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EricOttoSonnemanwasbornasErichOttoSonnemann,December1,1910,at
Neustadt/Haardt/Pfaltz,Germany,andlivedinMannheim,Germanyfrom1915
untilFebruary27,1939,whenhelefttoemigratetotheU.S.Hisbrother,Max,was
bornDec.15,1915andemigratedtotheU.S.infallof1939.
Hisfather,KurtSonnemann,wasamusicandtheatercriticoftheMannheimer
Theaterblattandothernewspapersandpublishedtwovolumesofpoetry.
KurtSonnemannwasanephewofLeopoldSonnemann,founderandowner‐editor
oftheliberalnewspaper,FrankfurterZeitung,founderoftheGermanPeople’sparty
andmemberoftheReichstag,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Sonnemann)
Eric’smother,BertaneeHerrmann,camefromthevillageofFreudentalin
Wuerttemberg,andherbrotherkeptthefamilyfarmwhereEricvisitedandworked
inthesummer(alsoyoungpeopleplanningtoemigratetoPalestinereceived
trainingonthefarm).
EricSonnemanwastheMannheimchairmanoftheJewishyouthgroupBund
Deutsch‐JüdischerJugendandledyouthsonvisitsaroundGermany,evenafterHitler
cametopower.Hereceivedanaffidavitfromawealthyanddistantrelative,Emma
Loveman,inNashville,Tennessee,afterhismotherrememberedherinadream.He
thenappliedforaU.S.visain1937,andhadanappointmentattheU.S.Consulatein
StuttgartonNovember10,1938,thedayafterKristallnacht.Nazisdidnotdiscover
hisfamilyonKristallnachtbecausetheyhadrecentlymovedandhadnotyet
registered.
EricSonnemanleftGermanyinFebruaryof1939andtookaboatfromHollandto
America,arrivinginNewYorkonMarch17,1939(St.Patrick’sDay).Hecouldnot
findemploymentinNewYork,livedwiththeLovemanfamilyofNashvillefora
couplemonths.TheLovemanfamilyhelpedprovideaffidavitsforhisbrother,Max,
andforhisparents,whotraveledthroughSiberia,ChinaandJapaninthesummerof
1940.EricWarburg,oftheWarburgbankingfamily,alsoprovidedaffidavitsand
financialhelp.
InEricSonnemanmovedtoChicagointhesummerof1939andlivedthere,onthe
SouthSideuntilhisdeathinJuly,2004.
Afterbriefemploymentataphotographystore,hedecidedtostarthisownbusiness
withphotochemicalsthatheinvented.HisfirstbigorderswerefromMontgomery
WardandSears&Roebuck.Hisbusiness,MerixChemicalCompany,onthesouth
sideofChicago,expandeditslinetoincludeavarietyofanti‐staticproducts,
includingonethatwasusedonApollo11.HehadpatentsintheU.S.,U.K.and
Canada,andworkedatMerixuntilwas91,whenheclosedthebusiness.
HemarriedEdithArshackinAugust,1941.HerparentshademigratedfromRussia
(in1906and1913)andsettledinRockIsland,Illinois.OnJuly13,1943,Eric
This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy.
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Sonnemanbecameanaturalizedcitizen.EricandEdithSonnemanhadfourchildren:
Joseph,Eve,TobyandMilly.
EricSonneman,interviews.WithEdithSonneman(wife).Thesewererecordedon
cassettetapesin1986,butpartsoftheinterviewwereinadvertentlypartlyerased,
andrecordedagainoverthesametapesafewyearslater.
1.Interview1:LifeinGermany:
 SonnemannfamilyinMunich,Germany
 HerrmannfamilyinFreudental,Germany
 VisitstoHerrmannfamilyfarminFreudental,Germany
 Schooling
 SeeingJewishimmigrantsfromPoland
 MeetingwithRabbiMaxGrünewald
 Role as Mannheim leader of Bund Deutsch-Jüdischer Jugend
(organization of German-Jewish youth, and experiences, 1934-1935
 Employment:
o Andreae-Noris Zahn, Mannheim
o Lippman and Bernstein, Ludwigshafen
o Gamber, Diehl and Co., Heidelberg (color photography, lab
assistant)
 Kristallnacht, November 1938
 Appointment with U.S. Consulate for visa application
 Turning down Jewish community offer for technical people to emigrate
to South Africa
2.Interview2:FromGermanytoAmerica
 Backgroundonfamily,father’soccupation;friends
 DevelopmentsinGermanyafterWorldWarI,inflation
 PerceptionsofNazigovernment
 Immigration,hidingandcaptureofrelatives
 Eric’simmigration:traintoHolland,shiptoU.S.
 LeoSonnemann(uncle),EricWarburg
 StaywithLovemanfamilyinNashville,Tennessee(ApriltoJune,1939)
o LearningEnglish
o Affidavitsforbrother,parents
 MovetoChicago
 JobatCentralCamera,Chicago
This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy.
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Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection
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BeginningofMerixChemicalCompany(1940);(Lowenthal’sRestaurant);
OrderfromMontgomeryWard;SearsRoebuck
IsaiahIsraelSynagogue;meetingandmarryingEdithArshack
HearingatStateDepartmentaboutvisaforFriedaBerger(aunt)
This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy.