Stumbling Stones Lutherstraße 9

These small, brass memorial plaques (Stolpersteine or stumbling stones) commemorate:

* Salomon Hofmann, born 1869, deported 1942 Theresienstadt, murdered 1944 in Auschwitz.
* Frieda Hofmann née Plant, born 1885, deported 1942 Theresienstadt, murdered 1944 in Auschwitz.

Background

Salomon Hofmann and Frieda Plant married and moved to Jena. The couple first had a furniture business, then a real estate agency, followed by a wholesale tobacco business. Starting in 1909, they rented an apartment at Lutherstraße 9. Their daughter, Paula, was born that year. As times grew difficult for Jews, their landlady tried to get them out of the apartment, arguing that since the toilet and pantry were shared she would have to meet them occasionally.

Paula married Henry Ehrenberg. On Reichspogromnacht (9/10 November 1938), he was arrested and taken to Buchenwald. She managed to obtain two visas, and when he was released on 15 December, they escaped to London as soon as they could.

From May to September 1942 Salomon was the Jena representative of the Reichs Association of Jews in Germany. He was a mediator between the Nazis and the Jews who remained in Jena.

When Paula learned of the imminent deportation of her parents, she did everything she could to get her them out of Germany. But they were deported on 20 September 1942 to Theresienstadt. The last sign of life was their postcard to their housekeeper – Luise Zaubitzer, who courageously had supported Jewish families in Jena, including continuing contact with the Hofmanns until the end. After two years in Theresienstadt, Salomon and Frieda Hofmann were finally deported to Auschwitz on 28 October 1944. The dates of their deaths is unknown.

In 1945, Paula and Henry Ehrenberg moved to the U.S.A. She celebrated her 104th birthday in December 2013 in New York City.

"Stolpersteine" is an art project for Europe by Gunter Demnig to commemorate victims of National Socialism (Nazism). Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) are small, 10x10cm brass plaques placed in the pavement in front of the last voluntary residence of (mostly Jewish) victims who were murdered by the Nazis. Each plaque is engraved victim’s with the name, date of birth, and place (mostly a concentration camp) and date of death. By doing this, Gunter Demnig gives an individual memorial to each victim. One stone, one name, one person. He cites the Talmud: "A human being is forgotten only when his or her name is forgotten."

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries & Anne Palmer
• Photos: :Linda:
• Stolpersteine in Jena: Salomon Hofmann
• Manhattan Times on Paula Ehrenberg
• Stolpersteine.eu