string quartet Wuppertal Elberfeld 1927

(For a German version of this entry click here.)

I’m still looking for the violin players and viola player in this string quartet which was active in Elberfeld / Wuppertal, Germany in the 1920s and 30s:

It dissolved when authorities got wind that one of the members was Jewish and leaned on our cellist, Heinrich Groß not to spend his time with Jews. A short version of the story in English is here, and a longer one in German here (PDF).

I have a list of more than 50 friends whose birthdays our cellist used to copy over into each year’s pocket diary. While the two diaries I have are both from the war years, after the string quartet stopped playing, there is a chance that survivors of the quartet are hiding in this list, so I’m putting the names, year of birth, and street name here in the hope that any relatives looking for these individuals might find them here and recognise one of the musicians. (Although any other info on their connection to Heinrich the cellist would be welome too.)

I’ve left out people who for one reason or other were unlikely to be relevant, leaving 34 names. The street with the asterisk is now called Friedrich Engels Allee, it is the main boulevard linking the former cities of Barmen and Elberfeld, now the major districts of Wuppertal.

Baak Fritz 1897 Am Brögel

Blasberg Werner 1902 Martin Fauststr.

Brill Robert 1893 Ad. H*tlerstr.

de Bruyer Albert 1897 Farbmühle

Dietrich Wilfried 1898 Emma Str.

Freimuth Paul 1885 E. Teutonenstr. 19

Friedewald Emil 1883 Von Behringstr.

Graus Heiner E. Hauentrief

Haase Kurt 1894 Ad. H*tlerstr

Hackenberg Emil 1879 Farbmühle

Herbst Ludwig 1902 Oberdenkmalstr.

Herhäuser Erich 1885 Hohenstein

Heuerz Josef 1891 Wartburgstr.

Hilger Gustav 1888

Homberg Helmut 1884 Wartburgstr.

Hühl Karl 1900 Schloßstr.

Kautz Hugo 1872 Haspeler Schulstr.

Klein Eduard 1896 Werlestr.

Kluge Hermann 1885 Unterdörnen

Knauer Dr. Karl 1883 Hünefeldstr.

Kobusch Walter 1887 Sudhoffstr.

Köster Erwin 1888 Wartburgerstr.

Luckhaus Hermann 1883 Wartburgstr.

Michael Karl 1887 Hohenstein

Möllmann Dr Hans 1902

Nippel Hans 1898 Sudhoffstr.

Reinsdorf Paul 1890 Ad. H*tlerstr.

Schäfer Karl 1889 Ad. H*tlerstr.

Scheffel Walter 1876 Am Brögel

Schlemmer Paul 1889 Heuberrstr.

Schulze Erich 1896 Ostlerstr.

Tiefenbach Heinrich 1899 Gewerbeschulstr.

Voß August 1893 Unionstr

Weierstall Walter 1891 Paracelsusstr.

We know that Robert Brill was the owner of the eponymous company making lawnmowers (only the brand name survived a recent takeover), and I suspect Hermann Kluge was related to the eponymous founder of Kluge Klaviaturen, the company that makes keyboards for Steinway pianos (now at Remscheid, but it used to be at Elberfeld / Wuppertal). Which is the only musical connection I’ve been able to find.

PS: Masterpost on the whole cello / family history book project I'm pursuing is here.
All three known photos of the quartet are here (including a better scan of the photo above)

New tag: Every picture tells a story.