Ernst Löwenstein

On April 07, 1881, Ernst Löwenstein was born in Jever as the son of the Jewish couple Hermann Hirsch Löwenstein and Meta Löwenstein, née Moses. Between 1891 and 1900 he attended the Mariengymnasium in Jever, from which he graduated with the Abitur. He then began studying law in Berlin, but after just one year he transferred to the University of Munich. After one semester in Munich, Ernst Löwenstein went to Leipzig, where he successfully completed his studies in March 1903 and registered for his first state law examination, which he also successfully passed in July 1903.

From October 01, 1903, Löwenstein performed his legal preparatory service with authorities in Jever and Oldenburg and with Oldenburg lawyers*. This activity was interrupted by his call-up to military service in Halberstadt in 1904 and 1905. After passing his exams in November 1908 with "sufficient", he received his admission to the bar.

In 1920, Ernst Löwenstein married Else de Boer (born August 15, 1896), a Protestant, who converted to Judaism upon marriage. Their marriage produced two children, Hermann Löwenstein (born March 13, 1921) and Anneliese Löwenstein (born October 20, 1922), now Lebowitz.

Before Ernst Löwenstein began his professional station as a lawyer at the Oldenburg District Court in November 1909, he worked as a lawyer in March 1909 at the Rüstringen District Court in Bant and from April to September in 1909 at the Butjadingen District Court in Ellwürden. Löwenstein remained with the Oldenburg District Court until World War I and resumed his duties there even after his return from the war.

His application in April 1919 for parallel admission to the Higher Regional Court in Oldenburg was rejected. Also rejected was his application for acceptance into the civil service in September 1920 because of his "not outstanding legal talent" (Mack 1995, p. 151).

After the introduction of the notary's office for the Free State of Oldenburg, Löwenstein received his license as a notary in December 1921. With the renewed applications for a license for the Higher Regional Court, the application made on February 15, 1928 was successful, so that Ernst Löwenstein had a double license at the Regional Court as well as the Higher Regional Court of Oldenburg. After the Second World War, Löwenstein applied for re-admission as a lawyer and was sworn in again as a lawyer and notary on January 21, 1946. Löwenstein was the only Oldenburg lawyer to be granted dual admission to the Regional Court and Higher Regional Court due to the persecution he suffered during the Nazi era.

In May 1933, Löwenstein, together with other Jewish lawyers*, was examined by the Oldenburg Ministry of Justice as to whether he would be allowed to continue practicing his profession under the new Reich Law on the Admission to the Bar of 07 April 1933. Löwenstein was protected from an early professional ban by his admission before the First World War and his participation in the war. His participation in the war saved him a few months later in September 1933 again from a professional ban in connection with the "Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service".

However, Löwenstein's activity as a lawyer steadily declined in the years to come, so that he was ultimately no longer able to earn any income from this activity from about 1937. In the hope that he would be spared further reprisals, Ernst Löwenstein signed the oath to Adolf Hitler on June 13, 1934. He realized his error about a year later when his notarial license was revoked. He received his notice of dismissal from his notarial office a short time later. Löwenstein continued to practice law.

After the enactment of the "Nuremberg Laws" in September 1935, there were two trials against Jews in Oldenburg because they had violated the prohibition of "extramarital intercourse between Jews and citizens of German or kindred blood." Löwenstein was the defense counsel in both trials.

Löwenstein was able to win the first trial of Bruno Wallheimer  due to a positive pronunciation for the defendant by the state rabbi Leo Trepp, so Wallheimer was acquitted. He lost the second trial, however. A month later, Löwenstein's professional career ended when he was disbarred on October 20, 1938. One day earlier, however, Löwenstein had already applied for admission as a Jewish consultant in Bremen, where as emigration agent of the "Bremen Committee for Jewish Emigrants in Need of Help" he was to assist those affected in emigrating. In the course of the November pogroms, Ernst Löwenstein and his son Hermann were imprisoned in Bremen, although the Löwenstein family was supposed to be exempt from the arrests due to Ernst Löwenstein's activities as an emigration consultant. After this 'accidental' arrest, the two were deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp on November 10, 1938. After 14 days of imprisonment, however, they were released, presumably made possible by a promise by Löwenstein that they would emigrate soon.

On January 06, 1939, Ernst Löwenstein emigrated to Heemstede in the Netherlands, as his license to practice law at the Higher Regional Court in Oldenburg had been cancelled in November of the previous year. He was at that time ruined professionally, in health and financially due to the events.

