Dr. Fritz Stein and his brother Jakob were co-owners and chief executive officers of Basaltstein GmbH Schweinfurt, an enterprise that operated numerous basalt quarries and basalt works in the Rhön hills and in Switzerland. At the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s he used to spend the summer months in Bad Kissingen with his family.

Fritz Stein was born in Nordheim vor der Rhön on November 11, 1899 as the son of Adolf Stein and Henriette, née Isaak. His ancestors from his father’s side had been cattle dealers there and Fritz’ father Adolf had founded the firm “Leimbach & Co GmbH” together with Georg Leimbach in 1897 and established a basalt work in Nordheim. Each of them owned 50% of the firm. Leimbach was responsible for the technical side and Stein for the economic one. In 1904, they opened their second quarry at Sodenberg near Hammelburg with a basalt work in Morlesau and in 1905 they opened the basalt work in Fladungen with a quarry at the Pfeust. In 1911, they bought another basalt quarry in Oberriedenberg at Farnsberg and in 1914, they added the quarry at the Umpfen with the basalt work near Fischbach/ Rhön. In the 1920s, the Steins bought shares of a basalt work in Switzerland, the “Basaltwerk Buchs” near St. Gallen.

In 1925, Georg Leimbach left the firm after a payment had been agreed upon and Adolf Stein became the sole owner. Georg Leimbach’s son, Dipl. Ing. Hans Leimbach continued being the technical director of the firm that was renamed “Basaltstein GmbH Schweinfurt”. 

Fritz Stein grew up together with six siblings in a very prosperous entrepreneur’s family. In June 1903, the family had moved from Nordheim to Schweinfurt. There they lived in a stately three-story residential home in Schultestrasse that the Nazis later scorned as “Judenburg” (Jew’s castle). Fritz’ uncle Salomon also moved to Schweinfurt where he worked as the District Rabbi.

The works of Basaltstein GmbH were regarded as the most modern and efficient enterprises of their kind by consequently using the railroads for transport and cable railways for the transport between quarry and railway line. In the basalt works, there sometimes up to 300 workers were employed, which meant the first bigger industrialization in the Rhön which was a deprived area at that time. Because of his merits, Adolf Stein was awarded the title of an Honorary Citizen of his hometown Nordheim and the community of Oberriedenberg which caused him to make generous donations to them. For his merits, he was awarded the title “Kommerzienrat” (councilor of commerce). On September 21, 1932, Adolf Stein died in Schweinfurt after long suffering.

Fritz Stein had had an outstanding education. He had studied philology in Heidelberg and done a doctorate in economy at Munich University. In March 1928, he married the merchant’s daughter Ruth Margot Kantorowicz from Posen/ Poznan in Berlin. They had three sons: Ernst Wolfgang (1929). Heinz Thomas (1931) and Uriel Adolf Michael (1935).

Few months after the wedding, the young couple moved to Bad Kissingen in May 1928 and lived there in “Villa Julia” in Schönbornstrasse 28 till the middle of October when they returned to Schweinfurt. In August 1929, their first son Ernst Wolfgang was born in Schweinfurt. The family also spent the summer months of 1930 and 1931 (from May till September or August respectively) in the spa town again. The reasons for this stay are not known. In the registration files is only to be found that Fritz Stein lived with his wife and child in Bad Kissingen but went to work in Schweinfurt every day.

Since Autumn 1931, the family lived in Schweinfurt again for the whole year. The younger sons Heinz Thomas and Uriel Adolf Michael were born there. After Adolf Stein’s death in 1932, Fritz and his brother Jakob took on the management of the business. Max Stein, their younger brother, was a lawyer and represented the firm as a company lawyer.

It is no wonder that the Nazis were critical of the wealth of this Jewish family. Dr. Max Stein, a convinced Zionist, and his sister Klara emigrated to Palestine in 1933 because of that. The brothers Fritz and Jakob who didn’t want to give up their flourishing enterprise, believed to be good German citizens and didn’t think that the situation could become dangerous for them as they had been soldiers in World War I, soon became targets of Nazi attacks, the aim of which was to “transfer the Jewish shares (of the firm) into Christian hands” (Alfred Saam, Das Basaltwerk Oberriedenberg).

As early as in July 1933, the Stein brothers, their manager and valet were taken into “Schutzhaft” (protective custody). They were accused of “discrediting the measures taken by a representative of the highest SA leadership by means of untrue machinations … and spreading false rumors” (Ibid.). These measures seem to have met with disbelief in the Schweinfurt population as they had been decent Jews who were socially minded and even founded a pension fund for their employees in 1928. They were always willing to listen to the little man who worked in the quarries” (Ibid.).

