| First Name | Gerda Anna |
|---|---|
| Family Name | Breidenbach |
| Date of Birth | 06/24/1923 |
| Birthplace/Place of Residence | Frankfurt am Main |
| Residence in „Heim Isenburg“ | 04/01/1940 - 10/01/1940 |
| Departure to | Frankfurt am Main |
| Profession | Student of maternal and child care |
| Deportation/Escape | Deported in the Theresienstadt ghetto on 09/15/1942 |
| Date of Death/Place of Death | Probably 1943, Ghetto Theresienstadt |
Gerda Breidenbach was born on June 24, 1923, in Frankfurt at Main. She lived there and with her sister and her parents, Louis Breidenbach, born on December 24, 1878 in Rimbach, and Ida Breidenbach, nee Stern, born on August 14, 1891 in Angenrod. The family was registered on Dominikanerplatz 16, according to the 1939 census she was reported in Bornheimer Landwehr 85 (address of a dorm for nurses).
Gerda attended the Jewish primary school in Frankfurt. After leaving school, she was trained for infant and nanny. During this training, she worked in the home of the Jewish Women's Association in Neu-Isenburg for six months from April 1, 1940. She was apparently a promising student since both the head of the private Jewish kindergarten and Helen began their education after high school at the “Heim Isenburg” initiated in 1940, she exhibited good grades. On October 1, 1940, Helene Krämer certified for Gerda Breidenbach:
"Gerda Breidenbach lived from April 1 to October 1, 1940, in “Heim Neu-Isenburg” of the National Association of Jews in Germany, to learn maternal and child care. She did all her duties with diligence and conscientiousness and had shown a lot of understanding in the personal care of children. Miss Breidenbach has also received guidance in the preparation of infant formula and has also been found as very skillful here."
After the internship in Neu-Isenburg, Gerda Breidenbach returned to Frankfurt. Her last destination was the children's home of the club “Weibliche Fürsorge” in Hans-Thoma-Straße. 24. Gerda Breidenbach was deported with the children who live were in the children's home “Weibliche Fürsorge” to the Theresienstadt ghetto probably on September 15, 1942 (www.juedische-pflegegeschichte.de). According to a surviving cousin, Gerda died there in 1943. Her sister reported after the Second World War, that Gerda had been deported in 1942 to an unknown destination.
Gerda's father was deported on May 24, 1942, from Frankfurt to the Ghetto Izbica, her mother at an unknown date and destination. Gerda's sister managed to escape to New York in 1938.
Sources: Stadtarchiv Neu-Isenburg;Hessian State Archives; Jewish Museum Frankfurt am Main; Yad Vashem, The Central Database of Shoah Victims‘ Names; https://www.platz-der-vergessenen-kinder.de (opens in a new tab).
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