"Deprived of Their Rights - Murdered - Forgotten' Jewish Pupils in Hamburg by Christiane Pritzlaff
From That's Supposed to be life? ... and why am I Born? -
(Research resource) Frankfurt, Germany 1994
It was 1939 and time for final exams at the Talmud Torah Elementary and High School. Two students were chosen for exams, Rolf Levisohn and Oskar Judelowitz. Rolf chose "Misfortune Itself is not worth a lot, but it actually has three good points, strength, experience and empathy."
Rolf had lots of experience with misfortune in his short life. He was handicapped and a Jew in a country with national socialism. He knew what it meant to live as a Jew in Germany and had already had experience. In 1935 he had to leave the famous pedagogical High School.
In 1938 he went to the concentration camp Oranienburg Sachsenhausen for six weeks. On January 1, 1939 he was renamed Rolf "Israel" Levisohn. On September 1, 1939 the breakout of war decreased his chances of immigration.
During Rolf's exam, his situation was detailed in his essay. He described the desperation of the affected people who were suffering. They shouted, "That's supposed to be life? Why am I born? I don't want to live anymore!! Why did this misfortune happen to me?" "But then there comes a time in their (the affected people's) lives in which there starts to be even helps with physical work. His school results were average despite this. Rolf was very interested in German history and literature. His handicap didn't effect his maturity. Even his parents played an important role in the development of his character.
Rolf's former classmates who weren't his friends didn't know much about his parents. His mother wrote a letter to a relative (Judith) in Palestine on July 5, 1939. It says, "When my boy comes to you, I sent you the the best I have in my life. He is so wonderful, this lad, more like a brother to me, and you'll have a lot of fun with him, but will this long dream (that he'll come to Palestine) come true? From the school records, we know that his father is a book reviser (bookkeeper). He was a front fighter in W.W.I and given a medal for his fighting. He was rewarded an Iron Cross and the Hanseatic Cross. One cross was given to him by the country of Germany and the other by the city of Hamburg. He lived with his wife, son and daughter in Barnbeck at Gluckstrasse 24. (24 Gluck St is in Barnbek, a suburb of Hamburg.)
The economical situation was modest, therefore immigration was difficult. Rolf's family want to emigrate is obvious in this letter: "In November 1938 the bad luck struck him and he was arrested.2 He was sent to the concentration camp Oranienburg-Sacsenhausen for six weeks. This event depressed him a lot, there was almost no other pupil who experienced this. From then on, he was very eager to emigrate, but he
January 4, 1939
Rolf's mother wrote an emotionally revealing letter to Haifa (Palestine) after Rolf was put in the concentration camp.
"I wrote you a 10 page letter on November 10 when Rolf left, I burn the whole letter because I thought I wouldn't survive the next day, but he survived a lot. I still live and time seems to forget everything. Now Rolf might be able to come to you. I tried so many things, but I 'II only believe it once he's on the train. I know that you do everything in you power.
Beyond that there is nothing someone could do. Today Rolf is going to school again, although it is almost ridiculous because there are only three people le-ft in the class. Most of them are gone, but that doesn't work for Rolf unfortunately; because he's over 18 he wasn't able to leave with the children's transport. Everything will be fine again although I don't care about anything anymore. If only there weren't the kids, how nice it would be. Rolf is really looking forward to meeting you, he will get the money from a nephew of my uncle. I don't know which city, but hopefully Haifa.
Then I'll be relieved, because I know once he's with you he's at home."
After living through the hell in Oranienburg Sacsenhausen, Rolf wrote in his final exam paper on December 14, 1939, "those experiences happened only one year ago" when he drew the conclusions that led him to the thesis of his paper. "As a conclusion we might say that the misfortune for the human being is currently something dreadful, but because of that misfortune, human beings achieve perfection." Another
facility. Rolf had to pass a trial period as a locksmith, but on March 4, 1940 his father received a message from the Jewish Religious Committee that Rolf was qualified for the training of a locksmith and that he would be admitted to the real workshop. What he didn't know was that at this point, there was only 2 years and 2 months left in his life.
How often will he have experienced the desperation of the struggle of life? He is a minority being both a Jew and handicapped. How often will he have hoped despite everything? In October 1941, a big change occurred. One October 25, he and his parents had to enter the transport from Hamburg to Lodz, Poland that the Nazi's now called Litzmannstadt (Stadt-city). One day before the deportation they had to go to the building o·f Moorweidenstrasse (a gathering place) where they were told "Your evacuation to Litzmannstadt is ordered. Your assets will be ceased immediately, and every further possession will be punished." Dr. Plaut, the head of the Jewish Committee in Hamburg from i 938-i 943 makes a statement about the deportation measures of the gestapo, (very detailed instructions about luggage, food for the trip and pocket money are as follows: 50 kg of luggage (clothes and quilts) and food for two days allowed. The transport participants also had to bring records of their possessions, and had to hand that in with their cash. After leaving the apartment, the key had to go to the precinct. The head finance president confiscated all possessions of the Jews in favor of the Reich.'
