Lily and Eric Liebman*
Lily Hamermann Liebman was 17 years old when Hitler invaded Austria. She lived for two years under Nazism before she was able to flee to the United States. Lily’s sister wrote to every person in New York with the name of Hamermann, one of whom had a connection in Cincinnati—the Frankels—who sponsored the two of them. They later secured their parents’ release. Eric emigrated from a small town in Germany before the peak of Nazism. In Cincinnati, Lily and Eric worked in wholesale clothing, a replica of her parents’ business in Vienna. Lily and Eric had no children and left almost the whole of their sizeable estate to benefit the state of Israel and to help Jewish refugees.
Beneficiary organizations- Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
- The Valley Temple
Lily and Eric both fled Nazism and resettled in Cincinnati. The following is adapted from a statement Lily made at a service commemorating Kristallnacht, on November 9, 2005:
There was no pounding on our door the evening of Kristallnacht. But the next day, we found out about the destruction and the arrest of Jewish men. Among them were 3 of my uncles, who were sent to Buchenwald.
What to do?
If you could get Visas fast enough, some of the men could be released. So my father paid for two trips to Shanghai, China, but my mother’s youngest brother was not allowed to leave. He later died there.
During 8 months of Nazism, we saw my father’s business shut down, beatings, degradations and total alienation from the so-called Aryan people, some of whom used to be friends. So I already felt fear, resentment, hurt, and uncertainty. However, on Kristallnacht I knew what hate, outrage, and the wish to hit back was.
Before all this happened, I was proud to be Viennese, because of the beauty of the city, the culture, and way of life. So Kristallnacht hit me twice as hard.
I finally got out in 1940 and came to the United States. I forgot the streets of Vienna and for a while, had nightmares.
I believe that I forgive the new generation, but I can never forget the past.
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