Schiemann Paul & Charlotte

Schiemann, Paul Schiemann, Charlotte Dr. Paul Schiemann (in Latvian: Pauls Šīmanis), a Baltic German, was a well-known figure in Latvia. A journalist and a politician, he was a member of the Latvian Parliament during all the years of its existence until 1934 and an advisor of the League of Nations on minority issues. During that period he was also editor in chief of a German-language daily newspaper Rigasche Rundschau respected by Jews for its democratic views. He categorically rejected the May 15, 1934, takeover of power by K. Ulmanis, regarding it as a violation of the Latvian Constitution and left for Vienna, Austria, but following the Anschluss in 1938, returned to Rīga. During the first year of Soviet occupation the Schiemanns luckily avoided deportation to Siberia, hiding among their friends. From the beginning of the German occupation of Latvia the 65-year-old Dr. Schiemann was closely watched by the authorities, his correspondence checked, but being seriously ill he was not arrested, although his anti-fascist views were widely known. Around New Year’s Eve 1942/43, Paul and Charlotte Schiemann accepted in their home a young Jewish widow whose entire family perished, Valentina Feinmane (later Freimane). The Schiemanns owned a two-story private house surrounded by a garden and a high fence. For Valentina it was like a paradise, after many months of constant moving from one insecure hiding place to another. Despite the danger, the Schiemanns sheltered and protected the Jewish woman until June 1944. The good attitude of her hosts helped Valentina retain the feeling of honor and self-esteem, to feel an equal among equals. During that period she helped Dr. Schiemann write his memoirs and thoughts about the fate of Europe. On June 23, 1944, less than four months before the Soviets entered Rīga, Dr. Paul Schiemann passed away. His widow decided to move to Bavaria where she had family. She cordially parted from Valentina who luckily found an alternativeshelter and thus survived the war. They never met again. On November 21, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Paul Schiemann and his wife, Charlotte, as Righteous Among the Nations.