Leiser Leo Rothenberg (1864–1937) and his family

Galician Jewish entrepreneur, property manager, and patriarch of a family marked by intellectual legacy, survival, and tragedy

Helena’s Uncle

Leiser Leo Rothenberg was born on 16 May 1864 in Borysław, Galicia, under Austro-Hungarian rule. He was the eldest son of Zindel (Sindel, Juda) Rothenberg (1840–1918) and Rozalia (Rywa/Riva/Róza) Zuckerberg (1842–1918).

In 1890, Leiser married his first cousin, Amalia (Malka) Rothenberg, in Wolanki, a Galician village. Amalia was the daughter of Salomon Rothenberg (Leiser’s paternal uncle and Zindel’s brother). This cousin marriage was not unusual in traditional Jewish communities, particularly among land-owning or entrepreneurial families, where such unions preserved family property and alliances.

Together, Leiser and Amalia had four children: Fania Mina (1889–1940), Ada/Adele (1891–1977), Shulim/Shulek (1894–c WWI), and Emil (1900–1981)

In the early 1890s, Leiser became a property manager in Cisna (Cisnie), near Drohobycz.

A significant archival discovery revealed Leiser (listed as Leon Rothenberg) was a co-owner of a sawmill in Dobrohostów (now Dobrohostiv, Ukraine), near Stryj, along with Marcin Armbruster and Mechel Scheinfeld. Their formal business partnership was renewed in 1917, extending until 1922 — a sign of Leiser's enduring role in the Galician lumber economy, even through the upheaval of World War I and its aftermath.

This entrepreneurial network mirrored the activities of his brother Pinkas Rothenberg, who was also involved in the timber trade and managed a mill in Kłodno

While many of Leiser’s family members emigrated and survived, his family also suffered immense loss. At least two of Leiser’s siblings (Pinkas and Amalia), his daughter Fania, son-in-law Isak, granddaughters Miriam and Ruth, and many nieces and nephews perished during the Holocaust. The Jewish community of Drohobycz was devastated by Nazi occupation starting in 1941, with many deported to extermination camps like Bełżec or killed in mass executions. This tragic fate reflects the broader destruction of Jewish life in Galicia during the Holocaust.

Emil Rothenberg (1900–1981)

Emil Rothenberg was born on 10 September 1900 in Drohobycz, Galicia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Ukraine). He was the youngest of four children born to Leiser and Malka.

After the death of his mother and the economic upheaval following the 1929 crash, Emil moved to Vienna, Austria. There, he started a used car business. One of his clients - a prominent Viennese lawyer - owned a rare 32-valve Cadillac that no mechanic in the city could repair. Emil did. This connection would later prove pivotal to his survival. While in Vienna, Emil met Lucie Kern (1911–2009). The couple married in 1936.

Flight from Nazism (1938)

After the Anschluss (Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in March 1938), the same lawyer Emil had once helped became the Head of the Nazi Party in Austria. Aware of the persecution that awaited Vienna’s Jews, the man summoned Emil and told him:

“If things get tough, let me know. I will help.”

Emil took him up on the offer. In exchange for surrendering all of their possessions, Emil and Lucie were granted a safe-conduct pass through Germany to Hamburg. From there, they received two tickets aboard the S.S. Manhattan to the United States.

The Rothenbergs were permitted to take only a single candelabra and a pair of earrings. Only first-class tickets were available, which meant they were not processed through Ellis Island upon arrival in New York on 7 July 1938.

Emil and Lucie settled first in West Virginia, where Emil was naturalized. There, they raised two sons, Leslie and Alan

Emil lived a long life, passing away on 16 October 1981 in Miami Beach, Florida, at the age of 81. He was buried in San Mateo County, California.

Dr. Ada Adele Rothenberg (1891–1977)

Chemist, Doctor of Philosophy, émigré, and first cousin of Helena Rothenberg

Early Life and Family

Ada Adele Rothenberg was born on 7 May 1891 in Drohobycz, Galicia, then under Austro-Hungarian rule. She was the oldest daughter of Leiser and Malka.

Education and Scientific Achievements

Her early education included attending the municipal girls' lyceum in Sanok, followed by the municipal girls' lyceum in Lemberg (now Lviv), where she passed her Matura (final secondary school exam) in June 1909. She then studied natural sciences with a focus on zoology at the University of Lemberg from 1909 to 1912. In 1915, she continued her studies at the University of Vienna, concentrating on chemistry and physics, and served as an assistant at the II. Chemical Laboratory of the University of Vienna during the 1917/18 academic year. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) degree on 16 February 1920, with a dissertation titled “Über die Einwirkung von Schwermetallsalzen auf Lithiumalkyle” (“On the Reaction of Heavy Metal Salts with Lithium Alkyls”), supervised by the renowned chemist Prof. Wilhelm Schlenk, a pioneer in organometallic chemistry. Ada’s doctoral work was published in the Monatshefte für Chemie and contributed to foundational knowledge in chemical reactivity and synthesis.

Following her doctoral studies, Rothenberg's professional trajectory remains unclear. Some sources suggest that she worked at the Federal Institute for Food Examinations in Vienna during the early 1950s. Ada’s contributions to the field of chemistry, particularly in the area of organometallic chemistry, are notable. Her work under the guidance of Prof. Wilhelm Schlenk reflects the significant role she played in early 20th-century scientific research.

