The Dora
The Dora was the only illegal ship (Aliyah Bet) to leave from Northern Europe with Jewish refugees before the war. Described in the press as a "Death Ship", a "wreck practically falling apart", it managed to reach the shores of Palestine despite the British Navy embargo and saved hundreds of lives, including the life of my mother, Toni Katz.
The Dora
Photo: Het Volk, July 14 1939
This page was originally based on Chaya Brasz's article "Dodenschip Dora; Een oude kolenboot redde honderden Joden ondanks Nederlandse tegenwerking" ("The "Death Ship" Dora: the coal ship that saved hundreds of Jews"), which has been condensed and edited for clarity. Additional information was gathered from several books and online articles listed in the reference section; from articles published in the contemporary press and finally, from the recollections of my mother and from organizers and passengers who sailed on the Dora.
Mossad LeAliyah Bet
Following Hitler's rise to power in 1933, the increasingly harsh anti-Jewish measures in Nazi Germany made the need for Jewish immigration more and more urgent. At the same time, it became increasingly difficult for refugees to obtain visas for any destination. As for Palestine, then under British mandate, Great Britain announced in late 1938 that it would reduce Jewish migration to Palestine to a total of 75,000 over the next 5 years.
In response to the newly enacted restrictions implemented by the British government with its "White Paper", a new branch of the Haganah, Mossad LeAliyah Bet, was created in late 1938, with the goal of organizing illegal immigration to Palestine.
An organization was quickly put in place in several European countries to support this effort, with the center of operations set in Paris. This organization had to raise funds, collect intelligence, acquire (i.e. charter) ships, transform and equip ships to transport large numbers of immigrants: install beds and other necessities, set up sophisticated radio systems, supply them with large quantities of food, water and fuel, hire crews, transport immigrants to ports of departure, arrange sailing permits, all of this while avoiding the suspicion of local authorities and evading detection by the British Navy.
In its first year of operations, Mossad LeAliyah Bet managed to launch 10 ships from Mediterranean and Black Sea ports and bring so-called "illegal" immigrants to the shores of Palestine despite the British embargo.
Several groups provided operational and logistical support through each stage. First were "guides" (madrichim), who accompanied the ships during the crossings. They were young people who had gained sailing experience on rowboats on the River Yarkon, and had to be ready to act as emergency captains whenever problems arose with the official crews, often veteran Greek seamen. One such sailor was Amiram Shochat, who would take part in the voyage of the Dora and was by then already a veteran of these illegal expeditions.
Another group consisted of members of Shai ("Sherut Yediot"), the Haganah Intelligence Service, who gathered information about the British police anti-immigration plans, often from Jews who worked in their offices, and supplied the Mossad with the routes to evade the British.
Another crucial group was the Haganah radio communication wing, with members operating on the ships, at disembarkation points, and at the Haganah center in Tel Aviv. With efficient transmitters and receivers installed on each ship sailing to Palestine, they were able to coordinate between ship and shore, allowing the vessels to receive precise information on British naval movements and dodge the coastal patrols. Temporary communication stations were also set up on the landing beaches to guide the ships.
Lastly, there were the several disembarkation crews who brought the refugees from ships to shore, then helped them fan out to various settlements, while armed groups were on the lookout for the British forces. Several Haganah units were involved in the landings. Disembarkation was handled by Palyam units with seagoing experience.
Generally, the ships approached as close as possible to shore, allowing those who knew how to swim to make their own way to shore. The others were carried in boats or on the backs of helpers. Palmach units guarded the beach, while Gadna (Youth Corps) and HIM (Guard Corps, composed of older Haganah members) patrolled the wider area, and dispersed the immigrants among different Jewish settlements. Since success depended on preventing discovery by the British, great importance was placed on how quickly the immigrants were swallowed up in the settlements. In many cases, the Haganah supplied them with the appropriate identity papers.
The Refugee Situation in the Netherlands
Since Hitler's takeover of power in Germany in 1933, the Netherlands had taken in approximately 15,000 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria. After Kristallnacht at the end of 1938, the Dutch government allowed 150 chalutzim to enter the country, on condition that they would leave the country within a year. By that time, there were a little over 1,000 young people in Hachshara - agrarian training in preparation for emigration to Palestine - in the Netherlands. Gertrude van Tijn, the head of the Emigration Department of the Committee for Jewish Refugees, reported to the Joint (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, aka JDC) at the end of November that approximately 4,000 legal refugees had entered the Netherlands since Kristallnacht. By February 1939, she estimated that there were 23,000 German-Jewish refugees in the Netherlands, while the government put the number to 30,000.
Two organizations provided support to Jewish refugees from Germany: the Deventer Association ("Vereniging tot Vakopleiding van Palestina Pioniers": "The Association for Professional Training of Palestine Pioneers"), and the Committee for Jewish Refugees. They obtained entrance visas for young refugees, then placed them among Dutch farmers and in the Werkdorp ("work village") Nieuwesluis in Wieringer, Werkdorp Wieringermeer, where they received agricultural and professional training for immigration to Palestine.
Following the sudden influx of German refugees in Holland after Kristallnacht and the decision of the British Government to pressure the Greek Government to halt immigration to Palestine, the Haganah decided to create a new immigration route in Northern Europe. As early as December 1938 or January 1939, they started to discuss the possibility of shipping a group of 300 chalutzim from Holland, 150 from Belgium, and another 100 from France from a North European port.
Several agents of Mossad leAliyah Bet arrived from Palestine to Europe to organize "Operation North" (מבצע הצפון), the clandestine departure of German Jewish refugees from Holland. In charge of the operation was Gideon Rufer (Gideon Raphael), in charge of logistics was Gustav Horn from Kibbutz haZorea. From the central office of Mossad leAliyah Bet office in Paris, Shmarya Tzameret, a 23 year-old American-born member of Kibbutz Beit Hashita, was tasked with organizing the Dora trip. Other agents involved in the planning of the operation and purchase of the Dora included Ze'ev Shind, Yehuda Berginski, Danny Sheind, Amiram Shochat and Zvi Spector, who would lead the Dora during the trip.
Copenhagen: June - July 1939
Mossad officials, led by Yehuda Berginski, spent several months looking for a suitable ship that could sail from the North Sea, through the Atlantic Ocean and across the Mediterranean up to Palestine with hundreds of passengers.
They eventually found a Greek family willing to embark on the adventure: Pierre and Constantin Atychides, two Greek brothers who had previous smuggling experience during the Spanish Civil War. They would purchase a ship (with Mossad money), equip it and sail it all the way to Palestine.
After lengthy negotiations, Gideon Ruffer and Shmarya Tzameret finally arranged the purchase of the SS Tjaldur in Copenhagen on June 21st, 1939.
The Tjaldur
Built in 1898 in Glasgow under the name VEGA, then renamed Tjaldur in 1904, it was a relatively small steamer (584 gross tons, 199 feet by 30 feet, 11.5 knots) that had previously sailed between the ports of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Originally a passenger ship, it had later been converted into a merchant ship that transported various goods, including cattle. However, it still held a certificate to transport passengers and was deemed suitable for the operation as its mechanics were in good shape.
After the purchase, the ship was renamed the Dora and would sail under Panamanian flag. In Copenhagen, it was outfitted to transport passengers by adding 175 iron bunk beds on multiple levels, life jackets, a second kosher kitchen, lavatories, and showers. On the deck, a wooden room was constructed to accommodate a doctor, a nurse, and a small hospital. The engines were cleaned, and a sophisticated radio system was installed that would help communications with the Haganah headquarters.
During the outfitting the ship, disputes with the crew and tensions between the Dutch and the Palestinians emerged, posing a potential threat to the operation. At a critical juncture, Chaim Weizmann, the Zionist leader, had to intervene and restore peace among the organizers.
In July, following approximately three weeks of renovations and repairs, the Dora was finally ready and departed from Copenhagen, bound for Amsterdam.
Just as the Dora started to move, the captain's son, who was supposed to conduct the voyage on behalf of the ship's owners, tripped and broke his leg, so the Dora had to return to Copenhagen so he could be taken to a hospital. After the delay caused by this mishap, the Dora finally left Copenhagen, passing through the Kiel Canal, which was under Nazi control. .
As the Dora left, Tzameret and Costa took a train to Antwerp to hire additional crew and purchase more lifeboats. On his end, Gideon Rufer announced that the pioneers in Amsterdam were ready to go. Once the Dora arrived in Amsterdam, the plan was to get more coal and food and be ready to leave in a few hours without being noticed.
In a closed meeting of Hechalutz members from the work village of Wieringermeer, seventy-three candidates had learned that they had been selected to leave via illegal aliyah and would sail in nine days. In preparation for their voyage, they had been moved to temporary accommodations in Beverwijk, Assendelft, and Heemskerk, small villages close to Amsterdam, where they were to remain in hiding until their departure.
The trip, first discussed in December 1938, and in planning for half a year, had been delayed for so long that Shmarya Tzameret had to reassure the Dutch Government that the chalutzim would soon leave Holland as planned.
In Antwerp, the situation was worse: 150 people who had crossed the Belgian border illegally had been there for more than six weeks. The police arrested them every day, after which they were released, because they promised they to leave the next day, as soon as the ship would enter the harbor. Around the same time, the Belgian government passed a law to the effect that illegal refugees had to be sent back.
My mother recalled that during her stay in Antwerp, she stayed with a group of young men and women in the apartment of a wealthy Jewish family who were away on vacation for the summer. One day, a neighbor alerted the police of the presence of illegal aliens in the building. The police came and arrested the young men, but unaware that there were four girls on the second floor, didn't find them, and they were not arrested. At the end of each day, the young men would be released against a promise that they would soon leave Belgium. The next day, still there, they would be arrested again. This continued until they finally got ready to board the Dora. The girls, not wanting any more problems with the police, left the house and went back to stay at the Hechalutz house.
David Cohen, the Chairman of the Refugee Committee, was kept in the dark about the plans for the Dora because he was known to disapprove illegal activities. Other members and associates of the Committee however, such as Gertrude van Tijn, were willing to cross the line into illegality, and would provide their help and support throughout the entire duration of the operation. Since funds from the Joint could not be used for "illegal" enterprises, Gertrude's Dutch associates fronted the £3,000 (approximately $240,000 in 2018) needed to cover expenses for the trip.
Amsterdam: July 13 - July 16
The Dora arrived in the Amsterdam harbor on July 13th. Gideon Rufer went to the shipbroker on the Geldersekade canal to purchase the provisions needed for the trip. He took along with him Flip Cohen, a young Dutch passenger to be his translator.
Uri Kochba (Walter Koch, head of the Hechalutz movement) said:
"I was sent to the bakery, and had them bake special kosher bread that would stay good for a long time. We* ate that onboard until it became moldy. After that, we switched to biscuits."
Note: *the source for the quote must be incorrect. As far as I know, Uri Kochba did not board the Dora. He was arrested in the Netherlands in 1940. However, others have documented that the passengers did survive on biscuits and salty water towards the end of the trip.
This is when he met Amiram Shochat for the first time, one of the three people from the Haganah who had organized the trip of the Dora. Amiram warned him in Hebrew: "Don't talk to anyone in the crew". The Danish crew didn't know about the illegal nature of the trip, and were not supposed to know.
According to Yekutiel Fekete, the crew was composed as follows: The owner and captain of the ship was a 70-year-old Greek who hated the English and claimed "The British Empire will collapse and the English will go back to being fishermen and coal miners. This will be their fate.". Maybe his hatred for the British was part of the reason he agreed to serve on the Dora. The first officer was a younger Greek driven by greed, who had brought his wife on a voyage. The second officer was named Danny, a hardworking man who did all the work and treated us and the immigrants well. The third and fourth officers were Amiram Shochat from Tel Aviv, for whom this was the third voyage, and Zvi Spector from Jerusalem, who was on his first mission. The official wireless was a Spanish exile from the Civil War, while Yekutiel Fekete was the wireless operator in charge of connecting with the Haganah.
Everything seemed to be going well until emissaries from the Refugee Committee came to inspect the ship. Gertrude van Tijn and one of her colleagues from the Committee, Siegfried Kramarsky, a German-Jewish banker residing in the Netherlands who was financing part of the trip, came to satisfy themselves that the Dora was fit for the voyage. Siegfried Kramarsky, along with Salo (Salomon) Jakob Flörsheim - another banker and philanthropist - and a few other members of the Refugee Committee, had paid the 115,000 guilders (approximately $1.1 million in 2018) the trip would cost, and felt responsible for the success and safety of the trip.
They arrived just as coal was being loaded, so the ship was covered in a cloud of soot. They had expected a passenger ship; when they saw the decrepit hulk of the Dora, they were shocked. They questioned aloud whether the Dora was capable of carrying a large number of passengers through the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and to Palestine and considered withdrawing their support, then refused to let the chalutzim board the ship.
The members of the Refugee Committee were mostly wealthy, assimilated Jews who represented the Jewish Community to the government. Their idea of what a ship should look like didn't fit with the reality of illegal immigration. They were also upset by all the delays so far and concerned by the issues these delays would cause with the Dutch Government, as they had given their word that the chalutzim would be leaving without delay. They had some contempt for "Ostjuden", the people who had organized the trip, saying "Ostjuden don't keep their word". They also suspected that the paperwork for the ship might be fakes acquired on the black market, and blamed the Haganah for the poor condition of the ship.
Shmarya Tzameret was astonished by what he heard from these assimilated, law-abiding Jews who, with their haughty attitude, made decisions regarding the chalutzim. In his report to the Mossad LeAliyah Bet, he noted that these people were so removed from the problems of the Jewish people. After the remark about the OstJuden, he only spoke English.
He spoke to Gertrude van Tijn who supported the illegal scheme and whom he saw as a woman of great intelligence, and asked her to try to convince Kramarsky. Tzameret explained to her why the trip had been delayed so many times, told her that the Dora was a solid ship which had passed the inspection by the official authorities, and that the insurance papers were in order. In the end, the Refugee Committee gave in and agreed to let the trip continue.
The Dora in Amsterdam.
Photo: De Telegraph July 15, 1939
Read All About It!
Soon after, new complications arose. The dock workers who had brought the coal aboard the Dora had noticed the bunk beds in the holds, and had alerted the editors of the Communist Party's newspaper about the "scandalous" conditions aboard that "Death Ship". The next day, the Volksdagblad ("the People's Daily") published a long article accusing the Dutch government of forcing Jews to leave in unsafe condition aboard a "wreck of a ship" with "slave trade quarters" sail, which, they were sure, would drown with the hundreds of refugees aboard. Other newspapers started to write about the "Ship of the Dead". In the Amsterdam harbor, photographers aboard small boats circled around the Dora.
The Dutch government's official position was that it knew nothing about the preparations regarding the Dora's departure, and clearly wanted to keep it that way. Feeling overwhelmed with the sudden influx of Jewish refugees from Germany, it was willing to close its eyes on any irregularities to facilitate the removal of at least some of them. Rufer met Hendrik van Boeijen, the Minister of the Interior, who approved the operation and ensured that officials turned a blind eye to what was happening.
As a result of the reports in the press, the harbormaster received the order to inspect the Dora. Shmarya Tzameret met with the harbormaster and revealed the reason for the trip, and after the Dora had gone through a new inspection by the Dutch authorities, the harbormaster gave his authorization to sail, but made a list of minor improvements needed before the Dora could leave.
To Gertrude's relief, Dutch marine inspectors visited the ship and pronounced the Dora seaworthy, on condition that some minor repairs be made and that additional lifeboats be brought aboard in Antwerp.
Since there were only 350 beds and 300 people were supposed to board from Amsterdam, Tzameret told the harbormaster that only 50 more people would be boarding from Antwerp.
The Dutch government declared the following day that they weren't expelling any refugees, and that they would all leave from their own free will. The Communist Volksdagblad nevertheless denounced the apparent collusion between the authorities and the Refugee Committee in sending a "second St Louis" on a "death journey".
With the boat deemed seaworthy by the Amsterdam naval authorities, preparations for embarking the hundreds of chalutzim dispersed over various villages and communities now went under way.
Jacob Oppenheimer, a pioneer with the Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz (Religious Zionist), recalled:
"The Dutch immigration police wanted to get rid of us, but they were afraid of the publicity. The relationship with England wasn't too good, and the British of course didn't want any immigration. So in 1939, all of a sudden we were brought to Heemskerk (15 miles from Amsterdam), where we had to wait for a couple of weeks. Of course, we knew where we were going. On July 14th, I was brought to the house of Dr. Pinkhof in Amsterdam. I was very religious and couldn't travel on Shabbat. His house wasn't far from the harbor, so on Saturday, they came and picked me up and took me straight to the Dora."
"It was a small ship, full of people, but we never felt unsafe on the ship. The only danger we feared would come from the British."
Flip Cohen was with another group of chalutzim in Beverwijk, a town about 15 miles from Amsterdam. He remembered:
On Saturday, I ordered some taxis. We went with the whole group. That evening, I was home for a just little while. My mother said, "Are you leaving today?" We said: "See you in Eretz Israel". I took my backpack and left.
Apart from my younger brother Samuel, I never saw them again. I came back to the Netherlands in 1945 as a soldier with the Jewish Brigade. I found Samuel in the Portuguese Israelite Hospital. He was just back from Bergen Belsen. All the others had been murdered.
