The technical staff of the Hessian Landestheater Darmstadt was systematically purged of all individuals regarded as hostile. On June 12, 1933, the theater’s employees summarily received termination notices, effective July 31, 1933. No reasons were provided. In the weeks that followed, their political and family backgrounds were reviewed by a partisan “Purification Committee”. Those classified as Jewish or politically undesirable were not rehired.
Born into a Jewish family in Haaren on January 20, 1875, Albert Jonas worked as a doorman at the Hessian Landestheater Darmstadt from 1915 to 1923 before spending several years in South America. After returning to Germany, he was rehired by the theater in 1932 as an usher. He lived with his wife, Mina (born May), and their two children on Taunusstraße.
Following the Nazis’ seizure of power, he was dismissed in July of 1933 because of his Jewish background. A draft dismissal list includes the notation: “must go, parents were Jews.” Albert Jonas died in 1941 in Darmstadt. His wife, Mina, was deported from Darmstadt to the Piaski Ghetto in Poland on March 25, 1942. Her fate after that remains unknown.
1875 Haaren (Aachen)
1941 Darmstadt