Feldmann, Alice Ruth

Alice Ruth Feldmann was born on December 24, 1899 as the seventh and youngest daughter of Sophie and Simon Feldmann. Her parents ran a successful yarn factory. This is initially located at Stralauer Strasse 41 in Berlin Mitte. In 1897, her father buys a property in Oberschöneweide, the excursion restaurant „Tabbert´s Waldschlösschen“  and adjoining land. He wanted to expand his factory and so Ruth, as she was henceforth known, was the only one of the siblings born in Oberschöneweide. Her father Simon is involved in the local council and works here as an arbitrator, among other things. His company was successful and so the children grew up in very good economic circumstances.

Ruth also learned a trade and worked as an office worker. She had lung disease, which was also nothing unusual. The air in the district was certainly not conducive to good health. She remained unmarried until her death and lived with her parents at Tabbertstraße 14.

Ruth was not spared the persecution and discrimination to which Jews were subjected from 1933 at the latest. The house in Tabbertstrasse, where she lived with her mother and other relatives, had not been properly heated since the factory was shut down. In the fall of 1939, the water pipes broke due to the cold and warm clothing was in short supply. Jews had to hand in all furs and woolen clothing since 1935. They were not allowed to buy textiles. And they were excluded from normal gainful employment. It was certainly not an easy time for Ruth, who suffered from lung disease. After the death of her brother Fritz, she never left her sickbed. Even the attempt to save her and send her to Switzerland for treatment failed. There was a possibility that she could have married a Dutchman of good will in order to obtain protection. However, she was no longer able to be transported by train.

In his memoirs, her uncle Willi Neumann Wagner  describes how he managed to get Ruth into the Westhospital at Joachimsthaler Strasse 20 in Berlin Charlottenburg in October 1939 thanks to the kindness of Professor Umber. This was a great stroke of luck and testifies to the professor's civil courage, because at that time Jews were not allowed to be treated in a German or Aryan hospital. Despite the good and loving care she received here, Ruth died of pulmonary tuberculosis and exhaustion on November 12, 1939.