Dutch chalutzim dancing the "hora" in the park of the Assumburg Castle in Heemskerk which was then used as a youth hostel, before sailing to Mandate Palestine aboard the Dora, 1939.
Courtesy of The Ghetto Fighters' House Museum, Israel.
The chalutzim were shuttled with busses all day Saturday from their hiding places to the harborside Lloyd hotel, which served as a refugee center, and was surrounded by the police.
Raphael Kochavi wrote:
After finally giving the signal to move, we boarded the buses that were waiting for us at the farm entrances. It was July 15, 1939.
At night, we arrived at the spacious customs hall at the port. Surrounded by Dutch security personnel, all the illegal immigrants gathered together.
Lloyd Hotel, Amsterdam.
Photo: Utrechts Volksblad 18.07.1939
The leaders of the Jewish Refugee Committee and organizers of the trip, including Gertrude van Tijn, Siegfried Kramarsky, Salomon Flörsheim and Ru Cohen came to send off the refugees and wish them good luck. After fiery speeches, a Hatikvah concluded the ceremony.
Also present were the heads of the immigration police from The Hague and from Amsterdam who had come to control the boarding with 35 civil servants and policemen. All passengers under the age of 21 had to sign a form attesting they were embarking of their own free will. Behind a police cordon, the chalutzim, in groups of ten or twenty, boarded small launches that took them to the Dora, waiting a hundred yards from the quay. .
Kochavi remembers differently: instead of launches, he describes the immigrants boarding the Dora directly from the pier:
In order to go in the belly of the ship, we had to go down a slippery sloping ramp onto a narrow deck. We were instructed in Hebrew to move on to the cargo hold which was illuminated by dim lights.
The Dora in Amsterdam.
"Authorities, shipping inspectors and others go on board for a final inspection before the departure signal."
Photo: Het Volk, July 17, 1939
"In groups of ten or twenty, the refugees go onboard, escorted by policemen."
Photo: Het Volk, July 17, 1939
Passengers boarding The Dora
Photo: Photo: De Sumatra Post, 24 July 1939
"The Dora did not leave until 5 o'clock at night, three hours later than planned. They had been waiting for seven refugees from Enschede who were coming by car and had gotten lost."
These were the seven members of the Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel: Rosa Appel, Elie Daube, Heinemann Gutmann, Issy Hirsch, Saul Lampelz, Bernhard Rosen, Rubin Rottenberg, and Adolf Sanders.
Photo: Het Volk, July 17, 1939
At dusk, the Dora was moved to the Handelskade (the pier). The police cordoned off the pier to keep the press away, but the authorities were afraid that the Communists would come to demonstrate. Everybody knew what was going on, and when a young woman without papers managed to move through the police cordon, they just let her go aboard without any trouble. A high degree of complicity between the authorities and the organizers was evident. As Zvi Spector, the Haganah chief of the operation, was about to board, the commanding officer of the Dutch immigration police raised a glass and proposed three toasts — to Queen Wilhelmina, to the success of the voyage, and to an independent Jewish state.
The Dora in Amsterdam.
"The Dora crew hastened to cover the name of the ship with tarpaulin, apparently to prevent anyone knowing which ship was moving across the IJ through the nocturnal darkness."
Photo: Het Volk July 17, 1939
In the early hours of Sunday, July 16, 1939, the Dora sailed from Amsterdam with about three hundred passengers. Most were Jewish refugees from Germany, including about 75 students from Wieringen. Some were Dutch Zionists who had undergone agricultural training in other Hachsharot. All were adults, mainly young men. One of the forty or so women was in her sixth month of pregnancy.
Gertrude bade an emotional farewell to the passengers and to Tzameret, who was to travel by train to meet the ship in Antwerp. The goodbyes between Tzameret and the Refugee Committee on the other hand were not particularly cordial. Kramarsky announced that he planned to go to Antwerp to ensure that the lifeboats requested by the Amsterdam harbormaster were brought on board, and that too many passengers wouldn't go aboard. Tzameret and Rufer tried to tell him this wasn't necessary, but to no avail.
Antwerp: July 17
The Dora in Antwerp.
Photo: Het Handelsblad, 18 July 1939.
The Dora arrived in Antwerp on July 17th. Shmarya Tzameret wrote in his report: "I spoke to a high-level Dutch civil servant who said that he wasn't interested in the plans of the Haganah, and that the only concern of the government was that the ship would disappear with the refugees as soon as possible." Tzameret had ordered that the passengers from Antwerp should board the Dora as soon as possible, but didn't tell Kramarsky, and continued the negotiations with people from the Refugee Committee. When Kramarsky arrived in Antwerp, he was furious to find out that a hundred and fifty people planned to board the ship, instead of the the fifty that had been previously agreed upon. He again threatened to withdraw financial support.
Kramarsky later met with Tzameret in Antwerp, and angrily argued with him about the condition of the Dora and that there weren't enough beds onboard. Tzameret explained that beds were put side to side, two by two, so they could fit three people. He added that the refugees who were in Belgium illegally had no other option but to board the ship and leave under any conditions: otherwise, they would be sent back to concentration camps in Germany. But the Refugee Committee had given its word to the Dutch government that no more than fifty additional people would board the Dora, and threatened to take 100 chalutzim off in Antwerp and send them back to the Netherlands. Shmarya Tzameret, to Kramarsky's fury, boarded all 170 new passengers regardless.
Siegfried Kramarsky went to the harbormaster and demanded that one hundred people be taken off the ship. The harbormaster, a devout Christian who saw the return of the Jewish people to the Promised Land as a Biblical fulfillment, became a spokesman for the chalutzim. He told Kramarsky not to worry, that it wasn't such an imposition if the refugees suffered a little for a couple of weeks if it meant that they would reach the coast of the Promised Land. Kramarsky then threatened to call the Dutch Government and ask them to take diplomatic action. This angered the harbormaster who refused to talk to the Dutchman any further. As last resort, Kramarsky went to the ship and tried to convince the chalutzim to not go on the trip, but the passengers explained that they were happy with the situation on the ship, so he finally gave up and drove away, seething.
My mother recalled seeing the Dora for the first time: When the chalutzim in her group saw the Dora in the Antwerp harbor, they said the ship was too small for so many people, and not suitable for such a long trip. She replied ("naive as I was" she said in retrospect): "Of course! This is just a small boat which will take us to the real ship, which must be somewhere on the high seas. They don't want to bring the real ship in the harbor because it would give it away..." But she was wrong. That "little boat" was in fact the very ship that would take her and about 480 others to Palestine.
In the meantime, unannounced, the Belgian Security Agency had sent a tugboat which started to move the Dora to Vlissingen, and the Dora left Antwerp on July 17th.
Vlissingen: July 18 - July 19
The Dora was now moored on the waterways of Vlissingen, where it remained for two days.
The Dora, anchored off the waterways of Vlissingen. Originally published on 19 July 1939 in De Maasbode Van Woensdag.
New problems arose: Kosta was demanding more money for the trip, one of the engine mechanics had missed the ship, and a newly hired Belgian radio operator didn't show up after having found what the actual goal of the trip was.
In the meantime, the Haganah in Paris decided that the Dora would not pick up the hundred refugees in Le Havre in France after all because there had already been too many delays, putting the entire expedition at risk. Yekutiel Fekete mentions in his recollections of the trip another reason: the ship was already full and there was no room for any more passengers.
Kosta and Tzameret found a new radio operator, a Spanish Communist who used to smuggle weapons to Spain during the Civil War and was now stranded in Antwerp without papers after his ship had left without him. Kosta, the Spaniard and the mechanics took a taxi to Vlissingen, but were turned away: the Greek didn't have a visa, and the Spaniard didn't have a passport. The four of them would have to leave Antwerp the next morning on a motorboat for Vlissingen.
It was now July 18th and Tzameret wanted the Dora to leave as soon as possible. He was concerned that the Dutch press in Vlissingen and the Refugee Committee would find out that the Dora was back in Dutch waters, and that the Dutch government might decide under public pressure to prevent the departure because there were too many people aboard.
At 5 a.m., Tzameret observed the Dora from the Vlissingen dike through his binoculars. There were fishermen and a little boy on the dike. The kid said: "You see the ship? That's a 'death ship', a ship full of Jewish refugees from Germany that will sink, for sure." It was as if everybody in the Netherlands knew about the Dora, even the children.
Meanwhile, more articles appeared in the local press about the "mysterious refugee ship". While the Dora was anchored off the coast of Vlissingen, a journalist from the Daily Herald had come aboard. He wrote that the passengers slept on the deck on straw mats, and had told him they were going to Bangkok, or Siam. The news drew the attention of the British government, and the British representative Nevile Bland made inquiries at the Foreign office in the Netherlands, pointing out that immigration to Palestine was illegal. The Foreign Office responded that the ship had given as its destination Siam, and that they weren't aware of any another destination.
The Algemeen Handelsblad reported the departure of the Dora with 500 Jewish passengers. The destination of the ship was said to be Bangkok, yet the reporter didn't seem to believe that this was the real destination.
The article described the accommodations for the passengers:
"The passengers were hanging over the railing, talking to each other, and others were busy working. However, no answer was given to the questions we asked. The whole thing made a rather sad impression."
"As there seemed to be no room for all passengers, many had to be satisfied with a berth in the straw on the fore or afterdeck. Large sails were stretched over these decks."
The same day, the Haagsche Courant wrote:
"Little credence is given to the claim that the ship will go to Siam, and a veil of mystery surrounds the ship."
Surprisingly, despite the secret nature of the Dora's voyage, a reporter from the Haagsche Courant was allowed onboard. He wrote:
"The crew was busy trying the lifeboats with the assistance from the passengers. However, it was very primitive and it took a lot of time and effort to lower a boat, and the boat was not even manned. Moreover, the unpainted lifeboats don’t give a reassuring impression."
What the reporter probably witnessed was the passengers practicing lowering the lifeboats to disembark on the shores of Palestine. Since the Dora would land not in a harbor but on a beach, the passengers would have to transfer to the lifeboats to reach the land.
Illegal immigrants, members of the Hechalutz aboard a lifeboat. August 1939
Photo: Shimon Mahler, 1939 (c) The Ghetto Fighters' House Museum.
Illegal immigrants, members of the Hechalutz aboard a lifeboat. August 1939.
Photo: Shimon Mahler, 1939 (c) The Ghetto Fighters' House Museum.
Lifeboat
Photo: Het Volk, 14 July 1939
The Dora with one of its four lifeboats.
Photo: Het Volk, 14 July 1939
The Dora with one of its four lifeboats
Photo: De Telegraaf, 19 July 1939
Cows on the deck of the Dora?!
The most surprising fact mentioned in this article is the presence of cattle on the Dora:
"On the front and back decks, the Jewish refugees sat under large sails. On the forepart were some cows, next to which men and women lived in the straw."
The same information was also picked up in "The Scotsman" on July 19: "From the shore hundreds of men and women, and also cattle, could be seen on deck".
The same day, the Volksdagblad (the Communist People's Daily) wrote that the ship was not seaworthy and that the government of the Netherlands should grant the refugees asylum. The journalist believed that the Dora was anchored in Vlissingen because of the rough weather from the previous days - confirmation, according to him, that the Dora was ill-equipped to take to the sea. With a dramatic tone, he predicted that once the "wreck" of the Dora moved into the open sea, it would turn into a real "death ship", wandering from port to port, without a final destination. Insisting that the Dora was too small to accommodate 420 passengers - for proof the dozens of refugees forced to sleep on deck on straw - the article ended with a call to action:
"The public opinion in the country must be shaken... It is a shame that this ship left the Netherlands. The only solution is: right of asylum in the Netherlands... or the clear guarantee that these unfortunates can find accommodation in another country..."
Another newspaper, the Zaans Volksblad, declared that "the veil of mystery around the refugee ship 'Dora' is getting thicker", and suspected that the ship might be waiting for more clement weather before taking to the sea. It added that the passengers, who were not allowed to disembark, were lying on straw on the deck, because "on a ship of such dimensions, it is not possible to properly accommodate 400 people".
It added that "In the afternoon there was a boat drill on deck, which is somewhat comical, taking into account how absolutely inadequate the rescue material is. The women were washing and trying to create some order in the chaos on board, by sweeping and removing the worst dirt."
After having spent almost two days anchored in Vlissingen for no apparent reason, the Utrechts Volksblad explained that the delay had been caused by the captain waiting for the arrival of a crew member whom he could not miss and who could only get on board today. What that journalist saw from the shore with binoculars was "not an encouraging spectacle", and that "the hundreds [...] now on this ship, are compressed on a much too small space."
Following the reports in the press, Louis de Visser, Chairman of the House of Commons and a member of the Communist Party, raised questions at the end of July for Prof. Gerbrandy, the Minister of Justice. He asked him if he had forced the Jewish Committee to take such action, argued that the refugees shouldn't leave if they couldn't secure a destination, and that they should be allowed back to the Netherlands if needed. Minister Gerbrandy denied having had any knowledge of the Dora. In the meantime, the government representative for refugees, B.G.A. (Bernardus Gerhardus Albertus) Smeets, unhappy about the conditions on the Dora, sent a letter to the Justice Ministry, dated July 22, 1939, in which he accused the Jewish Committee of "irresponsible behavior":
"What I understand makes me ask if the government shouldn't have just prevented the ship from leaving. It was too crowded. Refugees are sleeping under sails on the upper deck, on straw. One storm and they will be gone. There isn't enough safety equipment, four little boats for 20 people each. In Amsterdam the ship was already overloaded, and in Antwerp another 100 refugees were added. [...] You should realize that illegal immigration with ships has already been causing much trouble everywhere. Ships that aren't allowed into harbors, that are at sea for months, that have the plague on board - for example the odyssey with the St Louis, which was actually a comfortable ship, while the Dora..."
On July 20th, in London, the "Daily Herald" published an article with two photos of the Dora. The Herald's reporter described having gone on board the Dora and reported:
"... Her holds packed with human cargo, she was a passenger ship carrying 500 Jewish refugees to a destination that nobody seems to know... The Greek captain was silent about the ships' destination. He said he had "sealed orders".
The harbormaster said "We accept no responsibility for that ramshackle ship. She got her certificate of seaworthiness in Amsterdam - so good luck to her."
Here is what he saw:
"The Dora has two lifeboats on each side, each capable of taking 15 passengers. Should she meet disaster, the poor state the lifeboats are in leaves little hope of even 60 escaping in them. It would not take a hurricane to sink the Dora either. Her portholes are only secured with old rubber bands."
None of the passengers seems to mind the dangers and discomforts. "What does it matter," one of them said to me, "as long as we find freedom again?" If the land to which they are going refuses to take them, they will have to return to their port of embarkation."
"Where are we going to?" somebody answered when I questioned him. "To Siam." "To Bangkok." said another.
Passengers later recalled the lack of space on the Dora. My mother said that they had slept on wooden planks, three people lying head to foot, with about 30cm (12") per person, while Gershon Jonas remembered that "the ship was very crowded, we slept on the floor."
On the way to Palestine: July 19 - August 12
On Wednesday, July 19, at around 11:15 a.m., the Dora left Vlissingen and at long last began its voyage to Palestine. According to Gertrude van Tijn, the ship was "overloaded, ill-equipped, not very well provisioned", but was finally on its way, starting its four-week voyage across the English Channel, the Atlantic and then the Mediterranean, where it would have to avoid the British blockade to unload its human cargo on the shores of Palestine.
The ship was manned by a multinational crew, composed mainly of Greeks and Danes. Officially, the chief captain was the elder Arteshides, however the officer who would in fact in charge during this voyage was a Danish captain. The rest of the crew was from France, Algeria, as well as one Jewish immigrant from Russia who was a waiter in the officers' dinning room. The radio operator was a Spaniard, and the doctor on board from among the passengers turned out to be a morphine addict.
Three Haganah members went along: the ship manager, Tzvi Spector (23), the emergency captain, Amiram Shohat (23), and in charge of the radio connection with the Haganah HQ, Yekutiel Fekete (24).
The passsengers were organized according to their group affiliations, with leaders for each group.
According to Regina Merkel, there were two kitchens: one kosher and one non-kosher.
The following day, the Dora was spotted sailing past the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, as reported by the "Lloyds List and Shipping Gazette".
The Dora then entered the Atlantic Ocean and sailed southward, towards the Gulf of Biscay. A region known for rough seas, fierce weather and high waves, the Dora experienced violent storms during which many of its passengers became sea-sick.
The Dora continued, maintaining eye contact with the coasts of Spain and Portugal. Raphael Kochavi recalled "At night, Lisbon lights twinkled in the distance". Around that time, he also remembered sighting a ship flying the swastika flag.
On July 29th, the Dora entered the Mediterranean Sea and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. The Lloyd observation station, tasked with watching Gibraltar, reported its entry to the Palestine C.I.D (Criminal Investigation Department) and the British ordered the ship to identify itself. At the first signs of danger, the Greek Captain would send the refugees below deck into the hold of the ship, lest they be seen by British lookouts. The Greek declared it was a Panamanian ship on its way to Siam. The British accepted this explanation because ships with illegal immigrants never came through the Strait of Gibraltar, instead came from the French Riviera, the Italian Coast, or the Coast of the Black Adriatic Sea.
The Dora then passed along the shores of Algiers and Tunisia which, as Yekutiel Fekete recalled, "shone in full magic under the full moon", then sailed on from there between Sicily and Malta, and on towards the island of Crete.
