Fanny Bär was born on April 14, 1902 in Munich. She was the daughter of Ludwig Haas, a merchant, and his wife Louise, née Bauer. Her brother Michael was born two years later. Ludwig Haas owned a business trading in chemical technical products. He was a member of the governing committee of the “Adas Jeschurun” Jewish religious community and probably raised his children in the Orthodox faith. As a young girl, Fanny Haas attended the Töchterschule (daughters’ school) in Munich. From 1916, she lived with her family at Schubertstraße 2. This is perhaps where she met the lawyer Dr. Julius Bär. He lived at Schubertstraße 2 as a lodger from August 1922. Fanny Haas and Julius Bär married in Munich on December 6, 1923. In 1924 they moved to Liebigstraße 39, and from 1936 they lived at Tengstraße 26. The beginning of Nazi rule brought radical change to the lives of Fanny and Julius Bär. Following the emigration of his colleague, Wilhelm Levinger, Julius Bär carried on their law firm alone. On December 1, 1938 Julius Bär lost his licence to practise as a lawyer and was only permitted to act as a “Konsulent” (“consultant”) for Jewish clients. On April 1, 1940 Fanny Bär applied for a work book at the Munich Labour Office; where she had to work is not known. From 1940 her parents also lived at Tengstraße 26 with her and her husband.
On April 4, 1942 the Gestapo (Secret Police) deported Fanny and Julius Bär to the Piaski ghetto in German occupied Poland. Life there was dictated by the violent excesses of the SS, extreme hunger and indescribable hygienic conditions. It is not known whether Fanny and Julius Bär died there or were murdered in an extermination camp. The Nazis also murdered Fanny Bär’s parents, Ludwig and Louise Haas, and her uncle, Bernhard Haas. Her brother Michael Haas managed to escape to the USA.
(text Barbara Hutzelmann, editor C. Fritsche, translation C. Hales)
