Albert & Marga Plessner

Submitted by Renee Plessner, granddaughter of Albert & Marga, daughter of Wolfgang (Walter) Plessner​

​This was a talk that Renee gave in Coburg while visiting in April 2025. 

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Here is the story of my grandparents, Alfred and Marga Plessner, and my dad, Walter (Wolfgang) Plessner. This is what I read to the crowd that gathered in the Coburg apartment at Mohrenstrasse 9b in Coburg, in April, 2025.

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Tonight, millions of Jewish families around the world will gather in their homes to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover, which commemorates the exodus of Jews from Egypt and their liberation from slavery. They will have a festive meal (called a Seder) with traditional Jewish food, they will pray, and they will sing together to demonstrate their survival and the triumph of good over evil.

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Today, we gather here in the apartment building of my grandparents (Alfred and Marga Plessner), where they too would have celebrated Passover with their two children Horst and Wolfgang, and perhaps other family members and friends. Although I never had an opportunity to meet Alfred and Marga, thanks to Gaby’s exhaustive research and the kindness of Gitti and Sven, my family has been able to gain at least some insight into the lives of the Plessners before WWII and the place that they called home.

 

Although I often asked my father about his parents, he was always hesitant to say anything, presumably because it was too painful for him to talk about. I learned from my father that Alfred sold wicker baskets and furniture. My father also mentioned that Marga had a very nice singing voice and that she sang in the choir at the Synagogue. My son, Marc, is a very talented pianist and perhaps his musical talent comes in some way from Marga. 

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As for my father’s life here in Coburg, all I know is that he enjoyed playing football, gymnastics, and skiing in the Alps. Even in his old age, my father always enjoyed watching football on TV and he especially enjoyed watching gymnastics and skiing on TV during the Olympics. 

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At the end of the War in 1945, my father moved to Los Angeles - an old friend of his from Coburg - Helen Gutmann - was already living there. My father remained lifelong friends with Helen and her sister, Grete Goldschmidt, who lived in Northern California.

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While living in Los Angeles, my father traveled cross-country to New York, where he met my mother, June Laster, at a dance for recent immigrants. My mother had arrived in New York from Kortrijk, Belgium with my maternal grandparents in 1943. My father brought my mother back to the West coast and they were married in San Diego, CA on December 9, 1948. They lived in Los Angeles for approximately 10 years and when my father was offered a job at Bank of America in the Latin American division (because he spoke Spanish after living in Guatemala for over 5 years), he and my mother moved to San Francisco, where they lived for about 5 years, and where I was born in 1962. 

Because everything in my father’s life seemed to revolve around Coburgers, when my father was offered a job at a photo stock shop in New York in 1964 called Three Lions (which was owned by the Lowenherz brothers from Coburg), we moved to NY and settled in Great Neck, Long Island. Why did we choose that town? Because my father’s long-time friend (Gertrude Meyer from Coburg), who already lived on Long Island, told my father that Great Neck had the best schools and a short commute to New York City where my father would be working. 

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My father opened his own photo stock shop around 1970 called Plessner International. He was quite successful in his business and carved out a niche of mostly foreign clients, which meant a lot of international travel. My father had a passion for travel and his work brought him all over the world. Although he returned to Germany every year for business, he never set foot in Coburg again. 

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My father stayed in business into his late 80’s as his work became his hobby and his clients and colleagues in the photo industry became his friends. 

My father and mother were particularly proud of the fact that I not only graduated from University (something they were never able to do as their lives were interrupted by the War), but also that I graduated from law school and had a successful career as an attorney in a New York City law firm. My parents welcomed Jeff (who was a banker) into our family in 1990 and my father was finally happy he had someone with whom he could discuss the stock market. 

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But my parents’ pride and joy was their only grandson, Marc. They attended every piano recital and little league baseball and soccer game - always cheering him on with immense pride. I know they would be so proud of him today - a Princeton graduate, working as a Software Engineer in New York City. So I am happy to report that the Plessners  live on and have multiplied despite the tragedy that they faced here in Germany. Once again, we are grateful to all of you for taking the time to learn about our family. Vielen Dank! 

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Submitted by Ken Plessner, grandson of Albert and Marga, and son of Horst (Howard) Plessner

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My father, Horst Plessner, left Coburg, Germany, in 1938 for the United States. He was able to secure a job on Long Island, New York, thanks to the sponsorship of friends from Germany who had already emigrated to the U.S. 

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My mother, Luise Plessner, left Bamberg, Germany, in 1940 on a visa to England. She spent the war years working in various household positions across England, Wales, and Scotland.

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In 1943, my father was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Signal Corps—a unit composed of German Americans fluent in German, who served as interpreters for Nazi prisoners of war. He was deployed back to Europe and remained there until the end of the war.  Throughout this time, my parents maintained their teenage romance through hundreds of letters exchanged between 1939 and 1945. My father was stationed in England, and on June 7, 1944—the day before D-Day—he was granted a 24-hour pass. During that time, he and my mother were married on a U.S. Army base in England.

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After the war, they returned to the U.S. to begin a new life in Philadelphia, where some of their friends had settled. I was born in 1949, and my sister Joan followed in 1952. We both grew up in Philadelphia and remained there through our college years.

 

Joan and I have each been married to our spouses for over 50 years. My  wife, Cheryl, and I have two children—Kevin and Andrea, now 46 and 43—and four granddaughters, ranging in age from 7 to 21. Joan and her husband, Larry, have three children—Rich, Jon, and Lauren, now 46, 43, and 42—and four grandchildren: three girls and one boy.

Our parents, who have both passed away, would be deeply comforted to know how well we are doing today, all these years later. Their courage and determination to build new lives have resulted in a large and loving family—one that is both proud and grateful for the sacrifices they made.

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