Collection	Neuberger, Patricia & Rosalyn
Date of photo	2000 ca.
Description	Gerson "Gert" Neuberger (9-27-1917 to 9-1-2006) and Erna Silbermann (9-15-1917 to 12-28-2005). Photo taken in their home at 2790 7th. Children: Patricia, Rosalyn, and Robert. Gert was born in Heinstadt, Germany, to Josef and Jette Baum Neuberger. He had two brothers: Bertold and Hans. Gert worked in the family's hayfield, a necessary part of his father's business as a cattle broker. Later, he worked as an apprentice in a local German shop. In 1934, he moved from Germany to Baker City where he went to work as a clerk for Neuberger-Heilner, a family-owned business in Baker City that dates back to 1874. Gert served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was stationed in Europe where he met and married an Austrian native, Erna Silbermann. After the war, he returned to Baker City where Gert joined his brother, Bert, in their Baker Furniture Co. business. Later, Gert and Erna opened Gert Neuberger Furniture Store. Erna was born in Vienna, Austria. She was a daughter of Chaim Hersch Silbermann and Gisela Wolf Silbermann. Erna attended school at Vienna and then became a dressmaker, working for a high-fashion shop that catered to affluent people like Marlene Dietrich, who had her suits made there. With Germany's annexation of Austria in March 1938, Austria became an increasingly dangerous place in which to live for the Jewish people. A cousin of Erna's obtained a permit for her to live in England with her and Erna left Austria in the fall of 1938. Erna's father, a clothing store owner in Vienna, refused to leave his native Austria. Even though Erna tried to keep in touch with her father through a cousin in Switzerland, she eventually lost touch with him and presumed that he died a victim of the Holocaust. The last time Erna saw her father was when he was standing on the platform in Vienna when she boarded the train for England. In 1943, Erna met Gert Neuberger in England when her sister-in-law (Gert's cousin) introduced them. They were married in a synagogue in the London, England, suburb In St. John's Wood on Jan. 16, 1944. In October 1945, six months after the end of war in Europe, Gert was discharged from the U.S. Army and returned home. A few months after his return, Erna joined him in Baker City. Gert and Erna worked together in their furniture business for 42 years before retiring in 2004. They are buried in Beth Israel Cemetery in Portland.
Object ID	2005.6.2
Place	7th, 2790

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Last modified on: December 09, 2017