In the following years, the National Socialists tried to deprive the basalt works owned by Jews of their basis of existence by stopping orders from the state and demanding of the banks not to give credits to these businesses. Because of that, the Steins were forced in 1935 to sell their shares of the basalt work of Billstein to a non-Jewish owner and also had to sell the basalt work of Umpfen near Kaltennordheim to Hammermühle Bischofsheim whose owners were the Fichtel family of “Fichtel & Sachs” in Schweinfurt.

Dr. Fritz Stein was not only known as an entrepreneur, he also committed himself to the “Zionist Local Group of Schweinfurt” which he founded in 1933 and directed as a chairman till 1936. His wife Ruth Margot taught Jewish young people in the rooms of the Cultural Community.

In 1936, the complete expulsion of the Stein brothers of their firm was accomplished by means of the Aryanisation policy of the Nazi Authorities. According to Gestapo files, they had driven to Lindau in their car in April 1936 in order to travel to Switzerland from there and visit the basalt work in Buchs they were shareholders of. It was insinuated they had wangled currencies and they were arrested and interviewed because of that. They lost their power of representation. In May, Fritz Stein moved to Hamburg with his family because of that. The Gestapo couldn’t find any fault with what Fritz and his brother had done in spite of their trying hard, as Gestapo files of 1938 prove: “Proceedings against Dr. Fritz and Jakob Stein because of fraud at the prosecutor general in Schweinfurt have been discontinued on November 30, 1937. There are neither criminal records concerning politics nor criminal offenses known. As the Jew Stein succeeded in staying free of offenses in Germany, he was, nevertheless, much more dangerous to the German Reich because of his treacherous conduct than a great part of his comrades of the same race. By his affinity to “Reichsbanner” (Reichsbanner “Schwarz-Rot-Gold” (Black-Red-Gold Banner of the Realm= umbrella organizational flag for all Social Democratic dominated paramilitary forces during the Weimar Republic). This combat association had the aim to defend Weimar Republic against its enemies from the right and left.) he has unequivocally proved his attitude as an enemy of the state. Surely, it can also be assumed that in the course of his activities in the area of economy he has abducted big financial assets to foreign countries during his business with his branches in Switzerland. Therefore, Stein is to be regarded as a “Volksschädling” (pest of his people) who is no longer worthy of being a German citizen” (Ibid.). The Stein brothers were open-minded for demands of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) and the unions and also sympathized with “Reichsbanner”. 

In the following years, the National Socialists tried to deprive the basalt works owned by Jews of their basis of existence by stopping orders from the state and demanding of the banks not to give credits to these businesses. Because of that, the Steins were forced in 1935 to sell their shares of the basalt work of Billstein to a non-Jewish owner and also had to sell the basalt work of Umpfen near Kaltennordheim to Hammermühle Bischofsheim whose owners were the Fichtel family of “Fichtel & Sachs” in Schweinfurt.

Dr. Fritz Stein was not only known as an entrepreneur, he also committed himself to the “Zionist Local Group of Schweinfurt” which he founded in 1933 and directed as a chairman till 1936. His wife Ruth Margot taught Jewish young people in the rooms of the Cultural Community.

In 1936, the complete expulsion of the Stein brothers of their firm was accomplished by means of the Aryanisation policy of the Nazi Authorities. According to Gestapo files, they had driven to Lindau in their car in April 1936 in order to travel to Switzerland from there and visit the basalt work in Buchs they were shareholders of. It was insinuated they had wangled currencies and they were arrested and interviewed because of that. They lost their power of representation. In May, Fritz Stein moved to Hamburg with his family because of that. Peter Heß, the brother of the “stellvertretender Führer” (deputy of the Führer) Rudolf Heß, became the trustee of the firm. The Gestapo couldn’t find any fault with what Fritz and his brother had done in spite of their trying hard, as Gestapo files of 1938 prove: “Proceedings against Dr. Fritz and Jakob Stein because of fraud at the prosecutor general in Schweinfurt have been discontinued on November 30, 1937. There are neither criminal records concerning politics nor criminal offenses known. As the Jew Stein succeeded in staying free of offenses in Germany, he was, nevertheless, much more dangerous to the German Reich because of his treacherous conduct than a great part of his comrades of the same race. By his affinity to “Reichsbanner” (Reichsbanner “Schwarz-Rot-Gold” (Black-Red-Gold Banner of the Realm= umbrella organizational flag for all Social Democratic dominated paramilitary forces during the Weimar Republic). This combat association had the aim to defend Weimar Republic against its enemies from the right and left.) he has unequivocally proved his attitude as an enemy of the state. Surely, it can also be assumed that in the course of his activities in the area of economy he has abducted big financial assets to foreign countries during his business with his branches in Switzerland. Therefore, Stein is to be regarded as a “Volksschädling” (pest of his people) who is no longer worthy of being a German citizen” (Ibid.).

