Franz Anton Ledermann

Franz Anton Ledermann was born on October 16, 1889 in Hirschberg in Silesia, where his father Benjamin Ledermann worked as a lawyer. He studied law in Breslau and Geneva and was an accomplished amateur violinist.
In 1924 he married Ilse Luise Citroen. The couple lived in Berlin at Genthiner Strasse 5a (today No. 14). The flourishing law firm made possible an upper-class lifestyle with employees, many guests and musical gatherings. Two daughters were born: Barbara in 1925 and Susanna in 1928.
The seizure of power by the National Socialists in 1933 fundamentally changed the life of the family. Franz Anton Ledermann was only allowed to represent Jewish clients and thus lost most of his previous business. Ultimately, this led to the closure of the law firm. On October 1, 1933, he emigrated with his wife and daughters to the Netherlands, where Ilse Luise Ledermann had relatives.
At the age of 44 he had to restart his career. After several years of further education, he was admitted to the bar in the Netherlands. This success did not last. In 1940, after the German invasion, Franz Anton Ledermann was subjected to the same repression in the Netherlands as in 1933 in Germany.
While Barbara Ledermann was able to survive the persecution by going into hiding with the help of the Amsterdam underground, Franz Anton, Ilse Luise and Susanna Ledermann were interned in the Westerbork camp on June 20, 1943 and from there deported to Auschwitz on November 16, 1943, where they died on November 19 were murdered in 1943.