“Butter Sponge Genoese” recipe
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
Siegmund and Johanna Silberberg owned a successful department store in Germany. In 1939, they fled the country with their children, Heinz and Marianne. The family traveled through London, New York City and Providence, Rhode Island, before settling in Pittsburgh. They opened the Silberberg Bakery on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill in 1943. After Johanna Silberberg died in 1941, Siegmund Silberberg married his wife’s cousin Martha Stern.
In 1949, Marianne Silberberg married Herbie Silberman, the brother of Marga Silbermann, who spelled her surname differently than her brother. Marianne and Herbie Silberman eventually took over the business. They obtained kosher certification from the Rabbinical Board of Greater Pittsburgh in 1975.
By the time the Silbermans retired and closed the business in 1981, the Silberberg Bakery had become a local institution, supplying breads and pastries to restaurants including the Grand Concourse and La Fondu, as well as supplying baked goods for countless bar and bat mitzvahs and weddings. Even after they retired, Herbie Silberman continued baking for Congregation Beth Shalom.
Marianne and Herbie Silberman moved to Arizona in 1994.
