Harry Wolff was born on May 2, 1928, in Leipzig and stayed at the home 'Isenburg' from November 6, 1933, to June 11, 1935.

He was placed for adoption by his unmarried or widowed mother, Elisabeth Wolff, and was adopted in early 1932 by a couple named Meininger in Frankfurt/Main. A marginal note on his birth certificate states that, upon adoption, Harry took the name Harry Meininger. 

On May 1, 1934, he enrolled in the elementary school (Pestalozzi School) in Neu-Isenburg, but remained there only until June 8, 1935.

He was deregistered on June 11, 1935, and moved to Dietz (today Diez) on the Lahn.

On June 12, 1935, he was registered with the police there. He was admitted to the Diez elementary school on June 28. The transfer from Neu-Isenburg was not finalized until June 26, 1935.

Harry could not stay long in Dietz, because as early as August 20, 1935, the pogrom against the children’s home took place, resulting in its closure. There is a rumor that, after the summer vacation of 1935, the children from the home were not allowed to attend school at all, despite compulsory education. This untenable situation was brought to an end by the pogrom.

Harry Wolff arrived at the Jewish Orphanage in Frankfurt/Main on August 21, 1935. In December 1938, he traveled from Frankfurt/Main to Alsace on one of the first Kindertransports, together with Hermann Lehrer, Max Seelmann, and Horst Julius Binamowitsch. 

Harry Wolff, who went by the name Chaim Wolff in Palestine (or Israel), was killed in action as a soldier in the War of Independence shortly after the founding of the State of Israel. At that time, he was likely unmarried, had no children, and had no siblings. 

Sources: Stadtarchiv Neu-Isenburg; thanks to Dr. Michael Ströder, this biography was able to be completed

Last update: November 12, 2026 (EEP)