A father-of-two in Germany has apologised to the descendant of a Jewish businessman whose hardware shop his Nazi grandfather bought under the regime’s antisemitic Nuremberg Laws.
Tax records unearthed by Thomas Edelmann confirmed his grandfather Wilhelm had bought the family’s hardware shop in Bad Mergentheim from its previous owner Benjamin Heidelberger, according to CNN.
After being forced to sell the family business in 1938, Mr Heidelberger fled to Palestine with his wife Emma, where they were naturalised in 1942 and later buried.
Researchers at the genealogy website MyHeritage traced the original owner’s granddaughter, Hanna Ehrenreich, for Mr Edelmann, 49.
Ms Ehrenreich, 83, a retired teacher, lives in Israel. She had kept an old black and white photo of the shopfront with its earlier signage. She had even visited the shop in the 1980s.
The two spoke over the phone about their families’ brushes with history.
Mr Edelmann told CNN the experience was a teachable moment for his children, especially his 15-year-old son Finn, who is learning about the period at school.
"Although he doesn't have anything to do with this story, it's our ancestor who has impacted the lives of a whole family who had a life in this country," he said.
"I want him to learn and understand that whatever decisions he makes has an impact on someone else's life."
The shop has since closed its doors but Wilhelm Edelmann’s descendants continue to own the building and various others in the area, the outlet reported.
Thomas Edelmann, according to the report, is not involved in and does not profit from the family business.
