Richard Friedländer Explained

Richard Friedländer (15 February 1881 in Berlin – 18 February 1939 at Buchenwald concentration camp^[1]) was a German Jewish merchant and Holocaust victim.

Life

Friedländer was born to a wealthy Jewish Berlin merchant family. After attending junior and high schools, he was employed as a merchant in Brussels. In 1908 he married Auguste Behrend, who was divorced from her first husband Oskar Ritschel and was the mother of Magda. Magda was enrolled at the Ursuline Convent in Vilvoorde. Friedländer eventually adopted Magda.^[2] In 2016, it was reported that Friedländer may have been Magda's biological father, as stated in his residency card, found in the Berlin archives by writer and historian Oliver Hilmes.^[3] However, Magda's adoption may have been required for her parents' delayed marriage, to update the girl's 'illegitimate child' status.^[4]

Magda met Günther Quandt in 1920. She and Quandt were married on 4 January 1921, and her first child, Harald, was born on 1 November 1921. The couple divorced in 1929. In December 1931, Magda married Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Party Gauleiter (and later leader of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda).

On 15 June 1938, Friedlander was deported to Buchenwald concentration camp during June action Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich. Already injured, the hard work and catastrophic living conditions led to his early death. His death certificate listed the cause of death as "heart muscle failure".^[5]

References

Bibliography

• Das tödliche Schweigen der Magda Goebbels. In: Guido Knopp: History. Geheimnisse des 20. Jahrhunderts. C. Bertelsmann, München 2002,, S. 65 https://books.google.com/books?id=zhgTAQAAIAAJ&q=Das+t%C3%B6dliche+Schweigen+der+Magda+Goebbels
• Book: Longerich, Peter . 2015 . Goebbels: A Biography . Random House . New York . 978-1400067510 .
• Book: Meissner, Hans-Otto . Magda Goebbels: The First Lady of the Third Reich . 1980 . 1978 . The Dial Press . New York . 978-0803762121 .
• Stefanie Schüler-Springorum: Masseneinweisungen in Konzentrationslager. Aktion „Arbeitsscheu Reich“, Novemberpogrom, Aktion „Gewitter“. In: Wolfgang Benz, Barbara Distel (Hrsg.): Der Ort des Terrors. Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager. Band 1: Die Organisation des Terrors. C.H. Beck, München 2005,, S. 156–164.
• Book: Thacker, Toby . Joseph Goebbels: Life and Death . 2010 . 2009 . Palgrave Macmillan . New York . 978-0-230-27866-0 .
• Wolfgang Ayaß: "Asoziale im Nationalsozialismus". Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1995, .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Totenbuch - KZ Buchenwald . totenbuch.buchenwald.de . 24 December 2018 . 20 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230220154234/http://totenbuch.buchenwald.de/names/details/person/964/ref/recherche . live .
2. News: Widmann . Carlos . Magda Goebbels, Gefährtin des Bösen . . 39/2001 . 23 September 2001 . 12 April 2024 . 7 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130807153851/http://spiegel/ . live .
3. http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/162206/ magda-goebbels-biological-father-may-have-been-jewish Magda Goebbels' biological father may have been Jewish
4. Magda Goebbels, Gefährtin des Bösen In: Der Spiegel Vol. 39, 24. September 2001 http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-20184307.html
5. Book: Faludi . Christian . Die "Juni-Aktion" 1938: Eine Dokumentation zur Radikalisierung der Judenverfolgung . April 2013 . Campus Verlag . 978-3-593-39823-5 . de . 12 April 2024 . 18 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230218143200/https://books.google.com/books?id=Rofk6Za152EC&q=Christian . live .