Philip Hans Bernstein
Other Family
b. 05.04.1922, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt — d. 12.11.2000, Israel
Husband of Margit · 2 children
Portrait photograph of Philip (Perez) Bernstein in military uniform with beret. Young man in his early 20s. Likely taken during service with the Palestine Regiment / Jewish Brigade.
Profession Farmer (Kvuzat Zeraim, 1946-), Soldier (Jewish Brigade / Palestine Regiment, 1942-1946)
Religion Jewish
Address Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Germany (1922-1937)
Address Esslinger Waisenhaus (Jewish orphanage), Esslingen, Germany (c. 1935-1937)
Address Kvuzat Zeraim, Post Kfar Yehezkel, Palestine/Israel (1946-c.1950)
Family
Emigration
Palestine 10.01.1938
Route: Germany → Haifa Port, Palestine
Location Trail
- Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt
- Esslinger Waisenhaus (Jewish orphanage), Esslingen
- Palestine
- Haifa
- Palestine
- BAOR, Germany
- Belgium
- Kvuzat Zeraim, Post Kfar Yehezkel
- Haifa
- Jerusalem
- Kfar Yehezkel
- Kfar Yehezkel, Israel
- Afula
- Kvutzat Dovrat, Israel
- HaGdud HaMizrahi 31, Kiryat Haim
- Israel
Timeline
- 05.04.1922 Born in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt
- 10.01.1938 Arrived in Palestine
- 08.06.1942 Enlisted in His Majesty's Forces
- 09.10.1945 Applied for Palestinian naturalization
- 12.1945 Jewish Brigade helps Margit emigrate
- 13.05.1946 Palestinian naturalization certificate issued
- 21.06.1946 Wrote to Department of Migration from Kvuzat Zeraim
- 20.07.1946 Identity card issued in Afula
- 02.08.1946 Oath of allegiance — Palestinian citizenship
- 09.09.1991 Naturalized as German citizen
- 12.11.2000 Dies in Israel
Correspondence
Application for Palestinian Citizenship — cover page (Bernstein, Philipp). File 3221/125-מ. Application checked 15.4.46, approved 29.4.46. Certificate No. 70,696A. 1946 
1949 Voter/Settlement Registry — Kvutzat Dovrat. Entries 17-18: Bernstein Margit Edith Erna (b. 1922) and Bernstein Philip Hans (b. 1922, child of Bernhard). Confirms residence at Dovrat and father's name. 1949 
Margit Bernstein Memoir (1963) 1963 Notes
Childhood friend of Margit from Esslinger Waisenhaus
Father: Bernhard Bernstein
Left Germany with German passport No. 914 (issued Esslingen, 23 Sep 1937)
Arrived Haifa Port 10 January 1938, registered as immigrant 4/146, category B(III)
Enlisted in His Majesty's Forces on 8 June 1942
Service number P/17217, rank Lance Corporal (L/C)
Unit: 'C' Company, 1st (Jewish) Battalion, Palestine Regiment, BAOR (British Army of the Rhine)
Certificate of good character issued 9 Oct 1945 by commanding officer
Application for Palestinian naturalization filed 9 Oct 1945 while serving in BAOR
References for naturalization: Burstyn S. (Kfar Yehoshua), Barash D. (Kfar Yehoshua)
Naturalization certificate No. 70696A issued 13 May 1946
Oath of allegiance sworn 2 August 1946, Afula
German passport 914 surrendered and kept in custody by authorities
Identity Card No. 11553 issued Afula, 20 July 1946. Occupation: Farmer. Residence: Fersaia(?)
Physical description (1946): Height 5'11", grey eyes, brown hair, normal build
Address 1946: Kvuzat Zeraim, Post Kfar Yehezkel (near Afula)
On release leave from military June 1946; wrote to Department of Migration requesting naturalization certificate forwarding
Memoir: Knew Margit from the orphanage in Esslingen. Immigrated to Israel and returned as soldier of Jewish Brigade.
Memoir: Searched survivor lists for names of his mother and sister — found Margit's name instead. They did not survive.
Memoir: At end of 1945, soldiers of the Jewish Brigade helped Margit cross the border to Belgium, then to Palestine.
Memoir: After returning from the army, they married. Their first child was born — 'the son came into the world with good luck.'
1990: Applied for confirmation of Israeli citizenship from Kiryat Haim address (HaGdud HaMizrahi 31, 26304)
Israeli ID number: 934286
Geni.com lists birth year as 1921 and death as Nov 21, 2000 (vs our records: 1922-04-05 birth, 2000-11-12 death)
Hebrew name of father (from marriage cert H 84844, 1946): דוב — corresponds to Bernhard Bernstein (see bernhard_bernstein)
Hebrew name of mother (from marriage cert H 84844, 1946): חולדה — corresponds to Hulda Bernstein née Jutkowski (see hulda_bernstein)
Not a blood Oppenheimer descendant — married into the family through Margit Edith Erna Oppenheimer (wife, m. 14 July 1946). Grandfather of the archive owner.
Sources
- Israel State Archives — Citizenship File 3221 — Palestinian citizenship / naturalization file for Philipp Bernstein. Contains application forms, oath of allegiance, identity card, naturalization certificate, military correspondence, and related documents from the Government of Palestine Department of Migration (1945-1946) and Israel Ministry of Interior (1990).
- Margit Bernstein Memoir (קורות חיים) — 19-page handwritten Hebrew memoir/autobiography by Margit Bernstein (née Oppenheimer). Written in Israel in her later years. Covers childhood in Germany, Holocaust experiences (Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Bad Kudowa-Sakisch), liberation, and emigration to Israel. Original title: קורות חיים של מרגיט אהרן ברנשטיין, מקודם אופנהיימר
- MyHeritage — Krane Web Site — Family tree maintained by Bernhard Krane on MyHeritage. 209 profiles in 3 family trees, 16 photos. Contains Bernstein family data including Bernhard, Hulda, and their four children.
- Oppenheimer/Shacham Family Archive — Personal documents, photos, and correspondence
- Geni.com World Family Tree — Collaborative genealogy profiles managed by Randy Schoenberg. Profiles for Joseph Marum Oppenheimer and Mina Oppenheimer (née Kirchhausen).
- Margit Bernstein Memoir (English Translation) — 11-page English translation of Margit Bernstein's Hebrew memoir/autobiography. Written in 1963. Title: 'The biography of Margit Edith Bernstein born Oppenheimer'. Covers childhood, father's arrest and imprisonment, Jewish orphanage in Esslingen, Kristallnacht, forced labor, deportation to Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, factory camp in Silesia near Czech border, liberation at Nachod, emigration to Palestine via Belgium, post-war life in Israel. Ends with 'I Accuse.'
Research completeness
100%