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Norbert was born on March 14, 1927, in Bad Homburg v.d.H., Germany. He was the son of Josef and Bertha Strauss and had an older brother named Herman, who was born in 1926. Norbert experienced anti-Semitism during his school years in Bad Homburg from 1933 to 1935, which profoundly impacted his childhood. To escape this hostility, he attended Jewish schools in Frankfurt a/M from 1936 to 1938.
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The turning point in Norbert’s life came during Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938, when his father was imprisoned in Buchenwald Concentration Camp. His father was released in December 1938 under difficult conditions, but the family was still in turmoil. The only chance his father had to leave was on the S/S St. Louis, which sailed to Cuba and then back to Europe.
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Norbert’s father was eventually sent to a camp in Holland, while his mother, brother, and Norbert remained in Frankfurt.
Thanks to what Norbert describes as "Nes min Hashomayim" (miracle from heaven) his father obtained a U.S. visa and arrived in New York in late 1939. Life in Germany was fraught with hardships, including rationing and increased anti-Semitism in Frankfurt from 1938 to 1941.
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Until the family emigrated in 1941, they lived in an apartment with three other families, all relatives, and attended school with a curriculum geared toward possible emigration.
Norbert’s mother made several attempts to arrange transportation out of Germany, exploring options through Bremen, Genoa, the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and France. In late 1940, the family bribed a Gestapo officer and secured airplane tickets to leave from Munich.
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Ultimately, they departed from Stuttgart, traveling through Lyon, Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon before arriving in New York in January 1941.
Once settled in New York, Norbert and his family faced financial hardships as they adjusted to their new life. His father started a business in New York, similar to the one he had in Germany.
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Norbert attended public school, followed by Stuyvesant High School, City College of Engineering, and Baruch School of Business from 1941 to 1945 and 1947 to 1949. He also served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1945 to 1947.
Norbert’s family continued to grow after his daughter Esther was born in 1952 and his son Benjamin in 1954, who sadly passed away in 2004.
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He is blessed with eight grandchildren—four from each of his children—and twenty-two great-grandchildren (and counting), with seventeen from his daughter and five from his son, plus two more expected within the next six months.
Norbert worked at Philipp Brothers from 1949 to 1985 and has dedicated himself to volunteer work with Zahal in Israel since November 1982, along with various other organizations from 1947 to the present.
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Norbert Strauss interview at Yeshiva of Central Queens - 2023-2024
Yeshiva of Central Queens
