An Oakland woman searching for her Jewish roots was responsible in part for bringing Ludwig Bez to San Francisco.
Judith Mayer, who was raised Methodist, found out at the age of 20 that her father was Jewish.
Mayer’s grandfather died when her father was a child. Her grandmother believed that complete assimilation was the best way to become American. But there were hints.
“My father was hateful toward Germany, and he would take us to a deli for celebrations,” the Oakland resident recalled.
Once Mayer learned about her family secret, she began investigating her Jewish background. She had read an article about Rabbi Ted Alexander and contacted him. Alexander, who fled Germany as a young man, provided Mayer with a link to her father’s ancestry. Her mother was not Jewish.
Eventually, Mayer went to Freudental, Germany, to find out more about her father’s family. In the German cemetery, she found tombstone after tombstone with the name “Mayer,” all of them her father’s relatives. Bez aided her with her search.
Because of their friendship, Bez decided to bring a group to San Francisco to see Jewish life here.
A few years ago, Mayer joined Congregation B’nai Emunah and converted to Judaism.
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