In 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, many Jewish professionals in Drohobycz, including pharmacists and physicians, were replaced by Aryan experts. Lists from that period document these changes, highlighting the challenges faced by Jewish professionals during the war

Marriage and Migration

On 3rd April 1923, Ada married Hans Moriz Heinrich von Ender, a chemist from an aristocratic Austrian family. Because she was Jewish, Hans was disowned by his family and Hans dropped von from his title. Ada and Hans were known for their intellectual rigor, their lifelong devotion to one another, and a shared custom of learning a new language every year.

Exile and Scientific Legacy

As the Nazis rose to power, Hans was spirited out of Austria by the U.S. Army, likely through a wartime scientific recruitment channel. He contributed to sonar development and possibly to the Manhattan Project. His work with silicon-based chemistry earned him numerous patents, and he later helped develop Simoniz® Car Wax, a product that became widely associated with Union Carbide and 3M.

Ada and Hans immigrated to New York, later retiring in Miami Beach, Florida, where Ada died on 2 August 1977 at age 86.

The couple had no children.

Fania Mina Rothenberg (1883-1940)

Fania was born on 12th August 1889 in Tustanowice, a village near Drohobycz. She was the eldest daughter of Leiser Rothenberg and Amalia Malka Rothenberg (who were 1st cousins).

On 3 September 1911, Fania married Dr. Isak Leiser Seif (1883–1940) in Drohobycz. Isak was a well-regarded lawyer and candidate of the bar under the Austro-Hungarian legal system. By 1918, he was officially listed in the Austrian Ministry of Justice records for lawyers and notaries.

The couple had two children : Miriam was born on 6th June 1912 in Lwów and Ruth (dob unknown)

During the Nazi occupation of eastern Galicia beginning in 1941, Isak Seif served as Secretary of the Jewish Community Council (Judenrat) in Drohobycz. The Judenrat system, imposed by the Nazis, often placed Jewish leaders in impossible positions, expected to cooperate in organizing deportations and censuses.

According to family testimony, Isak refused to hand over the community records to the Nazis. This act of defiance led to the public execution of the entire family, including Fania and their children, in the town square of Drohobycz. The execution likely occurred in late 1940 or 1941, shortly after the Nazi occupation began in the region.

Fania Mina Rothenberg was murdered in the Holocaust, alongside her husband and children, in Drohobycz at the age of 51. Their deaths are emblematic of the systematic annihilation of Galicia’s Jewish middle class, who were among the first targets of Nazi terror due to their leadership roles and civic influence.

Fania's story survives through preserved family histories and the moral courage shown by her husband in protecting his community to the end.

Shulim Schulek Rothenberg (1894 – c.1914–1918)

soldier in World War I, presumed killed in action

Shulim/Schulek was born in 1894 in Stryj. He was delivered by midwife Ester Drucker, who also attended the births of his cousin Helena (Malie) Rothenberg the authors grandmother, and her siblings Irena (Roza) and Henryk. This shared detail underscores the strong familial and geographic ties among Jewish families in the towns of Stryj, Drohobycz, and Tustanowice.

With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Shulim was of prime military age (around 20). Galicia became a major Eastern Front battlefield, and thousands of Jewish men from the region were conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army. Records show that Shulim served as a reserve officer cadet (Fähnrich) in the Austro-Hungarian Army during WWI. He was wounded while serving with the elite 109th Assault Company, part of Infantry Regiment 77 and Assault Battalion 24. He was listed in an official casualty list published on December 19, 1918, after the end of the war.

Shulim was presumed to have been killed by his sister during the war (information comes from a letter Ada wrote to her nephew in the 1970s).

Rothenberg Shulim, Ensign in the Reserve, Infantry Regiment No. 77, assigned to Assault Battalion No. 24, 109th Assault Company, Galicia, Drohobych, Starawie; born 1894; wounded.

Fähnr. i. d. Res. = Fähnrich in der Reserve = Ensign in the reserve (a junior officer rank).

IR Nr. 77 = Infantry Regiment No. 77.

zugeteilt dem SturmB. Nr. 24, 109. Sturmkomp. = assigned to Assault Battalion No. 24, 109th Assault Company.

Galizien, Drohobcz, Starawie = from Galicia, Drohobych, Starawie (likely a misspelling or older form of "Stare Sioło" or "Stariava").

1894 = year of birth.

verw. = verwundet = wounded.

Last Name: Rothenberg

First Name: Shulim

Rank: Fähnr. i.d. Res. Fähnrich in der Reserve = Officer cadet (Ensign) in the reserve.

Unit: IR 77, zugeteilt dem SturmB 24. Infantry Regiment No. 77, assigned to Assault Battalion 24.

Sub-Unit: 109. Sturmkomp 109th Assault Company (elite stormtrooper-style unit used in trench warfare).

Homeland: Galizien  District: Drohobycz  Location: Starawie

Year of Birth: 1894 Wounded/Dead/Imprisoned: v “v” = verwundet (wounded).

Date of Death: blank (Suggests he was not reported dead at the time of this list.)

List Number: 705

Date of List: 19 December 1918 (This casualty list was published just after WWI ended).

Page: 4  O/E/F/M: O Possibly refers to the type of casualty (O = Officer), or origin.