Aron and Martha Klein

Aron Klein was born on February 10, 1872, in Badolo, Abanj-Torna County, Hungary. His parents were the merchant Philipp Klein and his wife Antonie, née Weiß.

Aron came to Germany as a journalist and married Martha Klein on March 1, 1921. Martha was born on July 9, 1872, in Gunzenhausen, the daughter of the Jewish merchant Samuel Seeberger and his wife Jeanette, née Oberdorfer.

Aron and Martha continued to run the business at Market Square No. 35 together until 1937. She had inherited it from her parents, and they mainly sold dishes and glassware.

After Markus Rehfeld, the cantor of the Jewish community, was forced into retirement in October 1933, the religious authorities transferred some of his duties to the Klein couple. Aron Klein was responsible for leading prayers in the synagogue on weekdays, while his wife Martha was in charge of the ritual bath.

Due to the reprisals against Jewish citizens and the boycott of Jewish businesses, they closed their shop in 1937. However, they did not leave Gunzenhausen until January 25, 1939, when they emigrated to Prague. There they lived from January 25, 1939, to October 15, 1942, at Bilkowastraße 19. Their house in Gunzenhausen had meanwhile become the property of the city.

Rope maker Arthur Riegel rented the premises from the city for his ropewalk, which he had previously operated next to the Blasturm tower on Rathausstraße. According to his daughter, the Nazis sold off the remaining stock of the business during this period. He had to pay the city 100 Reichsmarks for the remaining beer steins still in the shop.

Due to its prime location, the Riegel family decided to buy the building in 1942. To this end, they contacted Mr. and Mrs. Klein in Prague. The Kleins replied that they no longer had any influence over the matter. The purchase price was then paid to the city.

At that time, the rear extension was still rented to a lawyer. Mr. Riegel later used it as his ropewalk workshop.

In 1946, when the American military administration was reviewing all property ownership of Jewish-owned land, the Riegels attempted to contact the Kleins in Prague again to have the legality of the purchase confirmed. However, their letters were returned unanswered. Letters to relatives in Israel also went unanswered.

The couple's fate remains unknown, but there are indications that they were deported to Theresienstadt. Officially, they were declared dead in 1953, with their deaths attributed to May 8, 1945.

Due to postwar restitution regulations, the Riegels were required to pay rent for the house from 1946 to 1956. A final hearing took place in Nuremberg in 1956. Based on the verdict, the purchase price was demanded once more. However, Mrs. Riegel no longer knew to whom it had been paid.

This ruling, however, excluded any claims by third parties.

Shortly afterward, a relative of the Seeberger family from Israel visited Gunzenhausen and recognized furniture belonging to his family in the Riegels' house. However, due to the court ruling, he could no longer claim it.

In 1960, Arthur Riegel closed his rope-making business due to his age, but continued to run the shop with his wife and younger daughter. From 1980 onward, his older daughter, Sophie Elise Riegel, managed the business, selling craft supplies and oilcloth tablecloths.

Shortly before her death in the summer of 2001, she told us the story of this house and also remembered the large chestnut tree in the courtyard, which Samuel Seeberger had planted and which was only felled in the 1990s.

Even today (as of 2025), the Arthur Riegel company sign can still be seen above the rear entrance door. Unfortunately, there is no trace of the Klein couple.

But in November 2025, we were fortunately contacted by Adam Bershad, a great-great-nephew of Aron Klein. He sent us interesting information about his family:

"I am astounded that I just found this page. My great great uncle and aunt were Albert (Aron) Klein and Martha Seeberger Klein. Albert was my great grandfather's older brother. We never had much information on him and now I found this entire story about them which is amazing! My grandpa (who is now 96 years old) remembers a few things. He knew they married in 1921 because there is a family photo from the US. The rest of the Klein relatives held a gathering in honor of their brother getting married in Germany. He also knew that he lived at Marketplatz 35 when my grandpa was growing up. My grandpa had the chance to visit the location when he was stationed in Germany in the 1950s. ...

I can share a bit about Albert’s family history.

Albert (Aaron) was one of 7 Klein children. There were 3 boys and 4 girls. (There was an 8th child who died in infancy). They were from a village near Kassa, Hungary (now Kosice, Slovakia) called Turna Nad Badvou.

Father: Fulop (Philipp) Klein - 1839

Mother: Antonia Weisz Klein - 1848

Daughter: Julia Klein Jonas - 1867

Son: Sandor Klein - 1869 - died as a baby

Son: Albert Klein - 1872

Daughter: Regina Klein Schwartz - 1873

Son: Jakab Klein - 1875

Daughter: Hermina Klein Stern - 1879

Daughter: Gita Klein - 1886

Son: Armin Klein - 1888 (my grandfathers father)

Their father Fulop died in 1904, so because there was no one to support them, most of the family left for New York City in 1905, sponsored by Fulop’s younger brother Bertalan Klein. Antonia, Julia, Regina, Hermina, Gita & Armin all left that year, leaving only Albert & Jakab.

Jakab actually came to the US as well for a few months, but ultimately went back. His family moved to Budapest. He had 5 sons. Jakab died in 1936 before the war, as did his youngest son, but the rest of his 4 sons and their families were in Budapest during the war. 3 of the 4 sons died, and while 1 survived, he was killed while in jail during the Rakosi dictatorship in the 1950s. Through research we ended up finding 3 of Jakabs grandsons, who all lost touch with each other. Two were still in Budapest, and one emigrated to Australia.

 

Regarding Albert, my grandfather doesn’t fully know how he met Martha, but he knows he was a journalist. So presumably he went to Germany on a job as when his family left he was already 33 years old.

Albert & Martha were sent to Theresienstadt and from there sent to Treblinka on October 15, 1942."

Thanks to Adam Bershad, we learned about the eventful Klein family history for the first time. We were also unaware that Aron (photo right) was given the first name Albert. At the registry office in Gunzenhausen, his name was listed as Aron, although Aaron was and still is the usual spelling.

Furthermore, Adam Bershad kindly provided us with the photographs on this page.