The family name Cohen originates in Posen, Prussia (nowadays part of Poland) which originally was written as Cohn. The name Cohn was used in writing up until 1967 by Gerhard Max Selmar Cohn who, after he immigrated to Palestina, changed his name to Gershon Cohen. From that day the family uses the family name Cohen.
The Cohn family was a wealthy Jewish family that exercised professions with great prestige. Think of International Traders, Lawyers, Dentists and Orthopedic Surgeons who have left their mark in both Berlin and Jerusalem.
The Cohn family owed their success to the fact that they received a letter of protection (Schutzbrief) from the King of Prussia in 1772. According to a autobiography on Ernst Toller, who also lived in Samotschin and is somehow connected to the Cohn family. Quote: “A wealthy Jew who had been allowed by Frederick the Great to settle as the only Jew in Samotschin after the Prussion take-over from 1772. His name was Marcus Mendel (Cohn) (ca. 1740/50-1810). Conferred by a Prussian Charter of 1750, he was priviledged with a Schutzbrief, or letter of protection, in exchange for an (undefined) “sum of money”. As the town, favorable situated at the river Netze (Notec), enjoyed significance as a cloth maker settlement around that time, and local Jews were not allowed to trade in other materials than wool and cloth up to 1801, there can be little doubt that he was attracted to this town as a wool and cloth trader. His sons, Salomon Marcus (died 1819/1820) and Moses Marcus Cohn (ca. 1780-1856), continued their father’s business…”
A lawyer (Rechtsanwalt S. Kronheim) and close friend of Konrad Cohn wrote a condoleance message in one of the German newspapers in 1938, in memory of Konrad Cohn, confirming the fact that he originates from the same Cohn family in Samotschin that owned a ‘Shutzbrief’ 150 years ago.
Besides this we know from the death certificate of Konrad’s father Marcus, that Konrad’s grandfather was named Moritz Mendel Cohn and died in Samotschin. (More information on ‘Schutzjuden and Schutzbrief’ can be found here.)
The biography of Ernst Toller about the Cohn family in Samothschin also states that the ancestors of the Cohn family before the mid-18th century originates from Spain. However I haven’t found any evidence of this yet.
Cohn in Samotschin
Most of the Cohn family lived or where born in a small town called Samotschin (nowadays Szamocin in Poland). In the end of the 19th century and beginning of 20th century it was part of Posen, Prussia. Most of the family relocated at the end of the 19th century to Germany, mostly Berlin.
Thanks to the information in Ernst Tollers book about the Cohn family I was able to reconstruct a small portion of the Cohn family tree. I did extensive research in the death-certificates from Berlin and was able to build out the Cohn family tree. Most of the birth, marriage and death-certificates from Samotschin reside in the archive of Pila (Poland) and haven’t been digitized yet. I need to go there physically in order to further reconstruct the family tree. Below you can find the current reconstructed family tree.
Ernst Toller
Since Samotschin was a small town where the Cohn family lived, I looked for more information on Samotschin. During my research I discovered that Ernst Toller was born in that town as well and his mother also carried the name Cohn. In my reconstruction of the Cohn family tree I discovered that the mother of Ernst Toller (Ida Cohn) actually was a niece of Konrad Cohn and therefore directly related to the same Cohn family.
Ernst Toller (Samotschin 1 December 1893 – New York 22 May 1939) was a German author, playwright, left-wing politician and revolutionary, known for his Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, after which he became the head of its army. He was imprisoned for five years for his part in the armed resistance by the Bavarian Soviet Republic to the central government in Berlin. While in prison Toller wrote several plays that gained him international renown. They were performed in London and New York City as well as in Berlin.
In 1933 Toller was exiled from Germany after the Nazis came to power. He did a lecture tour in 1936–1937 in the United States and Canada, settling in California for a while before going to New York. He joined other exiles there. He died by suicide in May 1939. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Toller)
Family Gershon Cohen and Hanna Imdorf
Gershon Cohen (originally named Gerhard Max Selmar Cohn), son of Ludwig Cohn and Else Peiser, was born on 7 Juni 1925 in Berlin. Somewhere between 1939 and 1945 he immigrated to Palestina. He moved in with his aunt Erna Cohn, who lived in a rather large house in Jerusalem. She and her husband Joseph “Jupp” Treu were both orthopedic surgeons and had their own practice in that same house.
Also two nieces (Hanna and Alisa Imdorf) of Jupp lived in the same house for a while. Gershon got to know Alisa and her sister Hanna. For practical reasons he wanted to marry Alisa, but ended up in marrying Hanna on 6 August 1945. On the day of the bombing of Hiroshima.
Hanna was born in Gressenich, Germany on 31 May 1921, the first child of Moritz Moses Imdorf and Klara Elise Treu. Klara was Jupp’s sister.