The Gestapo (secret police of the state) tried with all means – even though in vain – to prove that the Stein brothers had committed punishable acts. Not even a membership in SPD and “Reichsbanner” respectively could be proved. Because of that, all attempts of divesting the Stein brothers of their German citizenship remained unsuccessful for a long time. As late as in May 1940, Fritz Stein, his wife and his three children were divested of their German citizenship and their fortune was seized. 

After Fritz and Jakob Stein lost their power of representation for Basaltstein GmbH, the Stein family moved to Hamburg in May 1936, where Fritz had found a job and the situation seemed less dangerous than in Schweinfurt. Fritz and his wife disagreed where they should go in the long term. Fritz, who was a convinced Zionist, would have liked to emigrate to Palestine, where two younger siblings had already emigrated in 1931. He toyed with the idea of setting up an industrial company on the Dead Sea. Ruth, on the other hand, found life in Palestine less attractive for a woman. And so they visited Palestine in 1936 to get a first-hand impression. They then decided against emigrating to Palestine and emigrated to Amsterdam in September 1937. There, Ruth's uncle Meno Lissauer owned a company ("Metals and Minerals Association") that imported/exported metals and minerals, where Fritz Stein found employment. Over the next few years, the Stein family lived in quite secure financial circumstances, and in the summer months they even spent family vacations together on the North Sea coast in Zandvoort.

In December 1937, Fritz’ brother Jakob managed to escape to St. Louis in the United States via St. Gallen in Switzerland.

The supposed safety of the Jewish emigrants in the Netherlands proved to be deceptive, and Fritz Stein and his family were once again exposed to persecution by the National Socialists after the German invasion. When the German Wehrmacht invaded Holland on May 10, 1940, it became clear how differently Fritz Stein and his wife reacted in such exceptional situations. The Dutch authorities had imposed a curfew on all Germans and Fritz Stein, who was always law-abiding and compliant, hesitated to do anything. Ruth, on the other hand, considered it necessary to flee to England immediately. On May 13 or 14, Ruth finally convinced her husband Fritz to flee from their apartment to the coast and take a ferry to England. They had organized a car and the closer they got to the coast, the more intense the bombing by German planes became. When a roadblock a few kilometers from the coast made it impossible to continue their journey, they tried to reach the ferry with their children on foot. However, Dutch soldiers finally made it clear to them that their attempts were outright suicide in the face of the German bombardment. As a result, they returned to their apartment in Amsterdam on May 15, the day of the Dutch surrender(USC Shoa Foundation, Visual History Archive, interview with Heinz Thomas Stein).

At first, life seemed to go on as normal, but with the German occupation came a constant stream of new restrictions and bans for Jewish citizens: they had to wear the Jewish star in public, were no longer allowed to visit public parks, had to hand in their bicycles, cars and radios and were no longer allowed to use public transport. And between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., Jews were also banned from going out. Their two older sons had to leave public school and go to a Jewish school. According to Heinz Thomas, Anne Frank also attended this school and was in his older brother Wolfgang's class. Gradually, more and more Jewish acquaintances disappeared, either because they went into hiding with the help of the Dutch underground organization or because they were picked up and deported by the Germans.

The Stein family were able to stay in their home until mid-1943, as they were one of the few Jewish families to be spared deportation up to this point. However, as the German raids became more frequent, the pressure on the parents to do something grew. Once again, Fritz and his wife had different opinions. Fritz Stein, always used to behaving in accordance with the law, actually considered volunteering for "one of the better" camps, under the illusion that he and his family would be spared and treated better there because of his merits and decorations as a front-line fighter in the First World War. Ruth objected vehemently and said that he was no longer in his right mind. Fritz Stein believed that his plan would keep the family together, which was his top priority, but Ruth replied that surviving was more important than staying together (ibid.).

In the summer of 1943, they were warned by an acquaintance in the middle of the night. He said they had to leave the house immediately, otherwise they would be arrested the next day. They managed to leave their house unnoticed and go into hiding for a few days in the former offices of the company where Fritz had worked. As they were likely to be picked up every day, Dutch helpers took them to a second apartment, where they stayed until September. Fritz Stein was finally dissuaded by his wife and also by the Dutch helpers of the underground movement from his absurd idea of voluntarily going into a camp and agreed to split up the family.
 

