Karl Drerup: The Family History of his Wife Gertrud, née Lifmann

In 1843 Abraham Lifmann (1828-1894) and his brother Levi Lifmann (1827–1897) moved from Dinslaken to Kamen. In 1846 he married Joanna Marcus. They had eight children within a period of 16 years (1847–1863): Eduard, Emilie, Bertha, Joseph, Rosette, Hermann, Jordan and Clara. Having got married quite a few daughters moved to Dinslaken. Bertha stayed in Kamen and married Salomon Stern. Her brothers Joseph and Hermann also stayed in Kamen.

In 1860 Abraham’s brother Levi, butcher in Schulstraße 2, married Emilie Marcus (1824–1896), sister of Johanna Marcus. They had four chil-
dren. Hulda and Pauline survived. In 1899 Pauline got married to Lehmann Oppenheimer of Oberhausen. In 1897 Hulda got married to Jakob Voos, who took over the butcher’s shop in the Schulstraße.

Joseph and Hermann Lifmann (1856–1935) carried on trading with livestock, in Weststrasse since 1898. In 1890 Joseph (1851–1920) married Sarah Lifmann. They had five children: Henny (born 27.05.1891), Walter, Alfred, Ludwig and Gertrud. Joseph Lifmann’s livestock business flou-
rished and he was a well respected businessman, who in 1927 was elected town councillor. He kept this political mandate for the DDP (German Democratic party) as long as 1919. The Council put up his portrait in the town hall which was later burnt in the market square by the Nazis, daugh-
ter Henny recalls in a letter dated 1.12.1975. Following his death his share of the business was transferred to his wife Sarah who died in 1929. The children inherited the business. Only the youngest daughter, Gertrud, carried on living in Kamen. Henny had married in Dortmund business-
man Richard Floersheim (born 11.05.1891). Ludwig was married to Claire Feuerstein and lived in Dresden, later on at Breslau. In 1914 Walter (born 12.09.1892) was killed in action. When Hermann Lifmann died in 1935, the business closed. Not all his brothers and sisters managed to escape persecution.

In 1921 Alfred Lifmann (born 22.08.1895 in Kamen) married Grete Meyerhoff. They had three children who were born in Kamen: Herbert, Walter and Margot. 1929 the family moved to Nuremberg, later on to Düsseldorf. 1933 the family fled to Amsterdam and resided in Enter Pestastraat 39. In 1943 Alfred was arrested and taken to Camp Westerbork. On September 14th, 1943, he was transported to Bergen-Belsen, on January 25th, 1944, to Theresienstadt, then on to Auschwitz where he was murdered on September 30th, 1944. His wife Grete and their children Herbert (born 15.11.1922) and Margot (born 9.08.1926) managed to escape by emigrating from The Netherlands to Palestine.

Walter Lifmann (born 26.10.1923 in Kamen) was taken to Camp Westerbork on August 26th, 1943 and deported to Auschwitz just a few days la-
ter, where he was murdered on March 31st, 1944. In 1938 Ludwig Lifmann (born April 30th, 1897) emigrated to New York together with his wife and son Frank-Joseph Lifmann (born 28.07.1935 in Breslau) where he did in 1947. Henny Floersheim, nèe Lifmann, managed to leave The Ne-
therlands and escape to Valdivia, Chile. In 1975 she said in a letter: „I have many good and beautiful memories of Kamen.“

Gertrud Lifmann happened to bet he last member of her family to leave Kamen. As a married woman – Drerup – she emigrated to 1937 to New York. Later on she moved to New Hampshire, USA.

© Eva Masthoff