home

יצחק בן יעקב ושרה
Isidor Speier
Mar 3, 1974      ט' אדר תשל"ד

Isidore (Izzi) Speier was born in Guxhagen, Germany on July 18th, 1894 to Koppel and Sara Gans Speier. His grandfather was master craftsman to the mayor of the town and the family lived an Orthodox Jewish life as middle class German citizens. He was the oldest of 8 children. There is a picture of him celebrating his Bar Mitzvah with his grandparents though no other detail survives of his youth. He served with distinction as a corporal in the German Army during the First World War on the Eastern front. A picture survives of him in uniform with a small mustache similar to an infamous corporal in the German Army of that era.

In 1920 he married Selma Moses of Baumbach, Germany into whose home they settled. They had 2 daughters, Hanna (1921) and Irmgard (1923). Selma succumbed to complications from childbirth. Isidore was introduced to an unmarried woman who worked as a housekeeper, Frieda Hirschberg. They were married in 1925. They had 3 children: Ruth (1926) and twins Alfred and Siegbert (1928). Izzi worked as a dry goods salesman for his primary living, traveling with his wares from town to town with horse and wagon. In addition he served as the Shochet (ritual slaughterer) for the community as well as the Shamas of the shul.

Isidore took Hitler at his word that he planned to exterminate the Jews when he heard him speak on the radio in 1932 and was aware of NAZI tactics. At the election of 1933, he opened the polling booth wide so that the Brown Shirts could see him voting for Hitler. There was no choice. He immediately began making plans to get the family to America. There were many obstacles in the path of obtaining visas for a family of 7. Luckily the family of his first wife owned a steel mill in Buffalo, New York and were able to put up the $100,000 bond with the State Department ensuring that the family would not be a financial burden to the USA. However, a medical exam revealed a heart irregularity that required a long trip to the US consulate in Stuttgart to resolve. Meanwhile he was arrested in 1936 by the Gestapo for continuing to Shecht despite the Nuremberg laws preventing Kosher meat preparation. He was jailed for 3 weeks. Finally with proper visas in hand they prepared to leave for the US. In anticipation of being stopped he organized to have the children spread around to relatives in the area so that it would not be obvious that the family was leaving. The day before the planned departure a policeman stopped Frieda in the market to tell her to warn Izzi that they had to leave because the Gestapo was going to arrest him again. They left on July 6, 1938 arriving in New York on July 18th and in Buffalo early the next morning. The entire sponsoring family, the Roblins, were there to greet them at the Buffalo train station at 1 in the morning and escorted them to their new, fully furnished, apartment. At the end of the war he was delighted to learn that 3 of his brothers left in Germany survived and ultimately emigrated to the US.

Izzi took a job working on building projects for the WPA. He also worked to establish a shul for German speaking refugees so they could observe High Holiday services that year. Later in his working life he developed a business as a carpet installer which he continued to do until his retirement.

Always the center of their expanding family, Frieda and Izzi hosted holidays and celebrations for the children and grandchildren as long as health permitted. He continued to enjoy the company of his family and participate in religious services at Temple Emanuel until his death just short of his 80th birthday in 1974. He is survived by grandchildren and their grandchildren, illuminating the blessing of his supreme efforts during those dark years to make sure that his family was able to escape Germany intact.

search Back