Madeleine Wolf

Born: Madeleine Vera Liebmann
Berlin, Germany
October 8, 1925

Died: December 15, 2012

Madeleine Wolf was born on October 8, 1925 in Berlin, Germany where she and her older brother lived with their parents in the affluent suburb of Wilmersdorf. They lived close to their extended family in the city, including both sets of grandparents as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins. Her mother regularly played bridge at the Berlin Zoo while Madeleine played with her friends. The family took vacations to the spa town of Baden Baden and Madeleine enjoyed ice skating in winter and swimming during the summer.

Madeleine was only eight years old when Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933. One of Madeleine’s aunts emigrated to the United States, but Madeleine’s parents felt safe with their life in Berlin, a modern city with latest in fashion, art and education. Furthermore, Madeleine’s father had served in the German military during World War I and two of her uncles had died in the conflict.

However, life for the city’s Jews continued to worsen. Madeleine remembered going with her father to the 1936 Berlin Olympics where they were required to perform the “heil Hitler” salute. Her parents transferred her from a public school, where the salute was required, to a private institution. In November 1938 came the night of Kristallnacht. The family awoke to see all the Jewish stores, synagogues and temples in the city vandalized or on fire. Madeleine’s father and brother scrambled to hide from the Gestapo, while Madeleine and her mother went into hiding with a Christian family. Madeleine’s blue eyes allowed her to blend in as she waited in long lines for food. Occasionally she was able to meet her father clandestinely, seated at opposite sides of a park bench. 

Finally, with the help of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and other charitable organizations, Madeleine was able to leave Berlin for New York. Her parents and brother followed six months later taking a train through Siberia to Kobe, Japan. They eventually arrived in Quito, Ecuador.

Unable to leave Germany, none of Madeleine’s four grandparents survived the Holocaust. One of her grandfathers was refused his medication for diabetes and the other was left to freeze outside his old-age home. Both grandmothers were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp where one died and the other was sent to the killing center of Treblinka. Many of Madeleine’s aunts, uncles and cousins also died in the Holocaust.

In the U.S., Madeleine lived with her aunt and uncle in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where her aunt began teaching her English and the American money system. Madeleine began school and within six months was able to speak without a German accent. She celebrated her Bat Mitzvah and confirmation in Harrisburg, but was not able to reunite with her parents until she married and had her first son at 18 years old. Her brother died in Ecuador before she was able to see him again.

Madeleine and her new husband, Raymond Wolf, eventually moved to Brownsville, Texas where they raised their three children, Michael, Paulette and Richard. Madeleine was active in the local Jewish community and enjoyed regular games of bridge and mahjong.

Over the years, the Wolf family grew to include nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Madeleine enjoyed celebrating the milestones in each of their lives, as well as family vacations to Hunt, Texas and Padre Island. She especially cherished Thanksgiving as a “Wolf holiday.” Although Madeleine did not want to be defined by the Holocaust, her story of survival will never be forgotten.

Parents:
Erich Liebmann, survived
Henny Liebmann, survived

Siblings:
Herbert Liebmann, survived