Hanna Sophie Baumann

Hanna Sophie Baumann

Hanna Sophie Baumann¹ was born in Lahr in the Baden district on March 31, 1935. Her parents were Irma Baumann, née Bloch, and the merchant Karl Baumann. Both were from Schmieheim, Baden. Her mother was born there on December 3, 1893, and her father on July 28, 1891. It was also in Schmieheim, that they got married on January 18, 1934, and raised a family. ² Irma’s sister Meta Bloch was born on January 21, 1890. ³ The parents of Meta and Irma Bloch were Hannchen Bloch, née Wachenheimer, and Abraham Bloch, who, for more than 45 years, worked for the Schmieheim Jewish Community as cantor and teacher. ⁴

On September 21, 1939, four-year-old Hanna and her parents moved from Neustadt an der Weinstrasse to Augsburg-Kriegshaber, 185 Ulmer Strasse. ⁵ It could not be traced back, when they had moved from Schmieheim to Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. ⁶ In Kriegshaber, they rented an apartment from the Jewish couple Moriz and Lydia Einstein, who, in the subsequent period, took more Jews into their house. The residents jointly managed the household, including using the kitchen. It is not known, whether the Einsteins were forced by the NS authorities to take Jews looking for housing into their home. The number of those had grown considerably, since on April 30, 1939, the tenant protection for Jews living in houses belonging to non-Jews had been canceled. From then on, Jewish homeowners could be forced to take Jewish tenants. ⁷

Due to the National Socialistic legislation, Karl Baumann was no longer able to follow his trade. Presumably he had to do forced labor for a construction company. ⁸

On November 20, 1941, six-year-old Hanna and her parents Irma and Karl Baumann were deported to Kaunas, Lithuania, and shot. ⁹

After the deportation of the family, their belongings and their furniture were confiscated by the Augsburg Finance Authority and sold to the National Socialist Welfare Organization (NSV). ¹⁰

Further documents, photos or other items, commemorating Hanna Baumann, are not preserved.

In Schmieheim, however, a kindergarten was named after her. On the kindergarten’s homepage, the following can be read: “As a lasting memory of the long Jewish history of Schmieheim – in its good and its bad times – the Schmieheim kindergarten shall bear Hanna Baumann’s name. As the last scion of the Jewish population of Schmieheim, she is a representative for all Schmieheim Jewish citizens. The kindergarten lies in the immediate vicinity of the former synagogue. Naming the kindergarten after a Jewish child presents the challenge of making the presence aware of the past Jewish history – over and over. The kindergarten’s name does not constantly play a role in the every-day life. Yet, the name and Hanna Baumann’s memory associated with it, represent a constant commitment for the daily work: The kindergarten shall support the integration of people of different descend, culture, tradition and religion and practice handling conflict without violence.” ¹¹

This is an excerpt from the biography Anna-Katharina Beuter compiled in the summer term 2014 at Augsburg University. She attended the proseminar course “National Socialism in Augsburg. Persecution history mirrored by the biographies of Augsburg Jews” by Dr. Benigna Schönhagen at the department for European Ethnology.

(Translation by Michael Bernheim)