REMEMBRANCE OF THE GUTMANN FAMILY
05/2018, Speech by
Mr. Michael Stowell Phillips
Shepherdswell, Dover
I WAS BORN IN 1944 IN MANSFIELD, UK AND WITHIN 6 MONTHS I WAS LIVING PERMANETELY WITH MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER MILLY AMALIE SCHWARZ BORN GUTMANN IN MAINZ.
SHE HAD ESCAPED FROM NAZI GERMANY AFTER EVENTUALLY OBTAINING A PASSPORT ON THE 8th MARCH 1939 AND PAYING ROUGHLY 1MILLION RM IN JEW TAXES FOR THE PRIVELEDGE OF GOING TO ENGLAND, ACCOMPANIED BY HER DAUGHTER MY MOTHER ANNELIESE (BORN 1921 IN GREIZ) WHO DUE TO HER PAST LOSSES TOOK HER OWN LIFE IN 1951.
ON MY FIRST VISIT TO MAINZ, WAS WHEN I WAS ABOUT 8 YEARS OLD (ABT 1952) AND MY GRANDMOTHER NEEDED TO VISIT MAINZ FOR SOME REASON?
MY GRANDMOTHER WALKED WITH ME FROM THE RHINE TO A POINT ABOUT HALF WAY DOWN KAISERSTRASSE, SHE THEN POINTED AND STATED “THAT’S THE LOCATION I WAS BROUGHT UP FROM 1904 UNTIL I GOT MARRIED IN 1920,”, “BUT GRAN THERE IS NOTHING THEIR?” “YES SHE SAID WITH A SMILE, THE RAF LEFT THEIR MARK ALSO ON OUR FAMILY”.
MY GRANDMOTHER MARRIED IN MAINZ, THEN WENT TO LIVE IN THE HOME TOWN OF GREIZ, THURINGIA OF HER HUSBAND WALTER SCHWARZ.
SADLY IN 1926 HER HUSBAND DIED BESIDE MILLY IN A CAR ACCIDENT AND SHE THEN DECIDED TO LIVE IN BERLIN UNTIL FLEEING FROM GERMANY.
FROM THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND , MILLY BECAME PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SCHWARZ & SON GMBH (A TEXTILE COMPANY), UNTIL LEAVING GERMANY.
MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER AUGUSTA GUTMANN BORN MAYER IN ALZEY IN 1872 HAD FROM THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND FERDINAND GUTMANN IN 1910, RUN THE ”MAX GUTMANN WINE COMPANY” FROM KASSERSTRASSE 32, FERDINAND WAS MAX’S COUSIN, ALSO AT THE SAME TIME BRINGING UP HER 3 CHILDREN ALL BORN AT BONIFACE PLATZ 1, (NO MORE THAN ½ KM FROM HERE) MILLY (BORN 1894), KARL (BORN 1898) & ANNA (BORN 1900).
MILLY ALWAYS SAID THAT THE FAMILY WAS BROUGHT UP WITHIN A LOVING AND HAPPY FAMILY, SHE HAVING EXTREMELY FOND CHILDHOOD MEMORIES.
BOTH MILLY AND HER SISTER ANNA HAD BEEN EDUCATED IN THE MAINZ HIGHER JEWISH GIRLS SCHOOL AS HAD SOME OF MAX GUTMANN’S DAUGHTERS.
AUGUSTA AND HER DAUGHTER ANNA, LEFT FOR THE UK EITHER WITH MY GRANDMOTHER OR VERY SHORTLY AFTER.
DUE TO THE STRICT UK REQUIREMENTS FOR ALIENS TO HAVE A UK SPONSER, WHICH NEITHER HAD, BOTH
AUGUSTA AND ANNA DECIDED TO MOVE ON DIRECTLY TO RIGA SINCE “SCHWARZ AND SON” HAD A SUBSIDUARY COMPANY WHICH COULD STILL PROVIDE AN INCOME.
KARL GUTMANN’S EARLY LIFE IS VERY SKETCHY BUT HE WAS A SOLDIER IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR, AND ON HIS RETURN WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE MAX GUTMANN WINE COMPANY.
AFTER 1933 KARL WAS UNABLE DUE TO NAZI LAWS TO OBTAIN ANY WORK IN MAINZ, SO MILLY ARRANGED FOR HIM TO GO AS A DIRECTOR AND WORK AT THE SCHWARZ OPERATION IN RIGA, LATVIA, HERE HE GOT MARRIED IN 1936 TO SONIA HERZFELD AND THEY HAD A SON JOE FERDINAND IN 1937.
BOTH SONIA AND JOE WERE MURDERED IN THE RIGA CONCENTRATION CAMP. IN 1941/3, KARL WAS FORCED TO LABOUR FOR THE GERMANS AND WAS IMPRISONED BY THE RUSSIANS WHEN THEY OVER RUN LATVIA, KARL WAS THEN MURDERED IN THE PRISON LATE IN 1944.
BOTH AUGUSTA AND ANNA WERE ALSO MURDERED IN THE RIGA CONCENTRATION CAMP.
IN CONCLUSION IT IS ALSO WORTH MENTIONING TWO THINGS, THAT IN EXCESS OF 60 MEMBERS OF SONIA HERZFELD’S (KARL’S WIFE) DIRECT FAMILY WERE ALSO MURDERED.
AUGUSTE’S BROTHER PAUL MAYER (1871 ALZEY- 1941 MAINZ) LIES NEXT TO HIS BROTHER IN LAW, FERDINAND GUTMANN BURIED IN THE MAINZ NEW JEWISH CEMETERY, PAUL FOR MANY YEARS HAD BEEN PART OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY “MAX GUTMANN”.
