Abattoir and livestock trade Leeser

The Leeser family had lived in Bremervörde since 1821, when Levi Leeser, originally from Uthlede, came to Bremervörde, where he worked as an assistant to the merchant and butcher Heyn. He later opened his own butcher's shop, which was run by his son Adolph. Adolph had eight children, two of whom died in infancy and two of whom emigrated to the USA in the 19th century. His son Harry, who owned his own livestock business at Bahnhofstraße 3 and was chairman of the Bremervörde Livestock Association, died in 1932. His sister Henriette  was deported to Minsk in 1941 and perished there. Adele Leeser, another sister, took over the butcher's shop after the death of her parents at the beginning of the 20th century, which was later run by her younger brother Julius. Adele lived in a house at Neue Strasse 115, where Julius and his family also lived. During the pogrom on November 10, 1938, he was arrested and taken to a concentration camp, but was released in 1939 on condition that he sell his property. In the same year, he emigrated to the USA with his wife and daughter Ursula. Adele remained in Bremervörde for as long as she could, although she was forbidden contact with non-Jews and had to wear the Jewish star from September 1941. This was made possible by the help of non-Jewish neighbors and friends who provided her with food, clothing and briquettes despite the ban. In 1942, Adele, the last Jewish woman in Bremervölde, was transported to Bremen to a Jewish old people's home, where Harry's widow Merri had been living since 1936. Shortly afterwards, they were both deported to Theresienstadt, where Merri died. Adele perished in Auschwitz or is missing in Minsk.