Sperber, Liselotte

Liselotte ("Lisl") Süss was born January 12, 1912 in Mannheim, the youngest daughter of Julius Süss (1878-1976) and Rosa Süss, née Einstein (1884-1940). She attended primary school at Mannheim's Liselotteschule and the Hans Thoma Schule, including two years of finishing school at the Liselotteschule's Frauenschule .

At the age of 15, Liselotte Süss began to study at the Nationaltheater under Hildegard Grethe and later, her succesor, Ida Ehre, who became a close friend. At the request of the theater's director, Francesco Sioli, Liselotte Süss gave her first stage performance at 16, taking over the role of an ill performer. Other activities she undertook included participation in the August Lamey B'nai B'rith Lodge, the Liederkranz (a singing group), and gymastics and tennis. She additionally participated in the "Sprech-Chor," directed by Paul Epstein.

In 1925 Max Grünewald became the chief rabbi of Mannheim, where he created the Jugendgemeinde, in which Liselotte Süss became a member. By her late teens Lisl Süss had become a Zionist. At the "Jung-WIZO," which she helped found, she met her future husband, Manfred (Meyer) Sperber ("Fred"). They became engaged on December 4, 1932 and married on January 26, 1933 in Rabbi Max Grünewald's study. In February 1933 they were on their honeymoon in Rome when they learned of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor. On April 1, 1933 (the day of the Jewish boycott in Germany) Fred lost his job in Berlin. Since Fred was an Austrian citizen, and Lisl had become one through her marriage to him, they then left for Vienna. Their daughter Aenne was born on June 20, 1935 in Vienna. She was named for her aunt, Lisl's elder sister, who had died in 1930 due to disease at the age of 22.

In Vienna Fred became comptroller of the Jewish Community. In May 1939 Lisl and her daughter Aenne wanted to immigrate to Cuba by taking the ship Orinoco from Cherbourg. But the ship never sailed, following the situation of the St. Louis, a boat refused arrival in Cuba and the subsequent Jewish immigration ban to Cuba. They were held in Cherbourg for five months but received American visas just before the outbreak of war and left France in October 1939. Fred joined them in 1940 when he found passage on the last trip of the Italian liner Conte di Savoia . In 1942 they learned that Fred’s parents had been deported to Theresienstadt, where his father Abraham Sperber died. Fred's mother Malka (sometimes spelled Malke) Sperber later stayed in Camp Deggendorf for displaced persons.

In 1947 Lisl joined the Riverside group of Hadassah where she served one term as president of the organization. After Fred retired, he joined the Liberty Lodge where he worked as financial secretary until his death. Lisl later became a member of the Liberty Chapter where she served twice as president.

Liselotte Sperber's daughter Aenne, renamed Ann Sperber after her immigration to the United States, achieved fame with the publication of her best-selling book Murrow: his Life and Times, published in 1986. She died in 1994.

From the guide to the Liselotte Sperber Collection, 1906-2005, bulk 1920-1990, (Leo Baeck Institute)