Fleming, Susan, 1908-2002

The Marx family lived at the beginning at the twentieth century in Ludwigshafen am Rhein (Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany.

Sigmund Marx was born in Baierthal (near Heidelberg) on December 29, 1879, as the first child of Ricka and Lazarus Loewenthal. In 1911 he married Mathilde Marx, née Marx who was born in Wiesloch on July 31, 1888. Together with his younger brother Willy Marx, Sigmund Marx established a flour wholesale business in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. In 1934 Willy Marx left the family company to move to Palestine. It is not known exactly when Sigmund Marx emigrated to the U.S. and settled in New York City, but he was still in Germany whe his wife Mathilde Marx passed away on April 12, 1938. Sigmund Marx died in New York City on February 28, 1946.

Sigmund and Mathilde, also known as Thilde, had two sons, Ernest and Paul Marx. Ernest was born in Mannheim on July 7, 1913. He served in the German army like his brother and worked as a trader in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. Ernest Marx moved to New York in 1938, where he joined the U.S. army. His younger brother Paul Marx was also born in Mannheim on December 13, 1915. For two years he worked as an apprentice in a watch and jewelry factory. Afterwards he attended goldsmithing school in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1938 he emigrated with his wife Kate Baruch to New York.

In 1939 Paul Marx left New York for one year to study in Noordam, Belgium. His wife Kate Marx visited Nuremberg and Frankfurt am Main in 1983 and 1999.

From the guide to the Marx Family Collection, 1847-1999, bulk 1937-1945, (Leo Baeck Institute)