born 6 May 1920 in Hanover
died 30 March 1969 in Auckland, New Zealand
historical former address Helmut-Barm-Straße 16, Dortmund
Stumbling stone Am Markt 4, Fürstenwalde
Date of stone-laying 19 May 2022
Edith Meyer was born into a Jewish family in Hanover on 6 May 1920. Her parents Siegfried Meyer and Gertrud (née Adler) lived in Dortmund at Helmut-Barm-Straße 16.
On 2 February 1939, at the age of 18, Edith left Germany and fled to New Zealand. Her maternal aunt Hildegard Fürst (née Adler) had already been living there since 1935. In Germany, Hildegard and her husband Julius had run a department store on the market square in Fürstenwalde before they fled the country.
In New Zealand, Edith married Gerhard Fürst, the stepson of her aunt Hildegard. Together with his father Julius, Gerhard ran a farm in Auckland. The family simplified the spelling of their German surname to “Furst”. To this day, the great-grandchildren of Julius Fürst have retained this spelling of their name. Gerhard and Edith had four children: Hazel, Stephen, Judy and Eric.
Edith died on 30 March 1969. Her husband Gerhard moved to Australia in the 1980s to be with his children. He died in Queensland on 13 June 1995.
Family members:
Gerhard Otto Georg Fürst (later Furst)
Hildegard Fürst née Adler (later Furst)
Julius Fürst (later Furst)