Jenny "Henny" Schermann

Jenny “Henny” Schermann was born to a Jewish family in Frankfurt, Germany, on February 19, 1912. Her father, Julius Chil Schermann, met his future wife, Selma, in Germany shortly after he immigrated from Russia. Henny was the family's eldest child, and she had two younger siblings: Herbert (1914 – 1942) and Regina (1916 – unknown). In 1931, Henny’s parents separated, leaving her mother, Selma, to take over the family shoe shop, which had been inherited from her parents. Henny worked as a salesperson for the shop, which was located on Meisengasse Street in Frankfurt. 

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Jenny went by “Henny,” which was a nickname used for girls but also sometimes for boys. This could suggest that Henny felt more masculine or ambiguous about her gender. It also indicates that others recognized and respected this by calling her Henny rather than Jenny. What we can say for sure, based on the historical evidence, is that Henny never got married, but she had a son named Walter with a non-Jewish man. At the same time, she was also a regular at lesbian bars in Frankfurt. Henny’s story helps us understand how the intersection of people’s multiple identities influenced the way they lived and the way the Nazis treated them. 

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In 1933, the Nazi rise to power meant that the authority of the German government could enforce the Party’s antisemitism. The Schermann family faced state-sanctioned discrimination and persecution because they were Jewish. For example, Henny’s sister was not allowed to legally marry her spouse, a non-Jew, due to the Nazi’s The Nuremberg Race Laws. This meant that their son was considered illegitimate by the government. 

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The Schermanns’ livelihood, too, was drastically affected. The Nazis implemented a nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933. The boycott ultimately only lasted one day, but as antisemitism became German policy under Nazi rule, economic pressures grew. In 1935, the Schermanns were forced to close their family’s business. Afterward, Henny worked for other companies as a salesperson. 

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In an attempt to further separate German Jews from the rest of German society, the Nazis passed the Law on Alteration of Family and Personal Names in August 1938. It forced Jewish people with “non-Jewish” names to add Jewish names to their legal names (“Israel” for men and “Sara” for women).  After 1938, Henny was documented for refusing to add “Sara” as part of her first name in official identification documents. 

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Henny’s refusal to add the name ‘Sara’ to her documentation symbolizes her commitment to personal autonomy and rejection of the Nazis’ antisemitic policies. 

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Upon her arrest, her Prisoner ID and Certificate of Incarceration classified her as Jewish and a political opponent. The Nazis also knew she was a lesbian and noted that on her documents. On January 3, 1940, the Nazis deported Henny to the Ravensbrück concentration camp for women. Her uniform’s badge consisted of two yellow triangles, identifying her as Jewish to camp officials and other prisoners.