Bernhard Meyer (1865–1942) was born on 6 March 1865 in Berlin to Jewish parents. Before moving to Bad Sachsa with his wife Therese in 1916, he had worked as a magistrate in Berlin. In the 1920s, he converted from Judaism to Protestantism. From 1928 onwards, he was a practising solicitor with his own law firm in Marktstraße in Bad Sachsa. From 1918 to 1933, Meyer was a city councillor in Bad Sachsa, and from 1924 onwards he headed a list of candidates affiliated with the German People's Party (DVP). As early as 1926, he was the target of hostility when several windows of his villa on Pfaffenberg were smashed. In 1933, he was banned from practising his profession under the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, and his law firm was closed. This deprived him of his livelihood, and he was only able to survive with the help of the town's residents and by selling valuables. During this time, he was subjected to further harassment and humiliation. On 12 August 1942, one day before his announced deportation to a concentration camp, he took his own life.
