My meeting with Sophie NördlingerG. BayerIn the following few words, I would like to relay my meeting with the last, Jewish owner of the inn Die Ochsen (The Oxen) in 1989 in New York. Sophie Nördlinger knew Carl Laemmle personally from Laupheim and thus piqued our interest for our research on Carl Laemmle..Sophie Nödlinger, née Sänger, was born on April 4th, 1989 as the only child of Albert ( 1929) and Klara Sänger (née Einstein, 18651942). Sophie Nördlingers grandfather, Benjamin Sänger, bought the Ochsen , known today as Zum Rothen Ochsen (To the Red Ox), in 1860. The building was built around the beginning of the 19th century.In an age without television, radio and internet, the Jewish inn was a pivotal location for the small city of Laupheims cultural and communal life into the 1930. It was a first-class house, as one can see in a comical advertisement by the choir group Frohsinn published in 1914. The popular inn had more to offer than just a kitchen and its specialty sour tripe. For wedding and Purim parties, however, the larger Jewish inn Zum Kronprinzen (To the Crown Prince) was more popular. The reader familiar with the inn today, Zum Rothen Ochsen , may find the list of the many rooms amusing, even if the authors of the article meant to highlight this ironically.The painful fate of the emigrantsBetween 1987 and 2003, and together with my husband, Udo Bay-er, who passed away in 2015, I met a number of Jewish Americans of German descent, both in the US as well as here in Laupheim, all of whom were connected by their shared fate: due to the barbaric Nazi terror of the Hitler era, they were forced to find a new home-land. In the Hitler era, Jewish lives mattered little. Thus, as these emigrants saw it, they had survived by chance.Yet, when we met them, we sensed how much these events still pained them inside like a thorn. Many had long repressed their painful experiences. For some, it was the first time that they had opened themselves up to Germans of todays generation. Faltering, they relayed what they experienced and their flight in these terri-ble times. They were very thankful that we listened. Burned into the memory of the survivors were both the incredibly emotional events and, just as much so, their happy childhood memories from their city of birth. ...

Gabriele Bayer, the author of the text, has had contacts to different Jewish families from the US. Since 1988 the Bayers, Dr. Udo Bayer 1943-2015) and Gabriele Bayer(*1950) have lived in Laupheim with close contacts to the Laemmle family. These contacts have launched their interest for the Jewish history in Laupheim. They hosted quite a number of Americans with roots in Laupheim. for 17 years they had been in close contact to Carl Laemmles direct niece"Carla Laemmle".In 1989, Sophie N.,the witness opened herself to the Germans, the Bayer family, Udo and Gabriele,- telling them her biografical story. Sophie N. had spent the happiest and the most suffering time of her life in Germany. Carl Laemmle, the successful Universal founder, was born in Laupheim,, too. Sophie and Carl L. had known each other long time. Sophie and her family had to emigrate. They received Laemmle luck and started a new life in America The author, Gabriele Bayer, relays Sophie N.`s story in 2018. A lot of information, documents and objects on Carl Laemmle given by witnesses were.brought to Laupheim by Gabriele and Dr. Udo Bayer. They were both teachers ,in highschool and elementary school, guiding tours in the museum in Laupheim and educating teachers on local Jewish history. In 2016 Gabriele Bayer founded the publishing house Carl Laemmle Press to edit her last husbands most import essay"Affidavits save Lives". In 2018 the author published an up-graded edition of the picture-book with documents, stories and pictures . Udo Bayer - Carl Laemmle"From Laupheim to Hollywood" ISBN 978-3-9818444-4-3 .That book was also published in two languages, English and German.

...Sophie then presented us with a letter Carl Laemmle had writ-ten in English dated September 7th, 1939, in which he encouraged his family with his unbelievable vigor. Laemmle knew how per-sistent and life-loving Laupheims business owners were. At the same time, he had experienced how they once had to leave their beloved hometown, their souls broken. In this letter, Laemm-le writes that this is strictly confidential. There is reason to believe that, with his letter, Carl wanted to provide a necessary impulse, wanted to help people help themselves and help acquain-tances escape. Once again, Carl showed his humble character, remaining in the background as he helped....

My meeting with Sophie Nördlinger-The painful fate of the immigrants-Where did the Nördlingers flee to?-What did Sophie Nördlinger remember?-Sophie Nördlinger told us about her good-hearted husband Benno-On November 9 th,, 1938, the synagogue in Laupheim was set afire