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Hermoine Rotter Brod Germann
Hermoine Entrepreneur
Just like Papa’s mother, Menie, Mela’s mother, Hermoine was an astute business owner. Perhaps that’s part of what drew Mela and Papa together. I have two pictures of Hermoine, taken around 1930? on the street of an unknown country. One is of apparently a cold day; her head emerges from a large tent of a dark brown winter fur coat. The crispness of the day comes through her eyes, which transverse the black and white picture to pierce into me, with an intelligence and an intensity that is startling. The second is faded, but still her thoughtful gaze and slight smile reaches me. She is sitting in what must be a very cramped opening, selling luggage. Numbered tags arranged in rows are her companions. She shows some happiness to the photographer.
Insert picture of Hermoine on street in Winter
Insert picture of Hermoine as street luggage vendor
Hermoine - Background
The Brods came at some point from Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia/Herzegovina) and from Prague. Hermoine Rotter Brod (7/3/1865 – 9/10/1934) had two children with her first husband, Josef Brod (11/2/1867 - ?): Melanie (Mela - my grandmother) and Ernst. Hermoine was born in Moravskanova Ves Mahrisch Neudorf Breclav, South Moravia, Czech Republic. Her parents' names were Itzak and Katerina Rotter. (insert certificate with their names on it.) Josef was born in Gyor (Raab) - Moson-Sopron, Western Transdanubia, Hungary. Mela was born in Doboj Republika Srpska Bosnia and Herzegovina (the former Sarajevo, Yugoslavia). At some point, Hermoine remarried Juda Beer Germann (died 10/21/1920 – 55 years old – (I have a picture of his grave – find out where his grave is located) and had two more children, Otto and Gertrude (Trude) Vivian (7/16/1904 chk – 12/5/93). The My Heritage and Geni sites have records that go back five generations on at least the Brod side.