Richard Friedländer (15 February 1881 in Berlin – 18 February 1939 at

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

) was a German Jewish merchant and

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

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 Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 1908, he married Auguste Behrend, who was divorced from her first husband, Oskar Ritschel, and was the mother of

Magda Magda may refer to: * Magda (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of persons with the name) * Marinko Magda (born 1963), Serbian mass murderer * Magda, São Paulo, Brazil, a municipality * Heimat (play), ''Heimat'' (play), commonly ...

. Magda was enrolled at the Ursuline Convent in

Vilvoorde Vilvoorde (; ; ; historically known as ''Filford'' in English) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Halle-Vilvoorde district (''arrondissement'') of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Bra ...

. Friedländer eventually adopted Magda. 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.magda-goebbels-biological-father-may-have-been-jewish Magda Goebbels' biological father may have been Jewish
Jewish Chronicle. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016. However, Magda's adoption may have been required for her parents' delayed marriage, to update the girl's 'illegitimate child' status. Magda met

Günther Quandt Günther Quandt (28 July 1881 – 30 December 1954) was a German industrialist who founded an industrial empire that today includes BMW and Altana, a car and chemical company, respectively. Between 1921 and 1929, he was married to Magda Ritsche ...

in 1920. She and Quandt were married on 4 January 1921, and her first child,

Harald Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrad ...

, was born on 1 November 1921. The couple divorced in 1929. In December 1931, Magda married

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

, the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' (and later leader of the

Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (, RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany. The ministr ...

). On 15 June 1938, Friedlander was deported to

during June action ''

Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich was a punitive campaign in Nazi Germany targeting individuals deemed as "work-shy" or "asocial." In April and June 1938, as part of the "''Arbeitsscheu Reich''" ''(work-shy Reich)'', more than 10,000 men were arrested a ...

''. 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".

References

Bibliography

* ''Das tödliche Schweigen der Magda Goebbels''. In: Guido Knopp: ''History. Geheimnisse des 20. Jahrhunderts.'' C. Bertelsmann, München 2002, , S. 6

* * * 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. * * Wolfgang Ayaß: "''Asoziale'' im Nationalsozialismus". Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1995, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedlaender, Richard 1881 births 1939 deaths German Jews who died in the Holocaust Jewish merchants German people who died in Buchenwald concentration camp