Leelo Sommerhauser Shoah Foundation Testimony

Well, you'll see when you get this tape back, first of all, what we're going to do is very professional. The lighting is perfect.

I can see it, yeah.

And you'll see that I think you'll be very pleased with what you see.

My daughter's very pleased about that, she said. So where did you go with the camera? I don't see myself.

Oh, no. He has to watch that.

Oh, yeah. I would have liked to watch myself.

Yeah, you'd always be looking at the, you'd always look at the TV and never at Ben.

Yeah. May 23rd, 1996, interview with survivor Leelo, L-E-E-L-O, Sommerhauser, S-O-M-M-E-R-H-A-U-S-E-R, maiden name Eichbaum, E-I-C-H-B-A-U-M. Interviewer, Ben Nachman, N-A-C-H-M-A-N, conducted in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America, in English. Can you give me your name, please?

Leelo Sommerhauser.

And how do you spell your last name?

S-O-M-M-E-R-H-A-U-S-E-R.

And what was your maiden name, Mrs.Sommerhauser?

Eichbaum, E-I-C-H-B-A-U-M.

Can you tell me where you were born?

I was born in Nuremberg, Germany.

And when were you born?

May 2, 1914.

And how old are you today?

Eighty-two years old.

Can you tell me a little bit about growing up in Nuremberg, Germany?

Well, I was the only child. And I was sick when I got polio and I was two and a half years old. And it was that my father was stationed in France when this happened, and the Red Cross called him to come home because they didn't think I would pull through, which was very hard on my mother. At that time, I was a spoiled little brat because I was the only child and I what else can I tell you-

Was your father in the service?

My my father was in the service, yes. He originally was in a hops business, selling hops. But he was in the service and stationed in France.

Do you recall any memories that he might have told you about his time in the service?

No, I really don't. That I cannot tell you no, I only know when they called him back, this I remember. He kept the letter from the Red Cross for many, many years.

Did you have a large family living in Nuremberg?

Large family, no. I was the only child, and my mother had two brothers and two sisters. And the one brother was missing in action in the war. We never knew if he was, they always hoped they would still find him, but they never. He was missing in action. And my- This is about the family really, yeah.

Did you have any aunts or uncles on your father's side?

On my father's side was an uncle who lived in Frankfurt, and then was deported to Brussels. And from there, they all had one son, and all three was put in a concentration camp and killed. That was his only brother.

Did you have a lot of cousins?

No, I did not have a lot of cousins, no. I didn't have too big a family.

Did you ever have occasion to visit the uncle in Frankfurt?

I certainly was many times in Frankfurt, and I visited him in Brussels too. And then we found out that they all three were deported and killed.

What kind of a home did you grow up in, as far as religious?

Reformed, I belonged to a Reformed synagogue. My mother was singing in the choir for 36 years. We were not the Orthodox, but we kept all the holidays. And I was brought up, and I was confirmed in the synagogue, same synagogue where, I got married too. In the meantime, that synagogue doesn't exist anymore it was burned.

Did you grow up in a Jewish environment? A lot of Jewish people living near you?

Yeah yeah, I did, only Jews, lots of.

Did your family background extend into Germany for many years?

Yes. My parents were born in... My father was born in a little town, Gunzenhausen. My mother was born in Nuremberg, yeah.

And how about the grandparents?

My grandparents were both born in Nuremberg. Then it was on my mother's side, Bauer were both born in Nuremberg.

So you had an extensive family background living in Germany?

Yes, right.

Can you tell me about your education?

Well, I went to the Volksschule first. And then to the (unclear) high school (unclear). And that was it. I never went to a gymnasium. I just had the regular education, which I think for ten years, yeah.

What kind of work did you do after you graduated from school?

After I graduated from school, I went, took special courses, for orthopedic for cutting foot nails and what do you call it in... I don't think I remember the German name. I went to school in Berlin, and I graduated and came back to Nuremberg, and I had lots of customers. I went to the homes and took care of people's feet.

