Wolff, Bernhard, 1910-

This collection documents the family of Bernhard Wolff, extending back to his ancestors from 1646 through his grandchildren.

The Wolff family traces its lineage back to Calman Abrahams, the first court Jew of the Count of East Frisia and the founder of the first synagogue in Aurich (Ostfriesland, Germany).

Bernhard Wolff was born on April 29, 1910 in Esens (Ostfriesland, Germany) to the cattle dealer Karl Wolff (1873-1936) and his wife Flora née Oppenheimer (born 1881). Bernhard had seven siblings, one of whom died as an infant: Alfred (February 27 1903-April 7, 1903), Hanna (alternatively called Johanna, born 1904), Siegfried (born 1906), Arthur (born 1907), Richard (born 1909), Walter (born1911), and Josef (born 1912).

On September 29, 1937, Bernhard married Fanny (alternatively called Anni) Mitau (born December 15, 1907) in Fanny’s hometown Dargun Mecklenburg, Germany. Fanny Mitau’s parents were Hugo Mitau (1866-1938) and Ida née Jacobsohn (1870-1944).

Bernhard and Fanny were able to escape the persecution of the National Socialist regime along with most of their family members between 1938 and 1939. Bernhard and Fanny, Bernhard’s mother Flora, and most of Bernhard’s siblings immigrated to South America, settling in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Bernhard’s brother Arthur immigrated to the United States and settled in New Hampshire.

Fanny’s mother Ida Mitau née Jacobsohn was not able to obtain a visa to emigrate. She perished in the concentration camp at Theresienstadt in 1944.

Bernhard and Fanny settled in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where they had two sons, Claudio Henrique (born March 26, 1942) and Norberto (born October 22, 1947).

Claudio Henrique Wolff and his wife Irene née Herz married on September 9, 1965. Their children were Marcia (1969), Tania (1967), Marcelo (April 6, 1972-April 28, 1972), and Fernando (January 24, 1974).

Norberto Wolff married Mery Pomerancblum (born December 22, 1950) on June 8, 1974. They had two children, Fabiane (born September 21, 1976) and Rafael (born November 28, 1978).

From the guide to the Bernhard Wolff Family Collection, 1881-1991, bulk 1938-1988, (Leo Baeck Institute)