Edith's husband; Armin's partner in the family store
Herbert Bernhard (born Hanauer?)
Berlin, 21 August 1897 – Israel, about 1988
aged about 91
Herbert Bernhard was born in Berlin on 21 August 1897. In 1930 he married Armin's sister Edith and became Armin's partner in the family store in Groß Räschen.
He was arrested with Armin in November 1938 and held in Sachsenhausen. In 1939 he reached England. His wife and daughter stayed in Berlin and were murdered in 1943. Herbert survived.
“Here lived Herbert Bernhard. Born 1897. Arrested 1938. Sachsenhausen. Fled to England. Survived in Palestine.”
The Stolperstein in the pavement opposite Freienhufener Straße 2, Großräschen, laid on 22 March 2011. All nine stones
Before 1933
In 1929 Herbert was living in Crossen on the Oder, where he became engaged to Edith Gerechter. On 1 July 1930 he and Armin took over the store, Textilhaus Wilhelm Gerechter, and that same month he and Edith were married there. Their daughter Ilse was born in April 1931.
1938 – 1945
On 10 November 1938 the police arrested Herbert with Armin. He was held in Sachsenhausen until about the beginning of January 1939. In May he was in Berlin with Edith and Ilse, and later that year he was at Kitchener Camp in Kent, as Armin was.
Herbert was not sent to Canada. He stayed in Britain and served in the British Army during the war. By 1943 he and Edith were living apart. Edith and Ilse were still in Berlin when they were deported.
After
In 1965 he was living in Cardiff, and he claimed back the household goods taken from Edith's flat. In 2011 a Stolperstein was laid for him in Großräschen.
Close family
- WifeEdith Bernhard, née Gerechter 1901 – 1943
- DaughterIlse Bernhard 1931 – 1943
In Armin's films
- Film 1, Hier wohnte1 July 1930. Armin and Herbert Bernhard, who is about to marry his sister Edith, take over the shop together.
- Film 2, verhaftet 1938The police arrest Armin, with Herbert and the stocking merchant Kurt Mannheim.
- Film 4, Flucht 1939 EnglandArmin lives in Berlin now, at Choriner Straße 53, with Edith, Herbert, Ilse and Max Bernhard.
What we don't know
We don't know why Edith and Ilse did not go with him. His stone says he survived in Palestine, and he may have moved to Israel later in life, but we don't know when or where he died. We know little of his own parents.
The recordsthe archive's notes, dates and sources
Notes
- Spelling: also "Herbert Israel Bernhardt"
Life events
| Date | Place | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 1929 | Crossen (Oder), Roßstr. 79 | Engaged to Edith Gerechter IFB |
| Jul 1930 | Groß-Räschen | Married at the Kaufhaus Gerechter IFB |
| 1 Jul 1930 | Groß-Räschen | Partner with Armin in "Textilhaus Wilhelm Gerechter" OHG (HRA 360) RA |
| 22 Feb 1937 | Räschen | Textile merchant AROL-1937 |
| 10 Nov 1938 | Großräschen | Arrested with Armin; pocket contents logged 15 Nov AROL-1938 |
| Nov 1938-3 Jan 1939 | Sachsenhausen | Imprisoned; record dated 3 Jan 1939, probably his release MTL |
| 17 May 1939 | Berlin N 58, Choriner Str. 53 | Census address MTL |
| 1939 | Kitchener Camp, Kent | Registered: "married, textile dealer" KITCH |
| 1939-42 | UK | Internment/exemption card HO 396/7/108, in the series "Internees at Liberty in the UK", so he was not deported (unlike Armin) TNA, FS |
| WWII | UK | British Army service record WO 423/752508, service no. 13041751 (probably the Pioneer Corps) TNA |
| 1943 | — | Edith's declaration: "Herbert Israel Bernhard, Jude, 21.8.97 Berlin, nach England ausgewandert"; living separately BLHA-3330 |
| 1965 | Cardiff, 85 Corbridge Road | Claimant in restitution case 45 WGA 319/65 (household goods) WGA |
| 22 Mar 2011 | Großräschen | Stolperstein: "verhaftet 1938, Sachsenhausen, Flucht England, überlebt in Palästina" STOL |
Sources
- Arolsen 11208452
- Reichsanzeiger 8 Apr 1938
- Israelitisches Familienblatt 1929-31
- BLHA Rep. 36A (II) 3330
- TNA Discovery (HO 396/7/108; WO 423/752508)
- Landesarchiv Berlin B Rep. 025-04 Nr. 319/65 (catalogue)
- Geni
The small letters after an entry name its source: GB the German Memorial Book, JM the Joods Monument, AROL the Arolsen Archives, GENI the family tree on Geni, STOL the stones.