The real-estate and asset manager Paul Fromm lived in Berlin with his wife Elli and daughter Renate. Elli Fromm was a member of the Jewish community. Their marriage was classified as a “privileged mixed marriage.”
In 1941 the National Socialist Association of Legal Professionals revoked Paul Fromm’s administration of buildings and properties owned by Jews. He was interrogated by the Gestapo several times in connection with this process. He was threatened with admission to a concentration camp.
At the end of 1942, Paul Fromm advised Werner and Ilse Rewald to go underground. Werner Rewald was initially able to stay with the Fromms. Paul and Elli Fromm were also a port of call for many other people in hiding: they enabled Helene Weiß to officially register and receive ration cards. Margarete Draeger stayed overnight with the Fromms occasionally and was given food. Lotte Geller received help from Paul Fromm when she fled her home and went into hiding. The Fromms also sent parcels to Max Klein after he was deported from Berlin to the Theresienstadt ghetto in March 1943.
In November 1944 Paul Fromm was drafted into the Organization Todt and performed forced labor in Leuna and Halle. He was released in January 1945.
Elli and Paul Fromm, around 1965. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
