Hirsch Bieler-Suwalski

Hirsch Bieler-Suwalski was born on May 10, 1902, in Grajewo, Poland. When he came to Leipzig in 1919 at the age of 17, his older cousin David Suwalski and his wife Alte Suwalski helped him settle in. They obtained a visa for him and helped him earn his high school diploma. Bieler-Suwalski’s life story has already been documented in the US-American memorial project “Two Pianos: Playing for Life” as his wife was a pianist.

In the year 1921, he was adopted by the childless Christian couple Paul and Marie Bieler, who cared for him lovingly. He took their surname and henceforth bore a double-name. During the economic crisis and inflation, Paul Bieler’s weekly wage was no longer enough to support the families anymore. The young Bieler-Suwalski was already working in the fur trade. He was paid in dollars allowing him to help the couple and give something back. He lived with the Bielers in Schkeuditz from 1921 until 1927.

In 1927, Bieler-Suwalski met the pianist Anna Burstein. The two of them were married in 1931 and moved to the Waldstraßen neighborhood in Leipzig, to 13 König-Johann-Straße (now Tschaikowskistraße).

Meanwhile, he worked in the rapidly growing petroleum industry. As executive director of “Deutsche Vertriebsgesellschaft für russische Öl-Produkte“ (Derop AG), he was responsible for the company’s strategic direction and, consequently, for the supply of gas stations. Because he was Jewish, the company laid Hirsch-Bieler off as early as April 1933. At that time, his wife Anna was pregnant and their daughter Tania was born on December 29, 1933.

Germany, however, no longer offered any prospect for the young family. In October 1936, they emigrated to Palestine and then onwards to the United States. Hirsch-Suwalski passed away in 1985 in Philadelphia, USA.