Richard Burger was born in Schlaining, Austria, on August 28, 1880, the son of Jakob Burger, a streetcar ticket inspector, and his wife Minna, née Mandl. After finishing elementary school at the age of 14, he began a commercial apprenticeship with a company in Graz. In 1902 he moved to Munich where he became a manager with the firm of Arthur Fischer. There he met his future wife, Laura Fischer, the daughter of the owner of the business. The couple married in 1910 and had a son, who died in infancy, and three daughters, Helene, Louise and Selma. In the First World War, Richard Burger served as a sergeant in the Austrian army. After returning from the front, he founded the company Aicher & Burger in Munich. He later worked as a representative for textiles. From 1932 the Burger family lived together with Laura Burger’s mother in a four-room apartment at Auenstrasse 52.
Living conditions for this Jewish family deteriorated after the Nazis seized power. Dr. Anna Rosenbaum, a granddaughter of Richard and Laura Burger, remembers being told about attacks that took place. She was told that a Hitler Youth gang forced their way into the apartment and helped themselves to whatever they fancied. Richard Burger was stripped of his citizenship in April 1934 and was given a “Fremdenpass” (resident aliens’ passport). Because of their Jewish origin, the three daughters were not able to pursue their chosen professions. Laura Burger wanted to leave Germany, but her husband feared that he would not be able to provide a secure livelihood for his family in a foreign country without knowing the language. He also trusted that nothing would happen to him as a veteran of the First World War.
During the “Кristallnacht” pogroms, Richard Burger was arrested on November 10, 1938, and taken to Dachau concentration camp. On November 15, 1938 he wrote a standard postcard saying, “I’m in Dachau and keeping well.” A day later, Richard Burger died at the age of just 58 – allegedly of arteriosclerosis. To this day, the actual circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear. Laura Burger managed to emigrate to England with her daughters in 1939.(text Maria Faltermaier-Temizel, editor C. Fritsche, translation Catherine Hales)
