Alfred Bernheim, born 1871, married Berta in 1903 in the south of Germany. They lived in Passau, then a major town, and owned a small shop, Merkur. Soon the small shop was prosperous and became a four-story general shop, catering to all goods and modeled after the largest shops in Paris, boasting the first elevator and telephone in town. Needless to say, it made the Bernheims rich and the town’s people jealous.
Alfred and Berta had three children—Helena, Zigbert, and Felix. All three were active sports champions and popular, enjoying a lifestyle unheard of in town. When Alfred and Berta turned 60, they passed the business to their sons, as Helena married and moved away.
In the late 1920s, the Nazis became active in southern Germany, while Passau was one of the first Nazi strongholds. The Hitler family lived across the street from the Bernheims, and so did Eichmann; Himmler taught school nearby. Nazi terrorism was a daily event. In October 1935, the Bernheims were forced to sell their prosperous shop, not before they were marched naked along the main street and publicly humiliated, and Felix was imprisoned for six weeks.
Realizing further persecution, Zigbert traveled to Palestine and bought land north of Herzliya. He married Alsbeth and left Germany. His parents left for France, where they were sent to a concentration camp. Their daughter Helena managed to release them, and all went into hiding and survived the war.
After World War II, Alfred and Berta settled in Israel with their son Zigbert. Both died in 1953.
