Betty Lazarus was born in Berlin on February 15, 1874 to Jewish parents Ida Lazarus and her husband. Nothing is known about her youth. On September 16, 1894, she married Daniel Ries. Together with Emil Steffen, he had been running a metal trade since 1903, first in Alt Moabit, later at Flottenstrasse 54/55 in Berlin-Reinickendorf. The marriage produced three children: Käthe, born in Scharmbeck on June 13, 1895, Adelheid (Ada), born in Scharmbeck on February 19, 1897, and Fritz Ries, born in Berlin on December 21, 1903. The family lived in Berlin-Tiergarten, Bochumer Straße 5 I.

Leopold Reis was born in Freudenberg am Main on July 21, 1903, the son of the merchant Mendel Reis and his wife Babette née Sommer.

Diethild Gerechter was born in Posen on January 25, 1911, the daughter of the wealthy merchant Hugo Gerechter and his wife Martha, née Gottschalk.