Location
Ludwigkirchstr. 11 A
District
Wilmersdorf
Born
06 January 1907 in Berlin
Dead
06 July 1934 in Barcelona
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Stolperstein für Rudolf Perl © Koordinierungsstelle Stolpersteine Berlin
It was his farewell letter, in which he told me that as a consequence of not being able to find a job because he could not get a work permit in Barcelona, and because of the fact that he was unable to work because of his illness, he felt so hopeless and desperate that he saw no other alternative than to end his life.
Ruth Wagner, 1956
Rudolf Perl was born in Berlin, the son of a Jewish doctor. He trained as a bank clerk and as a welfare worker. In 1930, he gained employment at a clinic in Nordhausen and in May 1932 he married Ruth Rothschild. He returned to Berlin in autumn 1932, left the Jewish community and became a member of the KPD. He was elected city councillor in the snap elections of 1933, brought forward by Hitler following his appointment as Chancellor. But like all communists, he was unseated before the first meeting and barred from the council. He was arrested in late April 1933, even though he was bed-ridden at this point with suspected paratyphoid fever. He was detained until mid-June 1933. In November, he fled with his wife to Switzerland via Czechoslovakia, Austria and France. Because they had no valid passports they were deported from each country after a short time. In 1934, they arrived, utterly destitute, in Spain. Ruth Perl found work on Ibiza but her husband stayed in Barcelona, where he committed suicide a short time later. In 1935, Ruth Perl emigrated to Palestine, where her sister lived in a kibbutz. She later remarried and moved to Haifa in 1956. She successfully applied for compensation from Berlin.
Rudolf Perl was a city councillor in 1933; nominated for election (KPD)
Ruth Wagner, 1956
Rudolf Perl was born in Berlin, the son of a Jewish doctor. He trained as a bank clerk and as a welfare worker. In 1930, he gained employment at a clinic in Nordhausen and in May 1932 he married Ruth Rothschild. He returned to Berlin in autumn 1932, left the Jewish community and became a member of the KPD. He was elected city councillor in the snap elections of 1933, brought forward by Hitler following his appointment as Chancellor. But like all communists, he was unseated before the first meeting and barred from the council. He was arrested in late April 1933, even though he was bed-ridden at this point with suspected paratyphoid fever. He was detained until mid-June 1933. In November, he fled with his wife to Switzerland via Czechoslovakia, Austria and France. Because they had no valid passports they were deported from each country after a short time. In 1934, they arrived, utterly destitute, in Spain. Ruth Perl found work on Ibiza but her husband stayed in Barcelona, where he committed suicide a short time later. In 1935, Ruth Perl emigrated to Palestine, where her sister lived in a kibbutz. She later remarried and moved to Haifa in 1956. She successfully applied for compensation from Berlin.
Rudolf Perl was a city councillor in 1933; nominated for election (KPD)