Their three children were gradually taken into hiding in the countryside by members of the Dutch underground movement: Their youngest son Michael came to live with a Christian family in Nijmwegen and survived the war there, their second son Heinz Thomas found shelter with a Catholic farming family in Swolgen near Limburg in southern Holland. (He describes his spectacular survival story in the above-mentioned Shoa Foundation interview). Their eldest son Ernst Wolfgang was hidden by the helpers in East Holland, most recently in Sassenheim. He was betrayed there, captured in February 1944 and deported to Bergen-Belsen via the Westerbork collection camp, where his parents had also been deported to (more details in his short biography and in his Shoa interview).

Fritz Stein, his wife and his son survived the terrible camp conditions. When British troops approached the concentration camp in the last weeks of the war, about 6,800 prisoners were selected for being transported to Theresienstadt on three transport trains. The last of those three trains, the so-called “Lost Train” or “Train of the Lost Ones”, however, didn’t reach its destination and ended up in Tröbitz in Brandenburg after an odyssey through still un-occupied Germany. During the journey, 198 people died: Some were killed by machinegun fire and bombs from low-flying planes, others died of diseases and hunger. Underway, an epidemic of spot typhus had broken out because of the terrible hygienic conditions, which was a death sentence for many of the weakened prisoners. The train had to stop again and again in order to unload the dead bodies and inter them next to the railway line. On April 20 or 21, 1945 respectively, the train arrived at Tröbitz between Torgau and Cottbus. The bridge crossing the Elster had been blown up, which caused the train to stop. On the morning of April 23, 1945, soldiers of the Red Army freed the surviving passengers who were lying among the dead bodies in many of the wagons. For the Steins it meant salvage, 320 other prisoners, however, were beyond help. They died in the following weeks from the effects of the typhus epidemic and the transport (See: Wikipedia article “Verlorener Zug” hinted at by H.-J. Beck).

The Steins were able to return to the Netherlands on June 22, 1945. They had survived, but were completely exhausted, in poor health and traumatized. Ernst Wolfgang, who was suffering from tuberculosis, was initially admitted to a clinic and Fritz and his wife were taken to a farm by the Red Cross to regain their strength. It was not until the fall of 1945 that they were able to move back into their own apartment in Amsterdam. Their son Heinz Thomas (Tom), who had survived in hiding in the south of the Netherlands, now lived with them again. After British troops moved in, he made his way to Eindhoven in February 1945, was then briefly accommodated in a DP camp and later with a Jewish family that his parents knew.  Fritz's youngest son Michael, who had survived with his Christian foster parents near Nijmwegen and had been raised as a Christian, initially stayed with his foster parents before he too returned to the family. He no longer recognized his parents when they returned to Holland, so the transition was not easy for him.

The entire Stein family survived the Nazi era under dramatic circumstances and Ruth's younger sister Lieselotte, who had emigrated to the USA, was also able to escape the Nazi terror. She became a famous violinist and later married the violinist Jakob Glick. After the war, the whole family reunited in Amsterdam. There are beautiful photos in Ruth Stein-Kantorowicz's estate that show her sister Lilo and her three children making music in their Amsterdam apartment.

According to his son Heinz Thomas, Fritz Stein's health never really recovered from the consequences of camp life. From Amsterdam, Dr. Fritz Stein tried to get compensation from the successor companies in Germany. For the basalt work in Billstein he got 30,000 DM compensation by the firm “Franz Carl Nüdling”. For the basalt work Sodenberg he got 75,000 DM by Hans Leimbach (Wikipedia article “Leimbach & Co). He died in Lugano on December 30, 1956 at the age of 57. His wife Ruth outlived him by nearly four decades and died in Jerusalem in October 1993.

His eldest son Ernst Wolfgang suffered throughout his life from his traumatic experiences during the Nazi era and in particular his impressions of Bergen-Belsen. He died in March 2020. Heinz Thomas Stein emigrated to the United States in 1949. He was about to turn 18 at the time and wanted to avoid being drafted into the Dutch army and thus running the risk of being drafted as a soldier in the Dutch war to reconquer the East Indian colonies. In the 1950s, he moved to San Francisco, where he became a psychiatrist. He died there in October 2014 (Information on the members of the family by “Joods Cultureel Kwartier”). Michael, the youngest member of the family, later became a journalist and was an extremely committed Middle East correspondent of „NRC Handelsblad“; he died in Amsterdam in June 2009.

(Obituary by Steve Winter, NRC Handelsblad/

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