The Baer Siblings in Baltimore

Posted on by

By 1940, six of the eight children of Therese Spier and Eisenmann Adolf Baer were safely living in the United States; the other two, Julius (Jules) and Arthur were also out of Germany—Arthur and his family in England, Julius and his family in France and then Switzerland. Today I will focus on the five who ended up in Baltimore before the US entered World War II: Paula, Meyer (Manfred/Fred), Klara, and Eugen.

Paula Baer and her husband Julius Steinberg and their son Kurt were living with two lodgers in Baltimore in 1940; Julius was working as a butcher, and Kurt, now nineteen, was a tailor in a clothing facility.1 When he registered for the draft in 1942, Julius listed Herman Fuld, Klara Baer’s husband, as the person who would always know where he was. Kurt also listed Herman Fuld that way on his draft registration; he was working for Haas Tailoring Company in 1942.

Julius Steinberg World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the State of Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Series Number: M1939, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

Kurt Steinberg World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Maryland, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 500, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

In 1950 the family was still in Baltimore, and Julius was retired. Kurt was still living with his parents and working as a tailor in a cleaning establishment.2 But later that year on July 30, 1950, Kurt married Lottie Ladenburger in Pittsgrove Township, New Jersey.3 Lottie was the daughter of Arthur Ladenburger and Johanna Seldner and was born in Ittlingen, Germany, on December 22, 1922. Like her husband Kurt, she was a refugee from Nazi Germany and had arrived with her family in 1937.4 Kurt and Lottie did not have any children.

“Lottie Ladenburger to Become Bride at Norma Rites,” Vineland (NJ) Times Journal, July 28, 1950, p. 3

Julius Steinberg died the following year on March 14, 1951, at the age of 67.5 Paula died eighteen years later on January 19, 1969, at the age of 75.6  Their son Kurt died on March 15, 1996,7 and his wife Lottie died on July 25, 2018.8

Paula’s brother Meyer/Manfred Baer, who was known as Fred in the United States, was living with his wife Friedel (Frieda) and son Erich (Eric) in Baltimore in 1940. Fred was working as a fruit salesman.9 According to his 1942 draft registration, he was self-employed. In 1946 when Eric registered for the draft, he was a student at Baltimore City College. They were still in Baltimore in 1950, Eric now 21, and Fred still in the produce business.10

Meyer Manfred Baer World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the State of Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Series Number: M1939, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

Eric Adolph Baer World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Maryland, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 16, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

Eric was engaged to Judith Hoffman in January 1953. Eric had graduated from the University of Maryland by that time. They married on September 21, 1953.11  Judith, the daughter of Harold Hoffman and Selma Marens, was born on November 20, 1932, in Washington, DC.12 Eric and Judith had two children together. Eric later married Hanna Mannheim, who was born in Germany on December 27, 1934. She lived in South Africa and England before immigrating to the US with her mother Grete and sister Susan after the war. Like Eric, she had been previously married and had two children from that marriage.13

Eric’s mother Friedel died on October 25, 1961,14 and his father Fred Baer remarried a woman named Frieda Hellmann. I cannot find a marriage record for Fred’s second marriage, but both his obituary and her obituary are evidence that he married Frieda Hellmann Graf, who was born in Gunzenhausen, Germany, on July 5, 1904, daughter of Albert Hellmann and Fanny Brandeis. Her first husband Julius Graf died in 1953. 15

According to his obituary, Fred Baer had been a butcher, a scrap iron dealer, and a produce dealer; he was known for founding Chevra Ahavas Chesed, a burial society and charitable organization, and another organization called Holiday Services, Inc., which provided a synagogue where poor German Jews could worship. Fred died on March 15, 1985, at the age of 88.16

Eric Baer died on March 10, 2014.17 His wife Hanna had predeceased him in 2008.18 He was survived by his two children, two stepchildren, and grandchildren.

The third Baer sibling to settle in Baltimore was Klara (Clara) Baer, along with her husband Hermann (Herman) Fuld, and their daughter, who may still be living. In 1940 Hermann was working as an office clerk in a chemical factory.19 His 1942 draft registration reveals that he was working for Fuld Brothers, the company owned by his uncle and first cousins.

