Arnold and Jenny Schlein

This family, all dressed up, was probably photographed no later than the mid-1930s. The undated photo is carefully composed: the grandparents, Arnold and Jenny Schlein, are on the left, with the younger generation behind them or to their right.

How do we know that? There are individual portraits of some of the people in the photo, that have the family name Schlein written on them. Several relatives are listed in the membership records of the Israelite Religious Community, along with their dates of birth. After World War II, they filed claims for reparations in the Federal Republic of Germany; these claims can be viewed at the Landesarchiv Berlin. The research was conducted by Michael W. Schönemann, Andrea Lorz and Johanna Sänger.

There is evidence that the merchant Arnold Schlein lived at 23 Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße in Leipzig starting in 1933. Together with his son Ernst, he presumably took over a furniture and interior design store owned by N. Fuchs at 13 Kronprinzstraße (destroyed during the war; now Grünewaldstraße) in 1930. The shop had already been in business for about 20 years; it also sold textiles and clothing, that costumers could buy in installments. It was liquidated in 1938 or 1939, very likely forcibly.

Arnold Schlein (1875-1963) was born in Prussian Upper Silesia, his wife Jenny (b. 1871) was born in the Province of Poznań. Their daughter Elisabeth (b. 1905 or 1909) lived with them in Leipzig. She was a tailor and was able to emigrate in 1939. Their son Ernst (b. 1903) lived with his wife Hilde at 36 Grassistraße. Both emigrated to New York. The parents then had to move into the “Jew house” at 16 Funkenburgstraße, but were able to follow them to the USA in 1941. Perhaps members of the big family helped them escape as Arnold had eight siblings. His brother David (1881-1938) had been living in Magdeburg since 1911 with his American wife Sadie and ran what was known as a merchandise installment business. Although he did not survive the Shoah, his widow was able to move to the United States with the children thanks to her US citizenship. Stolpersteine in Magdeburg commemorate the family.