| First Name | Ester (Esther) Edith |
|---|---|
| Family Name | Kleinberger |
| Date of Birth | December 31, 1924 |
| Birthplace/Place of Residence | Frankfurt/Main |
| Residence in „Heim Isenburg“ | 1925-1928 |
| Departure to | Frankfurt/Main (Israelite orphanage) |
| Profession | - |
| Deportation/Escape | March 1940 via Trieste to Palestina |
| Date of Death/Place of Death | - |
Ester (Esther) Edith Kleinberger was born on December 31, 1924 in Frankfurt/Main. Her twin brother Karl Kleinberger was born on January 1, 1925.
Due to their mother's serious illness, the children were placed in orphanages. Ester lived in the Home 'Isenburg' from 1925 until 1928, later she moved to the Israelite Orphanage in Frankfurt/Main, where her older brother Saul also lived. Their mother dies in 1931.
Her twin brother Karl grew up with his great-uncle Ignatz and his wife Henriette Kleinberger in Frankfurt and attended the Philanthropin, the liberal Jewish school on Hebelstraße in Frankfurt. His sister Ester went to the orthodox Samson-Raphael-Hirsch-School.
The Kleinbergers came from a part of Bohemia that became Polish after the First World War. As part of the 'Polish Action' on October 29, 1938, Ignatz Kleinberger was deported to Poland. His wife followed him later. Karl and his older brother Saul Kleinberger were also supposed to be deported to Poland, but they were among those who were sent back to Frankfurt after a few days. Karl was sent to the Israelite Orphanage, where his sister lived. His brother Saul left Germany in 1939 and went to Italy, where their father had already fled.
After the November pogrom, Ester began training at a diet cooking school in preparation for emigration. In March 1940, she travelled to Trieste with a youth group. From there, they took a ship to Palestine. At first, the girls were housed in a religious children's home (Beth Zeroth-Misrachi), and later Ester received training as a paediatric nurse.
Her brother Karl was able to flee to Palestine in October 1940 via an adventurous route through the Balkans, thanks to an illegal rescue operation organized be Recha Freier. He never saw his foster parents again. They were murdered.
Stumblin stones at Bergerstraße 72 in Frankfurt commemorate the fate of Ignatz and Henriette Kleinberger.
Sources: Stadtarchiv Neu-Isenburg; Institute for City History Frankfurt am Main; Angelika u.a. (Hrsg.): Rettet wenigstens die Kinder – Kindertransporte aus Frankfurt am Main, 2018, S. 147 ff: Angelika Rieber: „Zagreb, 11.12.40 – Lieber Pappa und Bruder“, Karl Kleinberger, later Kalman Givon