Here's my new series, Hometown Histories. This first post
covers my paternal grandfather's birthplace, Frankfurt, Germany.
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Frankfurt--by Pedelecs at wikivoyag |
Frankfurt straddles the Main River, south of the Taunus
mountain range. It is the largest city in the state of Hesse in
southwest Germany. In 2014, the population was 708,543. The city covers at total area
of 248.3 kilometers. It is the fifth largest city in the country, and contains
a large immigrant population from countries all over the world.
The oldest part of the city is the Cathedral Hill. There is
archeological evidence that the area may date back to the Paleolithic, but the
first proof of its existence dates back to the Roman era. The city itself first
appears in written record in 794. Charlemagne presided over an imperial church
assembly mentioning the place, then referred to as Franconofurd. The name is
believed to be derived from the Germanic tribe of the Franks, with the addition
of the word furt, meaning ford where one could wade across.
It played major roles in both the Roman and Germanic
empires. From 855, German kings and emperors were elected there, and from 1562,
were also crowned there. The city has been a major trade center since 1150,
when the Frankfurter Messe (Frankfurt Trade Fair) was first mentioned. A
special system of exchange rates was established there for the various forms of
currencies circulating in the city at the time to prevent cheating on either
side of a trade. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) was founded in 1585,
and is the tenth largest stock exchange in the world.
Though Frankfurt was invaded and attacked several times
during the Napoleonic wars, it remained a free city through the collapse of the
Holy Roman Empire. After Napoleon's final defeat, it became part of the German
Confederation, and was eventually the home to the first German Parliament. It
was only after the Austro-Prussian war that Frankfurt became part of the
Prussian providence of Hesse-Nassau, losing its independence as a Free City.
The Jewish community was part of Frankfurt from before the
Reformation. The earliest documented mention of Jews there was in the middle of
the 12th century. Like most Jewish communities in Europe and much of
the rest of the world, they faced discrimination in the form of extra taxes,
laws and other restrictions on what they could own, how they could make a
living, and even where they could live.
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| A map showing the Ghetto--the curved lane. The doors at each end were closed at night |
After this, the Jewish population of Frankfurt flourished,
becoming a center for both Reform and Neo-Orthodoxy Judaism. Jews came to the
city from all over the German Empire. After the Great War, this was even more
true, and it was this lively, growing, progressive culture that drew my
great-grandparents Alex and Dora to the city. They met and married there in
1919, and all six of their children were born the city.
Shortly after my grandfather Sam, their third child, was born,
Frankfurt elected a Jewish mayor, Dr. Ludwig Landmann. He was in power from
1924 to 1933, when the Nazi party came into power. Coincidentally, that was the
same year my great grandfather chose to leave the city forever. Dr. Landmann was
hounded by the Nazis from that point on until his death from malnutrition in
hiding in 1945.
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| Die Philanthropin, by Eva Kröcher |
With the growing discord after the Great War, the German Workers' Party
grew to prominence. It was renamed the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche
Arbeiterpartei, in 1920. It was abbreviated NSDAP, but is commonly known now as
the Nazi Party. Though they touted themselves as a socialist people's movement,
racism was always a core component of the group, and Jews were a major focus.
They believed in racial purity and eugenics, and sought to exterminate any
non-Aryan citizens. As the party's leader since 1921, Adolf Hitler became
Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Shortly after, he established the Third Reich,
and the true war against the Jewish and other non-Aryan cultures began.
My grandfather, born at the beginning of their rise to
power, was affected quite heavily by their hatred. His father was a small
business man, always opening new businesses, most of which eventually failed in
the end. In 1933, when one of his last businesses failed, Alex decided to take
his family and flee the country rather than sticking around and hoping it would
get better. The family fled to Paris, staying there for about a year until Alex
was able to get a visa to go to the US. Shortly after their arrival, Alex
suffered a stroke, and was never able to work again. He survived 14 more years
in the US.
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| The Hillingers ca 1932, shortly before they left Frankfurt--Sam is the boy on the left corner of the picture |
Sam was drafted into the army in 1943, and naturalized at
Camp Crowder before his training began. As a former German, they chose to keep
him away from the front lines, so though he was sent to Europe, he said he spent
much of his time during the war pushing papers. After the war was over, he
stayed in Europe to help clean up, working as an interpreter. He ended up
stationed in his own home city of Frankfurt, and it was there he met and
married my grandmother. They started their family there in Frankfurt, my father
born on the base there before they were able to return to the US.
My grandfather never talked much about his childhood in Germany, though he often mentioned proudly his time as a paper-seller in the Paris streets. He was always a strong, determined, successful man, and I think he owed that to his parents' determination to keep their family safe and together.
Sources:
Email letter from Sam Hillinger to Sharon Hillinger
Hillinger Family photos
Hillinger Family tree
Die
Philanthropin (in German)
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