Georg and his wife Wilma wrote alternating chapters for a compelling book on their lives, Two Lives in Uncertain Times, published in 2006. (Note: We have two more copies arriving here next week, one of which is already going to Judi Roth; if someone wants/needs the other, let me know. -- BK) On page 25 in the book, Georg writes of his father, from a very observant Orthodox family in Frankfurt, and his mother's father, Max Minden, who "was the son of the cantor of the central Liberal synagogue, the Temple, in Hamburg. I supsect that my grandmother Sophie also came from a Liberal family in Oppenheim. My grandfather Max seems to have been religiously indifferent but was active in Jewish philanthropy. He helped to resettle Russian Jews in the United States and made at least two trips to the United States to see how they were doing. He became a prosperous businessman, with a firm with branches in Hamburg and Hull, England, that imported eggs and other agricultural products from Russia. There is speculation that his sudden death in February 1914 may have been a suicide due to financial difficulties."
Georg also specifies that the Minden family -- Max and Sophie and children -- lived in Hull, England, from 1894 until 1904, and then returned to Hamburg.
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| Hamburg city hall. |
Georg sees the family as having no formal Jewish religious instruction, and goes on to count that "Of the ten of my grandparents' children who grew to adulthood, four married non-Jews and broke all ties to Judaism. Two became Christian Scientists. Others remained loosely Jewish, which the oldest son, Henry, became an observant Orthodox Jew."
I recommend Georg and Wilma's book for the rest of the story of Georg's family line, as his parents (Lizzie and Alfred) emigrated to Richmond, Virginia.
But that is about all of Max and Sophie's story that Georg recounts in those pages.
I will pull together a few other details later that I've gleaned from reading some Warburg histories. Meanwhile, Cousins, what say you -- do you have more to add on Max and Sophie? I'd also like to know -- Sophie's Feitler family of origin came from Frankfurt. There are other Feitlers in our family as well; do any of you know whether they came from that same family?
Last but not least: I was intrigued by the Wikipedia article on the Hamburg Temple (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg_Temple), where Max's father was a cantor. I note that the Warburg family is mentioned here, too.
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| Former Temple of Reform Judaism in Hamburg, built 1844. |
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| New Temple Oberstrasse, 1931-1938. |
One more note: I hope those of you who know more about all this will feel free to correct any errors or misstatements here! As I mentioned ... I am new to much of this. I'll explain that in another post, at another time.
No time, short remarks:
ReplyDelete- As far as I know, most of the 11 children had double citizenship, those born in England were registered with the German consulate as well, those in Hamburg with the British. One exception was Hans, by pure negligence, I'm told.
- Max' father Hertz Simon Minden (Simon being the name of his father, as was the custom among German Jews, Jewish name Naftoli, went by Henry) wasn't the precentor but Oberküster, or head sexton/shammes.
- Sophie née Feitler wasn't from Frankfurt but from Oppenheim. Her father was from Seeheim (all in Hesse), where the family had been for a long time. We visited the place once and were shown the family's former houses and the former synagogue.
- Yes, three or four Mindens married Feitlers. (Max was one of eight children himself, and there were cousins.) I don't know how the first connexion came about, the others followed through family contacts then.
- I think it turned out Max didn't kill himself but died from something natural, but I can't find the source at the moment.
- There are documents online about Max' visits to Russia and America.
Great information, Phillip; thank you! I'll add more on each of these in a few days. It's good to have your landmarks pegged in this way.
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