born 8 August 1912 in Fürstenwalde
died 1943 (?) in Auschwitz-Birkenau
Historical former address Junkerstraße 13
Stumbling stone Reinheimer Straße 11
Date of stone-laying 17 November 2009
Erich Heymann was born into a Jewish family in Fürstenwalde on 8 August 1912. His parents Betty and David ran a branch of the wholesale warehouse chain “Hamburg Engros-Lager” near the market square where they sold cotton underwear, haberdashery and knitwear. Erich had a younger sister named Ilse. He trained as a caricaturist in Berlin but could no longer pursue his education after the National Socialists’ seizure of power.
In 1935, he attended a Hachshara course in Pianizza di Sotto near Bolzano in South Tyrol with the aim of preparing himself for emigration to Palestine and acquiring the basic agricultural knowledge required to live there. Erich was engaged to Ruth Hamburger at the time and the couple were planning to emigrate together. It is believed that their plans came to nothing because of illness.
Later, Erich Heymann instead married Fanni Klappholz, with whom he lived in Berlin. On 1 March 1943, Erich and Fanni were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, where they were murdered. Erich’s parents shared their fate in the Sobibor extermination camp (Polish: Sobibór); only his sister Ilse managed to escape to the United States in 1937.
Family members:
Betty Heymann née Weinkrantz
David Heymann
Fanni Heymann née Klappholz
Ilse Paull née Heymann