Willi Goldmann was born on September 14, 1912. His parents were Max Goldmann and Rosa Goldmann, née Müngelgrün.
He lived with his parents at Frankfurterstr. 19 in Neu-Isenburg and attended school there. After finishing school, he completed an apprenticeship at the business school in Neu-Isenburg. He then pursued further training in Frankfurt/Main.
His family was close friends with Bertha Pappenheim. His mother had been working for her since she was twenty. She began as the house manager at her private home on Feldbergstraße in Frankfurt/Main, and later also worked at the 'Isenburg' home.
It was also Bertha Pappenheim who suggested that Max and Rosa Goldmann move from Offenbach to Neu-Isenburg.
At Bertha Pappenheim’s suggestion, Willi Goldmann learned the shoemaking trade in preparation for emigration. The family was well integrated in Neu-Isenburg until early 1933. In 1933, Willi lost his job because of the Nazi government.
In July of that same year, Willi Goldmann received an immigration certificate for Palestine (entry visa) through the Frankfurt Jewish Gymnastics Association and with a recommendation from the chairman of the Palestine Office in Frankfurt.
At the end of August, he emigrated to Palestine.
In 1935, he brought his parents and sister to join him.
Sister Johanna was too old for the family visa; through Bertha Pappenheim’s intervention, the British Consul General in Frankfurt simply added Johanna to her parents’ visa. The British immigration officials in Palestine discovered the forgery but allowed Johanna to enter the country.
His father, Max Goldmann, died in Palestine in 1943; his mother, Rosa Goldmann, died in Israel in 1974.
In 1970, Willi Goldmann contacted the city of Neu-Isenburg.
In 1978, he returned to Neu-Isenburg, this time accompanied by Hanni (Johanna) Glenn, née Goldmann, and Josef Drehlich. Presumably in 1980, Willi Goldmann facilitated a meeting in Israel between the Bremsers and Tamar Grizim, allowing them to see each other again after 45 years. In September 1981, the city of Neu-Isenburg extended another official invitation to Willi and Channa Goldmann and Hanni and Julius Glenn.
On May 28, 1985, the city of Neu-Isenburg hosted an evening of conversation on the topic of “Memoirs” to mark the 50th anniversary of Bertha Pappenheim’s death. Ellen Jensen, Helga Heubach, Hermann Bremser, and Willi Goldmann participated in the event.
Willi Goldmann died in Tel Aviv in December 1989. In his estate, he bequeathed several documents and exhibits to the city of Neu-Isenburg. They were on display there when the memorial opened in 1996.
From October 17 to 24, at the invitation of the city of Neu-Isenburg, Channa Goldmann and her daughter, Tamar Grizim and her daughter, and the Tal’Or couple visited Neu-Isenburg once again. On October 20, 1996, the Bertha Pappenheim Seminar and Memorial Center was officially opened. At the opening ceremony, Werner Bremser moderated a discussion with eyewitnesses Channa Goldmann, Tamar Grizim, and Erika and Jacob Tal’Or.
On October 24, 2011, four Stolpersteine were laid for the Goldmann family, along with eight additional stones.
Sources: Stadtarchiv Neu-Isenburg; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ); Frankfurter Rundschau (FR); Offenbach Post (OP); Frankfurter Neue Presse (FNP)
Last update: July 7,2026 (EEP)