Doing manicure-type work?

Manicure on the feet, not on the hands, pedicure.

Pedicure.

Pedicure, yes.

Did your family celebrate the Jewish holidays?

We never skip any holidays, we celebrated all. But we drove to the synagogue, we were not religious to walk, but we never skip the holidays, no. Always.

Can you tell me a little bit about the type of work your father did?

Well, He traveled quite a bit to smaller towns and visited breweries, and that was his clients to buy hops from him, that was his occupation.

Did he work for a company, selling hops?

No, it was his own company, he headed together with my uncle. They both were together in business.

During the years when the Nazis came to power, can you recall some of those times, the early years?

Yes, I certainly can. We, for instance, had a maid for, I don't know, ten years or so, and then all of a sudden, she was told she has to leave us. She cannot work for a Jewish family anymore. And when we went to the synagogue, we had to take the back entrance. They couldn't they couldn't open the front door to let us go in the synagogue. There were a lot of incidents, yes.

Had this maid been with your family for a long period of time?

Long period of time, yes. And then all of a sudden, she was told she cannot work for Jewish family anymore.

How did she feel about that?

She was very upset about it, she couldn't understand it. What did I do? She kept on saying that I have to leave. And she kept on telling her, it's not your fault. That's a regime right now. The Nazis don't want any - They were already afraid maybe my father would start anything with a maid. You know? I mean, they were afraid.

Did you have any feelings that this would blow over some of these incidents?

That was the hope in the beginning when Hitler started. But then after a while, I was only married in Germany for two years, and both my parents hated to say we decided to leave because they always had hope that maybe it would change, but then we decided there is no way we have to leave. We were hoping in the beginning that Hitler finally comes to senses and gets out but there was no hope. So my husband and I left and we left both parents in Germany. Unfortunately, my husband's parents did not make it and got both killed in a concentration camp. My parents, I luckily got out of it.

Can you tell me other incidents that happened during the period?

On the Kristallnacht, we lived in an apartment house, my father was thrown down three flights of stairs and needed 20 stitches on his head. That's really the main incident, I mean, what I remember being told. I wasn't there anymore at that time, I was already in the United States.

How were you treated by non-Jewish neighbors or friends?

Very well. We never experienced any anti-Semitism. We really never did. But I must say, but we knew that maybe in their heart, they don't feel so good that we are Jewish and their friend. And they were afraid, actually, to talk to us anymore.

How were economic conditions for your family up to this time?

Well, up to this time they were all right, but then they took the business away from my father and they took the business away from my father-in-law. They both lost their business, so-

Were they actually taken out of the business?

No, they took it away. They were not taken out. They took it away.

And they no longer could even go to work-?

No, no, no.

What did they do for a livelihood at this time?

Well, my father had some savings, I'm sure, that what they lived on. And my in-laws were both not well. And we hoped that on account that they were not well, that they wouldn't send them to a concentration camp but in spite of if they sent them both, and that's where they died both.

Were you starting to hear about concentration camps at this time?

When we were, when I was still in Germany?

Yes.

Yes, we did hear about it, but I, I really didn't know anybody personally yet who was sent there, but we heard about it, yeah.

What type of rumors were you hearing about these camps?

That they sent them on a train and that they burned people in ovens. And we heard all those things, but we hardly wanted to believe that it's possible that human beings could do things like this.

During this period, were you seeing a lot of changes as far as German soldiers on the streets?

Yes, we did see. And I come from Nuremberg, you know you heard the name Streicher?

Yes.

He was one of the... And he lived very close where we lived. I saw him many, many times. Even in a restaurant I saw him sitting not far from us as long as we still could go in the restaurant, then the time came when Jews were not allowed anymore to go.

What other occasions did you see Streicher?

I don't know. Speeches, a lot of speeches he held. And in the newspaper, of course.

Were these anti-Semitic speeches?

And how, we had to get rid of the Jews.