Herman Fuld World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Maryland, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 177, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

But sadly Klara Baer Fuld, the youngest of the eight Baer siblings, died on December 18, 1944, when she was only 35 years old.20 Her daughter was only thirteen at the time. Hermann remarried sometime before the 1950 census was enumerated; his second wife, Ursula, was born in Germany on September 15, 1914. I have not been able to learn more about her background nor can I find a marriage record for Ursula and Hermann.21

But in 1950, Hermann, his second wife Ursula, and his daughter were living together in Baltimore, and Hermann continued to work as a clerk for the chemical factory.22 Hermann died June 20,1965, at the age of 64.23

Finally, the fifth Baer sibling to settle in Baltimore was Eugen Baer with his wife Hedwig and son Adolf “Eddie” Baer. We have seen that they arrived very late in 1939. Initially, they lived in New York City. The 1940 census shows them living with Hedwig’s sister Flora and her family, and Eugen was working as a butcher.24 But by February 1942 when Eugen registered for the draft, the family was living in Baltimore. By 1950 he was the owner of a women’s clothing store in Baltimore.25 We saw that Eugen (later spelled Eugene in the US) continued to pursue compensation for all the losses he suffered at the hands of the Nazis before finally getting to the US in December 1939.

Eugen Baer World War II draft registration, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Maryland, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 16, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

Their son Adolph “Eddie” or “Ed” Baer married Hannah Baer in New York City in 1961.26 Hannah was not related to this Baer family; she is the daughter of Herbert Baer and Erna Bauer and born in Germany and may still be living. Ed and Hannah had three children. Ed became a pharmacist after graduating from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.27

Eugen Baer died on March 20, 1965, at the age of 66.28 Hedwig survived hm by a little more than ten years, dying on June 2, 1976, at 71.29 They were survived by their son Adolph “Ed” Baer, who died on September 6, 2020, at the age of ninety.30

But Eugen, Hedwig, and their son Ed are survived by a large family of children and grandchildren. This article in the December 7, 2022, issue of JMore, the Baltimore Jewish newspaper, described the family’s trip back to Griedel in 2022 when the town decided to honor Ed by naming a street for him. The article reported that Ed and Hannah made regular trips back to Griedel starting in 1977 and reveals more about the Baer family’s life during the Nazi era. It also includes a photograph of the fifteen family members who made the trip to Griedel.

After all the Baltimore Baer siblings endured, especially Eugen and his family and their last-minute escape from Nazi Germany, reading this article gave me hope. First, it shows that despite it all, Eugen Baer and his siblings, and all their children, and grandchildren survived and are remembered and honored even in the town that once destroyed their homes and persecuted them. Secondly, it shows that there can be forgiveness and hope for a better world despite the ugliness and hatred of the past.

 

 

 

 

