Family Lerner - English

The married couple Cecilia and Hermann Lerner originated from Poland and settled down in Magdeburg. They had two children, Chava and Liesa. Cecilia Lerner, born Rudoler, was born on May 1, 1892 in Bendzin, Poland. According to her daughter Chava’s memoirs, Cecilia never received a formal education as she grew up in an orthodox environment. She taught herself the Yiddish reading and writing and later learned german, after her arrival with her husband in Germany. Although the married couple came from an orthodox jewish tradition, Cecilia ran a modern household. However, on jewish holidays they attended the synagogue and celebrated traditional festivals.  

Hermann Lerner was born on July 14, 1888 in Poland and worked as a men’s tailor. To the year 1935 he ran the store „Lerner und Kasper“ in Otto-von-Guericke Straße together with a non-Jewish partner and had a good income. Due to the Nürnberger Gesetze 1935, Hermann was excluded from the joint company overnight, as company relationships between Jews and non-Jews were no longer permitted. He opened a small tailoring in the shared apartment in Bismarckstraße 37 and tried to earn a living until he was expelled from Germany.  

The daughters Chava and Liesa were expelled from school due to the Nürnberger Gesetze and moved to an estate near Havelberg to prepare for emigration to Palestine. While Lisa moved to Palestine with a group of others, Chava waited for her exit to England. Before her departure in May 1939, Chava and her parents met for the last time at the Polish border near Breslau.  

The married couple Lerner was deported to Poland on October 28 or 29, 1938 and deported later to Auschwitz, where both got murdered by the Nazis.  

The daughters saw the end of the war in England and Palestine. In May 1945, Chava also decided to go to Palestine, whre she still lives today.