Had you heard of him before the war?

Yeah, I think we did. But we didn't realize that he was such a such a famous person, you know, since he had such a possibility to act like this, we couldn't believe that.

Were you ever able to read the newspaper that he printed?

Yeah, Stürmer. Yes, we certainly did. He was printed in Nuremburg.

Did this change how you were being treated?

No I don't think so. We were so afraid, you really the last years we were scared, really scared.

Were the other non-Jewish Germans scared at this time?

I don't know. I don't think so, no.

Can you tell me a little about meeting your future husband?

Oh yeah I can tell you about that, I knew him for a long time. He was five years older than I was, and some other couple introduced me to him. Oh, I forgot to tell you something else, I was six months in Italy. My father did a lot of business in the hops in foreign countries, so he wanted me to learn Italian. So I was for six months in Italy, and when I returned, I was introduced from another couple to my husband, future husband. And we were dating for three years, we went bicycle riding and all. And then finally we decided in 1937 to get married. A year and a half later, we left the country.

What kind of work was he doing?

That his father had a painter's tools factory. Rollers too like looked like wallpaper and brushes, and this is the business my husband was hoping to get into this country. And he started, but unfortunately it was very difficult. Now I see those rollers used all over, I think of it so many, but at the time, nobody knew what they are, and it wasn't successful. He died, and that's when he finally decided we have to leave New York. And friends of ours got my husband a job in Lincoln, Nebraska. That's how I got. And I had two small children in the meantime.

When you went to Italy to study Italian, was that strictly why you went there, was to study Italian?

Probably and I had a boyfriend there, too. There were two reasons why I was very eager to go there.

Can you tell me first about your boyfriend there?

My boyfriend was my age and he wanted me to come. My parents agreed because my father wanted me to learn Italian. But then when I was there, I didn't care so much for him anymore. So after six months, my mother came and she didn't like the whole setup and she said, I think you better come home with me again.

Did you learn Italian?

Yeah, and I learned pretty good. I could write letters and spoke very good, but I forgot everything.

Was this boyfriend a boy that was originally from Germany?

From Nuremberg, too, yeah.

And he was working in Italy?

Yeah, yeah.

So when you came back and you met your future husband, you courted... Tell me a little bit about your courting days.

Oh, my. As I say, we did a lot of bicycle riding and we didn't have a car, naturally. And we walked and... What can I tell? My in-laws were very... My mother in-law was very religious, very religious. My husband wasn't religious at all, so there were incidents that we ate things and she didn't approve of it. We got some once in awhile in some arguments, but it finally ended. We were very happy together.

Did your future husband have any brothers or sisters?

No, he was the only child, too, just like I was.

Can you tell me a little bit about your wedding in Germany?

My wedding was a beautiful wedding, but people couldn't go from the front entrance into the synagogue anymore, there was a back entrance. I had a big wedding, but they were not allowed. It was on a marketplace, a big synagogue. They couldn't go in front, but it was a big wedding. And then my parents gave a dinner and everything was more secretly. It was... People were already afraid, you know, so we already were talking. Wait a minute, I have to tell you something else. When I was engaged, my husband did business with a client in New Jersey, and he want, was thinking of the United States. So the client wrote him, he should come. Maybe he can go into business with him. So my husband left alone for the United States. But when he arrived there, he found out that he had a single daughter, and my husband was supposed to marry his daughter. So my husband said, I'm sorry, I'm engaged already. I cannot marry you. So then the client... He lost the client. My husband came back and... So that was the end of the United States business.

What year was that?

That was 1936.

Were you aware of the Nuremberg Laws when they were passed in Germany?

No, no I really wasn't no.

How did you manage to leave Germany then?

Well, my mother had a sister in Bamberg, which is Germany too, whose son left early for the United States, it wasn't so good in Germany. But when he came here, became a stockbroker, he had his own seat at Wall Street. And we wrote to him, we needed an affidavit. And he said he gladly... I personally wanted to go to Israel, but my husband was not for Israel. So my cousin sent us an affidavit, and that's how we got to the United States.