The Dora then went past the Suez Canal, and sailed on towards Turkey.
Turkey
Yekutiel Fekete wrote:
"The journey is getting longer. The wireless connection to Eretz Israel has not yet been established. There is a shortage of food and water. It's hot, very hot. It's impossible to stay in the belly of the ship and everyone is huddled on the decks and sleeps there. Impossible. No patience. The shortage of water and food is worsening. The decision was made to anchor in a small port on the coast of Turkey and stock up on water and food. Coal is also needed, but not available."
Gershon Jonas: "There was a leak in the water pipes and no more food. [...] At one point, we drank only boiled salt water mixed with tea and ate only biscuits."
The Dora reached the southern coast of Turkey. It was now full moon, which made a secret landing in Palestine impossible anyway. The Dora radioed the Haganah in Palestine, and the crew was ordered to drop anchor off the Turkish coast at Finike* and wait until the new moon. (* Others mention Antalya; Hillel Yarkoni mentions the port of Mersin. Maybe the Dora made several stops in Turkey.)
Hillel Yarknoni wrote: "The ship entered the port of Mersin in Turkey to get some supplies, mainly water and food."
The Dora would spend approximately one week in Turkey, waiting for the appropriate conditions to attempt the final leg of the trip. The Turkish police paid a visit to the Dora and declared that passengers were not allowed to disembark. Hillel Yarkoni wrote: "Under the threat of guns, none of the people onboard were permitted to leave the ship.".
My mother recalled that the local Jewish community asked them to let some men come ashore, so they could have a minyan, but the group leaders refused to let anyone get off the boat.
The police did allow a boat to bring drinking water and watermelons to the Dora. Fekete recalled: "Food, water and especially plenty of watermelons were purchased".
My mother recalled that one day, locals brought water and watermelons on small boats. She noticed them standing with their bare feet in the water being distributed to the ship, so she stayed away from it. She recalled that they had been drinking slightly salty water for the entire trip, so everyone rushed to drink the fresh water. Later, those who had drunk the water all got sick. My mother, on the other hand, had eaten so much watermelon that she declared she could never have it again after.
The exact sequence of the next events is somewhat confusing as recollections about the final part of the trip vary.
According to Yekutiel Fekete, the ship then left Turkey and sailed for a day or two. As the Dora left the bay, it crossed path with the Tiger Hill, another illegal immigrant ship carrying over 1400 refugees:
"The illegal immigrants on board both ships are huddled on the side facing the other ship. The ships lean sideways at a dangerous angle, passing next to each other. A spontaneous rendition of the 'Hatikvah' bursts from the mouths of the immigrants."
According to Yekutiel Fekete, the original plan had been to use a smaller ship to bring the passengers to the shore while the Dora would safely return to the high sea, reducing the risk of the expensive ship being captured by the British. By now, the wireless connection with the Haganah had been established and brought the news that the small ship was not available after all. The Haganah crew on board discussed with the shipowner how to proceed with a direct landing of the illegal immigrants to shore, when and where to sail to arrive on a dark night without a moon, while waiting for instructions from the Haganah.
Rebellion on the Dora
Soon after the Dora resumed sailing, a rebellion broke out and the Dora stopped moving. The sailors, armed with kitchen knives, demanded additional payment, because the trip taken longer than the two weeks originally agreed upon. In addition, the new plan calling for the Dora to land the passengers directly on the coast meant added risk of being seized by the British and extended the duration of the voyage even further.
The rebellion ended quickly, although explanation on how it was resolved varies. According to Yekutiel Fekete, negotiations and passengers collecting money resolved the issue. Hillel Yarkoni simply noted that "the Danish captain's calm helped restore order", without mentioning money changing hands, while my mother remembered that a show of force on the part of the Haganah had put an end to the rebellion.
Gershon Jonas: "In Turkey, the Greek Captain got cold feet. He thought the British would capture his ship, or that he would be arrested. We had been at sea for two weeks, and another week in Turkey when the Greek sailors said, 'We only got paid for two weeks, and we’ve been three weeks on the way. We won't continue until we get more money.' Four hundred dollars was collected from the Jewish passengers."
My mother remembered the rebellion being brief. She recalled that a few Haganah men had walked around with their guns showing, and that it had been enough to end the rebellion and restore calm within the crew. She didn't mention money having been collected by passengers. In her case, anyway, she would have had nothing to contribute, having left Germany with "nothing more than a backpack with a blanket and a pair of shoes".
Just to be safe, the first captain, who had joined the rebellion, was locked up with his wife for the rest of the trip.
Finally, on August 11, 1939, the Dora received the signal that the coast was clear and that they could attempt to land. To evade detection and look inconspicuous like any dilapidated cargo ship, all passengers were sent down to the belly of the ship and the deck portholes closed.
Soon after, a new danger arose. About 80 kilometers south of Cyprus, an aircraft carrier accompanied by destroyers appeared. A destroyer approached the Dora, illuminating it with its spotlights. Asked to identify itself and its destination, the Dora replied it was just a regular cargo ship headed to a Lebanese port.
Others described the event differently: "A British warship appeared 300 meters away, but the warship left soon after without having detected the Dora. Looking southward in the darkness of the night, the olim could see the lights from Tel Aviv, while the searchlights of the police boat almost touched the ship. Everyone on board was quiet."
The Landing - August 12th
The following day the Dora finally arrived near Eretz Israel. Sailing in the evening along the coast, it adjusted its speed to reach the designated landing beach by nightfall.
The landing had been set to take place on the beach of Shefayim, a kibbutz about 15 kms north of Tel Aviv. The location had been chosen for being both approachable, close to a Jewish settlement and far from British military and police installations.
The Haganah was in charge of disembarkation, and the man responsible on behalf of the Mossad was David (Davidka) Nameri, a kibbutznik from Ashdot Ya'akov.
Mordechai Naor describes the landing of another ship, the Poseidon, in 1938. I assume the process was similar for the landing of the Dora and helps convey how much effort and coordination was required to ensure the success of the final phase of the trip:
On the shore, several groups from the Haganah were gathered to assist with the landing of the passengers:
Teams of rowers to transfer the immigrants to shore;
A "water-team" - to assist them from the boats to the beach;
Guides - to bring them to a rendezvous;
A communication team between the shore and the Haganah center in Tel Aviv;
A group to transport the immigrants to the different settlements, and
A first aid unit.In addition, there also was an armed patrol, illegally armed, to warn of any police activity and prevent it, if necessary.
All night long its passengers were brought ashore and quickly dispersed to adjacent settlements.
Mordechai Naor later details the disembarking of the Artemisia, a small (less than 100 passengers) early illegal vessel (1937). Again, I assume a similar procedure was in place for the Dora, although at a larger scale.
That entire day was taken up with meticulous last-minute preparations for debarkation. The passengers were split up into groups of ten, each group having as its leader one of its members. Men were placed alongside the ladders to supervise the descent. Lifebelts were assembled in one spot in the event there might be a need for them. The boats were checked last of all. Everything was ready for a smooth debarkation. A few hours remained until nightfall, so the ship kept at a safe distance from the shore. Only after it became dark, and the prearranged signals were visible, did the ship drop anchor at a distance of 200 yards from the beach.
The first boat was (sent) to assay the situation on shore and return with rowers. The six best swimmers from among the pioneers were equipped with lifebelts and lowered into the boat, then pulled for shore. After twenty minutes the boat returned with the rowers in it, and it was full speed ahead with debarkation. The immigrants were ferried to shore, group by group, according to the prearranged schedule. After two hours the last boat returned and the crew members took their posts without delay. The anchor was lifted and the ship sailed away.
The Dora dropped anchor and a boat was sent from the ship to the shore. (According to another source: "First, Tzvi Spector swam to the shore to make sure the path was clear.") The boat returned with members of the naval unit of the Haganah. They got on the ship, all the boats were lowered and, group by group, the transfer of the illegal immigrants began.
The immigrants climbed down using rope ladders and got into small boats, with the young men from naval unit of the Haganah rowing them to land, then bringing the boats back to the Dora for the next group. As they got close to the beach, the refugees jumped from the boats into the water and walked the last few tens of meters in the shallow water, to the soft sand.
Yoel Golomb, took part in the landing of the Dora and helped the immigrants come ashore. He recalled:
"During the month of September*, a ship with Olim came into shore, and we brought the Olim to Shefayim at night, in complete secrecy. That was an unforgettable experience. We unloaded the Olim, men, women, and children who climbed down the side of the ship on rope ladders. We then brought them into shore. This seemed like a simple operation but [...] we were informed that a British naval vessel had been sighted and was approaching; we managed to get all the lifeboats back onto the deck, except one which we tied to the ship. The ship was named Dora and [...] came from Holland. The ship turned and headed back to Europe, and we swam to shore. [...] A message was received from the Dora some time afterwards, saying that it was neither captured nor detained."
*Note: actually August.
Gershon Jonas: "We jumped in the water, the children were taken by boat, and we got to the shore. Haganah soldiers were on land with rifles... I had never seen that before!"
My mother said she jumped in the water - I assume from one of the rowboats, and I assume carrying her backpack. On the beach they were met by a group who gave them clothes and new ids in case the British police arrived. From there they were taken to the kibbutzim where they would spend the beginning of their new lives in Israel.
Yekutiel Fekete described the "exemplary" organization on the shore to manage the landing and dispersal of the passengers of the Dora:
On the beach there is a field phone connected to one of the houses where a wireless transmitter is set up to maintain contact with the ship. The members of the naval company take care of transporting the immigrants from the ship to the shore. Groups of guards are blocking a section of the beach to delay the possible arrival of the British police. Some men have flooded dirt roads so that cars cannot pass, others are responsible for the rapid dispersal of groups in the surrounding communities.
At the same moment, in Tel Aviv, the head of Mossad leAliyah Bet and Golda Meir followed the arrival of the Dora. Francine Klagsbrun:
"Shaul Avigur, the head of Mossad leAliyah Bet, and a co-worker slipped into Golda Meir’s apartment on Hayarkon Street. [...] He had decided to monitor the landing of the Dora from the shortwave radio center in the Meyerson (Meir) apartment.
When the Dora reached its destination, the commander on the ground, David Nameri, signaled its arrival. The signals were relayed to the wireless in the Meyerson apartment, where Avigur could receive and send coded messages to the ship. In one heart-stopping moment for everyone in the flat, a British police boat with searchlights ablaze almost spotted the immigrant ship as it neared the coast, but the ship stayed hidden in the blackness of the night. When all seemed safe, it dropped off its passengers, who silently made their way on foot to Kfar Shmaryahu, a nearby agricultural village. The captain lifted anchor and sailed westward into the dark, to begin another mission. "In the early morning hours," Avigur reported years later, "we said goodnight to our hosts, Golda Meir and Leah Biskin, and went about our business."
My mother wondered how they had managed to land without being detected, and if the British authorities had been bribed to look the other way. She said that the British soldiers found the Dora in the morning, and that it was the last trip the ship made. Actually the Dora was not found by the British, and it sailed away, although it indeed never ran another voyage to Palestine.
There is a discrepancy between what Gershon Jonas and my mother recalled on the one hand ("The Dora was found in the morning"), and what Yoel Golomb and others (the source for Francine Klagsbrun) describe on the other hand ("The Dora sailed away"). Since the new immigrants were spirited away before dawn, it is likely that what they both "remembered" was actually something they were told afterwards, maybe in the kibbutz. It's possible also that what *was* found in the morning was the one rowing boat that hadn't been brought back to the deck.
Gershon Jonas: "The Jewish settlements surrounding the ship’s landing area had a festival; they invited the British and got them drunk. Just an empty ship left on shore the next morning was what the British patrol encountered the next morning."
Brach Habas mentions (p.89) that Shai, the Haganah's secret information service, "staged criminal decoy operations in settlements in the coastal area, drawing the police away from the vicinity of debarking immigrants. They obtained advance information concerning patrol-boat movements and were able to intercept messages sent by British spies to the roving patrols. These instructions, as well as the orders given the border police and the lookout towers, greatly facilitated debarkation proceedings. Shai agents kept close track of the wireless communications betwen the lookout towers and the roving patrols. The young men even knew the signals intended for police airplanes and warships."
Yoel Golomb: "The rope that tied the (row)boat to the ship broke and the boat was 'lost at sea'. Davidka Nameri [...] chose me and another fellow to go out looking for the missing boat. [...] We could see the boat far out in the water. I swam out and [...] I managed to get it back to shore, and we buried it in the sand."
At 2 a.m., the Dora announced that everybody had unboarded. The Haganah telegraphed Uri Kochba that "the delivery was successful and the mother is healthy". Back in the Netherlands,Gertrude van Tijn was notified by telegraph of the successful landing. She passed the message on to minister Van Boeijen, who could finally breathe a sigh of relief: the Netherlands had gotten rid of 300 refugees without damaging its relationship with Great Britain, and it hadn't cost the treasury a penny.
After landing, the new immigrants were first concentrated in Kfar Shemariahu, and were later distributed in various absorption centers.
One on the immigrants, Regina "Gina" Premo, recalled receiving a fake ID card to help her blend into ther new environment. Likewise, my mother had mentioned being given feake ID papers - although I always understood that this had happened upon her landing on the beach,
Yekutiel Feteke got off the Dora and was replaced by another wireless operator, Shlomo Lavi. Zvi Spector too got off the ship, replaced by Amiram Shochat. The ship then went out to sea and sailed west. At first, the ship had been intended to bring the members of the Zionist Congress from Marseilles to Israel. Then the plan was changed and the ship sailed to Algeria. There, the defense personnel got out of it and returned to Israel.
Three weeks later, Germany invaded Poland, marking the beginning of World War Two, and with it the wholesale destruction of Jewish life in Europe.
According to the agreement with the Arteshides brothers, the Dora was supposed to do a second trip, but this agreement was not honored. Only after legal battle some of the money that had been paid in advance to the Greek family was paid back.
The Dora was later captured by the Germans and was at their service between 1941-1942. On December 21st 1942, it was sunken by a British warship near the Djerba harbor in Tunis.
The Dora in the News
Although it was supposed to be kept secret, the departure of the Dora was widely reported in the Dutch, Belgian and British press, and it's a wonder that this unwelcome scrutiny didn't lead to the interception of the Dora by the British Navy.
Between July 14 and August 28, no less than 100 articles and dispatches about the Dora appeared in the press in the Netherlands, including several front-page stories. . In Belgium, more than 40 articles appeared in July. The British press also reported on the departure of the Dora, with at least eight articles, with more mentions appearing in France and as far as Melbourne, Australia. Finally, the Jewish press published dispatches in Palestine and in the USA.
Nottingham Evening Post. July 17, 1939.
The Scotsman. July 19, 1939.
"From the shore hundreds of men and women, and also cattle, could be seen on deck".
Daily Herald. July 20, 1939.
The Belfast NewsLetter. July 21, 1939.
"Jewish refugees face a new future - Departed from Amsterdam with a Panamean coal ship."
De Sumatra Post, July 24, 1939.
Dramatis Personae
Transporting 480 refugees from Northern Europe to Palestine on the eve of WW2 and bringing them safely to the coast of Palestine despite the British blockade required complex planning, difficult negotiations, and the covert coordination of hundreds of refugees spread over multiple hiding places over two countries. The Dora would not have succeeded in reaching the shores of Palestine without the work and dedication of the many people involved.
Here is a list of some of the key people who, with their courage, skills, and generosity, helped save the lives of almost 500 refugees on the eve of WW2.
