Photo: Cesar von Meissen
Stolpersteine Bungertstraße 32 in Essen-Werden
Ruth Baum and Sophie Baum lived before their Deportation in Essen-Werden They led lives severely impacted by the increasing discrimination and persecution of the Jewish population in Germany. After her husband's death, Sophie Baum continued to run the family business, a fish shop, alone and was eventually arrested and deported along with her daughter. Two Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) at Bungertstraße 32 commemorate their fate.
Moving to Essen-Werden
Sophie Baum, née Viehser, was married to Philipp Baum. They had married in Emden and settled in Essen-Werden She became self-employed with a fish shop at Bungertstraße 47. On April 19, 1921, her daughter Ruth was born in Essen. When Philipp Baum died in 1932, Sophie Baum initially continued to run the business. During Kristallnacht – also known as the November Pogroms – the shop was ransacked and destroyed, and Sophie and her daughter were arrested and taken – along with other Jews – to the so-called "Youth House" at Bungertstraße 32. There, from 1938 onward, they lived under increasingly difficult conditions, as Jewish citizens were progressively deprived of their rights and property.
End of her life in Werden
Ruth Baum was a young woman who suffered under the restrictions of the Nazi regime. There are accounts of Jewish families in Essen who tried to lead normal lives despite the adverse circumstances. However, with the escalating persecution, this became increasingly impossible. The deportation of mother and daughter on April 22, 1942, marked the end of their lives in Essen. The women were taken to the Izbica Ghetto in Poland. This transit camp, also known as a transit ghetto, was a transit point from which people were deported to the Belzec and Sobibor extermination camps. It is not recorded where exactly Sophie Baum and Ruth Baum died. Therefore, the Izbica Ghetto is considered their last known place of residence.
The inscription on the stumbling stones reads:
| stumbling block for | Inscription |
|---|---|
| Sophie Baum born Viehser | „"HERE LIVED SOPHIE BAUM, NÉE VIEHSER, BORN 1892, DEPORTED 1942, IZBICA, MURDERED"“ |
| Ruth Baum married Cussel | „"HERE LIVED RUTH BAUM, BORN 1921, DEPORTED 1942, IZBICA, MURDERED"“ |
All statements without guarantee
A Walk of Remembrance
A hike along the stumbling stones around the Baldeneysee It's more than a walk – it's a journey into the past. For example, you'll find... Bredeney Stumbling stones commemorate members of the Rothschild family who once ran a significant business before being dispossessed and deported by the Nazis. In Werden, stumbling stones mark the homes of residents who were considered political opponents of the regime and lost their lives for their beliefs.