And when did you arrive in the United States?

January 1938.

Did you have children at that time?

No my both- We lived ten years in New York, and my both children are born in New York.

xWere you able to, once you arrived in New York, were you able to continue communication with your family?

With my parents, yes. But then we tried to send kosher salami and stuff to my mother-in-law, who didn't eat meat since years. And then we finally, when my son was born, the same month we found out that they both were deported to a concentration camp and killed there. And my parents, I got out six months before the war started. They lived six months in England, and then we brought them to the United States.

Were they living in Germany on Kristallnacht?

My parents, yes. Sure that's when I told you that they threw my father down the stairs.

Were you able to communicate with any family members that were that gave you this information about your in-laws?

How did we find, somebody else, somebody must have let us know that they both got killed, because we kept on writing to them. Yeah, somebody told us about it.

And in the communications that you had with your parents, were they indicating how difficult times were becoming?

Yes, yes, my parents mentioned a few times how glad they are that we left. They didn't want us to leave but now, then they realized it was the only thing to do. And my mother was not well at all, but she wanted to leave, and she was sick on and off, but they made it to England just before the war started.

Were you able to bring them to England yourself through your efforts?

Right, right.

What did you have to do to bring them?

They had to fill out some papers that we take care of them if they need any help.

Was their stopover in England just a delay in coming?

No, they stayed at least four or five months in England.

What was the reason for them staying there that long?

I don't know. It must have been through the papers here. They were not- We didn't have the papers completed yet to bring them over here, of course they were not too happy in England, but there was no other choice. They were glad that they got out on time.

Where did they stay in England? Did they have family?

No, no. They rented a room, and my father many times told us we had to bring coal in to light the stove, and it was very primitive. They were not used to live like this, but they were glad to get out.

When you got out of Germany, were you able to bring any of your belongings?

Yeah we bought a lift, which is, you know, what a lift is, a big wooden box with my furniture. You can see it in my room here, this is from Germany.

So you were able to bring your furniture and belongings?

Yeah, I brought my mother's old silver. Yeah, a lot.

By the time your parents came out, were they able to bring any?

Nothing, nothing, no, they couldn't bring a thing anymore, no, just their personal belongings, yeah.

So you were able then to reunite with your parents in New York?

In New York, mm-hmm.

How long did they live there with you in New York?

How long did they live with us in New York? At least, at least six, seven years, and then we decided, no, it must be more, yeah, about that time, yeah. That's when we moved, and they were very unhappy when we decided to move to Lincoln. Now they're in New York, and we are moving to Lincoln, Nebraska. Then my father got a job at Hermes department store in New York, and they made friends, and they were pretty-. But then when we told them if they want to move to Lincoln my father had to retire. Then they moved to Lincoln, too. My parents are both buried in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mm-hmm.

What kind of work did your husband do when you arrived in New York?

He tried to establish a business in painters tools, but which was not successful, that's when we looked for something else. That's when he came to Lincoln, Nebraska, and went to work for Northwestern Metal Company for quite a few years, hard work. But then he decided he wants to go into real estate business, and he made the real estate license, and he went into real estate business.

While you were in New York, did you do any work yourself?

I did not do much work, I had two small children.

Both children were born?

Both born in New York, yeah. I worked in a household cleaning once in a while, yeah, but not steady jobs, no.

And what was your father doing when he came to this country?

He worked at Hermes department store.

Doing what kind of work?

Private policemen. In clothes, he walked around, and there was a private policeman. And my mother did a lot of babysitting, wasn't so easy.

Was it difficult adjusting to a new culture? For your parents as well as yourself?

It was very difficult, yes. My mother made friends very easy. My father, I don't think... He was really happy here but probably happier from living in Germany.

Can you tell me anything that you found out about family members that didn't leave Germany at that time? Did any of them survive?

