Songbook, Jüdisches Verins-Liederbuch

Judith Cromwell was born Judith Hanna Lissauer on 13 November 1935 in Berlin, Germany to John and Charlotte Lissauer. Her father, John Lissauer (1890-1946), was born on 10 April 1890 in Hamburg, Germany to Emil Lissauer (1862-1921) and Helene Lissauer (d. 1940). He had one brother, Hermann, who died during World War I, and two sisters, Irma (b. 1886, Irma Lissauer Wolfsohn) and Selma (Selma Lissauer Danziger). John went to medical school, and served as a doctor during World War I. Her mother, Charlotte Lissauer (1901-1992), was born Charlotte Breuer on 22 July 1901 in Ujpest, Budapest, Hungary to Julius Breuer (d. 1937?) and Julia Breuer (née Richter, nicknamed Kami). She had two brothers, Oskar and Tibor. Charlotte studied medicine at Berlin University and received her M.D. in 1928. John and Charlotte married in Berlin in 1930, where they both worked as pediatric doctors in hospitals and private practice. By 1938 John and Charlotte had applied for visas to immigrate to the United States, but had yet to receive them. During Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938) John was arrested and imprisoned in Sachsenhausen. After his release, they received visas to the United Kingdom through assistance of John’s cousin Meno Lissauer, and arrived before the end of the year. The family lived in Hartlepool, England and both continued to practice medicine. John died in 1946, and Charlotte and Judith decided they wanted to immigrate to the United States. They immigrated to Montreal, Canada around 1949 and to the United States a year later in February 1950. They settled in New York where Charlotte continued to work as a doctor. Judith earned her Ph.D in Philosophy from New York University in 1973. Charlotte’s brother Oscar was drafted into the Hungarian Labor Battalion and perished during the war. Her other brother Tibor survived the war in Tangier.

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by Judith Lissauer Cromwell.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Judith Lissauer Cromwell