  1. Julius Steinberg and family, 1940 US Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland; Roll: m-t0627-01523; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 4-374, Ancestry.com. ↩
  2. Julius Steinberg and family, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; Roll: 4572; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 4-832, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  3. Kurt Steinberg, Gender Male, Marriage Date Jul 1950, Marriage Place Pittsgrove Township, Salem, New Jersey, USA, Spouse Lottie Ladenburger, Certificate Number
    24152, New Jersey State Archives; Trenton, New Jersey; Marriage Indexes; Index Type: Bride; Year Range: 1950; Surname Range: L – Z, Ancestry.com. New Jersey, U.S., Marriage Index, 1901-2016 ↩
  4. Lottie Ladenburger, Gender Female, Race White, Declaration Age 19, Record Type Naturalization Declaration, Birth Date 22 Dec 1922, Birth Place Ittlingen, Germany, Departure Place, Bremen, Germany, Arrival Date 11 Sep 1937, Arrival Place, New York, New York, USA, Declaration Date 23 Apr 1942, Declaration Place
    New York,  Court, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Declaration Number, 519925, Box Number 395, The National Archives at Philadelphia; Philadelphia, PA; NAI Title: Declarations of Intention For Citizenship, 1/19/1842 – 10/29/1959; NAI Number: 4713410; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943 ↩
  5. Julius Steinberg death notice, The Baltimore Evening Sun, March 15, 1951, p. 52; Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35865533/julius-steinberg: accessed 23 Oct 2026), memorial page for Julius Steinberg (1884–14 Mar 1951), Find a Grave Memorial ID 35865533, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Rosedale, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by LAC (contributor 50276438). ↩
  6. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35865533/julius-steinberg: accessed 23 Oct 2026), memorial page for Julius Steinberg (1884–14 Mar 1951), Find a Grave Memorial ID 35865533, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Rosedale, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by LAC (contributor 50276438); Baltimore Sun, January 21, 1969, p. 34. ↩
  7. Kurt Steinberg, Gender Male, Race White, Birth Date 26 Nov 1920, Birth Place
    Camberg Taun, Federal Republic of Germany,  Death Date 15 Mar 1996, Father
    Julius Steinberg, Mother Paula Baer, SSN 212122078, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  8. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/192110694/lottie-steinberg: accessed 23 Oct 2026), memorial page for Lottie Ladenburger Steinberg (22 Dec 1922–25 Jul 2018), Find a Grave Memorial ID 192110694, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Randallstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Linda Rice Sutphin (contributor 47294770). ↩
  9. Fred Baer and family, 1940 US Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland; Roll: m-t0627-01522; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 4-352, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  10. Fred Baer and family, 1950 US Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; Roll: 165; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 4-655, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  11. Eric A Baer, Gender Male, Marriage Date, 21 Sep 1953, Marriage Place
    Washington, District of Columbia, USA, Spouse Judith J Hoffman, DC Public Library; Washington, DC; District of Columbia Marriage Bureau Listing, 1921-2000, Ancestry.com. Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Marriage Bureau Listings, 1921-1990; “Miss Hoffman Engaged,” The Baltimore Sun, January 25, 1953, p. 90. ↩
  12. Judith Joan Hoffman, [Judith Joan Baer] [Judith Kamber], Gender Female, Race White, Birth Date 20 Nov 1932, Birth Place Washington, District of Columbia
    Death Date, Mar 1981, Father Harold L Hoffman, Mother Selma Marens, SSN
    578421771, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
  13. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48904348/hanna-baer: accessed 26 Oct 2026), memorial page for Hanna Mannheim Baer (27 Dec 1934–25 Oct 2008), Find a Grave Memorial ID 48904348, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Randallstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Lauren A. Hubberman Cohen (contributor 49135178); Hanna Mannheim, ship manifest, The National Archives in Washington, DC; London, England, UK; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors: Inwards Passenger Lists; Class: Bt26; Piece: 1254; Item: 27, UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960, Ancestry.com; Hanna Mannheim, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: New York, Kings, New York; Roll: 1639; Page: 75; Enumeration District: 24-140, Enumeration District: 24-140; Description: Brooklyn borough – That part of Assembly District 2 (Tract 754 – part) Bounded by Ave. K; E. 27th; Ave. L; E. 23rd; This Enumeration District consists of the following blocks: 1, 2, 3, 4, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  14. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35818614/friedel-baer: accessed 26 Oct 2026), memorial page for Friedel Baer (1900–25 Oct 1961), Find a Grave Memorial ID 35818614, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Randallstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Lauren A. Hubberman Cohen (contributor 49135178). ↩
