Biography
Frank Lieberman (born Franz Liebermann) was the only child of Hans and Lotte Liebermann. He was born January 19, 1929, Gleiwitz, Germany (now Poland). His father was the son of Bernard and Jenny Liebermann from Breslau, and his mother was the daughter of Alfred and Hedwig Orgler from Oppeln. Franz and his family lived in an industrial town near the border of Poland and Czechoslovakia, half-way between both sets of grandparents. Hans was a prominent ear, nose and throat surgeon in the city, and was able to provide well for his family. The family lived a comfortable middle class existence. Both of Frank's parent's families had lived in the region for several generations. By 1933 German public schools separated Jewish and non-Jewish students. When Frank started school in 1935 the Jewish students were allotted three small classrooms. The Jewish students were dismissed five minutes early and advised to rush home to avoid antisemitic attacks by other students after school. That same year, after Jenny Liebermann passed away from natural causes, Bernard moved in with Franz and his parents. In 1936 rapid changes caused by anti-Jewish laws took place in Gleiwitz. Hans was prohibited from practicing medicine in the hospital and could no longer earn a living. Hans traveled to the U.S. in 1938 to obtain immigration papers, and with the help of a cousin he received an affidavit that allowed the Liebermanns to be placed on a waiting list for visas. Hans returned to Lotte and Franz in Gleiwitz to wait for the visas which were issued in June 1938. He then left for the United States immediately and began preparing for the Ohio State Medical Board Examination. Franz and Lotte stayed behind to save living expenses in the US. Only $2.50 per person could be taken out of Germany. They purchased tickets to depart Germany on October 13, since the US visa was valid for 120 days. This was less than a month before Kristallnacht, the 'Night of Broken Glass' Hans passed the Ohio State Medical Board Examination and set up a medical practice in Dayton. Frank finished school in Dayton, and was then graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a degree in Chemistry. Hans became volunteer head of the Jewish Family Service and helped in obtaining visas for 108 refugee families both during and after World War II. For this service he was one of 5 people to receive the HIAS 75th Anniversary Award. Sadly though, he was unable to save his own family. His father got sick on the train, trying to come to the US by way of Spain, and was instead sent to Theresienstadt where he died shortly after arrival. Lotte's parents Alfred and Hedwig Orgler both perished in Auschwitz. Lotte's three brothers Walter, Heinz, and Helmut also perished, as did Heinz's wife Marianne and daughter Vera (b. 1936). The circumstances of their deaths remain unknown.
