Hirschberg-Goldmann Family Addenda

Harry Hirschberg was born in Breslau (today Wrocław, Poland) on July 6, 1899, the son of Moritz and Rosalie (née Dienstfertig) Hirschberg and came from a family that had lived for two hundred years in the Breslau region. His father died when he was only six years old. He studied medicine at the University of Breslau, with a pause in his studies while he served in World War I as a military doctor. During the war he was injured with a gunshot to his ankle. In 1924 he completed his medical studies at the university and then began residency training in neurology and psychiatry.

In 1928 Harry Hirschberg married Leonore Goldmann, born July 27, 1906 to Siegfried and Käthe (née Böhm) Goldmann in the town of Hindenburg (today Zabrze, Poland), south of Breslau. Siegfried Goldmann had a wholesale coal business and the Goldmanns had moved to Breslau after World War I. In 1933 Harry and Leonore had a son, Dieter Jochen Hubertus, followed later by a daughter, Daisy.

By the time his son was born Harry Hirschberg had established a private practice in neuropsychiatry in Breslau. From April 1930 until August 1938 he was a consultant at both the Jewish hospital in Breslau for neurology and psychiatry as well as a consultant at the Groß-Breesen Jewish training school for emigration. The family attended the orthodox "Zum weißen Storch" synagogue in Breslau. Both Harry and Leonore were avid horse riders, and Harry Hirschberg was active both in a local riding club and his university fraternity.

In September 1938 Harry Hirschberg and Siegfried Goldmann went to England and the United States, where Harry had distant relatives, to explore possibilities for the family to emigrate. While Harry was in New York City stricter regulations for Jewish doctors in Germany went into effect, and Leonore Hirschberg forbade her husband to return to Germany. Since his visitor's visa was expiring he went to Havana, Cuba to wait for the rest of the family while Siegfried Goldmann returned to Breslau to assist his daughter and grandchildren in emigrating. After a month's travel via Hamburg and Lisbon, on March 16, 1939 Leonore arrived in Havana with Dieter, her infant daughter Daisy, and the family's dog, a collie.

In August 1940 the Hirschberg family arrived in the United States; by the following November Harry Hirschberg found a position as psychiatrist at Marcy State Hospital in the town of Marcy, New York, near Utica. After their immigration, the family surname was changed to Harter, with Dieter becoming Donald, Daisy becoming Dorothy, and Leonore becoming Leonor.

Siegfried and Käthe Goldmann were never able to leave Breslau and in 1942 were deported to the Lublin region, possibly to Izbica, where they were killed.

In July 1947 Harry Harter took a position in Brooklyn, New York, where he worked for the Veterans' Administration as assistant, and later chief, of neurology. Following this position he worked for hospitals in Queens and Long Island, New York in neuropsychiatry and neurology. He also authored a number of articles on topics related to his work, including several articles on juvenile disposition and diseases, including encephalitis, as well as later works relating to the mental health of military servicemen or articles on specific treatments, among various topics. Harry Harter died in 1957.

Harry and Leonor Harter's son, Donald, also became a neurologist. In 1989 he returned to Wrocław to learn more about his birthplace and his family's history there. In later years he researched his family's genealogy and tried to discover more about the fate of his grandparents, Siegfried and Käthe Goldmann.