Berthold (gen. Bert) Kirchheimer
Vita
(LEA) Informationen zum Vater Bert Kirchheimer, Werbechef und Graphiker bei Fa. E. Weil Söhne in Saarbrücken, und zur Mutter Johanna Kirchheimer
1936 Berufs- und Arbeitsverbot wegen nichtarischer Abstammung, Emigration in die USA. (Martha Kirchheimer Collection bei archive.org)
(Mk Dud) Zureise-Genehmigung vom 17.05.1924 Nr. 2386
zugez. am 02.07.1924 von Dortmund
01.09.1925 Schillerstr. bei Erlenbach
08.03.1926 nach Saarbr. Mainzerstr. 65
(RS) Heirat 25.05.1926 Dortmund
(Mk alt) v. Dudweiler (Saar)
08.03.1926 Mainzerstr. 65
10.07.1926 Rich. Wagnerstr. 3
v. Dortmund /Frau)
16.07.1926 Rich.-Wagnerstr. 3
05.09.1926 Mainzerstr. 114
27.10.1926 Blumenstr. 15
05.01.1927 Schmollerstr. 23
31.10.1935 Bismarckstr. 1
19.02.1936 n. New York City USA alle
10 Adrian Ave. [Bronx]
(RS) Einreise 16 Apr 1936 New York, von Hamburg
(MK) served in World War I as telephone repairman, awarded Iron Cross (S. 5)
A self-taught commercial artist from Bremerhaven, my father found work in Dortmund at Altdorf's department store doing displays advertising.
In 1927, now a married man, he came to Saarbrücken as the chief graphic designer of E. Weil Söhne, a large department store. H created newspaper and magazine ads, window displays, special outdoor holiday posters, and, on the side, murals for clubs and restaurants. At the same time, he did illustrations, comic strips, and cartoons for several newspapers, including the Dortmunder General Anzeiger and the Saarbrücker Zeitung.
One of his specialties was caricatures of famous figures, which were published in the papers. (S. 39-40)
nach der Saarabstimmung Ausschluss aus der Reichkulturkammer, Verlust der Anstellung
im Geheimen weiterbeschäftigt
Firma arisiert, geleitet von einem vormaligen Packer
left Saarbrücken in March 1936 and made stops in other cities to visit relatives
booked passage on the SS Manhattan for April 9, 1936
1936 aboard the SS Manhattan
[The] family's first home was in Marble Hill, a neighborhood at the confluence of the Hudson and the Harlem Rivers in Northern Manhattan and just bordering the Bronx. Two of my uncles lived there with their families and were able to find us an apartment very quickly. (82)
not religious at all, often had to work on Saturdays in Germany, brothers never went to synagogue; after arrival in America began to attend services
principal of the Hebrew School in Washington Heights
1942 moved to an apartment on 161st Street and Fort Washington Avenue (82)
started freelancing, with cartoons; solt to the leading magazines: Collier's, Jornal American
after that did graphics, packaging designs; designed the first logo for Revlon; wrapping paper for Elizabeth Arden, some ads for Estée Laudre and Vogue magazine; packaging for Idel Toys
in 1941 recommended to Forbes magahine and worked for the for forty years (95)
August 1941 approached by the U.S. Office of War Information (OWI)
invited by the mayor [of Bremerhaven] to exhibit his caricatures of well-known figures of the Weimar era. The exhibit was to be mounted in the foyer of the Bremerhaven Stadttheater (...)
In January 1978 he spent a week in Bremerhaven, whee he was treated as a celebrity. (...) nhis visit led to three other exhibit in Germany, including one in Bremerhaven of his graphics and commercial work, one at the Stadttheater in Saarbrücken [recte: Staatstheater] (August 1980) where he exhibited caricatures that had appeared in the Saarbrücker Zeitung when he was living in the city, and another in Dortmund, my mother's hometown (January 1983), where he showed some of his caricatures, many of which had previously been published in the Dortmunder Anzeiger.
"In my family forty-six people were murdered" (182)
Notes
Data are hidden due to legal regulations