United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Margaretha Rosenfeld (1871‐1944) was born Emma Maria Margaretha Diesel in Chemnitz to Adolf and Friederike Diesel. She lived in Kleinmachnow with her husband, Bernhard Rosenfeld (1867‐1942), who was born in Leipzig to Juda and Sara Pepie Rosenfeld. Although Margaretha was not Jewish, Bernhard was forced to wear the yellow star, was subject to the punitive Judenvermögensabgabe tax levied against German Jews following Kristallnacht, was forced to sell the family’s house, and saw his Dresdner Bank account placed under the supervision of the Foreign Exchange Office (Devisenstelle). Their daughter, Gertrud Rosenfeld (1895‐?), was also considered Jewish under the Nuremberg laws even though she was raised Christian.
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The Margaretha Rosenfeld papers are arranged as four series: I. Biographical materials, 1869-1942, II. Correspondence, 1935-1942, III. Dresdner Bank records, 1939-1945, IV. Subject files, 1932-1943
The Margaretha Rosenfeld papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, financial records, and subject files documenting Margaretha’s non‐Jewish heritage, her husband’s Jewish heritage, and the financial and social discrimination they suffered under the Nazi regime. Biographical materials include birth and marriage certificates, proof of “Aryan” descent, wills, and quitclaims documenting Jewish and non‐Jewish heritage, estates, and the inheritance of family legacies. Correspondence files primarily document Bernhard Rosenfeld’s Jewish status, his being forced to take the name “Israel” and wear the yellow star, his death, and questions regarding his estate and the payment of funeral costs. Dresdner Bank records document Margaretha and Bernhard Rosenfeld’s holdings with the Bank. Subject files document punitive Judenvermögensabgabe tax levied against the Rosenfelds, the placement of the Rosenfelds’ bank accounts under the supervision of the Foreign Exchange Office (Devisenstelle), and the forced sale of Bernhard Rosenfeld’s house. These files also document the termination of the Rosenfelds’ telephone service because Jewish residents lived in the house.
Margaretha Rosenfeld papers