Keren, Miriam (born Marianne Mayer)

Hebrew-Name
מריאן מאייר-קרמר (מרים קרן)
Biography
Miriam Keren (née Marianne Mayer) was born in 1907 in Berlin and died in 2009 in Israel. Her father, Richard Mayer, was a Zionist lawyer employed by a bank. Her family had lived in Germany for many generations and was both religious and Zionist. Miriam was a member of the Blau-Weiß youth organization and studied history and English language and literature at the University of Heidelberg and then at the University of Berlin. In 1928 she married Erich Kraemer, who changed his name to Moshe Keren in Palestine. He was a banker and later worked as a journalist for Ullstein publications in Germany and later for the for the Haaretz newspaper in Palestine/Israel. The couple immigrated in September 1933 to Palestine, settling first in Haifa. Their first child, Michael Keren, who would become a professor of economics, was born in 1931 and their daughter Yehudith was born in 1936. In 1948 Miriam studied social work in a special course conducted by the Jewish Agency, and then worked with Jewish immigrants in Yehud. She subsequently she worked in the prestigious bookstore of her uncle, Ludwig Mayer. When her husband registered for the British Army in 1941, Miriam moved to Ramot HaShavim, where she cared for her children and worked as an English teacher. Later, she moved to Ra’anana. Moshe was then sent on a diplomatic mission to Washington, D.C., where the family lived for two years, followed by two years in London between 1951 and 1953. There, Miriam continued her social work studies. After the family’s return to Israel in 1953, Miriam began working with immigrants through the Department of Social Work of the Tel Aviv municipality, where she continued to work for over ten years. She also ran a home for immigrants. In 1968, she moved to the Beit Meir retirement home in Jerusalem, where she also volunteered to work with the residents.
Father
Richard Mayer, a Zionist, was a lawyer and worked for a bank.
Marriage/Children
Married Moshe Keren (born Erich Kraemer, died 1949), a journalist. They had a daughter (born 1936) and a son (born 1931)
Age at Migration
26
Year of Migration
1933