Picard, Julius

Julius Picard was born in Lauterbourg on October 20, 1893. He studied in Strasbourg and became a medical doctor. His father Hermann Picard (born September 20, 1860) was also a medical doctor. His mother was Hedwig Hausmann (born September 13, 1866). Julius had a younger brother, Isidor Picard, who was born in 1896 and became a dentist.

Julius served in World War I during 1918. He was a member of the “Rhenus Loge Mainz” and the “Israelitischer Hilfsverein”. In 1926 he married Claire Dreyfuss (born June, 16, 1902 in Kaiserslautern). Her father, Isidor Dreyfuss, was also a medical doctor. Julius and Claire had two children, Hans Eli (born July 13, 1927) and Ernest Henry Picard (born July 24, 1929). The family resided in Mainz.

In August 1938, Julius and Claire Picard immigrated with their children to the United States. They settled in Fall River, MA, where their third son, Irving Hermann Picard, was born in 1941. Julius and Claire Picard lived in Fall River for the rest of their lives. Julius died in September 1986 and his wife in February 1995. The grandchildren now live in New York, Massachusetts and Texas.

Julius’s father Hermann Picard died in 1939 of chronic bronchitis. His wife Hedwig and their son Isidor immigrated to France in 1939, and were later evacuated to Morocco. They immigrated to the United States in 1946. Hedwig died in 1958.

Claire’s father Isidor Dreyfuss died in Germany in 1936. His wife Mathilde Cahn immigrated to the United States and died in 1963 in Fall River, MA. Her brother, Moritz Cahn (1874-1941), was a lawyer in Frankfurt/Main. He and his wife committed suicide in 1941 to escape deportation. They had tried to emigrate, but all attempts had failed.

From the guide to the Julius Picard Family Collection, 1732-1991, (Leo Baeck Institute Archives)