Shortly after his stay in Heemstede, Löwenstein went to Amsterdam and was active there as an emigrant helper for the Jewish Council there. However, he came to the attention of the German occupation, and he was arrested again from October 17 to November 21, 1940.

Afterwards, he was declared dead by an employee of the city of Amsterdam, although in reality he was able to hide with a Jewish evangelical couple.

From 1942 to mid-1944, Löwenstein was employed by a Jewish aid organization and in this way survived the war period reasonably unscathed underground, apart from his severe health damage. The Löwenstein family lived separately throughout the war period. Wife Else moved from Bremen to Peine (Lower Saxony), her daughter Anneliese to Leipzig and then also to Peine, while son Hermann spent the war period in Belgium and later also in France. After the end of the war, he returned to his mother and sister in Peine, where Ernst Löwenstein also arrived in October 1945.

His delayed return to Germany was related to the fact that the borders of the Netherlands were closed after the end of the war, so that the escape of National Socialists* was prevented. Because of this, Löwenstein had to be smuggled into Germany on a British truck before he could return to his family. In mid-November 1945, the reunited Löwenstein family returned to Oldenburg. ErnstLöwenstein applied for readmission as a lawyer and notary public and for denazification on November 22, 1945, a few days after arriving. Both applications were immediately accepted, and on January 21, 1946, Ernst Löwenstein was again sworn in as a lawyer and notary.

Ernst Löwenstein was on the whole very politically interested and committed, but he did not initially take an active part in political events until he became a member of the Oldenburg state parliament. Löwenstein also turned down the opportunity to run for a liberal party, although he was known for his liberal views on both religious matters and politics. This changed when Löwenstein was among the deputies present at the first meeting of the Oldenburg Landtag on January 30, 1946. Several sources indicate that he particularly stood up for the rights of Jews and other persecuted groups there and represented their views as a whole. However, it is striking that Löwenstein did not take part in any of the debates that took place in the Landtag and that, on the whole, he rather withdrew from his office as a deputy by not appearing as a speaker during any of the five sessions. In the second session of the Landtag on April 10, 1946, Löwenstein was elected as a member of the administrative committee of the FDP, whereupon he also accepted this office.

Ernst Löwenstein was particularly active on behalf of the Jews living in his native Oldenburg. In 1936 Löwenstein took office as both chairman of the state committee and chairman of the state community council. Löwenstein's work as a lawyer in particular gave him the opportunity to stand up for the Jews in Oldenburg in legal matters. Both offices were of great importance with regard to the representation of all Jewish communities in the Oldenburg region.

In addition, Löwenstein established the Jewish School in Oldenburg together with Leo Trepp, who held the office of Oldenburg's state rabbi at the time. In addition to promoting the children's education, Löwenstein was particularly concerned with the possibility of adherence to the Jewish religion and the accompanying finding of comfort and support. In particular, promoting the interests of the members of the Jewish Community of Oldenburg were a central concern of his. This was one of the reasons that Löwenstein was appointed First Chairman of the Jewish Community of Oldenburg in the postwar period in 1946.

The first signs of a planned emigration of Löwenstein together with his wife Else to the USA were recognizable due to a letter to Ries, the vice president of the Higher Regional Court, in the fall of 1950. In this letter, Ries was asked to prepare an "account of the abilities and character" (Mack 1995, p. 162) of the Löwenstein couple in order to be able to give reasons that could support the planned emigration.

In April 1951, Ernst and Else Löwenstein announced their emigration, whereupon a short time later Omaha, Nebraska could already be found as the Löwensteins' new address. We can only speculate about the Löwensteins' personal reasons for deciding to emigrate to the United States. On the one hand, former colleagues and contemporary witnesses point to Löwenstein's dissatisfaction with his professional position as the motivation for his emigration, while relatives and acquaintances of Löwenstein's tend to point to personal reasons as the trigger for his emigration. These could be, among other things, the emigration of Löwenstein's son to the USA as well as the fear of a renewed return of anti-Semitism.

Until the age of 75, Löwenstein continued to work professionally in the United States. However, he could not continue to practice law in the U.S. due to legal conditions. In 1954, he therefore ended his professional career and 11 years later moved to Canago Park in California, where he spent the last years of his life until his death on June 04, 1974.