Ernest Goodman Collection

Ernest Goodman was born Ernst Gutmann on June 19, 1910 in Strasbourg, France (then Germany), to Sigmund Gutmann (July 23, 1871-circa 1941), a textile salesman, and his wife Rose (sometimes spelled Rosa or Rosel), née Schild (April 26, 1887-circa 1941). Ernest worked as a sales apprentice and later salesman for buttons, costume jewelry, and accessories at Heinrich Wertheimer in Frankfurt am Main from 1926-1936.

In 1936, Ernest immigrated to the United States under the sponsorship of an uncle living in Greenwood, Missouri. He found work in Greenwood and later in New York City, where he eventually settled. Ernest married Ruth Mosse on May 31, 1940, and they had two children, Marion and Spencer. They later divorced, and Ernest married Carole Vad (otherwise spelled Karole, Karola, or Carola) in 1952.

From 1936 until 1941, Ernest tried to enable his parents to immigrate to the United States, but because of bureaucratic delays, his efforts were unsuccessful. His parents were taken to the Łódź ghetto in October of 1941 and were never heard from again.

Carole Vad (later Goodman) was born on December 27, 1909 to Andreas Peter Vad and his wife Therese, née Blumann. Carole survived National Socialist persecution by hiding in a doctor’s home and later in a hospital after she took medicine to purposely become ill. She later worked in cosmetics and as a secretary in Germany and New York.

Both Ernest and Carole applied for restitution from the German state. Ernest’s claims were mostly successful. Carole could only claim damages for the few months that she was hospitalized and not able to work. It is unclear whether her claims were successful in the end.

Carole died in May 1980, and Ernest died on September 10, 2001.