This section is in memory of the people who made it happen and who deserve our thanks as descendants of the passengers of the Dora.
| Name | Hebrew Name | Notes |
Tzvi Spector
|
צבי ספקטור |
Ship manager on the Dora, age: 23. Tzvi Spector was born in Jerusalem in 1916. The Dora was his first mission with Aliyah Bet. In 1941 Tzvi Spector became a founding member of the Palmach. He disappeared at sea on May 18, 1941, during the first mission carried out by the Palmach as part of the cooperation between the Jewish Yishuv in Mandatory Palestine and the British during World War II ("Operation Boatswain", also known as "The 23 Who Went Down at Sea"). Twenty-three volunteers from the Palmach took part and boarded a British boat with explosives. The mission was to blow up oil refineries in Tripoli, Lebanon, then under Vichy rule, in a bid to deny fuel to Wehrmacht planes and thwart Axis operations in the region. All twenty-three members of the operation vanished before reaching their destination, possibly due to an explosion of unknown origin. Tzvi Spector was the commander of that operation and was 24 years old. Another volunteer among the twenty-three who died in that operation was Amiram Shochat, the emergency captain of the Dora. Sources: |
Amiram Shochat
|
עמירם שוחט |
Emergency Captain on the Dora, age: 23. Born in 1915 in Tel Aviv-Yafo. By the time of the Dora, Amiram Shochat was already a veteran of Mossad leAliyah Bet. He had first served as guide on the Artemisia in 1937, when his job had consisted of appraising the ship, examining its engine, sleeping accommodations, food-storage facilities, etc. Amiram Shochat disappeared at sea on May 18, 1941, during the first mission carried out by the Palmach as part of the cooperation between the Jewish Yishuv in Mandatory Palestine and the British during World War II ("Operation Boatswain", also known as "The 23 Who Went Down at Sea"). Twenty-three volunteers from the Palmach took part and boarded a British boat with explosives. The mission was to blow up oil refineries in Tripoli, Lebanon, then under Vichy rule, in a bid to deny fuel to Wehrmacht planes and thwart Axis operations in the region. All twenty-three members of the operation vanished before reaching their destination, possibly due to an explosion of unknown origin. Amiram Shochat was 26 years old. The commander of that operation was Tzvi Spector, the manager of the Dora. An illegal ship was named in his honor in 1946. Source: info.palmach.org.il |
Gideon Rufer
|
גדעון רפאל (ג'ר)
Gideon Raphael |
Led the planning of the Dora voyage with the help of Shmarya Tzameret. Age: 26. German-born Gideon Rufer, later known as Gideon Raphael (גדעון רפאל). In 1933, when the Nazis rose to power in Germany, he escaped to France, where he studied at an agricultural school in Toulouse. In 1934, he made aliyah to Eretz Israel, where he was one of the founders of Kibbutz haZorea. Rafael joined the Haganah, and was a commander during the 1936-39 Arab revolt in Palestine. He was later sent to Europe on missions to help illegally smuggle European Jews into Palestine in defiance of British immigration restrictions. Regarding his role with the Dora, Yoram (Paul) Nussbaum said:
In 1940, he was sent to Rhodes by the Haganah to negotiate with a representative of Adolf Eichmann for the transfer of 40,000 German Jews to Palestine, but the plan fell apart. During World War II, he enlisted in the British Army, and fought in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign. After being discharged in 1943, he began working for the Jewish Agency. He worked in intelligence, as a liaison with Allied forces and Jewish populations in Europe. In 1945, he assisted in preparing the Jewish case for the Nuremberg Trials. He also directed efforts to recover lost Jewish property in Europe and participated in rescue effort in Italy after the end of WW2. Upon Israeli independence in 1948, he was one of three founding members of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and served as an aide to Moshe Sharett. He later became an adviser to the Israeli delegation at the United Nations. From 1953 to 1957, he was in charge of United Nations and Middle Eastern affairs at the Israeli Foreign Ministry. He conducted secret negotiations with Arab officials, and maintained these secret contacts into the 1970s. In 1957, he was appointed Israel's ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, and permanent observer in European and UN institutions in Geneva. He served in these positions until 1960. In 1967, he became Israeli ambassador to the UN, and was serving in this position during the Six-Day War. In 1968, he returned to Israel, and was Director-General of the Foreign Ministry until 1972. In 1973, he was appointed Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, and served in this position until 1977, when he returned to Israel and retired from the Foreign Ministry in 1978. He subsequently published a book about his career. He died in Jerusalem in 1999. Sources: |
Shmarya Tzameret (Tsameret)
|
שמרי צמרת (אורי זהבי) |
Oversaw the purchase of the Dora and all operational details up to the departure of the Dora, along with Gideon Rufer. Age: 28. Born in 1910 in Cleveland, USA, the eldest son of Jewish Russian immigrants, Tzameret made Aliyah on his own as 15 year-old after his father's death. One of the founders of Kibbutz Bet Hashita in 1936, he joined Mossad leAliyah Bet in 1939 and operated from the central office in Paris. In 1940, Tzameret took part in failed negotiations with Eichmann to try to let a large number of Jews immigrate from Germany. (Bracha Habas, p 128). After the war, he was sent to Europe to resume his activities organizing illegal immigration of Jewish survivors (Bricha), first from Italy then from Marseille. From 1945 to 1947, he served as commander of the Marseille station. As part of his activities with Mossad LeAliyah Bet, Shmarya Tzameret was involved with the ships "Dora" (July 1939), "Darian 2" (March 1941), "Tel Hai" (March 1946), "Yagur" (July 1946), "Chaim Arlozorov" (February 1947), "Exodus" (July 1947), and "Independence" (December 1947). Shmarya was married to Hadasa and had 4 children. He died in 1964 in a work accident at the olive factory of his Kibbutz, Beit-Hashita. His younger brother, Joe Tzameret, lost his life fighting in the Spanish Civil War with the Lincoln Brigades. Sources: |
Uri Kochba (Walter Koch) |
Emissary of the Hechalutz movement from Palestine in the Netherlands. Age: 29 Uri Kochba (born Walter Koch) was born in 1910 in Lissa (Leszno), on the German-Polish border. His family relocated to the neighboring German town of Glogau (now Glogow, Poland) after WW1. After high school, Kochba went to Stuttgart to study architecture. He took an active part in Zionist activities and was a member of the "Blau - Weiss" Zionist youth movement. In 1934, he made aliyah and came to Kibbutz Na'an where he joined the "German group" where he participated in conquering the soil, establishing the kibbutz's farming branches, and manufacturing weapons in its metalworking shop. In 1938, Kochba was sent to the Netherlands as an emissary of the Hechalutz Zionist movement, in order to assist Jews emigrating to Palestine. In June 1940, following the German invasion of the Netherlands, Kochba was arrested as a British subject and was interned in a series of detention camps. He was liberated on May 10, 1945. After his liberation he returned to Kibbutz Na'an and started a family with his wife, Adina. In 1957 he served as the first Israeli post-war emissary to instruct Jewish teenagers in Germany. After a year and a half he returned to Na'an. From 1958, he divided his work between the kibbutz, an assignment for the Youth Division of haKibbutz haMeuchad, and for the Efal teacher training seminary. Uri Kochba died in November 2001. Source: www.infocenters.co.il |
|
Yekutiel Fekete |
יקותיאל פקטה |
Served as Gideoni (Wireless Radio Operator) on the Dora. Age: 24. Born in 1915 in Hungary, his family made Aliyah in 1928 and came to Jerusalem. He received a master's degree in mathematics, physics and philosophy from the Hebrew University. After joining the Haganah, he took a signaling course then built a primitive transmitter, creating the first wireless connection between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, and later to Gush Etzion. In 1939, he was sent to Europe to help organize the rescue of Jews and returned on the Dora. In 1951, he established the Bezeq School of Telecommunication in Jerusalem. He retired from his position as director in 1981. He died in 2001. He wrote about the story of the Dora on the occasion of the 50th anniversary in 1989. Source: www.haaretz.co.il |
David (Davidka) Nameri
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(’דוד נמרי (’דוידקה |
Oversaw the disembarkation of the Dora in Palestine. Age: 30. David Nameri was born in Skidzieĺ, Belarus, in 1908. He made aliyah in 1926 at age 18. He worked at drying out the swamps, then moved to Kibbutz Gesher and Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov. He joined the Haganah, then was in charge of the Stockade and Watchtower campaign ("Wall and Tower" settlements) in the Bet Shean Valley and Jordan Valley between 1936 and 1939. David Nameri was a founder and senior officer of both Mossad leAliyah Bet and Palmach (lieutenant general commander). He took part in the earliest Aliyah Bet operations, overseeing the disembarkation of the Poseidon and the Artemisia, both in 1937. He scouted locations where boats could come ashore, improved the radio communication system between ships and shore, and organized the disembarkation phase of the ships. "David Nameri, Operations officer of 'HaMossad for Aliyah Bet,' was responsible for the last stage of the Haapala - disembarking the immigrants from the ships and receiving them on the country's shores. The Fourth Palmach Battalion was assigned to secure the area where the Haapala ships arrived and their disembarkation to shore. The moment a report came about the departure of a Haapala ship from Europe, the Fourth Battalion HQ was responsible to prepare for its arrival. The HQ decided on the disembarkation point, gathered men and arms, planned the security of the shore and the roads leading to it and prepared a list of the neighboring settlements to absorb the immigrants. From 1947 to 1949, Davidka Nameri was sent by the Jewish Agency to the United States to work in procurement. He and his family returned to Israel in 1949 and went to Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov. Nameri was the executive officer in charge of immigration by sea, land or air. He oversaw Operation Wings, the aerial immigration of Jews of Baghdad, Iraq. From 1960 to 1965, Nameri was chief executive of the Ministry of Transportation. Davidka Nameri died in 1966. Davidka's wife, Dvora, became a Gideonit (radio operator) for the Haganah in 1939 and contributed to monitoring and deciphering British secret messages from a Haganah's listening post. She later wrote a book in his memory: "David Nameri; By Him and About Him" (Kibbutz Meuchad, 1974) Sources: |
Yoel Golomb |
יואל גולומב |
Took part in the disembarkment of the passengers of the Dora. Age: 20. Born 1919 in Germany, Golomb came to Eretz Israel in 1936 with Youth Aliyah. He first lived in Kibbutz Na'an, then in Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov, and later joined Kibbutz Revivim in 1939 in Rishon LeZion. Yoel Golomb was selected in July 1939 by the kibbutz to participate in the first naval course of the Haganah. The course was designed to train sailors to help in Aliyah Bet. Training consisted of rowing and sailing in the Yarkon River and at sea, swimming, lifesaving, and other seamanship tasks. After the outbreak of WW2, took further naval training, this time focusing on sabotage tactics for land and sea, in order to help the British in their fight against the Nazis and joined the British Navy in 1941. Sources: |
Shani, Chaim (Sergei) |
Took part in the disembarkment of the passengers of the Dora. Age: 19. Born 1920, made Aliyah in 1935. Lived in Tel Aviv and belonged to the Noar Haoved movement. In 1939, he participated in the first naval course in the Exhibition Halls in Tel Aviv. In August 1939, while attending the course, he helped take immigrants off the Dora when it landed at Shefayim. Lived in Kibbutz Na'an, then in Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov. Joined Kibbutz Revivim in 1939 in Rishon LeZion. Volunteered for the Palmach in 1941 and was attached to F Company at Kfar Gileadi under the command of Yitzchak Rabin. He later participated in disembarking the immigrants off the "Chana Senesh" in December 1945 at Nahariya. Source: www.palyam.org |
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Dov 'Berchik' Magen
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Took part in the disembarkment of the passengers of the Dora. Age: 24. Born 1915 Panza, Russia; Came to Palestine in 1935. Quoted by Chaim Shani: "Berchik also took part in that (Dora) operation." He was an instructor of the Palyam's 'No. 1 Naval Officers' course, in 1945 with Shmuel Tankus. In June 1946, Dov (Berchik) Magen was the commander for the "Josiah Wedgwood", with 1,259 immigrants, and of the Pan Crescent (renamed "Atzmaut") in 1947. Source: www.palyam.org |
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Shaul Avigur
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שאול אביגור |
Head of Mossad leAliyah Bet. Monitored the landing of the Dora from Golda Meir's apartment. Prior to leading Mossad leAliyah Bet, Shaul Avigur had been among the defenders of Tel Hai in 1920. Since 1933 he had been the coordinator the Haganah and was instrumental in forming SHAI, the intelligence wing of the Haganah along with Reuven Shiloah in 1934. A senior Haganah member experienced in underground work and held in high esteem, Avigur joined Mossad leAliyah Bet in 1939, and was key in the success of the efforts of illegal immigration. During Israel's War of Independence, he acted as David Ben-Gurion's deputy defense minister. In 1953, he was appointed the founding head of Lishkat Hakesher, also known as "Nativ", an Israeli organization that maintained contact with Jews in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He headed the organization until 1970. Source: wikipedia.org |
Gertrude van Tijn
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Gertrude van Tijn helped organize the voyage of the Dora, despite the opposition of the chairman of the Committee for Jewish Refugees, David Cohen. Born in Braunschweig, Germany, in 1891, she came to the Netherlands in 1915. A Zionist since 1916, she started working for JNF in 1917. In April 1933 she began to assist with the growing number of Jewish refugees from Germany. She then became the representative of the Joint Distribution Committee in Holland and a member of an advisory committee of the League of Nations' Commission for Refugees. She joined the Committee for Jewish Refugees, and helped organize Jewish emigration from Germany between 1933 and 1940. A key member of the Committee, she oversaw everyday operations, was responsible for managing the finances, headed its emigration department, and became the contact person for foreign aid organizations. She was the co-founder and secretary of Werkdorp Nieuwesluis (the Work Village in Wieringen), a farm founded in 1934 in the Wieringermeer polder in North Holland that trained refugees of varying ages and vocations in agricultural work as well as construction, the raising of cattle and poultry, domestic work, gardening, cabinetry, locksmithing, and other practical work. She declined the opportunity to leave the Netherlands during the German invasion of May 1940, and continued her work with the Committee until its dissolution in March 1941. In September 1943 she was sent to the Westerbork concentration camp and then Bergen-Belsen. In July 1944 she was among those Jews exchanged from Bergen-Belsen for Germans in Palestine. Afterwards the Dutch government in exile offered her a position in London to work with displaced Jews; she traveled through liberated Europe and Switzerland in this capacity until the end of the war. She died in Portland, USA, in 1974. Sources:
www.tabletmag.com |
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Siegfried Kramarsky
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Covered the cost of the Dora voyage with his business partner Salomon Flörsheim, and possibly others. Born in 1893 in Lubeck, Germany, Siegfried Kramarsky was a German banker, art collector and philanthropist. He settled in Amsterdam in 1923. With his partner, Salomon Flörsheim, Kramarsky took over the "Lisser & Rosenkranz" bank in Amsterdam which he headed from 1923 until 1938. From 1933 to 1939, Kramarsky was active in enlisting support for Jewish victims of the Hitler regime who had fled to the Netherlands. While in Amsterdam, Kramarsky compiled a large art collection that included works by Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Seurat, Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh, including the Portrait of Dr. Gachet which was sold in 1990 by his heirs for $82.5 million, making it one of the most expensive paintings in the world. Siegfried Kramarsky and his family came to the United States after fleeing the Netherlands in 1940, aided by Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a family friend who later became the first president of Israel. His wife, Lola Popper Kramarsky, was active in the Youth Aliyah movement and was president of Hadassah from 1960 to 1964. Siegfried Kramarsky died in Manhattan in 1961. Source: wikipedia.org |
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Salo (Salomon) Jakob Flörsheim |
Participated in financing the Dora voyage with his business partner Siegfried Kramarsky, and possibly others. Born in 1893 in Hamburg, Germany. Died in 1979 (86) in Kfar Shmaryahu, Israel S. J. Flörsheim and his family emigrated to Amsterdam, Netherlands around 1922, and he continued to work in private banking and brokerage business in Amsterdam, where he joined with another emigrant from Hamburg, Mr. Siegfried Kramarsky, a well known art collector. In 1944 the Flörsheims were deported first to the Westerbork camp, then to Thereisenstadt, where they survived the war. Salo and his wife Eva made Aliyah during the 50s and settled in Kfar Shmaryahu, where Eva passed away in 1975, and Salo in 1979. He befriended many Rabbis, scholars, and community leaders, and was personally acquainted with the early leaders of the State of Israel, including presidents Weizmann and Ben Zvi. He was an active philanthropist who practiced charity without fanfare. In the late 30s, he urged family and friends to flee Hitler's Germany. His home was often the refugees' first stop, for a day, week or month, and for those who could not afford it, he even paid for the trip, thus saving many families from the Holocaust. Source: www.geni.com |
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Saly Mayer
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Contributed to financing the voyage of the Dora. Saly Mayer, 1882-1950. Swiss businessman, friend of Gertrude van Tijn. Chairman of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities from 1936 to 1943, and Representative of the Joint Distribution Committee in Switzerland from 1942. In the spring and summer of 1944, Saly Mayer was approached by the Nazis who offered to spare the life of Hungarian Jews in exchange of 10,000 trucks and supplies. Although the deal ultimately fell through, Saly Mayer is credited with saving thousands (up to 200,000) of Hungarian Jews by employing "every imaginable dilatory tactic" over several months of negotiations. He "walked the tightrope of negotiating with the Nazis to save Hungarian Jews while refusing the Nazis' requests for resources that would have prolonged the war." After the end of the war he became a middleman on behalf of the Joint in financing illegal immigration to Palestine. Sources: |
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Rudolf "Ru" Cohen
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Head of the Deventer Association, the second largest group of pioneers who boarded the Dora in Amsterdam Rudolf Ephraim Cohen ("Ru") was born 27 July 1889 in Deventer, Netherlands. Ru Cohen founded the Deventer Association for Vocational Training for Palestine Pioneers in 1918 in Deventer, and continued to be its driving force until his end. His brother was David Cohen, chairman of the Committee for Jewish Refugees, who would later be chairman of the Jewish Council for Amsterdam during the German occupation. The goal of the Deventer Association was to provide agricultural and vocational training (Hachshara) for Jewish boys and girls in preparation for immigration to Palestine. The "Palestine pioneers" (chalutzim) were placed with farmers near Deventer or with a furniture makers. Originally designed for Jewish youth from the Netherlands, the organization took on refugees from Germany and Eastern Europe in the late 1930s. Ru Cohen was deported and died in Bergen-Belsen on February 27, 1945. |
The Passengers
According to records from Mossad leAliyah Bet, the Dora carried 480 passengers to its destination. A few sources mention slight variations: Gertrude van Tijn, who took part in the rescue operation, cites 310 passengers in Amsterdam, including 50 pupils from Werkdorp Nieuwesluis, with an additional 157 passengers in Antwerp, for a total of 467, while some authors have rounded the number to 500.