Hanna was a teacher in Tel Aviv. She spoke several languages like German, Hebrew, English, Dutch and Spanish. Hanna died in february 2000 after a surgery where her leg was amputated.
In 1947, Gershon and Hanna’s, first child Rachel Cohen was born. In 1950 their first son Yair Cohen was born. In 1954 their second son Ilan Cohen was born and their last child Dorit Cohen was born in 1957. A family with four children, two boys and two girls.
From left to right Sitting: Ludwig Cohn, Dorit Cohen, Yair Cohen, Ilan Cohen en Else Peiser.
The young family quite often got to visit their aunt Erna and uncle Jupp Treu and their children.
The marriage was a difficult one. Gershon and Hanna had their differences. In the 80’s they lived together but in separate rooms. Ultimately Gershon found a new girlfriend and decided after a while to move in with her. Unfortunately this relation didn’t last long. After only three months she left him.
Family Ludwig Cohn and Else Peiser
Ludwig Cohn, son of Chaskel (Konrad) Cohn and Selma Citron, was born on 2 februari 1895 in Berlin. He married Else Peiser on 14 december 1922 in Berlin. In 1925 their first and only child Gerhard Max Selmar Cohn was born.
Because of the Second World War the family was forced to flee. Gerhard fled in August 1939 with his father Ludwig and mother Else overland via the Netherlands to England. In the passport of Ludwig you can still find a stamp of the ‘Doorlaatpost’ in Oldenzaal, the Netherlands. For unclear reasons, father Ludwig went to Bolivia and Argentina a few months later, where he stayed for several years without the rest of his family. He left his family behind in England.
It is being said that Ludwig, who was very passioned about his profession as a Dentist, was unable to perform his profession in England. This might be one of the reasons he decided to move to Argentina and Bolivia, where he had acquaintances in the same profession. He started his own practice in Bolivia and had a relationship with another women. After quite some time Ludwig decided he wanted to be near his family again and especially his son Gerhard (who changed his name into Gershon Cohen). In 1965 Ludwig immigrated to Palestine where his son and his family lived. Ludwig died in Tel Aviv on 9 March 1967.Else, who still lived in England, met a woman who she became very fond of. Else died on 18 October 1969 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England.
Family Chaskel (Konrad) Cohn and Selma Citron
Chaskel (Konrad) Cohn, son of Marcus Cohn and Johanna Citron, was born on 24 February 1866 in Samotschin, Posen. Konrad graduated at the University of Berlin in 1887 and became a Dentist. In 1889 he promoted at the Univerisity of Bern and became a Medical Doctor. He was an authority in the world of dentistry and he had memberships and seats in numerous foundations in his profession world-wide. More information on Konrad’s life can be found here.
At the age of 27 Konrad Cohn married the 29-year-old Selma Citron on 27 October 1893 in Berlin.
Selma was born on 26 May 1864 in Wittkowo, Posen, daughter of Isaac Citron and Ernestine Witkowski. Her mother Ernestine was a descendant of the Witkowski-family. A wealthy Jewish family who originates from the town of Wittkowo near Posen (now Poland).
On 2 February 1895, Konrad and Selma’s first child and son was born and gave him the name of Ludwig. About 11 years later, on 1 December 1906 their daughter was born and gave her the name of Erna.
Selma died in Berlin on October 13, 1911 at the age of 46. The cause is unknown.
After the unexpected death of his wife Selma, Konrad remarried a few years later, on 10 November 1923 in Berlin at the age of 51 with his second wife, the 36-year-old Marianne Rosenstein. In this second marriage no children were born.
Family Marcus Cohn and Johanna Citron
Marcus Cohn, son of Moritz Mendel Cohn and Chaia Ida Heymann, was born on 15 January 1819 in Samotschin, Posen. He married Johanna Citron, date is unknown, but probably in Samotschin. Johanna, also called Hannchen, was the daughter of Chaskel Citron and Selde Hirsch/Kuttner, she was born on 10 January 1825 in Wittkowo.
Marcus was an International Trader, who traveled the world to trade goods. I have found his name multiple times on passengerlists from Hamburg to New York during the mid-19th century.
In 1852 Marcus and Johanna’s first child Ignatz was born. In 1855 their second son Moritz was born. In 1858 their first daughter Marie was born. In 1862 their third son Max Julius was born. In 1863 their second daughter Flora was born and their last child and fourth son Chaskel (Konrad) was born in 1866. All children were born in Samotschin, Posen. A family with 6 children, four boys and two girls. The family relocated somewhere between 1866 and 1891 to Berlin. Johanna died on 4 April 1900 in Berlin and was buried at Berlin-Weissensee Jewish cemetery. Marcus Cohn died shortly after his wife’s passed on 30 september 1900 in Berlin and was also buried at the Berlin-Weissensee Jewish cemetery.
Bronnen:
The Kesters (Witkowski family)
Landesarchiv Berlin
Brotmanblog.com – Schutzbrief
