Rosita Alkan Sachs and her husband Albert (1876-1962) ran “Adolf Alkan,” a store that sold the finest linens in Coburg. They had two children, Elsa and Hans.
To escape persecution in Coburg, they moved first to Berlin. Then with the help of Rosita’s brother Reinholt Alkan, who practiced ophthalmology in London, the couple managed to obtain a visa for England.
On September 1, 1939, the day the war began, they boarded a German ship in Hamburg that was supposed to take them to England. However, the ship turned around and returned to Germany, where they ended up penniless. Fortunately, friends from Berlin lent them the fare for a train ticket to Holland.
It was just in time. The Dutch border was closed right after their train crossed it! The couple escaped to England, then in 1944 emigrated further to the USA. They settled in Detroit, living at first with their daughter Elsa and her family.
Rosita and Albert Sachs spent their retirement in close proximity to their daughter and grandchildren, Claude and Barbara. They were married for 53 years. Albert died in the spring of 1962, and Rosita died shortly thereafter, in the fall of the same year.
„Meine Großmutter hatte rotes Haar und war eine wunderbare Köchin, Mutter und Großmutter.“
Text und Copyright: Prof. Dr. Gaby Franger