persecuted jewish family of KÜNSBERG (or kindsberg?)

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ianbli
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persecuted jewish family of KÜNSBERG (or kindsberg?)

#1

Post by ianbli » 16 Sep 2006, 23:54

i am looking for information on a jewish (noble) family named KÜNSBERG (or possibly KINDSBERG) persecuted by the nazis. apparently, it has nothing to do with the leader of "gruppe künsberg" (an art-theft sonderkommando under von ribbentrop), or was its leader eberhard freiherr von künsberg of jewish background?

can anyone help?

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Heimatschuss
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#2

Post by Heimatschuss » 18 Sep 2006, 19:25

Hello,

a noble family Künsberg/Künßberg/Kindsberg does exist. The problem is that this family dates back to the 12th century and is split up into numerous branches.
http://www.art-connection.de/pages/kuen ... ory.1.html
http://www.art-connection.de/pages/kuen ... ory.2.html
http://www.art-connection.de/pages/kuen ... ory.3.html

The Künsbergs in general are surely not jewish being part of the old nobility. It's of course possible that one of them married a jewess after the time of enlightenment so his children would be prone to racial prosecution by the nazis.
One who looks a bit suspicious for example is Eberhard Georg Otto von Künßberg, professor of law at Heidelberg university. He sent his son Ekkehard von Künßberg to the UK in 1933 when Hitler came to power in Germany. Sounds rather unusual and one has to ask 'Why'?.
http://www.8ung.at/bahnstadt-hd.de/personk.html
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/ ... /616/g/DC1

Addendum:
It was Ekkehard von Kuenssberg. His mother had jewish ancestors.
http://www.hoolet.org.uk/29hoolet/ekke.htm
Ironically she seems to have stayed in Germany during the 3rd Reich.
http://www.winklerverlag.de/verlag/v042 ... %9Fberg%22

Best regards
Torsten


kjehle
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re: von Kuenssbergs

#3

Post by kjehle » 01 Feb 2007, 08:52

you are correct, Eberhard von Kuenssberg was my great-grandfather. His wife, Katharina Samson, was of jewish descent. She remained in hiding in Heidleberg throughout the war, while all of her children were sent abroad. Ekke settled in Edinborough, while my grandmother married Herbert Jehle and settled in the united states.

ejehle
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Re: persecuted jewish family of KÃœNSBERG (or kindsberg?)

#4

Post by ejehle » 17 Mar 2009, 03:47

Just to make the point absolutely clear: in the 1930's there were two Eberhard Freiherr von K. One's family name is spelled with the "scharf s" (Kuenssberg nowadays) and one whose family name has but a single "s". It is likely that the two were very distant relatives. E. v. Kuenssberg traced his origins from the Thurnau branch of the family and E. v. Kuensberg perhaps from another branch of the family.

Eberhard Freiherr von Kuenssberg (1881-1941) was a renown and prolific scholar in the history of German Law, a law professor at the University of Heidelberg, a prominent legal linguist and a pioneer in the field of legal geography. From the death of Richard Schroeder in 1917 until von Kuenssberg's own death in 1941, he edited the Deutsche Rechtswoerterbuch. Eberhard von Kuenssberg married Katharina Samson who was of Jewish heritage. After her husband's unexpected death of cancer in May '41, she survived the war under the vigilant protection of her housekeeper, her late husband's distant relatives and some of her late husband's colleagues. Little irony in that. All five of their children emigrated prior to the outbreak of World War II and spent the war in England.

Eberhard Freiherr von Kuensberg, on the other hand, was the leader of von Ribbentrop's Sonderkommando Kuensberg that looted art and other cultural treasures, primarily in the Soviet Union, but also prior to June 1941, in the rest of occupied Europe. Freih. von Kuensberg himself was suspended from command in August 1942.

hedwig
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Re: persecuted jewish family of KÜNSBERG (or kindsberg?)

#5

Post by hedwig » 26 Mar 2009, 22:08

Kathe Samson was the daughter of Gustav Samson, a very wealthy cloth manufacturer, and Anna Goldschmidt, the fourth daughter of Hermann and Rosalie (but known as Selma) Goldschmidt. When Anna became engaged she sent a telegram to her older sister Marie (from whom I am a direct descendant), "Habe mich verlobt. Ungehor reich. Von liebe keine Spurr". Her oldest daughter, Martha, shot herself in a Swiss hotel room at the age of 18 while on holiday in the early 1900s. No one ever found out why. Anna tried to commit suicide by drinking cleaning fluid but failed. Instead she contracted stomach cancer. Anna also had a son, Lutz, who went to South America.

Does anyone knows anything about Hermann Goldschmidt or his wife (nee Leipziger, Breslau and Berlin). Information about him is scant. At the time of his death, Hermann, a banker, lived at 8 Unter den Linden, Berlin. He was born in Hannover. When he moved to Berlin he went to work in his uncle Benno's bank.

DrAharonAharon
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Re: persecuted jewish family of KÜNSBERG (or kindsberg?)

#6

Post by DrAharonAharon » 07 May 2009, 15:16

My Reply to Axis

Adding and correcting some posts on this topic so far.

I am a grandson of Professor Dr Katharina Freifrau von Künßberg. My mother is the sister of the Jehle's grandmother (Axis members ejehle and kjehle).

