klothilde Schindler were recorded as subtenants of Josef and Gertrud Friedländer in Berlin - Schöneberg, Willmanndamm 5, I. It can be assumed that Georg and Klothilde Schindler's quarters with the Friedländers were not entirely voluntary. The Friedländers were deported to Riga together on January 25, 1942 on the 10th eastern transport, which consisted mainly of elderly people. Of the 1044 people crammed into the freight car from Berlin Grunewald , only a few survived the transport in the extreme cold, which did not arrive in Riga until January 30.
In 1939, Georg and Klothilde moved into Albrechtstrasse 38 with their aunt Marianne Kaiser, née Weiss. The house was owned by Elfriede Blumenthal, a sister of Georg's mother Goldine and his cousin Lilli Philipp, née Weiss, the daughter of Georg's uncle Adolf Weiss. Adolf Weiss had purchased the house and property in 1925, but died the following year. In 1939, ten members of the Weiss family lived permanently under one roof in this house. Georg's sister Rosa also stayed at Albrechtstrasse 38 briefly in 1939 before emigrating to Shanghai. Over the years from 1938/39, fourteen more Jewish people were forcibly quartered in this house.
On March 1, 1943, Georg and Klothilde Schindler had to go from Albrechtstrasse 38 to the assembly camp at Levetzowstrasse 8 in Moabit.
On March 2, 1943, Klothilde Schindler, née Stern, was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp on the 32nd Eastern transport. On the transport list available at the Arolsen Archives, she is listed with the number 1199. A total of 1756 people were deported on this train .
Georg Schindler was deported to Auschwitz on March 3, 1943 with the 33rd Eastern transport. There were 1726 people on this transport.
The Fate of Georg Schindler's Siblings
Georg's brother Julius - the youngest child - married his fiancée Elsa Frieda Anna Knodel , born November 26, 1900, on April 3, 1920. Anna Knodel earned her living as a saleswoman, her father Robert Knodel was a mechanic. The family was Protestant and lived in Friedenau at Odenwaldstrasse 16. Julius and Anna Schindler also lived at this address until their marriage was dissolved on July 29, 1938. A short time later, Julius Schindler emigrated to the USA via Balboa, Panama Canal on September 25, 1940. His application for naturalization in the USA showed that he remarried on May 3, 1942 : Fanny Balter, born in Russia on December 12, 1908 (the birth name was not shown in Julius' naturalization document of 1945), had already been an American citizen since 1924. The couple had a son, Milton.
On October 22, 1921, Georg's brother Arthur married his fiancée Herta Henriette Blumenthal , who was born on November 19, 1901 in Wittkowitz , Moravia. Her parents were the watchmaker Ludwig Blumenthal and Elfriede, née Weiss. The mothers of Arthur - Goldine Schindler - and Herta - Elfriede Blumenthal - were sisters. Both mothers were née Weiss. Accordingly, the marriage between Arthur and Herta was between cousins .
In 1914, Herta's father Ludwig Blumenthal was still listed in the Berlin address book at Florastrasse 19. In 1915, the couple Blumenthal were already living at Schlossstrasse 110; Elfriede Blumenthal, née Weiss, was also registered with her business "Frieda Blumenthal, Hats".
Herta Blumenthal and Arthur Schindler lived at Schlossstrasse 110, this address was entered as the place of residence for both bride and groom in the marriage certificate. From 1926, Arthur Schindler can be found in the Berlin address book at Schlossstrasse 101 with a fashion shop . From 1932, he also ran a large ladies' hat shop at Schlossstrasse 107/108 . Hats were made and sold there with several employees.
In 1938, both shops were liquidated by the National Socialists.
In 1938, Arthur and Herta emigrated with their son Wolfgang to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Georg's sister Clara Schindler was found dead in her parents' apartment at Schildhornstrasse 96 on the morning of October 30, 1922. According to the death certificate, her brother Arthur Schindler, Schlossstrasse 110, reported Clara's death to the Steglitz registry office. She was 35 years old and, according to the entry in the death certificate, was "single and unemployed."
On January 19, 1923, Georg's sister Rosa married her fiancé, the salesman Georg Kaufmann , born on June 17, 1892 in Raschkow . Rosa's father Josef Schindler accompanied his daughter as best man. For Georg, his brother Hugo Kaufmann was best man.
Rosa and Georg Kaufmann's marriage was legally dissolved on December 23, 1937. On
March 23, 1939, Georg Kaufmann married Erna, née Jacobsen. She was the sister of his brother Hugo's wife Hertha Kaufmann, nee Jacobson. In 1939 the brothers lived together in Mitte, Diercksenstr . 1.
Hugo Kaufmann died on December 2, 1942 in Berlin.
On February 3, 1943, Georg and Erna Kaufmann, Hertha Kaufmann - the widow of Hugo Kaufmann - and her daughter Ruth (born April 3, 1922) were deported to Auschwitz on the 28th Osttransport .
Rosa Kaufmann, née Schindler , had apparently also moved to Albrechtstrasse 38 only a short time after her divorce.
In 1939, Rosa Kaufmann fled to Shanghai. There she married Curt Codik (born January 3, 1894 in Berlin) in 1940. After the end of World War II, Rosa and Curt Codik were able to leave Shanghai and enter the USA. However, Rosa later returned to Berlin, where she died on June 2, 1972. She was buried in Berlin Lankwitz at the Dreifaltigkeits Cemetery.
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Translation in 2013 of Charlotte Kreutzmüller
Georg Schindler was a nephew of Friederike Wangenheim and therefore a member of the extended Weiss family. He was born on 14 July 1888 in Breslau. On 21 September 1919, he married Klothilde Stern, known as “Tilde”, in the Bavarian village of Buttenwiesen, where Tilde had been born on 16 August 1894. On 6 November 1919, the young couple moved to Berlin.
In 1939, they moved in as subtenants with relatives, named Kaiser and Lewy, at Albrecht Strasse 38 in Steglitz. After the latter two were deported in September and December 1942, respectively, Georg and Klothilde Schindler were the last remaining Jews in the apartment. On 1 February 1943, the Gestapo headquarters in Berlin completed the order to seize their assets. On 1 March 1943, it was delivered to them with notice of receipt in the assembly camp at Levetzow Strasse 8 in Moabit. Tilde Schindler was deported on 2 March 1943 on the “31st transport to the East” to Auschwitz; her husband Georg Schindler was deported on 3 March 1943 on the “32nd transport to the East”. Both are considered missing since their arrival in Auschwitz.
However, in a Yad Vashem page of testimony written in 1974, a sister-in-law of Georg Schindler’s, who emigrated to California, suggests that the Schindlers died in Dachau.