Rudy Kemp

Emmerich, Germany

1911 - 1999
Rude Kemp photo looking down wearing glasses and collared jacket
Rude Kemp photo looking down wearing glasses and collared jacket

Biography

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Profile

Name in US
Rudy Alfred Kemp
Name at Birth
Rudolph Alfred Kempenich
Date of Birth

05/04/1911

Country of Birth
Germany
City of Birth

Emmerich

Parents

Margarete Steinberg
(1880-1916)

Max Kempenich
(1860-1922)

Sibling(s)

Erna Frederike Kempenich (Dr. Alfred Leopold Einstein)
(1902-1990)

Erich Kempenich
(1903-1944)

Walter Heinz (Heinrich) Kempenich
(1909-1953)

Spouse(s)

Margareta (Greta) Sybilla Nathan
(1912-2007)
Married October 10, 1935 in Emmerich, Germany

Rudy and Greta met at the family department store where Greta worked (Nathan and Gompertz).

Rudy and Greta were the last couple to be married in the synagogue in Emmerich, two years before they fled across that bridge over the Rhine. Standing on a pedestal in front of them on their wedding day was the four-foot tall brass Emmerich menorah.

Children

Alfred “Fred” Kemp (Madalyn Tonkel)
(February 10, 1939 – February 24, 2012)

Donald “Don” Kemp (Gail Sopkin; Pat)
November 12, 1951 – March 9, 1988

Margaret Jean “Jeanne” Kemp (Steve Ginsburg)
June 19, 1947 – ?

Religious Identity (Prewar)
Jewish
Religious Identity (Postwar)
Jewish
Dates Lived in Alabama

1937–1999

Alabama City(s) of Residence
Anniston
Date and City of Death
07/16/1999, Anniston
City of Burial / Cemetery
Anniston / Highland Cemetery
Other Experiences

Rudy’s father Max, along with a business partner, owned the largest department store in Emmerich. In the US, Rudy would go on to found Tapecraft Corporation, which manufactured narrow tape zippers, clothing, labels, and book bindings.

27 members of Rudy’s family died in concentration camps. Of the 100 Jews in Emmerich, only 32 escaped.

Year / Ship to US / Arrival City
December 11, 1937 / SS Washington / New York, NY
Dates Lived in Alabama

1937–1999

Alabama City(s) of Residence
Anniston
Date and City of Death
07/16/1999, Anniston
City of Burial / Cemetery
Anniston / Highland Cemetery
Personal Testimonies

Oral Testimony of Don Kemp (son)
August 11, 2010 | (1:07)
The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum
Esther and Herbert Taylor Oral History Collection

Additional Resources

Survivor Stories, Rudolph (Rudy) Alfred Kempenich (Kemp)
Temple Beth-El / Anniston
Written by Sherry Blanton, 2010

Anniston Holocaust Survivors/Family Tree

Emmerich Menorah, currently housed at Temple Beth-El, Anniston