Cohn, Heinemann, and Rhée families papers

Else Henriette Rhée (née Heinemann, 1887-1978) was born on 25 October 1887 in Lüneburg, Germany to Robert Simon (1856-1920) and Selma (née Sternau, d. 1931) Heinemann. She had five siblings: Fritz (1889-1970), Gertrud (b. 1891), Lottie (1892-1972), Kurt (1895-1980), and Hans (1902-1994). Her father Robert was the son of Marcus (1819-1908) and Henriette (née Lindenberg, 1836-1883) Heinemann. Marcus had at least 14 children, and owned a successful bank in Lüneburg. He was also a patron on the arts and helped fund the construction of the Lüneburg Synagogue. Max Albert Rhée (1881-1941) was born on 29 December 1881 in Dortmund, Germany to Albert and Bertha (née Winter) Rhée. He had at least one sister, Paula (later Paula Kleinstadt). Max owned an export business. Else and Max married on 30 September 1913 in Lüneburg. They had three children: Hans (1915-1994), Robert (1916-2013), and Eva (later Eva Cohn, 1926-2000). In 1933, Hans immigrated to England and Robert went to the Netherlands. Shortly after Kristallnacht, Eva and her parents went to England with help from the Clarks, a Quaker family Hans met in England, who sponsored them. Else, Max, and Eva immigrated to the United States in 1940. They were sponsored by Else’s brother Kurt, who had immigrated to the United States previously. The family settled in California. Eva became a teacher, and eventually taught German in Palo Alto. She married Hans Cohn in 1949. They had three children: Becki (b. 1952), Ruth (b. 1955), and Barbara (b. 1958). After Kristallnacht, Marcus Heinemann’s estate was auctioned off. In 1940 the Museum Lüneburg acquired several objects, including a family bible, belonging to the estate. In 2014, Anneke de Rudder, a provenance researcher for the museum discovered documentation regarding how the objects were acquired. Using names found in the family bible, she was able to locate and contact descendants of Marcus Heinemann. In 2015 the objects were returned to extended family members who gathered in Lüneburg for a family reunion, many of them meeting for the first time. The museum also issued a formal apology. After receiving the objects back, the descendants agreed to keep them at the museum on loan.

Max Albert Rhée (1881-1941) was born on 29 December 1881 in Dortmund, Germany to Albert and Bertha (née Winter) Rhée. He had at least one sister, Paula (later Paula Kleinstadt). Max owned an export business. Max married Else Heinemann on 30 September 1913 in Lüneburg. They had three children: Hans (1915-1994), Robert (1916-2013), and Eva (later Eva Cohn, 1926-2000). In 1933, Hans immigrated to England and Robert went to the Netherlands. Shortly after Kristallnacht, Eva and her parents went to England with help from the Clarks, a Quaker family Hans met in England, who sponsored them. Else, Max, and Eva immigrated to the United States in 1940. They were sponsored by Else’s brother Kurt, who had immigrated to the United States previously. The family settled in California. Eva became a teacher, and eventually taught German in Palo Alto. She married Hans Cohn in 1949. They had three children: Becki (b. 1952), Ruth (b. 1955), and Barbara (b. 1958).

Hans Cohn (1926-) was born in Berlin, Germany to Max Cohn and Ida Graupner Cohn (1886-1939). His parents owned a clothing store in the Wedding district of Berlin. During Kristallnacht, Hans witnessed his cantor rescuing Torah scrolls from their burning synagogue. In 1939 his family fled to Shanghai, China aboard the Conte Biancamano. His parents opened a small restaurant, but Ida died of dysentery 5 months after arriving in Shanghai. Hans worked in restaurants for the duration of the war, and later as a translator for the United States Army. He also started taking singing lessons while in Shanghai. In 1945, determined to leave Shanghai, Hans sailed to Australia as a stowaway on the General Gordon. He lived as an undocumented immigrant there for two years before turning himself in and agreeing to leave the country in lieu of going to jail. He was sponsored by his uncle Martin Cohn and immigrated to the United States in September 1947. He settled in Los Angeles where he worked as a chef, at one point owning his own restaurant Le Coq d’Or. Hans and Eva Rhée married in 1949 in Los Angeles. They moved to New York in 1957 where Hans attended cantorial school at Hebrew Union College. They later moved back to California in 1964 where Hans served as cantor at Temple Beth Jacob. In 1979, Temple Beth Jacob caught fire. Hans managed to rescue a single Torah scroll from the incident that was suspected as arson related to anti-Semitic threats received by the temple. Eva became a teacher, and eventually taught German in Palo Alto. She married Hans Cohn in 1949. They had three children: Becki (b. 1952), Ruth (b. 1955), and Barbara (b. 1958). Max’s sister Paula and her husband Josef Max Berthold Kleinstadt perished during the Holocaust.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Esther R. "Becki" Cohn-Vargas

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Esther R. "Becki" Cohn-Vargas

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Esther R. "Becki" Cohn-Vargas