Stefan Pauson
Authors: Paul Dörrzapf, Bastian Girschke
[No Stolperstein in Lichtenfels]
Stefan (1887-1964) was the oldest son of Pankraz and Rosa Pauson. He worked in the sales department of the family company (a trip to the USA in 1922 is documented), in World War I he served as a non-commissioned officer in the Ulans, among other things in eastern areas of war.
After the early death of his wife Annemarie Bing-Pauson, with whom he had one daughter called Hella, Stefan lived with his second wife Dr. Helene (née) Herzfelder in Bamberg. This marriage produced the children Eva and Peter.
"Protective custody" in Dachau
During the November pogroms, Stefan ("Steps") was taken into "protective custody" in Dachau, where he endured five terrible weeks of hunger, cold, humiliation and mistreatment until his family managed to buy his freedom on December 10, 1938.
Escape to England
Business contacts in England and the USA (Lucie Hatch) enabled his mother, him and his family to escape to England in March 1939. Once there, he was briefly interned. His plans to start his own business in basketry fell through. He then worked as a sales specialist for basketware dealers.
Like his brother-in-law Alfred Hess, Stefan was an important collector of German Expressionist art. He contributed paintings to the German Expressionist Collection at Leicester City Arts and Museums. His son Peter, a famous scientist, and his wife bequeathed his father's art collection to the museum in 2013/2014.
Hella Pauson (1920-2001), Stefan's eldest daughter from his first marriage, immigrated from England to the USA in 1946, where she worked as a designer.