Two lists of passengers have been found so far: one from Amsterdam, with 183 names, and one from Antwerp, with 171 additional names, for a total of 354. The difference between the 480 given by Mossad can mostly be explained by the fact that the the lists from Amsterdam were compiled by Zionist groups and only include passengers who belonged to their groups. Refugees, who were not affiliated with any Zionist organization, were not included in those lists. The Antwerp list contains a mix of chalutzim and refugees. It appears to have been compiled by the Belgian authorities, and may be comprehensive.
To date, 380 (80%) names have been identified out of 480, with at biographical details available for over 200 of them.
List 1: Passengers who boarded the Dora in Amsterdam on 16 July 1939 (from the HeHalutz lists).
Source: Dutch National Archive (Courtesy Rina Offenbach, Director BeNetivei Haapalah, Illegal Immigrant Database and Information Center, Atlit Detention Camp, Israel.)
I compiled the Amsterdam list below from 18 pages of names from several Pioneering organizations:
- "Left on the SS Dora": 7 names, handwritten list, no indication of group
- Stichting Joosche Arbeid Werkdorp Nieuwesluis: 76 names, dated August 1 (after the departure of the Dora), typewritten.
- "List of foreign students who left during the month of July": 36 names, including last address and nationality
- "Dath Waäretz": 26 names, dated August 7, typewritten.
- "Dath Waäretz, left on the Dora": 22 names, with 4 more names crossed out, handwritten list.
- Deventer Association: 54 names over 4 typewritten pages, covering 32 locations. Include date and city of birth and nationality.
- Werkdorp Wieringermeer: 76 names over 2 typewritten pages. Include date and city of birth and nationality.
- Vereeniging "Dat Waarez" (Amsterdam): 7 names, including date and city of birth and nationality. Typewritten.
- Vereeniging "Dat Waarez" (Bevervwijk): 20 names, including date and city of birth and nationality. Typewritten.
- Enschede: Hachscharah Agudas Jisroël: 7 names, including date and city of birth and nationality. Typewritten.
- Franeker (Kiboets Misrachi): 3 names, including date and city of birth and nationality. Typewritten.
- Laren Bergstichting: 2 names, including date and city of birth and nationality. Typewritten.
The last seven lists follow a similar format an were most likely prepared by the same person, presumably from the Hechalutz organization. The other lists are all different and were most likely created by their respective groups. Some names are appear on more than one list.
This list doesn't include all the passengers who boarded from Amsterdam for several reasons:
- 183 names appear on the Amsterdam lists. However, contemporary reports from the press and later accounts from organizers put the total number of passengers in Amsterdam at about 300, with Gertrude van Tijn citing 310 passengers.
- The Amsterdam lists were compiled by several Zionist pioneer organizations, mainly Hechalutz, Mizrachi, Deventer and the Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Hence, passengers not affiliated with these groups don't appear on those lists.
- A large of number of refugees, i.e. people not affiliated to any Zionist organization, boarded the Dora in Amsterdam. A list of the refugees, if it ever existed, hasn't surfaced yet.
- Several reports mention the presence of children on the Dora (Yoel Golomb, Gershon Jonas, and Flip Cohen - although Cohen mentions them boarding in Antwerp). These too are don't appear in the lists that were drawn by the pioneering groups.
- Over the years, several people have contacted me with information about relatives who boarded from Amsterdam whose names don't appear these lists, confirming that the available lists are not comprehensive. These name appear in a separate list further down.
Note: Four names on these lists were crossed out, without further explanation. My assumption is that these are people who may have decided at the last minute to not board the Dora, or were unable to do so.
Although incomplete, the Amsterdam list includes interesting demographic data on the passengers:
Gender:
- Men: 80% (146)
- Women: 20% (36)
Nationality:
- German: 69% (126)
- Dutch: 9% (16)
- Polish: 8% (14)
- "Stateless": 7% (13). (It is not clear if these "stateless" passengers were of Polish or German origin.)
- Hungarian: 3% (6)
- Czechoslovak: 1% (2)
- Danzig: 0.5% (1)
- England: 0.5% (1)
- Unknown: 1.5% (3)
Organizations:
- 76: Werkdorp Wieringermeer
- 59 (or 60): Deventer Association, distributed over several locations, the largest group (15) from Jeugdherberg (youth hostel) "De Assumburg" in Heemskerk, about 20 miles from Amsterdam
- 29: Mizrachi (religious Zionist) Kibbutz Dat veEretz (דת וארץ, "Religion and Country") in Beverwijk
- 7: Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel
- 3: Kibbutz Misrachi (religious Zionist) in Franeker
- 2: Berg-Stichting, Laren (Jewish orphanage)
A few individuals came from additional locations: Markelo, Almen, Zenderen, Zeddam and Delden.
For the list of additional passengers who boarded from Amsterdam, see further down under "Additional Passengers".
Note: Dates of birth are given as they appeared on the original lists with the following format: dd.mm.yy. In a few cases, the dates are incorrect (i.e. "3" instead of "8"). These dates are marked with an asterisk (*).
Total: 180
| Name | Pioneer Organization | Group | Last adress? | D.O.B (dd.mm.yy) |
Bio |
Abram, Susanna
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The Deventer Society
Amsterdam Henriette, Korte Meerhuizenstr. 3 |
Amsterdam | Henriette, Korte Meerhuizenstr. 3 |
26.8.1912
Amsterdam Polish* |
Susanna Henriette Abram was born on August 26, 1912, in Amsterdam, the daughter of Isak Abram, a diamond cutter, and Gesiena Nieweg. She had one brother, Heiman (1914).
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Abramczyk, Bruno
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The Deventer Society
Amsterdam "De Vondelhof" |
Amsterdam | "De Vondelhof" Frederikstr. 18 Amsterdam |
2.12.1919
Jastrow German |
Bruno Abramczyk was born on December 2, 1919, in Jastrow, Westpreußen (now Jastrowie, Poland), the son of Max Abramczyk and Mina Brasch. He had one sister. Note: This may be the same person as ברונו סנו אברמציק who joined, then left, Kvutzat Shiller.
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Adler, Alfred
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer | 3.1.1912
Lauterbach Stateless |
Alfred Adler was born January 3, 1912, in Lauterbach, Germany. He came to the Netherlands and registered in Barsingerhorn in September 1936; there he would have attended the Werkdorp Nieuwe Sluis (Het Joods Werkdorp). He then left in January 1938 for Wieringermeer. According to the 1983 list of former chalutzim from Werkdorp Wieringermeer, he later lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He died in October 1978 and is buried in Jerusalem. It is not known if he indeed lived in Argentina for a while, then came back to Israel, or never left Israel. He was married, had children and at least one brother, as evidenced by his epitaph which reads "My husband, our father, our grandfather and my dear brother". Sources: |
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Altberger, Karl
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The Deventer Society | F.H. Evers "De Eekhorst", Hummelo |
18.11.1919
Köln Czechoslovak |
Karl (later: Reuven) Altberger was born on November 18, 1919, in Köln-Lindenthal, the son of Lazar (Ludwig) Altberger and Regina Elias. According to www.aachener-nachrichten.de, his brother Samuel ("Sanny") Altberger was also aboard the Dora: "[Samuel] left on an illegal emigration ship together with his younger brother Karl". Reuben died in Denver in 2016, at the age of 97.
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Appel, Rosa
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Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel | Euterpestr. 41 Amsterdam-Z |
27.9.1914
Naumburg German |
Rosa Appel was born on September 27, 1914, in Naumburg near Kassel, the daughter of Siegfried Appel and Johanna Hirsch. She had seven siblings: Käthe (1906), Jacob (1907), Hedwig (1908), Sophie (1911), Karl (1913), Hertha (1917) and Irma (1919). Rosa's father died in 1921 when she was not 7 years old and she later lived in the Israelite Orphanage in Kassel with her sisters. In March 1934 Rosa emigrated from Kassel to The Hague in the Netherlands, later moving to Amsterdam in 1938. She then came to the Hachscharah of Agudas Yisroel, a religious Zionist organization (Noar Agudati) in Enschede. On July 16, she traveled to Amsterdam about 100 miles away to board the Dora. It's assumed that she was with the group of seven youngsters from the Enschede Hachshara. According to the daily "Het Volk", "The Dora did not leave until 5 o'clock at night, three hours later than planned. They had been waiting for seven refugees from Enschede who were coming by car and had gotten lost." No further details about her life in Israel are available. Rosa's mother Johanna Hirsch died in 1941; additional details are not available. Her brothers Jacob Appel and Karl Appel survived the war, presumably after emigrating to Palestine. Her sister Sophie Kaufmann emigrated to Haifa in November 1935. Her sister Käthe emigrated to Palestine in April 1937 with her husband Ludwig Borngässer and their children Siegfried and Lieselotte. Her sister Hertha Konig survived the war and died in Herzliya in 1919. Her sister Irma Holzinger survived the war in hiding in Dordrecht in the Netherlands. The fate of her sister Hedwig Appel is not known. Sources: |
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Aufrichtig, Hedwig (Hedy)
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The Deventer Society (Den Haag) | Den Haag | L. Beestenmarkt 135 |
23.7.1916
Vienna German (Öst.) |
Hedwig (Hedy) Aufrichtig was born on July 23, 1916, in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of Siegfried Aufrichtig, from Boskovice (Czechoslovakia), and Flora Holzer, from Graz (Austria). She had two siblings, Elise (1915) and Hans (1921).
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Bagainski, Margot
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The Deventer Society (Gouda) | Gouda | Ridder van Katzweg 61 |
10.11.1919
Berlin German |
Margot Sophie Bagainski was born in Berlin on November 10, 1919, the daughter of Hermann Bagainski and Helene Bagainski, née Ruschin. Between 1936 and 1938, Margot attended several Hachshara centers, first in Groß-Breesen in Silesia, then from October 1937 until 1938 in Havelberg, 110 kms (70 miles) west of Berlin, where she (presumably) first met her future husband Heinrich Timendorfer. Margot boarded the Dora with Heinrich Timendorfer. In Israel, she changed her name to Miriam Timnah. She lived in Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi and had three (or four?) children. Miriam Timnah (Margot Bagainski) died in March 2016 in Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi. Margot's father Hermann was shot in 1942. Her two brothers were killed by the Nazis: Julius in Chełmno in 1942, and Arno in 1944, at the age of 19. Margot's stepmother Margarete and two half-siblings survived the war and later moved to a kibbutz. Sources: |
Baum, Charlotte
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Amsterdam | Kasernestr. 4 |
28.7.1919
Beuthen Stateless |
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Baum, Günter
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The Deventer Society | MIDDELBEEK bij Voorst | bij Frederiks Papenstraat 45, Deventer |
22.12.1918
Waltrop German |
Günter (Guenter) Baum (later: Gideon Alon) was born on December 12, 1918, in Waltrop, Westphalia, the son of Jakob and Martha Baum, née Bendix. He had two older brothers, Helmut and Werner. The Baum family traced its origin to the beginning of the 17th century in the Rhine valley. His father Jakob Baum was a textile merchant who founded the Stern & Baum department store in Waltrop with a partner in 1904. He later became the sole owner in 1910. The family lost the business in 1934 for economic reasons. (Although no further details are available, one can assume this was the result of anti-Jewish policies.) Günter fled Germany in 1936 and came to the Netherlands were he pursued Hachshara training. In Israel, he changed his name to Gideon Alon. He lived in Kibbutz Hulata. He joined the Jewish Brigade during WW2. He married Franka Hirsch. He died in 1972 in Kiriat Motzkin, Israel. His mother, Martha Baum, tried in vain to emigrate to Denmark. She was deported from Dortmund in 1942 to the Riga ghetto where she was murdered on October 14, 1942. His eldest brother Werner Baum (later Menachem Alon) moved from the Netherlands to Denmark on the eve of the Nazi occupation, then was smuggled to Sweden, from where he immigrated to Israel in 1941. His other brother Helmut emigrated first to Denmark and then to Sweden in 1943, where he remained for the rest of his life. Sources: |
Beifuss, Berthold
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
15.1.1917
Laasphe German |
Berthold Beifuss was born on January 15, 1917, in Laasphe, Germany, the son of Herz and Mina Beifuss, nee Stern. He had two younger sisters: Irma and Hertha; three younger brothers: Robert Reuven, Arthur Abraham, and Julius; and three older half-brothers: Siegfried, Leonhardt, and Joseph. His father was a leather merchant and his mother a housewife. The family was very religious, with no Zionist inclinations. At the age of 17, he left home and went to agricultural training in Germany. He later fled Germany in January 1936 for the Netherlands where he continued his training in Werkdorp Wieringermeer. From there he emigrated to Palestine in 1939 aboard the Dora. In Israel he first lived in a kibbutz in Raanana. From there he moved to Kibbutz Maoz Haim in the Beit Shan Valley (a similar trajectory as my mother's). He remained there for 12 years, during which time he also served in the Jewish Brigade. In 1951 he left Maoz Haim and settled in Kibbutz Dorot. He changed his name to Baruch Lavi (ברוך לביא). He had two children, a son and a daughter. Baruch Lavi (Berthold Beifuss) died in Kibbutz Dorot in 2001. Baruch Lavi's parents Herz and Minna Beifus were deported to Theresienstadt, then to Treblinka where they were murdered on September 25, 1942. His sister Irma Beifus who had emigrated to the Netherlands was deported to Sobibór where she was murdered on April 30, 1943. His other sister Hertha Beifus also emigrated to the Netherlands in 1939, from where she was deported to Auschwitz where she died a month later on August 24, 1942. His three brothers survived the war: Robert (Reuven) Beifus emigrated in 1936 to Palestine/Israel and lived there until his death; Arthur Abraham Beifus lived in Canada then retired in Israel; Julius Beifus spent the war in England and returned to Germany after the war, where he died in Goeppingen.
Sources: |
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Bekker, Hymann
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
24.10.1918
Den Haag Dutch |
Hijman Bekker (Chaim Bekker) was born October 24, 1918, in The Hague, Netherlands, the son of Mendel Bekker and Rachel Swaan. He had six siblings: Hanna Roza (1911), Juda Levie (1912), Golderiesje (1915), Betsy (1916), Joseph (1921) and Sophia (1923). His mother Rachel died in 1929 when Hijman was 10 years old. After her death, he grew up in an orphanage with his siblings. (His sisters Golderiesje and Betsy are known to have lived in an orphanage for 6 months between June and December 1929, suggesting that their father may have remarried in December.) Hijman Bekker attended the Kibbutz Franeker Hachshara. He appears for a few brief moments in a film shot there between 1937 and 1939: 1:23, 3:00, and 3:24. In Palestine, Chaim enlisted in the British Army. He married Shoshana De Beer, also from the Netherlands, in Bne Brak. After the marriage, the couple settled in Kfar Hasidim. There Chaim worked as a skilled farmer, and for a certain period, also worked in construction in the Zebulon Regional Council. The couple had three children. Chaim Bekker died in Kfar Hasidim in November 1991. Chaim's father, Mendel Bekker, was murdered in Auschwitz on February 5th 1943. All of his siblings were murdered in the Shoah. His brother Joseph was murdered in Buchenwald, Juda Levie in Ludwigsdorf on May 10 1944. His four sisters were all murdered in Auschwitz: Hanna Roza Fischzang on October 8 1942, Betsy Schuijer and her children on February 12 1943, Sophia Bloeme on July 16 1943, and Golderiesje Wachtmann and her husband on December 10 1943. Sources: Several online resources have his date of birth as Nov 13 1917. The correct date is Oct 20 1918 as indicated by Dutch records and the passenger list. |
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Benedikt, Franz
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The Deventer Society (Deventer) | Deventer | Papenstraat 45, Deventer |
21.3.1918*
Unterberg-Eisenstadt, Austria German* (Östr.) |
Franz Benedikt (later: Peretz Benedikt) was born March 21 (or 29*), 1918, in Unterberg-Eisenstadt, Austria, the son of Ignatz Benedikt, a merchant, and Berta Hacker. He had six siblings: Martin Isidor (1911), Miksa (1913), Eugin (1915), Ernst (1920), Robert (1923), and Lili (1926). After graduating from high school, he continued his studies at the School of Commerce. In the summer of 1935 he graduated and worked at the Jewish Museum in his hometown. Franz Benedict changed his name to Peretz Benedict ( פרץ בנדיקט).
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Benima, Max
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The Deventer Society (Rotterdam) | Rotterdam |
20.9.1913*
Amsterdam Dutch |
Max Frederik Leopold Benima was born on September 12, 1913, in Amsterdam, the son of Benjamin Benima and Sara Benima (nee Polak), originally from Bierde, Westphalia. His profession before his immigration was office employee. He married Susanna Henriette Abram on 14 june 1939 in Amsterdam. Susanna Abram was another passenger on the Dora. His mother, Sara Benima, was deported from the Netherlands to Auschwitz where she was murdered on November 5, 1942. Sources: The passenger list has Sept 20, the correct date seems to be Sept 12. |
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Benjamin, Julius
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
24.3.1921
Königsberg German |
Julius (later: Yehuda) Benjamin (Osh) was born in Königsberg on March 24, 1921, the son of Bernhard Benjamin and Hedwig Jaffe. He had five siblings: Susi (1914), Willi (1917), Betty Batja (1917), Ruth (1918), and Manfred (1923). Julius Benjamin changed his name to Benjamin Yehuda Julius (Osh) (יהודה יוליוס בנימין (אוש)).
