Honor Cross of the World War 1914/1918 non-combatant veteran service medal awarded to a German Jewish soldier

Leo Freyer was born on February 1, 1893, in Lyck, East Prussia, to Selmar Freyer, (1860-1929) and Flora Lewinsky, born on October 15, 1863, in Preussisch-Stargard, Poland. Selmar had eleven siblings. Leo’s sister, Pauline, was born on September 14, 1895, in Lyck. The family was Jewish Orthodox. Leo was raised in Berlin and graduated from high school there. From 1910 to 1914, he worked in Bordeaux, France, for a locomotive manufacturer. He returned to Germany to serve in World War I (1914-1918.) While stationed in Koenigsberg, East Prussia, he was invited to the home of Max Lichtenstein, a prominent Jewish lawyer, City Council member, and head of the Kant society of B’nai Brith. In 1920, Leo married Max’s daughter, Eva. Eva had a sister, Kaethe, and a brother, Erwin. The couple settled in Berlin and Leo opened a button and buckle factory. They had 2 daughters, Ulla (Ursula Brigitte), born on December 17, 1921, and Marion, born on July 18, 1925.

Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, and increasingly severe sanctions were enacted against Jews. There was a boycott of Jewish businesses in April 1933, and Leo began to lose customers. In 1937, new taxes were imposed upon Jews and the family furniture was confiscated to pay them. In the spring of 1938, Leo applied for visas to emigrate to the United States. He began looking for family members in the US who could sponsor them. With the assistance of the National Council of Jewish Women in New York, Leo found a first cousin, Max Lindner, living in Cleveland, Ohio. In May, Max submitted an affidavit of support and on November 28, 1938, the US Consulate placed the Freyers on a waiting list. In December, the Consulate rejected the affidavit on the grounds that Lindner, at age 65, was too old to guarantee the family financial support. Leo attempted to procure transit visas to England and Cuba without success. A nephew of Lindner, Carlos Israels, submitted an affidavit and in July 1939, the Consulate notified Leo that he and his family would receive their visas.

On August 24, 1939, the family was issued German passports. Leo and his family reported to the US Consulate in Berlin on September 1 for the mandatory physical exams. The embassy would not stamp and issue the passports that day as the family waited. The same day, Germany invaded Poland and World War II soon began. But on September 5, the family received their visas. On November 15, they left Germany for Rotterdam, Netherlands. Flora and Pauline accompanied them to the train station. When the family arrived at the Dutch border, they were strip searched because Jews were not allowed to take currency or valuables out of Germany. On November 22, they boarded the SS Rotterdam and arrived in New York on December 2. The family stayed for a month in a shelter run by the American Jewish Congress. On January 4, 1940, they settled in Baltimore, Maryland.
Most of their relatives who remained in Europe were murdered during the Holocaust. Flora was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia on October 15, 1942 and killed on February 22, 1944. Pauline was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland in 1943 during the Fabrik-Aktion, the last major roundup of German Jews to be sent to Auschwitz. She was murdered on February 27, 1943. Max Lichtenstein was deported to Theresienstadt and murdered at age 82. Kaethe perished in 1943.

In 1950, Marion married a childhood school friend, Hans (John) Wolff, who had escaped from Germany on a Kindertransport in 1939. Leo, age 94, passed away in Baltimore in June 1987. Eva died on September 1, 1987.

Marion Freyer was born on July 18, 1925, in Berlin, Germany, to Leo and Eva Lichtenstein Freyer. Leo, was born on February 1, 1893, in Lyck, East Prussia, into a Jewish Orthodox family and had eleven siblings. Eva was from Koenigsberg, East Prussia, and was raised in an assimilated Jewish household. Her father, Max was a prominent lawyer, member of City council, and active in B’nai Brith. Eva had a sister Kaethe and a brother Erwin. Eva and Leo had met during World War I (1914-1918) when her father opened his home to Jewish soldiers serving in the German Army in Konenigsburg. They married in 1920. Marion had an older sister, Ulla (Ursula Brigitte), born on December 17, 1921. Marion’s family often celebrated the high holidays with the Lichtenstein family in Koenigsberg. Leo owned a button and buckle factory in Berlin. The business made enough to support the family but they had to watch their finances.The girls attended public school, where Marion was one of only two Jewish students. She had many German and Christian friends, but after the Nazi dictatorship consolidated power in 1933, they no longer associated with her. One day, Marion watched as books not approved by the Nazi Party were burned. She realized that her maternal uncle, who was in Switzerland at the time, had lots of these types of books, and she called him and told him not to return to Germany. In 1935, Marion went to a summer camp for Jewish children in Leitz, where she learned about Zionism. By 1936, Marion could not attend the German public school. She and her sister were enrolled in a private Jewish school established by Luisa Nickel in 1908. In 1937, when new taxes were imposed upon Jews, the family furniture was confiscated as payment.

In the spring of 1938, Leo applied for visas for the family to immigrate to the United States. A first cousin in the US, Max Lindner, submitted an affidavit of support that was denied by the US Consulate. On November 28, 1938, the Freyers were placed on a waiting list to get a visa. A nephew of Lindner, Carlos Israels, submitted an affidavit and, in July 1939, the Consulate notified Leo that he and his family would receive their visas. On August 24, 1939, the family was issued German passports and permits to leave the country.The family reported to the US Consulate in Berlin on September 1 for mandatory physical exams. Despite the beginning of World War II with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, the family received their US visas on September 5. On November 15, they left Germany for Rotterdam, Netherlands. Marion’s grandmother, Flora, and her Aunt Pauline accompanied them to the train station. When they arrived at the Dutch border, they were strip searched as Jews were not permitted to take money or valuables out of the Germany. On November 22, the Freyers boarded the SS Rotterdam and arrived in New York on December 2. The family stayed for a moth in a shelter run by the American Jewish Congress. On January 4, 1940, they settled in Baltimore, Maryland.

Many of Marion’s relatives in Germany were killed during the Holocaust. Flora was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia on October 15, 1942, where she was killed on February 22, 1944. Pauline was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland in 1943 during the Fabric-Aktion, the last major roundup of German Jews to be deported to Auschwitz. She was murdered on February 27, 1943. Max Lichtenstein was deported to Theresienstadt and murdered at age 82. Her maternal aunt Kaethe perished in 1943.

Marion read about the arrival of a childhood classmate, Hans Wolff, in the German-Jewish American newspaper, Aufbau. She contacted him and they married in 1950. Hans, at age 14, and his sister, Marianne, age 10, had escaped from Germany to England on a Kindertransport in 1939. They both emigrated to the US, where Hans changed his name to John and joined the army. The couple adopted a German girl in 1958. Marion was a math teacher and John was an NIH biochemist. Marion authored two books about her experiences, “The Shrinking Circle - Memories of Nazi Berlin, 1933-1939” and “The Expanding Circle - an Adoption Odyssey”. Leo, age 94, passed away in Baltimore in June 1987. Eva died on September 1, 1987.