  15.   Death notice for Fred Baer, Baltimore Sun, March 16, 1985, p, 8; Frieda Hellmann, Birth Date 05 Jul 1904, Birth Place Gunzenhausen, Bayern (Bavaria), Deutschland (Germany), Father Albert Hellmann, Mother Fanny Brandeis, Ancestry.com. Ansbach, Germany, Lutheran Parish Register Extracts, 1526-1940; “Fred Baer, Founder of Charities,” Baltimore Sun, March 17, 1985, p. 26; Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/239280850/frieda_graf-baer: accessed 26 Oct 2026), memorial page for Frieda Graf Baer (1904–1994), Find a Grave Memorial ID 239280850, citing Beth-El Cemetery, Paramus, Bergen County, New Jersey, USA; Maintained by dalya d (contributor 46972551). ↩
  16. “Fred Baer, Founder of Charities,” Baltimore Sun, March 17, 1985, p. 26; Fred Baer, Social Security Number 214-12-4696, Birth Date 8 Nov 1896, Issue year
    Before 1951, Issue State Maryland, Last Residence 21215, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA, Last Benefit 21215, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA
    Death Date, Mar 1985, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 ↩
  17. Sun, The (Baltimore, Maryland) 13 March 2014, obit for ERIC “JOE” BAER, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/14C86C44EB0974C0-14C86C44EB0974C0 : accessed 26 October 2026) ↩
  18. Death notice, South Florida Sun Sentinel, October 27, 2008, p. 37; Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48904348/hanna-baer: accessed 26 Oct 2026), memorial page for Hanna Mannheim Baer (27 Dec 1934–25 Oct 2008), Find a Grave Memorial ID 48904348, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Randallstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Lauren A. Hubberman Cohen (contributor 49135178). ↩
  19. Herman Fuld and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland; Roll: m-t0627-01523; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 4-374, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  20. Death notice, Baltimore Sun, December 19, 1944, p. 17; Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35825264/clara-fuld: accessed 26 Oct 2026), memorial page for Clara Fuld (1909–18 Dec 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 35825264, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Rosedale, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by LAC (contributor 50276438). ↩
  21. Ursula Fuld, Gender Female, Birth Date 15 Sep 1914, Death Date 20 May 1992
    Claim Date 8 Jul 1976, SSN 119249283, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007; Herman Fuld and family, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; Roll: 166; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 4-688, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  22. See Note 21, supra. ↩
  23. Herman Fuld, Social Security Number, 212-03-3763, Birth Date 19 Jan 1901,
    Issue year Before 1951, Issue State Maryland, Last Residence 21215, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA, Death Date Jun 1965, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014; Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/72172396/herman-fuld: accessed 26 Oct 2026), memorial page for Herman Fuld (19 Jan 1901–20 Jun 1965), Find a Grave Memorial ID 72172396, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Rosedale, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Beth Painter (contributor 47022293). ↩
  24. Eugen Baer and family, 1940 US census, Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02670; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 31-1890, Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census ↩
  25. Eugen Baer and family, 1950 US census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; Roll: 166; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 4-720, Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census ↩
  26. Adolph Baer, Gender Male, Marriage License Date 1961, Marriage License Place, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, Spouse Hannah Baer, License Number 18527, New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan, Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018; Herbert Baer, Declaration of Intention, The National Archives at Philadelphia; Philadelphia, PA; NAI Title: Declarations of Intention For Citizenship, 1/19/1842 – 10/29/1959; NAI Number: 4713410; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, (Roll 541) Declarations of Intention For Citizenship, 1842-1959 (No 419501-420500), Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943 ↩
  27. See his obituary at https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/obituaries/story-obituaries-2020-09-07-adolph-ed-baer-90-43661137 ↩
  28. Eugene Baer, Social Security Number 091-16-6194, Birth Date 13 Jul 1898,
    Issue year Before 1951, Issue State New York, Last Residence 21207, Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Death Date Mar 1965, Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35818599/eugene-baer: accessed 26 Oct 2026), memorial page for Eugene Baer (1898–20 Mar 1965), Find a Grave Memorial ID 35818599, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Randallstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Lauren A. Hubberman Cohen (contributor 49135178); “Eugene Baer,” The Baltimore Sun, March 22, 1965, p. 12. ↩
  29. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35818621/hedwig-baer: accessed 26 Oct 2026), memorial page for Hedwig Samuel Baer (1905–2 Jun 1976), Find a Grave Memorial ID 35818621, citing Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Randallstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Lauren A. Hubberman Cohen (contributor 49135178).; ↩
  30. See his obituary at https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/obituaries/story-obituaries-2020-09-07-adolph-ed-baer-90-43661137. ↩

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.