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Benjamin, Rudolf
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The Deventer Society (Almelo) | Almelo: Erve "De Kooi" | tijd. Celebesstraat 49E Den Haag |
1.1.1917
Barmen German |
Rudolph Benjamin (later: Uzi Binyamin) was born on January 1, 1917, the son of Albert Abel Benjamin and Anna Meijer in Barmen, Germany. He had a sister, Erika Jeanette, and a brother, Erich. In April 1936, Rudolf and his brother Erich fled Germany and came to the Netherlands. His mother Anna and sister Erika also fled to the Netherlands, to Amersfort. His father stayed behind alone in Wuppertal, Germany, because he did not believe in the impending annihilation. 3 Benjamin worked as a laborer for three years in the Netherlands with various farmers. In 1937 he stayed on the Buunk family farm in Wijnbergen with 20 chalutzim for agricultural training. He attended weekly meetings with other German pioneers of the Deventer Association. With the help of the Deventer Society in Almelo, he then boarded the Dora in Amsterdam. According the reminiscence of another passenger, Ilan Chanosh (Heinz Schönebaum), Rudolph slept through the landing of the Dora, and was discovered by his friend during a final inspection. His first place of residence in Israel was Snir. A friend of Ewald (Shlomo) Sondheimer, he was married and had two children, a boy and a girl 2. His father Albert Benjamin was deported to the Litzmannstadt (Lodz) ghetto in October 1941, where he died on February 26, 1942. His mother, Anna Benjamin (Meijer) and his sister, Erika Jeanette Benjamin, were deported from The Netherlands to Sobibór where they were murdered on July 23, 1943. 3 His brother Erich Benjamin survived the war. 3 Sources: |
Berger, Otto
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Markelo: Op het Reef Kerkspeelchor K. 51 | G.W.A Brunnekreeft, Op, 't Reef, Kerspel Goor K.51. Gem. Markelo |
5.3.1912
Zoornik Czechoslovak |
"Zoornik" may be Zvornik, now in Bosnia. |
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Bergmann, Jaacob
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
16.1.1914
Gr. Rackchen German |
Jacob Bergmann was born on January 16, 1914, in Gross Kakschen (Birkenhain), the son of Albert Bergmann, a trader/merchant and Anna Reissmann. He had three siblings, Wanda (1908), Gerda Cohen (1915) and Arthur (1916). Jacob Bergmann married Itka and the couple had (presumably, at least) two sons. Nothing more is known about his life before or after the Dora. Jacob's parents Albert and Anna Bergmann were murdered in the Shoah, possibly in Treblinka in April 1943. His brother, Arthur Avraham Bergmann, and his two sisters, Gerda Cohen and Wanda Meyer, were murdered in Treblinka in April 1943. Sources: |
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Besser, Wolfgang
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
22.8.21
Breslau German |
Wolfgang Besser was born August 22, 1921, in Breslau, the third child of a wealthy Jewish family. His parents were Albert Besser and Ilse Pinkus, one brother was Hans (ca 1924). (TBC) Wolfgang Besser joined the Zionist youth movement "Habonim" and, in 1936, joined the organization's training in Kfar Elgut in Silesia. On Kristallnacht, the members of the Elgut Hachshara were taken by freight train to the Buchenwald concentration camp. After a month, the Jewish Agency managed to release the young men against the assurance that that they would immediately leave Germany. Wolfgang Besser left with the members of the hachshara and came to the Netherlands to live in Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Six months later he boarded the "Dora". (Note: At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939 Wolfgang Besser was still registered in Steinau, the location of the Elgut Hachshara.) In 1941, he was among the founders of Kibbutz Dorot in the Negev, which in those days was the southernmost Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel, where he worked in farming and guarding the settlement. From 1950 to 1959 he served in the IDF as a liaison officer and participated in the Sinai War, the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. He changed his name to Oded Betzer. In 1957 he left Kibbutz Dorot and moved to Tel Aviv, and in 1960 he finished his studies at the Beit Berel Institute for Education and Research. In 1969 Betzer was appointed Deputy Director of the Office of the Chairman of the Labor Party. Oded Betzer was an author of children litterature and songwriter. He began writing during the War of Independence and published dozens of short stories and stories in sequels starting in the 1950s. At the 1965 Singer and Chorus Festival, a song written by Betzer called "Ayelet Hachan" to the music of Natan Shahar was played in two different performances, one by Eric Einstein and one by Yaffe Yarkoni. It won the first prize at the festival and was also awarded the title "Song of the Year" by Kol Israel. Some of his books include: Betzer married Beit Yehud (?), and was the father of a son and two daughters. Oded Betzer (Wolfgang Besser) died in Tel Aviv in October 1989. His parents seem to have emigrated to Brazil. (TBC). His brother, Hans Joachim Besser, emigrated to Uruguay. (TBC). His (presumed) sister, Elisabeth Margarete, emigrated to England then to Brazil. (TBC) Sources: |
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Bing, Marianne
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
1.3.1921
Nürnberg German |
Marianne Bing was born March 1, 1921, in Nuremberg, the only child of Dr. Siegmund Bing and Charlotte "Lotte" Bing (Pickard). Her father Dr. Siegmund Bing, (Dr. in Law and Philosophy), was a journalist and wrote feuilleton and book reviews for the Frankfurter Zeitung, the Vossische Zeitung, the Berliner Tageblatt, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He was friend or acquainted with most writers of his time, including Jakob Wassermann, Gustav Meyrink, Franz Werfel, Rainer Maria Rilke, Max Brod and Egon Kisch, and the brothers Thomas and Heinrich Mann. Her grandfather, Ignaz Bing was an industrialist, naturalist, poet, and memoirist. With his brother he had founded Bing Werke, also known as GBN. By the early 20th century, GBN was the largest toy company in the world, and the Bing factory in Nuremberg was the largest toy factory in the world. Non-toy products included gramophones, recordings, bicycles, kitchenware, office equipment, and electrical goods. Ignaz Bing was made Privy Councillor of Commerce (Geheime Kommerzienrat) to the Bavarian Court and was a member of the Nuremberg city council. Marianne Bing left her parents' house in 1936 when she was fifteen and was a member of the Habonim youth group. Her last place of residence in Germany Bornheim, presumably in a training farm. She left Germany and came to the Netherlands in 1937, where she registered in Barsingerhorn in November 1937. She left a few weeks later for Werkdorp Wieringermeer on January 2 1938. In Israel, she lived in Kibbutz Dorot. She married Heinrich Nehemia Mohr and changed her name to Miriam Mohr Bing. She had two children. Miriam Mohr (Marianne Bing) died in April 2013 in Kibbutz Dorot. Marianne's father Siegmund Bing emigrated to London. The fate of her mother is not known. Sources: |
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Binstock, Fritz
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
23.3.1921
Vienna German (Austrian) |
Fritz Binstok was born on March 23, 1921, in Vienna, the son of Adolf Abraham Aron Binstok, a shop keeper, and Klara Chaje Rifka Sternberg, both originally from the Lviv region. He had three sisters: Grete Margaret, Erna Golde, and Gusti (1912). On February 22, 1939, almost one year after the Anschluss, Fritz Binstok filled out an emigration application with the IKG (Vienna Jewish Community), along with a request for financial aid to help pay for his immigration. At the time, Fritz was one month away of turning 18 years old. He was working as an intern and had attended an "advanced training school". While most people had filled out such application as soon as the IKG reopened in May 1938, Binstok's application was made much later. He listed no relatives, and no connections abroad. However, a 1947 passenger list to New York demonstrates that his mother and sisters had emigrated to the USA. (His father had died two weeks before the Anschluss on February 27, 1938.) It is not known why he didn't emigrate with the rest of his family, or why he waited so long to leave Vienna. His plans for emigration were however unusually specific: he wanted to go to the Netherlands to attend a Hachshara until his emigration to Palestine, suggesting that he had already secured a place in a training center there. He had a valid passport issued a week earlier on February 15 and a visa for Holland. Like almost all other applicants, he had no income and no money to contribute towards his emigration. Four days later, on February 26, he was granted 50RM to pay for his voyage and an additional 25RM allowance. It's assumed that Fritz left Vienna immediately after receiving this stipend and arrived at Werkdorp Wieringermeer in early March 1939. He boarded the Dora four months later. Fritz Binstok lived in Ein Gev, a "Wall and Tower" kibbutz establised in 1937 on the eastern bank of the Kinneret. (Another Dora passenger living in Ein Gev was Klaus Weinberg.) He enrolled in the British Army during WW2 and was demobilized in May 1944. In August 1946 Binstock filled out a naturalization application with the British authorities, as a "Discharged service man (Illegal)". He was single and he was a fitter. (He had previously been described as "Agriculturist" in a different 1944 form). A portent of things to come, a note attached to this application stated that "[...] on his way across the lake to Tiberias, [he] fell into the lake and lost a number of documents, among which was applicant's cert. of registration." Fritz Binstok drowned in the waters of the Sea of Galilee and perished in May 1950. He was 25 years old. Fritz Binstock's mother and sisters, Grete Margaret Rittermann Sulzer and Erna Golde Binstok, emigrated to the USA. His sister, Gusti Kollmann, emigrated with her husband in 1939. Sources: |
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Birnbaum, Ruth (Grete)
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
12.5.1922
Hamelin (Hameln) German |
Ruth Berta (Grete) Birnbaum (later: Ruth Keret) was born on May 12, 1922, in Hamelin, Germany, the eldest child of Max Birnbaum and Margarete Goldstein. She had a younger brother, Alfred (later Amram Barad). Grete Birnbaum changed her name to Ruth Keret.
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Birnbrey, Rosel
ca. 1950s?
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The Deventer Society (Herwikerwaard) | Herwikerwaard | p.a. Veldhorst |
23.11.1921
Stettin German |
Rosel Birnbrey was born on November 23, 1921, in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland), the daughter of Siegfried Birnbrey, from Stettin, and Elizabeth (unknown maiden name), from Berlin. In Israel, Rachel married Arieh (Horst) Sharon. The couple lived in Kubbutz Alonim and had three children. Rachel Sharon (nee Rosel Birnbrey) died in November 1984 in Kibbutz Alonim. Rachel's parents, Siegfried and Elizabeth Birnbrey, were deported from Stettin (Szczecin) on February 12 1940 to the Piaski Ghetto in the so-called Lublin reservation. This was the first deportation of Jews from Germany during which about 1,000 Jews from Stettin were removed. Siegfried Birnbrey wrote a card to a Mrs. Hirschfeld: "For Rosh Hashanah a Leschono Tauwo - so all the best, above all, always stay healthy. [...] We can't get out of Piaski. So all the best. Best regards, Siegfried Birnbrey.". Siegfried and Elizabeth Birnbrey were later murdered, most likely between March and October 1942 during one of the deportations from Piaski to Trawniki, Belzec or Sobibór. Two children, Manfred Birnbrey (1936), and Vera Gusta Birnbrey (1927) on the list of Jews deported from Stettin to Piaski *may have been Rachel's younger siblings. There are no pages of testimony to confirm. Sources: |
Blau, Hanna
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
7.2.21
Köln Stateless |
Hanna Blau was born on February 7, 1921, in Cologne. She attended the Gut Winkel Hachshara center in Spreenhagen near Berlin in 1937-1938. She fled Germany and came to Holland in early 1938 where she attended Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Source: www.ushmm.org |
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Blumenfeld, Erich
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk |
29.7.1912
Husen German |
Erich Siegmund Blumenfeld was born on July 29, 1912, in Husen, Lichtenau, the son of Simon Blumenfeld, a cattle dealer, and Berta Reinhold. His father died fighting for Germany in France in 1918. At the time, Erich was not 6 yet. On June 30, 1933, Erich Blumenfeld left Husen and emigrated to the Netherlands. He first lived in Rotterdam, then moved to Amsterdam in 1936. In his Amsterdam registration card, his occupations were listed bank teller and waiter. In late 1938 he lived in the Jewish quarter on Weesperstraat. On June 9, 1939, he came to Heemskerk, where he waited for over one month before finally being able to get on the Dora and sail to Palestine. No further information is available about his life after his arrival. His mother, Berta Blumenfeld (Reinhold) was deported to the Riga ghetto on December 13, 1941 and died in the Shoah. Sources: |
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Blumenstein, Chana
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The Deventer Society (Voorschoten) | VOORSCHOTEN | Veurssche weg 348 |
19.12.1919
München German |
Hanna Julia Blumenstein was born December 19, 1919, in Munich, the daughter of Carl Blumenstein and Ida Kohnstamm. She had one brother, Ernst (later: Yosef Even) (1922). Her father was a prominent lawyer in Munich. Hanna Blumenstein left Munich after Kristallnacht and came to Antwerp, from where she boarded the Dora for Palestine. Hannah Blumenstein maried Ted Percy Albert Eady. The couple had two children, Roy Percy (1944) and Mark Charles (1947), both born in England, suggesting that Hannah had left Palestine before 1944. Hannah Eady (born Blumenstein) died in 2014. Hanna's father, Karl Blumenstein, was incarcerated in Dachau. After his release he emigrated to England where he died in 1943. Her mother, Ida Blumenstein, later emigrated to Palestine and lived in Kibbutz Alonim. Her brother Ernst Blumenstein emigrated to Palestine in 1939. He changed his name to Yosef Even. He was an Israeli literary scholar, writer and editor, and served as a professor of Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University. |
Boehm, Walter
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
17.8.1919
Breslau German |
Walter Jakob Boehm (later: Yaakov Aloni) was born on August 17, 1919, in Breslau, the son of Hans and Hilda Boehm. He attended the Elgut Hachshara in the Steinau estate in Silesia. He then fled Germany and came to Holland where he attended the work village of Wieringermeer. In Israel, he first lived in Kibbutz Na'an. He enlisted in the Palmach and first served six months in the Coast Guard Unit, then in Company C (Gimel) of the Palmach until 1946. He later enlisted in the Palmach unit that accompanied the supply convoys to Jerusalem, and fought in the Palmach's Harel Brigade. He joined Kfar Giladi in 1959. He had two sons. Yaakov Aloni (Walter Boehm) passed in December 1996 at the age of 77. Sources: |
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Bomze Marie
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
18.4.1921
Vienna German (Austrian) |
Marie Bomze was born April 18, 1921, in Vienna, the daughter of Abraham Chaim Bomze, from Mikulince (Poland, now Ukraine) and Gisela Fränkel, from Vienna. She had two brothers, Leo (1907) and Joseph (1917). Her father was a jeweller and goldsmith. Marie Bomze married Gershon Besser, and changed her name to Miriam Besser. Se died in January 2002 and is buried in the Dimona cemetery in Beer Sheva.
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Braun, Ruth
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Kibbutz Misrachi, Franeker | Franeker, Harlingerweg 45 (Kibbutz Misrachi) |
22.4.20
Nürnberg German |
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Brock, Ernst
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The Deventer Society (Colmschate) | COLMSCHATE | G. Beekman, De Snippeling C.6 Colmschate |
3.8.1916
Frauenkirchen German |
Ernst Brock was born August 3, 1916, in Frauenkirchen (Austria-Hungary, now Austria), the son of Ignatz Brock and Flora (Friedel, Fanny) Spielman. He had a brother, Richard (1904), and a sister, Hanna. His father died in 1920 when Ernst was not 3 years old yet. (According to a Yad Vashem testimony, his mother was a glazier.) The only information about Ernst Brock comes from the immigration application his mother filled out on May 12, 1938 in Vienna with the Jewish Community (IKG). At the time, Ernst (21) and his brother Richard (34) lived on Judengasse (Jews Alley) with their widowed mother Flora (62) and her father, Heinrich Spillmann (88). Ernst and his brother were tailors and the family had no income. She was looking to emigrate to Palestine or "[any] other overseas countries". As to who among the family should emigrate first and who later, she had crossed out the second option, and simply stated: "All immediately". Ernst Brock left Frauenkirchen and came to the Netherlands and lived in Colmschate near Deventer. Ernst's mother, Flora Brock, was deported to the Modliborzyce Ghetto in the Lublin District in May 1941 and was murdered in 1942. His sister, Khana Gershtel emigrated to Palestine. His brother, Richard Brock survived (presumably by emigration). Sources: |
Brück, Walter
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
1.12.1919*
Bingen German |
Walter Brück was born on December 7, 1919, in Bingen, Germany, the son of Carl Brück and Lily (Elisabeth) Natt. He had one sister, Lotte (1922). His father was a merchant and a partner in the wine wholesaler Brück Söhne. Walter (Walther) Brück adopted the name David Barkai (דוד בריק).
