Goldschmidt family

Alex Goldschmidt (born January 01, 1879, Sachsenhagen) and Toni Goldschmidt (née Behrens, Bremen) jointly opened a clothing store called "Haus der Mode" in downtown Oldenburg in 1911. Alex Goldschmidt had moved to Oldenburg at the age of 27, where he later married Toni Behrens. In 1909, their first daughter Bertha was born. Above the "House of Fashion" was the Goldschmidt family's apartment, where their first son Günther was born two years after the store opened. Due to the outbreak of the First World War, and the accompanying conscription of Alex Goldschmidt, Toni had to take care of the two children and the business alone. Toni ran the business so successfully that the family was able to buy a house on Gartenstraße shortly after Alex returned home. While living on Gartenstrasse they had two more children, Eva (b. 1920) and Helmut (b. 1921). Eva later attended the Cäcilienschule and Helmut attended what is now the Alte Gymnasium in Oldenburg.

In 1934, the Goldschmidts were forced to sell their house in Gartenstraße to the then Nazi minister Heinz Spangemacher. Subsequently, they lived in Würzburger Straße 35 for a transitional period until they moved to Ofener Straße 53 from 1935 to 1938. During the November progroms, Alex and his son Helmut Goldschmidt were imprisoned in the Oldenburg court prison from November 09 to 11, 1938. They were then deported and were in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp from November 11 to December 06, 1938. They were released from there on the premise that they would leave Germany immediately. Shortly before their release, on November 21, 1938, the Goldschmidt family had to give up their store in the city center due to the "Aryanization" process. In their last years in Oldenburg, the Goldschmidts lived for a short time at Nordstraße 2 and finally at Staulinie 17. The plan was for Alex and his youngest son Helmut to flee to Cuba first  and for the wives to follow, since the eldest son Günther had already emigrated to Sweden in 1936. However, Bertha emigrated to England in 1939, while Toni and Eva Goldschmidt remained in Germany.

Alex and Helmut Goldschmidt wanted to emigrate from Hamburg to Cuba on the passenger ship St. Louis on May 13, 1939. However, the Jews on board were not allowed to enter Cuba or the USA and Canada. For this reason, the refugees, including Alex and Helmut, returned to Europe on June 17, 1939. Since a return to Germany was not possible, France, the Netherlands and Great Britain agreed to take in the refugees. Alex and Helmut Goldschmidt remained in France. After the German occupation of France in June 1940, Alex and Helmut were interned in several temporary camps until they were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp on August 16, 1942, where they were murdered. The exact date of Alex Goldschmidt's death is not known. Helmut Goldschmidt was murdered on October 09, 1942.

Günther Goldschmidt was taken to concerts at the State Theater and Oldenburg Castle at an early age by his music-loving mother Toni. He left Oldenburg as early as 1933 to study music in Sondershausen (Thuringia). Later, from 1934 to 1941, he played in the orchestra of the Jewish Cultural Association in Berlin. There he met his future wife Rosemarie Gumpert. His orchestral activities were initially suspended on March 28, 1936, as he emigrated to Stockholm. However, Günther returned to Germany the same year to live with his partner Rosemarie Gumpert. Through the Jewish Cultural Association, the two managed to escape to the United States together in 1941. Günther and Rosemarie traveled by train from Berlin to Lisbon on June 1, 1941, and then crossed by ship to New York. In America, Günther changed his name to George Gunther Goldsmith. He played in various orchestras and worked in the textile industry. One of their two sons, Martin Goldschmidt, was born in 1952 in St. Louis, Missouri. He has studied the history of his family and published two works about it. Günther, aka George, lived to be 95 and died on April 30, 2009, at an assisted living home called Arbor Place in Maryland, USA.

Toni and Eva Goldschmidt initially remained in Oldenburg until 1940, when they moved to Berlin to be near Günther Goldschmidt, who lived there. However, the latter emigrated to the USA after one year with his wife Rosemarie. Toni and Eva Goldschmidt were deported from Berlin to Riga (Latvia) on October 19, 1942. They arrived at the Riga-Kaiserwald concentration camp on October 22, 1942, and were murdered the same day.