Ludwig Reinheimer honors his father, Israel Reinheimer, who was born in Berfelden, Germany, in 1887. He worked as a butcher in Höchst im Odenwald and married Clara Geismer Reinheimer after his first wife died. The couple had two children, Hedy and Ludwig. The family’s life was turned upside down on November 9, 1938, when the Nazis destroyed Jewish synagogues, homes, and businesses during a night of violence known as Kristallnacht. Israel was beaten in front of his family and arrested. His wife, Clara, was able to secure his release, but the family knew that it was time to leave Germany. In 1939, the family left their home to move to the United States. They settled in Nashville, where Israel and his wife first began employment at the May Hosiery Mill. Israel eventually changed jobs and worked at the Jacobs Packing Company, where he butchered cattle. Ludwig Reinheimer remembers his father fondly, and noted that even though he was strict, he learned to respect his father’s ways as he grew older. Israel Reinheimer died in Nashville in 1964.
The Nashville Holocaust Memorial