An Affiliate of the Jewish Federation
of Greater Charlotte
Vol. 38, No. 7
Tammuz-Av 5776
August 2016
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Jewish Federation
OF GREATER CHARLOTTE
THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.
Berlin Remembers
By Susan Cernyak-Spatz
There is a publieation ealled
“Jewish Voiee from Germany.”
Rabbi Judy Sehindler sent me the
May 2015 edition of the paper and
I was amazed at the amount of in
formation it eontained.
I’ll never know why I deeided
to write that letter to the editor,
giving my short biography and
lyrieally expressing my desire to
see Berlin onee more, before it is
too late. I never thought I would
even get an answer, but I did re-
eeive a letter from the editor, in
forming me, that she had
forwarded my letter to what must
have been an aequaintanee at the
offiee of the Senate of Berlin, the
Governing Mayor of Berlin.
Suffiee to say, miraeles still
happen, I reeeived an invitation
from the offiee of the Governing
Mayor of Berlin, to spend a week
in Berlin, together with a eompan-
ion of my ehoosing. I ehose my
friend Leah Naliboff, sinee we
had traveled together and seemed
to get along beautifully.
We started out on May 14 and
arrived in Berlin the next day. The
hotel we stayed at, the Bristol
Central Berlin.
Kempinski, was right aeross the
street from the building where the
former Fasanenstrasse synagogue
used to stand. The loeation was
very familiar to me. As a young
ster, sinee my father liked
Kempinski, the best plaee to eat,
we went there on speeial oeea-
sions, for family dinners, beeause
normally youngsters were not
taken to elegant restaurants.
The room was large and gener
ous. We unpaeked a bit, took a
short nap, and then ate supper at a
eharming restaurant, ealled “Das
Lieratur Hans” whieh was loeated
in an old elegant town house with
a large veranda.
The next morning we
met our guide, Barbara
Boehn-Tetelbaum, in the
lobby.
About 50ish, she was
fluent in English and
sympathized immedi
ately.
We drove first to my
old sehool, the Chamisso
Lyeeum. It had been
turned into a grade
sehool, but the building
was as ever 19th eentiuy
Gmender period, the
square with its fountain
still unehanged.
We drove to the
“Bayerisehe Viertel,”
the area around the
“Bayrisehenplatz.” It
had been, pre-Hitler,
the largest area oeeu-
pied by Jewish
upper-middle elass
professionals and
business men. In this
area, every streetlight
has a square metal
sign attaehed to the
lamppost, informing
the publie of the di
verse rules and regu-
talk to Mr. Laehmann.
The playground was not the
same any more; the big basin with
the fountain was gone.
We drove by my house in the
Bambergerstr. The number 36 was
still there, but it had been replaeed
with a modern building. The
house had been built in 1913, with
a lift and hot and eold running
water and a little baleony. Berlin
loved and still does love baleonies
and loggias (baleonies reeessed
into the house front).
We drove to the Sehoeneberger
eity hall, the imposing building
had not ehanged one stone. But on
Interview at the City Hall for the permanent exhibi
tion "We Were Neighbors”
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Holocaust Memorial overlooking the Reichstag.
lations imposed upon Jews during
the Hitler period. Sueh
as: Jews are forbidden
to have “pets,” Jews
eould only go to the
groeery store between
4-5 PM. Laehmann’s
bookstore was still in
the same eorner of
Speyrer Str. and Bay-
eriseher Platz. How
often did my mother
and I stop in there, to
get books from the
lending library and
the inside, on the seeond floor,
there is now a permanent exhibit,
ealled “We Were Neighbors.” In a
very large hall many large tables
are lined up, on them albums with
names of families and individuals
who lived in the Bayrisehen Vier
tel. Most of them are dead, a small
number still alive, having sueeess-
fully managed to eseape the Hor
ror. There will be a new album
there of Susan Cemyak-Spatz nee
Eekstein of Bamberger Str, 36.
That evening we went again to
(Continued on page 8)