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Calmann, Ludwig
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
12.5.1917
Ratibor German |
Ludwig Calmann was born May 12, 1917, in Ratibor, Silesia (now Racibórz, Poland), the son of Carl Calmann and Selma Suchowloski. He had one sister, Eva (1915). His mother died around 1930. His first place of residence in Israel was Kibbutz Beit Hashita. He lived in Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar. He married Shoshana and the couple had two children. Arieh Calman (Ludwig Calmann) died in October 2009 in Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar. His father Carl Calmann was deported from Oppeln to the Theresienstadt Ghetto in December 1942 where he died in June 1944. His sister Eva Feldmann emigrated to Guatemala in February 1939. Sources: |
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Chambon, Wilhelmina
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Berg-Stichting, Laren | Berg-Stichting, Laren (North Holland) |
7.4.1915
Groningen Dutch |
Wilhelmina Chambon (or Wilhelmina van Dam) was born April 7, 1915, in Groningen, Netherlands, the daughter of Frouktje (or Froukje) van Dam and (unknown father). Her mother remarried in 1926, presumably after the death of her husband. Her second husband, Henricus Lucas Johannes (Harry) Chambon, was Roman Catholic. He adopted her daughters, Wilhelma and Anna, and they took the name Chambon. Wilhelmina's mother then died in July 1931 when Wilhelmina was not yet years old and her adoptive father remarried in November that year. The overwhelming majority of passengers on the Dora came from Germany and Austria, with Dutch passengers representing less than 5% of the total. Their presence was notable because they were not refugees fleeing Nazism but were only driven by a strong attachment to Zionist ideology. Wilhelmina's motivations are not known; if her mother had indeed remarried outside the faith, it would most likely suggest that Wilhelmina had not been raised in a strong Jewish environment. One can only guess then what drove her to embark on a risky and illegal trip to Palestine. Nothing more is known about her life. Her sister Anna De Kruijff (geb. Van Dam) survived the war in the Netherlands. Sources: |
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Cohen, Justus
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Amsterdam | Amstellaan 235 |
28.3.18
Groningen Dutch |
Justus (Zadok) Hartog Cohen was born on March 28, 1918, in Groningen, the son of Levie Cohen (Levie Yehuda Abrahams Cohen) and Flora Steren. His father was a civil servant of the Jewish Community: religious teacher, mohel, shochet and a hazzan. He had three siblings: Abraham (1904-1919), Rebecca (1908) and Channa/Hanny (1905). His mother Flora died in March 1931, less than two weeks before Justus turned thirteen. His father then married Rosa Boutelje a year later, and Justus doesn't seem to have been sent to an orphanage. In December 1935, Justus joined the Beverwijk Kibbutz where he remained until March 1938. From there he moved to Groningen. Later in May of the same year he then moved to Leeuwarden, then in September to Amsterdam on Merwedeplein, now known as the housing complex where Anne Frank and her family lived before going into hiding. In the spring of 1939, he returned to the Beverwijk Kibbutz, now located in Velsen-Noord. There he awaited his departure to Palestine with a group of 29 Palestine-goers. He left on Sunday morning July 16, 1939 with the Dora from the port of Amsterdam. Justus Cohen married Betje Stoppelman (nee Simmeren) in 1946. and the couple had two children. Justus Cohen died in Israel on October 10, 1973 in Tel Aviv. His father died in 1939, before the invasion of the Netherlands. His sister, Rebecca Voet (nee Cohen) emigrated to the USA, and his sister Hanny (Channa) Jacobi (nee Cohen) emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Cohen, Paul
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The Deventer Society (Utrecht) | UTRECHT | Croeselaan 144 |
15.3.1911
Dinslaken German |
Paul Cohen was born March 15, 1911, in Dinslaken, a town in Nordrhein-Westfalen, about 50 miles from the Netherlands. He was the son of Hermann "Chaijim" Cohen, a merchant born in Dinslaken, and Julie Platz. He had three siblings: Hilde (1909), Grete (1913), and Anni (1915). His father died in 1937 Paul Cohen was a locksmith. He married Lotte Rosenberg (or Reinsberg). The couple had two sons. Paul Cohen died in April 1967 in Pardess Hanna, Haifa. Paul's mother, Julie Chajim, and two of his sisters, Grete Cohen and Hilde Markan (born Cohen), emigrated to Palestine. His sister, Anni Bober also survived the war and lived in Frankfurt, Germany. |
Cohen, Philipp (Flip)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Amsterdam | Kastanjeplein 3 |
30.5.1918
Amsterdam Dutch |
Philip "Flip" Cohen (later: Uri Cohen) was born in Amsterdam on May 30, 1918, the son of Jacob Cohen and Sara Brandon. Philipp "Flip" Cohen changed his name to Uri Cohen (אורי כהן).
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Cohn, Bernd
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
27.5.1919
Berlin German |
Bernd Cohn was born May 25, 1919, in Berlin, the son of Erich Cohn and Paula Cohn (born Zade). He had one brother, Klaus. Bernd's mother, Paula Cohn, died on November 2 1936. His last place of residence in Germany was Berlin. He left Germany and came to the Neterlands where he attended Werkdorp Wieringermeer. The fates of Bernd's father and brother are not known. His mother's death is marked as "Holocaust victim" in online trees although the date (1936) predates the beginning of the Holocaust. |
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Cohn, Heinz
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
27.2.20
Berlin German |
Heinz Michel Cohn was born on February 27, 1920, in Berlin, the son of Alex Cohn and Rosa Cohn (born Mann). He had two siblings, Feodora (1911) and Werner (1922). His father died in 1927 when Heinz was 7 years old. He attended a vocational "retraining center" in Berlin. His mother Rosa Cohn was deported to the Lodz Ghetto (Litzmannstadt) on October 24 1941, then to the Chelmno death camp on May 4 1942 where she was murdered. His brother Werner Cohn was murdered in the Brandenburg Euthanasia killing center on July 20 1940. He was 18 years old. His sister Feodora Loewenfeld (born Cohn) emigrated to England. Sources: |
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Daube, Elie
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Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel |
21.1.1915
Königsbad* German |
Elias (Elie) Daube was born January 21, 1915, in Koenigsbach, Baden, the son of Meier (Max) Daube and Sophie Beissinger. He was the youngest of four children: David (1911), Gerson (1912) and Leah (1913). Elie left Germany and came to the Netherlands. There he joined Hachscharah of Agudas Yisroel, a religious Zionist organization (Noar Agudati) in Enschede. On July 16, he traveled to Amsterdam about 100 miles away to board the Dora. It's assumed that he was with the group of seven youngsters from the Enschede Hachshara. According to the daily "Het Volk", "The Dora did not leave until 5 o'clock at night, three hours later than planned. They had been waiting for seven refugees from Enschede who were coming by car and had gotten lost." Elie Daube died in 1988 in Israel. Elie's brother David Daube was deported to Auschwitz on May 19, 1944. He was then evacuated to Dachau during the January 1945 death march. He died before the liberation of the camp in April that year. Elie's sister Leah (later Leah Sonn) emigrated to Palestine in February 1937. His parents managed to emigrate to Palestine in October 1938. His brother Gerson also survived and lived in Israel. Source: spurenimvest.de Note: The passenger list incorrectly had "Koenigsbad" as place of birth instead of Koenigsbach. |
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Dinner, Sara
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk
Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
13.12.1911
Amsterdam Dutch |
Sara Dinner (later: Sara Ben Aharon) was born on December 13, 1911, in Amsterdam, the daughter of Israel Dinner and Henrietta Auerbach. She was the eldest of four children. Her siblings were Lea (1913), Joseph Hirsch (1915) and Esther (1920). Sara joined the Kibbutz Franeker in October 1935. Her brother Joseph Hirsch would join her there a month later. In January 1936, she moved to the Beverwijk Kibbutz. Then in November of that year, she left for the "Berg foundation" in Laren (N.H.). She then returned from Laren in September 1937 and started working at the Jewish Home for the Disabled on Weesperplein in Amsterdam. On July 19, 1938, she returned to Kibbutz Franeker. Finally, in the spring of 1939, Sara returned to the Beverwijk kibbutz, now located in Velsen-Noord. There she awaited her departure for Palestine with a group of 29 Palestine-goers. Sara left the Netherlands on Sunday morning July 16, 1939, with the Dora from the port of Amsterdam. Sara married Zeev Wolfgang Ben-Aharon in 1940. The couple had three children. Sara died in Kvutsat Yavneh, Israel in May 2007, at the age of 95. Sara's parents emigrated to Palestine with her sister Esther Goldberg in 1937. Her other sister, Lea Avieli, had already left for Palestine in 1935. Her brother Joseph Tzvi Dinner also came to Israel after attending Kibbutz Franeker for two years. Sources: |
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Ebel, Siegismund
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The Deventer Society (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam | "De Vondelhof" Frederikstr. 18 Amsterdam" |
28.7.1915
Beuthen German |
Siegismund Ebel was born on July 28, 1915, in Beuthen, Germany, (now Bytom, Poland), the son of Emil Ebel, an insurance agent, and Else Goldstein. He had five siblings, including Kathe (1901), Bernhard (1904) and Charlotte Naomi (1907). He came [from London?] to the Netherlands to practice agriculture. He first stayed at the farm of the Arnold ten Kate family in Deurningen no. 17, near Weerselo, from November 1936 to April 1938. Ewald Sondheimer, another refugee from Germany and a passenger of the Dora also worked in the farm during that time. He then briefly stayed at the Deventer Association building at Brink 70, in Deventer. From here he went to Klarenbeek near Voorst and later to the youth hostel in "De Assumburg" in Heemskerk. From May 1939 he worked at the De Vondelhof orphanage run by the "youth aliyah" in Amsterdam which was led by Simon Berlinger, after which he left for Palestine with the Dora in 1939. Shmuel (Siegismund) Ebel had no children. His father survived the war and died in Bytom in 1949. The fate of his mother, Else Ebel is not known. His sister Charlotte Naomi Brauer (born Ebel) left for Palestine in June 1939 3. His sister Kathe Traubner also emigrated to Palestine and lived in Beit Yitzhak-Sha'ar Hefer. His brother Bernhard Ebel emigrated to Brazil. The names and fates of his two other siblings is not known but they presumably also emigrated, or survived the war. Sources: |
Englard, Leo (Leiba)
1940
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
7.7.1921
Przemyśl (Pshemishl) German |
Leo Englard was born July 7, 1921, in Pshemishl, Poland. Englard lived in Berlin and attended school until the age of fourteen and a half, at which point he started to work, assumedly as an apprentice or trainee. Starting in November 1936, Leo Englard went to Hachshara, first in Munich, later in Schniebinchen, then to Elgut in Silesia. After Kristallnacht (November 9, 1938), he fled to the Netherlands where he continued his Hachshara in Wieringen. In Israel, he changed his name to Arieh. According to his idendity card issued in December 1940, he was a labourer and lived in Rehovot. (Being an illegal immigrant, it is not clear how he was able to receive an ID card.) Arieh Englard served in the Jewish Brigade during the war. In 1947, he married Fanny Dominitz, a German Holocaust survivor. The couple had known each other in Germany and had corresponded throughout the war. The couple had two daughters and lived in Moshav Beit Hanan. Leo Englard died in 2004. Leo Englard's mother and sister were murdered in Auschwitz in 1943. Sources: |
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Fischer, Ernst Jacob
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(Almen: Het Laren) | ALMEN: Het Laren | p.a. Woestenenk |
17.8.1918
Frankenthal German |
Ernst Jacob Fischer was born August 17, 1918, in Frankenthal. Ernst Fischer prepared for his immigration in the Jägerslust Hachshara near Flensburg. He was arrested during Kristallnacht on November 9-10 1938 and was incarcerated in Sachsenhausen until his release on December 28, 1938. He then fled Germany and came to the Netherlands. Sources: |
Förder, Ernst
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Kibbutz Misrachi, Franeker | Franeker, Harlingerweg 45 (Kibbutz Misrachi) |
8.1.1918
Beuthen German |
Ernst Foerder (later: Schlomo Porat) was born January 8, 1918, in Beuthen, Upper Silesia (now Bytom, Poland), the son Jakob (Jacques) Foerder and Anny Foerder (Froehlich). He had one sister, Ruth (1910). He married Mirjam and the couple had two children. He changed his name to Schlomo Porat. Schlomo Porat (Ernst Förder) died in January 2003 in Haifa. His parents and sister Ruth Kutner emigrated to England. Sources: |
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Friedman, Meir
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk |
5.11.1917*
Postawie Polish * |
Meir Friedman (later Meir Bar Shalom) was born on November 5, 1917*, in Postavy, Lithuania (later Poland, now Pastavy, Belarus). (*Other sources have December 5). His father, Yaakov Friedman, was a tinsmith and his mother, Adelaide, a shop owner. He had four siblings: Moshe, Hanoch, Lea, and (unknown). He studied in an elementary school in his town, in a small yeshiva, then in high yeshiva. He later went to a yeshiva in Monterrey, Switzerland. From there he then went for Hachshara in the Netherlands to prepare for immigration. There he met his future wife, Susi (Zuzi) Katz, and together they boarded the Dora to Eretz Israel. Meir and Susi first lived in Kibbutz "Rodges" (Kfar Avraham near Petah Tikva), a religious kibbutz named after the farm in Germany (in Fulda, Hesse) where some of the founders of the religious kibbutz were trained. After about two years, in 1941, Meir and his wife Shulamit Bar-Shalom (Susi Katz) were among the founders of Kvutzat Yavne, another religious kibbutz. There they married in 1942 and in 1944 their eldest daughter was born. Meir and Shulamit had five children. Meir Bar Shalom (Friedman) died in April 1990. From his family only a sister and a younger brother survived after the Holocaust. His father, Yaakov, his mother, Adelaide Friedman, and his brother Hanoch Friedman were deported to Lithuania where they were murdered. His brother, Moshe Friedman emigrated to Palestine. . His sister Lea Shapira emigrated to Canada. Sources: Note: Assuming "Mejer Frydmann", as he appears on the passenger lists, is the same person as "Meir (Meyer) Friedman" listed on the maapilim.org site, even though the birth dates and nationalities don't match: Maapilim has birth date: 1918 and nationality: Lithuania. |
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Geisel, Siegfried
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
16.10.1910
Bullay German |
Siegfried Geisel was born October 6, 1910, in Bullay, a village in Rhineland-Palatinate, about 30 miles from Luxembourg and the Belgian border. In the 1930s he lived in Kyllburg, another small town in the same region. Source: |
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Goldbach, Ilse
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
25.11.1914
Marktbreid, Germany German |
Ilse Goldbach (later Elsa Horin) was born November 25, 1914, in Marktbreit, a small town near Frankfurt, the daughter of Abraham and Carla Goldbach née Blum. She had a younger sister, Martha, and a brother. Ilse's father was a fabric merchant and the owner of a fabric and clothing store in Marketbright, where her mother also worked. He also served as one of the heads of the Jewish community and as the head of the town's Chevra Kadisha. After finishing her high school studies, Ilse joined Bachad (?) (Brit Halutzim Datiyim - Union of Religious Pioneers) at the Beit Halutz in Frankfurt. After Kristallnacht, Ilsa went to visit her parents in Marktbright and immediately after that she fled with the training staff to the Netherlands. From there she boarded the Dora in July 1939. According to her son: "She immigrated to Israel on the Dora in August 1939. She arrived in Israel on the coast of Shefayim. They were lowered with the help of activists and taken to hiding places before the English found them." After her landing, she first went to Rodges, a training kibbutz of the religious kibbutz (Kfar Avraham near Petah Tikva) for three days. From there she went to kibbutz Tirat Zvi. There she met her future husband Moshe Frank (later: Moshe Horin). They were married a year later and the couple had three children. Elsa Horin (nee Ilse Goldbach) died in April 2013 in Kibbutz Tirat Zvi. She was 98. Ilse's parents attempted to emigrate to South America in vain. They wrote to their daughter: "I see this pessimistically, especially since the mail connection with the USA is very bad. By the time you get a reply to the letter from there, immigration to the country in question is already blocked again." Avraham and Clara Goldbach were deported in 1942 and sent to Lublin in Poland and from there to the Izbica ghetto where they were murdered. Her sister Martha Speier came to Palestine with the Aliyah Bet vessel "Pacific" in November 1940. The ship was intercepted by the British, and she was interned in Athlit. Sources: |
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Goldschmidt, Arno
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
25.8.1907
Recksdorf German |
Arno Goldschmidt was born August 25, 1907, in Recksdorf (?), Germany. He went to the Netherlands and was trained in Werkdorp Wieringermeer. In Israel, he lived in Ness Ziona 1. Source: 1: 1983 list of former chalutzim from Werkdorp Wieringermeer, courtesy of Amnon Rimon. |
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Goldschmidt, Julius, Ernst
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
30.03.1920
Berkach German |
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Goldstein, Lilo (Lieselotte)
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
12.2.1918
Berlin German |
Lieselotte Goldstein (later Lilo Tachover), was born February 12, 1918, in Berlin, the daughter of Jacob and Julia Goldstein, (born Levin). Lieselotte attended the Gut Winkel Hachshara in SpreehagenH in 1937-1938. She then came to the Netherlands where she continued her training in Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Lieselotte Goldstein first came to Kibbutz Machar and married Alfred Avraham Tachover in 1941. In 1942 the couple moved to Kibbutz Gvar'am. They had four children. Lilo Tachover (Lieselotte Goldstein) died in 2006 in Kibbutz Gvar'am. Sources: |
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Gottlieb, Mary
1946
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
15.12.1921
Vienna German (Austrian) |
Mary Gottlieb (later: (later Miriam Weisskopf) was born December 15, 1921, in Vienna, the daughter of Mendel Emanuel Gottlieb and Ester Gittel Gottlieb (born Bohm), the only child to wealthy parents. "Mary had to leave Vienna after Kristallnacht, because the Nazis had taken a picture of her without her knowledge since she was active in a leftist Jewish organization. She saw the picture in the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer with the title 'Sarah, pack your bags, you are listed in Der Stürmer'. A high-ranking Nazi official, who lived in the same building as her father, advised her father to get Mary quickly out of the country because she was to be arrested. She left Vienna immediately and went to hachshara in Holland." (Other sources have: "Following the annexation [March 38] of Austria, she left her home in Vienna and went to the Netherlands to receive training for her immigration. On Kristallnacht [Nov 38], Mary was home in Vienna and witnessed riots that hit her family's apartment." In the hachshara, Mary met her future husband Herward (Zvi) Weisskopf. Together they boarded the Dora in July 1939. At first, Miriam and Zvi lived in Kibbutz haZorea. In 1941 they married and then came to Kfar Yedidya where they took over Zvi's older brother farm. The couple had two children. She opened her home and became a foster family for children, including Holocaust survivors. Miriam Weisskopf (Mary Gottlieb) died in 2001 at the age of 80 in Kfar Yedidya. Her father (and presumably mother) survived the war. (Assuming they emigrated). Sources: |
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Goudsmit, Marianna
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The Deventer Society (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam | Pres. Brandtstr. 74 |
13.9.1918
Amsterdam Polish |
Marianna Goudsmit was born on September 13, 1918, in Amsterdam, the daughter of Philip Goudsmit and Jette Israels. She had four siblings Eliëzar (1917), Leentje (1920), Jonat Janos (1922), and Mozes (1923). Her father died in 1930 when she was 12 years old. Marianna's profession before her immigration was seamstress. Marianna married Max Friedlander (later: Moshe Pridan) and the couple had one son. She changed her name to Marianna Pridan. Marianna Pridan (born Goudsmit) died in Jerusalem. Marianna's entire family disappeared in the Holocaust. Her mother Jette Goudsmit was murdered in Auschwitz on October 26 1942. Her brother Mozes Goudsmit was murdered in Auschwitz on September 30 1942 at the age of 19. Her sister Leentje Depken (born Goudsmit) was murdered in Sobibór on June 11 1943 at the age of 20. Her brother Jonat Janos (21) was murdered in Sobibór on March 13 1943. Her brother Eliëzar Goudsmit (26) was murdered on March 31 1943. Sources: |
Griver, Norris
1940
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The Deventer Society |
25.5.1915
London British |
Norris Griver was born on May 25, 1915, in Bethnal Green, in the East End of London. His father was Russian and his mother British. He was an electrician by trade. His story is unique among the passengers of the Dora. The only citizen from England, he seemingly had no reason to attempt a risky voyage to Palestine as an illegal immigrant. A British national, he wasn't a dispossessed refugee fleeing National Socialism, and was eligible for a legal immigration visa. His son explains: "My father was an ardent Zionist and wanted to get to Palestine. I believe he was associated with Habonim, and spent some time at the David Eder Farm in Sussex, UK, for Hachshara. As a UK citizen, he had a valid visa to Palestine, but it was used by a European refugee, so he had to get to Palestine illegally." "After leaving London, he spent a few months in Europe, in Paris and in Amsterdam. To the best of my knowledge, he was waiting for a way to get to Palestine for the whole of this period, and I assume the waiting was under the auspices of the organizations arranging Aliyah Bet. He eventually got to Palestine on the Dora." "On landing, he was taken to Raanana, and then he joined the Kibbutz Anglo-Balti, which was in Binyamina at the time and eventually set up Kibbutz Kfar Blum in the Upper Galilee." "On 7th May 1940 he joined the British Army at Sarafand (today Tsrifin) and served in the Middle East until the end of 1944, when he was posted to the UK. After VE Day he served in Belgium, Holland and Germany and was finally demobilized in London in early 1946. He married in 1947 in London where he set up a successful electrical contracting business, and lived there till his death in February 2000. His two children live in Israel." Source: Photo and message from his son, Jon Griver, May 2021. |
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Gross, Simon
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
14.5.1918
Vienna German (Austrian) |
Simon (Shimon) Gross was born in Vienna on May 14, 1918, the son of Leib "leo" Gross and Scheindel Gross (born Schreier). He had five siblings: Israel "Igo"(1897), Rosa (Reizel) (1899), Taube "Thea" (1901), Mojzesz "Munio" (1903), Max (1905). Simon married Flora "Niza" Marx and the couple had two children. Shimon Gross died in April 1988 in Ein Carmel. Shimon's father Leib "leo" Gross died in 1943. His sister Taube "Thea" Landau (born Gross) died in 1942. His mother Scheindel Gross survived. His brother Israel "igo" Ross (Gross) emigrated to the USA. His brothers Max Gross and Mojzesz "Munio" Gross and his sister Rosa (Reizel) Honig (born Gross) also survived. Sources: |
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Grünberger, Philip
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
3.1.1913
Boskowitz German |
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Grünpeter, Martin
Photo: Roman Vishniac.
