In 1938, German youths attacked Rabbi Laupheimer and cut off his beard while he was walking in the streets of Bad Ems. As antisemitic incidents escalated in the city, members of the Jewish community collected all the Torah scrolls, and the Laupheimers safeguarded them until they were sent to Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine).
During the November Pogrom ("Kristallnacht"), hooligans entered the Laupheimer family home. They vandalized the rooms, smashed the furniture and threw Eliyahu's best suit, which he only wore on special occasions, into the filthy coal cellar. While the rabble ransacked the house, Shulamit and the children hid in the kitchen. After the vandals left, Eliyahu's daughter, Chana, went down into the cellar and retrieved the suit.
In the dead of night, the Laupheimers fled to the train station with just a few clothes, including the expensive suit, and a small Torah scroll that Eliyahu hid on his person. The family reached Frankfurt, where they stayed with friends. Several days later, on Friday night, Eliyahu was caught and taken to the Dachau concentration camp. The children were sent to the Netherlands, where they lived in an orphanage in Deventer while their mother remained alone in Bad Ems, hoping to secure the release of her husband from the camp. Eliyahu was eventually released, thanks to a sum of money paid by Charlotte's sisters in the Netherlands, and the "Certificates" (immigration permits to Eretz Israel) that were obtained for the family. After his release, the family was reunited in Marseille in 1939, and immigrated to Eretz Israel, settling in Jerusalem. Chana donated her father's suit, a reminder of the terrifying events of the November Pogrom, to the Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Courtesy of Tammy Shoshani, Tel Aviv
Reserve your Visit
Online Store
Support Us
![Rabbi Laupheimer's suit, which was thrown into the coal cellar during the November Pogrom ("Kristallnacht").](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/17308_1_A.jpg "Rabbi Laupheimer's suit, which was thrown into the coal cellar during the November Pogrom ("Kristallnacht").")