Yeah. My father-in-law still has family living in Nuremberg up to today. They're still living there. It's for my father-in-law, a brother, who lives in Germany, who married a Shanghai lady, and he has a son who became a lawyer who still lives in Germany. He was here already visiting the name Sommerhauser.

Did he survive in Frankfurt during the war?

Nuremberg.

In Nuremberg?

In Nuremberg yeah.

Was he protected by being married to a non-Jewish woman?

I suppose that's the only reason I can think of, yeah.

Did he continue being Jewish?

That I couldn't tell you. He is very friendly with us, I correspond with them. They visited me when I was in Switzerland, they drove to Switzerland to meet me see me. I never went into real details, I don't really know. It's surprising that they, but they like it there.

When you moved to Lincoln, did you begin any kind of work yourself?

Oh, yes, I worked. I worked for 26 years in a ladies' wear apparel store called Natelson's. You probably heard about that store. I worked for 26 years there.

What kind of work did you do then?

Selling clothes, selling ladies' clothes.

And your husband passed away when?

My husband passed away 23 years ago. He had a heart attack. He was down at City Hall, to applied for a lot. I told you he was in real estate. Fell over and was dead. I was at work at Natelson when I got the call from the police.

And you were able to raise your two children and educate them? What are your children doing today?

My son is a lawyer in Milwaukee. And my daughter, I told you, she's taking care. She has a very good education, and she takes care of her home. Teenagers who have babies, and she still wants them to have education. And my son-in-law is an orthopedic surgeon in Seattle.

Do you get to see your children very often?

No, not often enough, but I see them. My son is not too far. Milwaukee is really not too far. I see him at least once or twice a year.

Did you ever find out specifically what happened to family members that remained in Germany?

You mean, alive?

Yes, uncles other than your in-laws.

I don't have no, I don't have anybody there anymore. I mean, quite a few, not real close family got killed in concentration camps. Yeah, but the ones, the closest were my in-laws, of course, the ones who got killed.

Have you ever had an occasion to go back to Nuremberg?

I was twice back. We took once my teen, at that time she was teenage. My daughter was very interested. She wanted to see a concentration camp, we went to Dachau. My my husband could not go with us. He said, I can't go, but I took my daughter. We stayed in Munich, and we stayed a whole day in Dachau. But my for my husband, it was too upsetting. He said, you go alone, I don't want to go. Yeah, we went.

Did you return then to Nuremberg?

Oh we told my, showed my daughter where I went to school and where I lived, and it was was very nice. She remembers that trip her whole life, I think.

Were you able to find any friends that lived there when you were there? Any schoolmates?

No, no.

These relatives were still living there at this time?

Yeah, that's the one we visited, yeah. In the meantime, I was there. After my husband died, I took three girls, we traveled, and rented a car and traveled around all over Europe, and we visited my family, too, in Nuremberg.

Tape 2 interview with Mrs. Leelo Sommerhauser. Mrs. Sommerhauser, you were telling me that you took a second trip. Can you tell me about that trip?

Yes, also, three girls were the ones I worked at Natelson for many years, and we all of a sudden decided we're going to take a trip to Europe. So we flew, and in England, we rented a car, and we drove all over Europe. We had really a good time, it was a lot of fun. No reservation in the place. Sometimes we slept in horrible places, and sometimes in very good because we were not prepared like we travel now, but we had a good time. We had a lot of fun.

Did you travel through Germany?

Yes, I showed the girls Nuremberg on the end of it, and went, took them to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. We took pictures. Yeah, they were very interested. They were all three Shanghai girls, I was the only Jewish girl.

Had Nuremberg changed a lot? Was it damaged badly during the war?

It was, but not when I was there. It was built up- I mean, no more synagogue, naturally. But otherwise, it was very well built up again, very well.

Yhis time, you recognized your where you lived?

Oh, yes. I showed them where I lived, absolutely. Where I went to school. Show them everything. Like I showed my daughter, too, when we were there.