The trip to Lotz took two days. The Ghetto was in the Northern (especially poor) part of the city, the old part of town and the suburb Balut. Despite the overcrowded Ghetto (in a 4 sq. kilometer area), 160,000 Jews from Lotz and the surrounding area were resettled so that even in this survive as workers. Most of them were working in the weapon industry.
In a letter dated July 22, 1990, Gilly Landau (who was transported at the same time as the Levisohn's - October 25, 19941, and is one of the few survivors left from this transport in the US today) writes about the Levisohn's were housed on the floor of an old school on Mlinarska 25 (which still stands) for the first six weeks sleeping on the floor. After that we were dispersed to rooms throughout the Ghetto and lost all contact." on the list of names of Jew who lived in the Ghetto lodge, the address of the Levisohn's was Rubensgasse 2. Under the "Job" section Rolf was registered as a locksmith. From the Hamburg transport to Lodz only three people survived the Ghetto and the camps to follow. Rolf and his parents weren't among them. The Ghetto list reveals that Rolf's father Albert died at 51 on February 18, 1942, only four weeks after arriving at the Ghetto. The reason of his death is unknown.
Two months later, in April 1942, the majority of those in the Ghetto were told to undergo medical examination. The Ghetto was in uproar. Helplessness and angst were prevalent. The medical commission consisted of three German Doctors and Gestapo Officers who worked from April 20-25. Not many people came to these examinations, so the soldiers forced the people out of their housing. On April 25, Rolf and his mother were brought to the gathering point where they stayed eight days. Every registered person got a stamp on the breast and soup. The commission ceased exams until May 1 {April 25-May 1). The people of the Ghetto had only one thought, What's going to happen next?
On May 4, Rolf and his mother were "resettled" to Chelmno (Poland). Resettling to Chelmno meant "gas" extermination. Chelmno was renamed groaning and screaming was heard from the children, women and men in the wagon. They banged against the walls. After 10 more minutes had passed, there was silence. The corpses were then brought to the places designated in the forest and put in mass graves. Mrs. Levisohn was 46 and Rolf was 21 when they started their last trip from Lotz to Chelmno on May 4, 1942. Their death date was probably May 5, 1942. The only survivor from the family is Rolf's sister who was able to escape with the children's transport to England. She now lives in the United States.
Rolf's sister Ruth, who I was searching for desperately during my research work of Rolf's fate, got hold of this article which I published. Through the publisher of this book, she contacted me. A month later I got a letter from Israel for a distant relative of the Levishon's. This relative was also searching desperately to find Rolf's sister. She asked me whether I could contact Ruth. Both are very happy that they met like this. The two postcards which reveal Rolf's struggle to leave Germany came from the mentioned relative in the Israel. Also, the two letters from Rolf's mother came from this relative, July 5, 1939 to Palestine. In this letter, it becomes clear how Rolf's mother deals with the separation from her daughter Ruth who was sent to England in the 1939 child transport.
"The lovely little girl is gone. Since Friday she is in England. Now I cry. I did enough already and today i say I'm happy. My child is like a paradise, not that she's with wealthy people, no, she's with good people where
Personal notes:
Rolf was an accomplished artist. He painted portraits and charcoal drawings. A plaque was dedicated to him and a memorial was created in his honor at the Talmud Torah School. Also, as a note, when he was first sent to the camp it was a form of punishment that the Nazi's inflicted upon the Jew's from 1937-9. Gilly (or Zilly), Rolf's mother, wrote short stories.
Albert, Rolf's father, flew airplanes and was a war hero in W.W.I and played the violin.
Two weeks after Ruth (Rolf's sister) went to England the Nazi's invaded Poland.
Eric Raegen(stein), Ruth's husband, came from a small town near Frankfort-main. His father was a cattle dealer, and his sister Lucie lived further North. (?)
Herta Jacobson, Ruth's friend, met her husband in a labor camp. Martin Weissman, Ruth's friend, was also in a concentration camp.
Christoff Erbsloh, the translator was in New York city on an Action Reconciliation program, a service for Peace set up by Germany. Action Reconciliation atones the losses of the Jews and sets out to aid those surviving, mostly in the elderly community. Founded in 1958 by a Lutheran Church, Action Reconciliation was an anti-Nazi organization and worked underground. The Catholics in this organization l<ept quiet, and the people in the organization went to the countries that suffered the most as a result of the Holocaust.
Presently there are about i 60 volunteers in the organization who do service for 18 months.
Note about the author:
Christiane Pritzlaff wrote her Master's thesis on Rolf Levisohn. She is now a crusader with a mission not to let children forget the Holocaust.