Katharina, when in Heidelberg, was hidden and protected by their longtime faithfull maid. Katherina, as Professor of Zoology at Heidelberg University had many friends who highly respected her and her husband Professor Dr Eberhard von Kuenssberg. I understand from my mother that some neighbours also helped to warn them of imminent raids by the gestapo.
There were other occasions where Professor Dr Katharina Freifrau von Künßberg was hidden by Margit Countess Szápáry who lived at Castle Finstergrün in Ramingstein (district of Tamsweg, province of Salzburg), a small village about 100 miles South of Salzburg. Margit von Szápáry was loyal to the last Austrian chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, before the annexation of Austria by Hitler. She hid my grandmother, for several summers in her house in Ramingstein. This has been a topic of university research by Christian Blinzer of Graz, Austria. When times became difficult, my grandmother would flee to the forest nearby and live off mushrooms for days or sometimes weeks until it was safe to return to Ramingstein.

The other Eberhard von Kuenssberg was in fact Eberhard Max Paul von Kuenssberg who was a major in the Nazi army and died in Budapest in 1945. He came from the same Kuenssberg nobility as Prof Dr Eberhard von Kuenssberg but a different line, from two brothers born in the years 141? and 1414. My grandfather was Prof Dr Eberhard Georg Otto von Kuenssberg from the second line.

My grandfather did not die from cancer in 1941, rather he was murdered on the operating theatre table by the surgeon at the orders of the gestapo. My uncle, Dr Ekke von Kuenssberg, interviewed the surgeon after the war ended in 1945 as to why a simple ulcer surgery ended in death. The surgeon apologised to my uncle. He had no choice as the Gestapo in the operating theatre had given him orders that my grandfather was not to come out alive. That was becuase he refused to follow Hilter - today we call it concientious objection.

My grandparents sent all their children out of Germany as they were well aware of the negative changes going on in Germany under Hilter. Who wouldn't? my mother had to leave school in 1935 because of antisemetism. My grandfather was disgusted that Austria and Germany had been taken over by a working class man, a unionist, who spent two years in a psychiatric hospital and then, had taken over Austria and Germany. Previously, nobles had a major part in all governance of Austria and Germany. Therefore he was well aware of the change in the poitical atmosphere. Germany was being led to destruction by this phsycho, Hitler. So he sent all the children out one by one - to England and USA, where they continued their studies.

We are proud to have survived and all descendants are contributing to medicine and science.

Dr A Aharon

Matt88
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Re: persecuted jewish family of KÜNSBERG (or kindsberg?)

#7

Post by Matt88 » 21 May 2018, 14:11

Dear,

I'm researching the international connections of Professor KÜNSBERG and his wife dr. Katharina Freifrau von Künßberg.
I studied in Heidelberg, etc. Could anyone provide me with contact information of Archive of dr. Dietlinde Raisig / Ruckersville Virginia ?

Thank you
m

dbuerkle
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Re: persecuted jewish family of KÜNSBERG (or kindsberg?)

#8

Post by dbuerkle » 09 Jul 2019, 00:14

I'm searching for informationRE: Katharina von Künssberg and would be glad for any insight/leads that you are willing to share; I'll be glad to do same. Thank you! Darcy Buerkle, Smith College, Chair, Department of History

Rachel_Sagar
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Re: persecuted jewish family of KÜNSBERG (or kindsberg?)

#9

Post by Rachel_Sagar » 11 Jul 2019, 00:00

The Kuenssbergs are quite a famous/distinguished family. Most people will have heard of Laura Kuenssberg. She's on television a lot.
'
Ekkehard Ulrich Gustav von Kuenssberg CBE FRCGP FRCOG FRCPE (17 December 1913 – 27 December 2000)[1][2] was a Scottish physician of German origin. A founder and president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, he was the co-signatory of a letter to the British Medical Journal from GPs who had spotted early signs of the effects of thalidomide.

Ekke von Kuenssberg was a very distinguished GP, much loved by his patients and colleagues. He was a national figure, both in Scotland and the UK. He was one of the leaders of the renaissance of general practice in the UK in the 1960s and 70s. He was a man who always put his patients first. We shall all remember him with great affection and respect.

Professor Dr. Eberhard von Künßberg was a scholar in the history of German Law, a professor at the University of Heidelberg, a legal linguist and a pioneer in the field of legal geography. From the death of Richard Schroeder in 1917 until von Künßberg's own death in 1941, he edited the Deutsches Rechtswoerterbuch. Künßberg married the Protestant raised Dr. Katharina Samson,[5] the daughter of wealthy cloth manufacturer Gustav Samson, and Anna Goldschmidt, the fourth daughter of Hermann and Rosalie Goldschmidt.[4]

(ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekkehard_von_Kuenssberg President of the College)

His son is Nick Kuenssberg OBE, Scottish businessman.

His grandchildren are:-
Laura Kuenssberg - Political Editor of BBC News and Broadcaster of the Year (2016). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Kuenssberg))
David Kuenssberg - executive director of finance and resources at Brighton and Hove City Council.
Joanna - a diplomat who served as the British High Commissioner to Mozambique from 2014 to 2018.

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