Alfred Pfingst und Frieda Pfingst geb. Loewenstein
Alfred Pfingst was born 16th April, 1889 in Bischofsburg, in the Roessel district of Eastern Prussia. On 5th November, 1918, he married, in Roessel, Frieda Loewenstein, born 13th February, 1893 in Barten in the district of Rastenburg. Alfred Pfingst was a merchant and he owned the retail shopping premises `Alfred Pfingst am Wesertor´ at Baeckerstrasse 74-76. He’d lived there from 1st August, 1911, and even on their wedding day his wife was registered in Minden, at this address. The couple had three children together, two daughters and a son, who were born in Minden. Even before the `Order for Dismissing Jews from German Business Dealings´ was brought into being, on 1st January, 1939, the NSDAP had tried, in 1938, to make the shop Aryan. This was opposed by the Minden Retail Traders. The process for the business to become Aryan began in 1939 and lasted until 1941 because the Minden Tax Assessor, Koellmann deliberately slowed the process. He had worked for Alfred Pfingst since the opening day of the business.
When Alfred Pfingst was arrested on the Pogrom night of 9th November, 1938, and taken to the concentration camp at Buchenwald, he commissioned Koellmann with the honest running of the business. From the end of January, 1939, Koellmann was officially, by order of the Minden Council, charged with the winding up of the Pfingst business. In April, 1939, he was relieved of his duties, considered unreliable because of his personal sympathy for the Pfingst family. Responsibility for the winding up of the business was the given to the Solicitor and Notary, Dr. Vockroth. He also slowed the solvency process on purpose, but it was finally closed at the end of 1941.
The Pfingst’s had moved to Frankfurt am Main at the beginning of June, 1939, after they had sent their children, all minors, from Minden, to safety abroad, where all three survived the holocaust.
It is known that Alfred and Frieda Pfingst were deported to Auschwitz from Frankfurt am Main and were murdered there on 31st October, 1944.
