Kurt and Grete Goldsmith Family Collection

Kurt Goldsmith (Goldschmidt) was born in Stolzenau, Germany on January 9th, 1901 to Leo and Dina Goldschmidt, née Levy. He was the oldest of five siblings: Grete (married Rosenstein and Weinberg), Anni (married Meth and Josephs), Max, and Lore (married Streat). Leo and Dina operated a small dry-goods shop in Stolzenau, and later in Hohenbostel. Dina Goldschmidt died in 1919, and in 1921 Leo Goldschmidt married Irma (Jenny) Appel. Irma was a nurse during World War I and served on the Western Front. She was considered a beloved stepmother to the children and remained an integral part of the family even after Leo’s death in 1936.

In 1931, Kurt married Margarete (Grete) Lendt, born on October 1st, 1904. Her parents Georg and Mathilde, née Dahlberg, owned a large department store in Göppingen, which they were forced to sell after financial and material damages sustained during the Kristallnacht in 1938. During the night of November 9th to 10th, 1938, the Lendt department store was attacked by SA-Obersturmbannführer Otto Schraag, who tore his way through the store and into the private living quarters of the family. Grete, who by then was living with Kurt in Cologne, was visiting her parents that day and witnessed these horrible events take place. Grete also had a sister, Gertud (Trude) Rohrbacher, with whom she was very close and frequently corresponded. Mathilde passed away in 1940 from cancer and Georg Lendt was murdered in Mauthausen concentration camp on August 24, 1942.

Kurt and Grete fled Germany in 1939 with their six-year-old son, Hans Stefan (later known as Steven James). They first fled to England, and after several months they were able to continue their journey to the United States. Kurt and his family finally settled in New York City, specifically in the Washington Heights neighborhood. Kurt opened a successful photography studio in their apartment, while Grete worked as a cleaner, and later in sales at the Gimbels department store. They were members of Congregation Beth Hillel, and Kurt was active with the Leo Baeck Lodge of B'nai Brith. After Grete’s death in 1972, Kurt married Thea Berliner, née Hirschfeld. Kurt died on August 12th, 1994.

Steven James grew up in Washington Heights and attended local public schools. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and then a law degree from Columbia University. In 1965, he married Judith Svirsky and soon after moved to White Plains, NY. Steven practiced as a labor lawyer, and later as a labor arbitrator. He died on June 28, 2016 in Mount Vernon, NY.