What was the condition of the cemetery that you visited?

Very good, beautiful cemetery. Very well kept, yeah, that I must say.

Was there a large Jewish community in Nuremberg again?

Yeah lots. Oh, again, yes. I understand there was quite a few Jewish people. Went back from other Russians and from Israel, some come even back, which I never could understand. Yeah, there's quite a community there, again.

Did you have any bad feelings when you returned to Germany?

In the beginning, yeah, I had very mixed feelings. But then I really never experienced anything that I could say that they didn't want to talk to me or they didn't like, I never experienced that. And those girls were all Gentile. I kept on saying to them, you know, you're going with a Jewish girl and they never, what's the difference? I had no, I cannot say that I had regrets that I went back. I went and never had.

Could you sum up some of your innermost feelings of those years, living through the Nazi period, coming to this country, establishing a family, losing a husband?

Oh, this is very difficult. That's a difficult project. It was very, very difficult for me to leave Germany, to leave my parents, which were already up in age and I was the only child. It was hard on them and it was hard on me. And it was the same for my husband. We both were only children, you know, but there was no other choice. And I was glad we made the decision because probably we would be there. We wouldn't be alive anymore. And these would be my parents. At least I got them out. I felt very, we had ticket spot for my in-laws already. And then we were informed that they both got killed.

Is there a message that you would like to leave for your children and your grandchildren, based upon your life experiences?

I would like to leave the message that I love them both dearly, and I wish them many, many years of good health. And I know that my husband would feel the same way because my children were very close with my husband. Unfortunately, he had to die too young.

And how about for your grandchildren?

My grandchildren, I love just as much. I have five of them. My son has two and my daughter has three. And we are very close. We are a real close family. We talk to each other quite frequently on the phone. So I have the same wish for them as I had for my children.

Have you been able to talk to your grandchildren and to your children as well about your experiences?

Yes. More with my daughter's children, I have to tell you my son is married to a wonderful girl, but she's Catholic. So my son's interest in my background is not as much as my daughter, who is really, I met my daughter last year in Washington, D.C., just to spend a day or two to see the museum, the what is it called?

Holocaust Museum.

The Holocaust Museum. We both had, I couldn't say a wonderful time, but we both wanted to be there together.

Mrs. Sommerhauser, on behalf of the survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, I'd like to thank you for allowing us to come into your home and to record for your children and your grandchildren your lifetime experiences during this awful period.

Can I thank you too, because I think I was very impressed what you did and I'm really anxious to see and to hear myself. Maybe I change my mind then, but I hope not.

Thank you very much.

Mrs. Sommerhauser, can you tell me who this is in this photograph?

This is my husband's parents. Their name is Albert and Babette Sommerhauser. They lived in Germany and unfortunately we couldn't bring them out. They both were sick and they were both deported and killed in Auschwitz.

Do you have any idea when this photograph was taken?

No that I really do not remember.

Okay. Mrs.Sommerhauser can you tell me about this photograph?

This is my mother and father. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Estes Park. My daughter and my son was present. We had a dinner for them and they had a wonderful time there.

Do you recall when this picture was taken? What year?

This picture was taken in 1963.

Mrs. Sommerhauser, can you tell me about this photograph?

This is my wedding picture which was taken March 24, 27, I'm 24, 1936.

And where was this taken?

Was taken in Nuremberg at the synagogue.I suppose it was taken at the synagogue. I don't remember where, but that's my wedding picture.

Can you tell me about this photograph, Mrs. Sommerhauser?

Yes, this photograph was taken on my 80th birthday in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I'm starting from the left to explain you who they are. On the left side is my daughter with her husband Howard, her son Adam, her daughter Abby and below Abby it's Rachel, the other daughter. Then on the other side, I start on the right is my daughter-in-law Betty and my son Pete, their daughter Lisa and their son Brian.

And that's you right in the middle, the birthday girl.

In the middle, yeah.