Rheintorstraße 28 um 1938

My name is Hans David Blum. I know the history of Breisach like the back of my hand. When I was a child growing up in the Judengasse, the inn "Zum Goldenen Adler" stood right here. 

It was destroyed during the Second World War and this new building was built in its place. The barns at the back of the house are still there. The innkeeper and owner of the "Adler" was Abraham Mock, a beloved figure in the community with a good sense of humour. He ran the inn together with his wife Jenny. People held special events and family celebrations here – weddings, birthdays, bar mitzvahs. But people also came to play cards – Jews as well as Christians, and not just people from the neighbourhood. Beer and wine were always flowing.

Breisach is known for its many inns. In the Jewish quarter, alongside the Adler, I remember the "Bären", run by Emilie Schwab and "Das Goldene Schiff" on Kupfertorplatz which Emilie Bergheimer was in charge of.

Only Emilie Schwab was able to escape – she had relatives in America who helped her. The Mocks and Emilie Bergheimer shared the fate of so many people and were deported to the Gurs camp in 1940.