Confiscated Jewish Licenses Lead to Tale of Redemption
In 2016, Holocaust survivor Inge Stanton took her daughters and their families on a trip of a lifetime to tour her hometown of Lichtenfels, Germany, from which her family was forced to flee in 1939.
Inge’s daughter, Suzanne Schlesinger, who lives in Austin, didn’t think they would return any time soon, but just two years later they found themselves back in Lichtenfels, thanks to a local high school teacher, his students, and an unforgettable history project.
Student Clara Aumüller emailed Suzanne in May 2018 with the news that 13 Jewish driver’s licenses had been found, two of which belonged to Suzanne’s grandfather, Alfred Marx, and his brother Sigmund. Clara asked for help from Suzanne, her sister, and mom with her research and for months, the Schlesingers sent information and photos. Clara’s teacher, Manfred Broesamle-Lambrecht, invited them to visit Lichtenfels as their guests for a special opening presentation of the 13 Driver’s Licenses project on the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, a pogrom that destroyed synagogues and vandalized Jewish stores in 1938.
RETURNING TO GERMANY
“We wondered if we weren’t traveling again too soon but when I think about what I could have missed, I can’t even believe it. We would have missed this life-changing event,” Suzanne says.
The emotional journey was filled with incredible memories, but also sadness. The story of the licenses dates back to 1938—a harrowing time for Jewish citizens in Germany who were oppressed under Nazi regime. The anti-Semitic campaign included the confiscation of driver’s licenses in the small town of Lichtenfels in Bavaria.
Eighty years later, 13 of those licenses are finally back where they belong, in descendants’ hands, thanks to an accidental discovery by district administrator Christian Meissner and the relentless efforts of 14 German high school students to restore the documents to their rightful owners.
Suzanne noted the licenses’ wrongful confiscation is now a story of redemption, one she was inspired to document in a photo book for future generations.
“It wasn’t just a license—it took away a part of them,” Suzanne says. “I feel like it is my responsibility to share my story. It is important that the Holocaust is never forgotten, and never happens again.”
Suzanne says the project helped the students put faces to the story of Jewish persecution, and they won’t soon forget. “It’s not just six million Jews that were killed. These are the actual people that were killed or escaped,” she says. “The students feel like they’re the new young generation and are taking responsibility for the German people from that time.”
Suzanne and her family developed a close relationship with Manfred and his students, three of whom visited the Schlesingers last summer in Austin, as well as Suzanne’s cousins in Boston, and sister in New Jersey.
LIBRARY EXHIBIT
Congregation Havurah Shalom of Sun City, in cooperation with the Georgetown Public Library, is bringing an exhibit featuring 13 Jewish Driver’s Licenses: A Tale of Nazi Destruction, Discovery and Reconciliation. The free exhibit will be on display:
- June 27-August 4
- 9am-6pm Monday-Friday
- 9am-5pm Saturday
- 402 W 8th St.
The exhibit focuses on the discovery of the licenses, the project to trace the families, each license owner and their unforgettable stories of survival, and tragically for some, their murders. “13 Jewish Driver’s Licenses is about a German town coming to terms with its darkest past,” says Lisa Salko, a relative of Alfred and Sigmund Marx. “This is a story about discovery, exploration, reflection, and reconciliation. It is a story about human connection and about doing the right thing. And it is a story about hope for all of us in today’s tumultuous world.”