Joseph Cohn, born in 1832, married Johanna ('Hannchen') Jacobsohn, born in 1831. They were both born and lived in Filehne, Posen area of Prussia (now Wieleń, Poland). Their son, Heimann ('Heinrich') Cohn was born in 1864 in Aschenbude, Posen. He was a merchant who owned the clothing business 'Warenhaus H Cohn' in Filehne.
Heinrich Cohn married Ella Lesheim (1878-1955). They had three sons: Harry (1902-1916), Herbert (1904-2002) and Paul (1906-1985). Ella's parents were Aron (born 1845) and Hedwig Lesheim (née Sussmann, born in 1848). When Heinrich and Ella Cohn had to leave Poland to keep their German nationality in 1920, Ella's mother applied for permission for them to move to Berlin to stay with her (see letter by Hedwig Lesheim).
Ella's brother Bruno Lesheim and his wife Anna lived together with Bruno's sister Betty (born in 1879 in Jacobshagen) and her husband Leonhard Simonsohn. They had a daughter, Margot. Ella's brother Bruno Lesheim and Betty's husband Leonhard Simonsohn (1879-1941) owned the furniture company, Carl Böhm.
Hedwig Lesheim died in 1939. Only Ella Cohn survived of her children. Betty was murdered at Riga concentration camp in 1942. Ella's brother Bruno was killed in 1941. Ella and Heinrich Cohn emigrated to England by ship via Genova to Southampton in 1939. Heinrich died in London in 1947. It is not clear from the collection how their sons emigrated. However, Herbert (changed his name to Curtis) died in London in 2002 and Paul Cohn died in Amsterdam in 1985.
From the guide to the Cohn family: personal papers, 1857-1973, (Wiener Library)