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
2.1.1914
Breslau Stateless |
Martin Grünpeter (later: Mordechai Sela) was born January 2, 1914, in Breslau, to Emil Grünpeter, from Koenigshuette, and Recha Juliusburger, from Kattowitz. He had two sisters, Hanni (1918), and Naomi (ca 1920). His father was a butcher ("Master butcher"), a profession that was passed down in the family from generation to generation. He ran a traditional Jewish home, and at the same time was a German nationalist. Martin Grünpeter changed his name in Israel to Mordechai Sela.
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Gusdorf, Hans Rudolf
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
10.4.1921
Berlin German |
Hans Rudolf Gusdorf (later: Reuven Gidron) was born in Berlin on April 10, 1921, the son of Max Gusdorf, from Detmold, and Helena Gusdorf (born Oppenheimer). His father had been a soldier in World War I and was a merchant who dealt in women's clothing. His father was away for the week and was only home on the weekend, and Hans was raised by his mother and a nanny. He was named after two cousins, Hans and Rudolf, who had fallen in World War I. Later he would be nicknamed "Harrow", from the combinations of both names. Hans had one sister, Erika.
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Gutmann, Gustav Gerhard
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
28.9.1920
Berlin German |
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Guttmann, Heinemann
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Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel |
13.12.1915*
Burgpreppach German |
Heinemann (Elhanan) Gutmann was born on December 13, 1915, (or December 28, 1919, according to maapilim.org.il), in Burgpreppach, Germany, the son of Meier Max Gutman, a teacher at the Talmud Torah in Burgpreppach, and Amalia Emanuel. Heinemann had four siblings: Betty (1914), Sara (1916), Zipora (1920) and Leo Eliezer (1923). His father died in 1926 of a stroke in when Heinemann was not yet 11 years old. Following his death, his widow moved to her hometown Fulda with her five children. Heinemann belonged to the Ezra youth movement, an orthodox Jewish youth movement affiliated with Agudat Yisrael, a religious Zionist organization (Noar Agudati). He eventually came to the Netherlands where he joined the Hachscharah of Agudas Yisroel in Enschede. He provided the following details on maapilim.org.il:
On July 16, he traveled from Enschede to Amsterdam, about 100 miles away, to board the Dora. It's assumed that he was with the group of seven youngsters from the Enschede Hachshara. According to the daily "Het Volk", "The Dora did not leave until 5 o'clock at night, three hours later than planned. They had been waiting for seven refugees from Enschede who were coming by car and had gotten lost." Heinemann later changed his name to Elhanan Gutman. He married Hanna Eschwege who had come to Israel in 1945 and the couple had four children. He died in 2000 in Jerusalem. His sister Zipora Gutman who had been living in Enschede as a teacher's assistant at the Jewish Center for Vocational Training was interned in the Westerbork transit camp on September 14, 1943. She was deported to Auschwitz a week later on September 21, 1943 where she was murdered on arrival three days later on September 24, 1943. His mother survived the war and died in Utrecht 6 months after the end of the war. His sister Betty Ullmann survived the war. His sister Sara (later: Sara Lowy) emigrated to England. His brother Leo Eliezer Gutmann lived in Jerusalem. Sources: |
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Haas, Edwin
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
13.1.1920
Mannheim German |
Edwin ("Edde") Haas was born on January 13, 1920, in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Karl Haas and Anna Kayem. He had and elder sister Getrud (1915), and a twin sister Lily (1920). His father died in 1927 when Edwin was 7 years old. Edwin grew up in a fairly assimilated family. He recalled:
Edwin joined Habonim at a young age. He had to leave the general school in 1934 at the age of 14. A year and a half later, in 1935, he joined an occupational school. Although he did well and liked working with his hands, nobody would take a Jewish apprentice. He explained:
In January 1936, at the age of 16, Haas left Manheim and came to the Netherlands. He was registered in Barsingerhorn (Het Joods Werkdorp) on February 3, 1936. He then moved to the Wieringermeer location on January 2 1938.
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Contact us to gain access to this profile. In Israel, Edwin changed his name to Gad Hass. He married Marga whom he had met in the Werkdorp two years earlier. (She had emigrated to Palestine before him thanks to a legal certificate). The couple had two children. Edwin (Gad) Hass died in April 2007, at the age of 87, in Haifa. His mother Anna Haas came to visit her elder daughter Getrud in Palestine in 1937, then returned to Germany. She was later deported to Auschwitz where she was murdered on August 10, 1942. His elder sister, Tamar Demayo (born Getrud Haas), went to Hachshara in Yugoslavia, then came with a so-called "capitalist certificate" - granted to emigrants who had one thousand English pounds - and she settled in Haifa. His twin sister, Lilly Kahn (Haas), came to Palestine in 1937 and attended the agricultural school for girls in Nahalal, before moving to a kibbutz. Sources: |
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Heineberg, Walther (Walter)
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
28.7.1920
Düsseldorf German |
Walter Heineberg was born in Düsseldorf on July 28, 1920, the son of Paul Heineberg and Anna Weinberg. He had an elder sister, Liesel, born in 1913. His father was wounded during WW1. Walter was a member to the Habonim ("Builders") youth group. He left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he joined the Wieringermeer Werkdorp. Walter Heineberg later changed his name to Gavriel Heineberg in Israel. He lived in Kibbutz Dorot and married Shoshana Herrmann. The couple had three children. Gabriel Heineberg died in Kibbutz Dorot in January 2012. His father Paul Heineberg was arrested in the November Pogrom and was incarcerated in Buchenwald, where he remained until his release on December 8, 1938. His parents, Paul and Anna Heineberg were deported to Minsk on November 10, 1941. They vanished in the Shoah. His sister Liesel managed to emigrate to England. Sources: |
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Hirsch, Eva
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The Deventer Society (Apeldoorn) | Apeldoorn: "Het Apeldoornsche Bosch" |
15.9.1916*
Berlin German |
Eva Ilse Hirsch was born on September 15, 1919*, in Berlin, the daughter of Paul Hirsch and Else Mathilde Hirsch (Dresel). Her father was an engineer and had served as an officer's lieutenant in the First World War. She had a twin sister, Ruth. Her mother died in 1934 when Eva was 14 years old. Eva Hirsh was raised in a secular family. She recalled growing up in a home with books of poetry, travel, science and novels from Germany, France and England. Her mother was an amateur photographer and played the piano. She remembered a happy childhood in the west of the city where there were many gardens. Every Sunday Eva and her sister walked with their father, visited museums and walked in parks, lakes and forests in the area. They didn't talk about Judaism at home, her parents didn't believe in a particular religion and celebrated the Christian holidays - "German holidays" - Christmas and Easter. At home they didn't talk much about the Jewish holidays and at school there were few religious lessons. Since most of the students were Jewish, she was hardly aware of anti-Semitism. Eva and her sister wanted to join the "Kameraden" youth group - a socialist Jewish organization, but her parents were afraid of "Communism". Instead, at the age of 16 (1932 or 1935?) Eva and her sister joined a youth movement connected to the Social Democratic Party. Then they joined a Jewish-German youth movement and then moved to the "Werkleute" Zionist movement. Eva later studied for a while at a Jewish seminary for horticulture. After graduation, she worked for a short time as a kindergarten teacher for a family with small children, and then left for training in Frankfurt am Main. For a year and a half, she worked in the "Pioneer House" (Beit Hechalutz) in housekeeping, and, in order to receive a certificate to emigrate to Palestine, she worked in agriculture at a training farm in Orfeld. There she met her future husband (Yehuda (Fritz) Wolff). In 1938 Eva and Fritz then moved to Elgut where they replaced as guides Santa and Giura who had left for Palestine. After Kristallnacht, the Nazis evacuated Elgut, the young men were sent to Buchenwald and the Eva returned to Berlin to look for her family. After the release of the men, she returned to Elgut from where the boys went to Holland for field training. On July 15, 1939, Eva sailed from the port of Amsterdam on the Dora. She first went to Kibbutz Givat Chaim and from there to the "nucleus" (גרעין) in Ra'anana, then settled in Kibbutz Galed. Eva Hirsch was married to Yehuda (Fritz) Wolff and the couple had two children. Chava Wolf (Eva Hirsh) died in October 1990 in Kibbutz Galed at the age of 71. Eva's father Paul Hirsch died in April 1941 in a forced labor camp in Berlin. Eva's sister Ruth Ganann (born Hirsch) emigrated to England, then to Palestine. She died in Kibbutz Beit Hashita. Sources: *Note: the passenger list has 1916 as the year of birth; her obituary from Kibbutz Galed has 1919. |
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Hirsch, Issy
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Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel |
13.11.1919
Düsseldorf German |
Isaak Issy Hirsch was born on November 13, 1919, in Düsseldorf, the son of Avigdor Hirsch and Guste Gittel Sprei, both originally from Galicia. He was the youngest of four children, with two brothers, Benno Ben Zion Hirsch (1909) and Abraham Rudy Hirsch (1913), and one sister, Yvonne Hirsch (1911). On October 28, 1938 Issy's parents and brother Benno Hirsch were deported to Zbaszyn on the Polish border where they remained until 1939. Issy Hirsch left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he joined the Hachscharah of Agudas Yisroel, an orthodox Zionist group (Noar Agudati), in Enschede, on the Dutch-German border. Issy was most likely with the group of seven youngsters from the Enschede Hachshara who traveled to Amsterdam about 100 miles away to board the Dora on July 16. According to the daily "Het Volk", "The Dora did not leave until 5 o'clock at night, three hours later than planned. They had been waiting for seven refugees from Enschede who were coming by car and had gotten lost." Issy Hirsch lived in Kibbutz Hafetz Haim, a religious kibbutz near Gedera, the first ultra-Orthodox kibbutz in the country founded by the "Agudat Israel Workers" movement in 1944. Issy Hirsch didn't marry. He died in Kibbutz Hafetz Haim, in November 1977, at the age of 58. Issy's parents and brother Benno were deported to the Reichshof ghetto in Rzeszow in 1939. His parents, Avigdor and Guste Gittel Hirsch, his elder brother Benno Ben Zion Hirsch, and his uncle Simon Hirsch, were all murdered in November 1943 in the mass shooting in the forest of Dobrucowa/Szebnie. Two other uncles were murdered in the Shoah: Jacob Samuel Hirsch in Auschwitz in 1943; David Hirsch in Belzec in 1942. His brother Abraham Rudy Hirsch emigrated to Eretz Israel and lived in Jerusalem. His sister Yvonne Tannenbaum née Hirsch emigrated to the USA and lived in Atlanta. Source: |
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Hirsch, Manfred
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
29.3.1920
Berlin German |
Manfred Hirsch (later: Moshe Raphaeli) was born March 29, 1920, in Berlin, the son of Raphael and Dora Hirsch.
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Hochberger, Abraham
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
21.6.1918
Vienna German |
Abraham Hochberger was born June 21, 1918, in Vienna, the son of Zacharyasz Binder Hochberger (Zacharias Hochberger), a merchant, and Perl Berta Blumenkranz. Both his parents originally came from Bobowa in Poland. Avraham had (at least) three brothers: Josef (1913), Moritz (1914) and Isaak (1916), and one sister, Rose. Abraham Hochberger lived in Haifa in 1956. He later emigrated to the USA, where he resided at least by 1962. He died in March 1998 (79) in the state of New York. Abraham Hochberger's parents Zacharias and Perl Hochberger left Vienna and came to Antwerpen. They were deported in 1942 to Auschwitz were they were murdered. Abraham's brother Josef Hochberger emigrated to Palestine and lived in Tirat Tsvi, a religious Kibbutz. His brother Yitschak Hochberger emigrated to Palestine in 1938. His sister Rose Reinhold (born Hochberger) also emigrated to Palestine and lived in Bnei Brak. Sources: |
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Hoffmann, Heinz
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
6.11.1916
Schreiberhau German |
Heinz Hoffmann was born on November 6, 1916, in Schreiberhau (Lower Silesia), the son of Julius Joseph and Clara Hoffmann. He grew up in Norderney, a small island in northern Germany, where he graduated from high school. He changed his name to Haim Bar-Tikva (חיים בר תקוה)
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Horowitz, Marcus (Max)
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
17.1.1914
Frankfort German |
Marcus (later: Mordechai) Horowitz was born on January 17, 1914, in Frankfurt am Main, the son of Jakob and Lotte Horowitz. His father and grandfather were rabbis in the community. They were Orthodox and opposed Zionism. Mordechai's grandfather was from Hungary. His father graduated in philosophy from university and established German-Jewish cultural and social enterprises. Mordechai's mother came from a Zionist home, and in her youth had visited Israel. All five children of the Horowitz family were in Zionist youth movements and immigrated to Israel. Marcus Horowitz attended a Jewish elementary school, a trade school and worked in a textile trading house. He was a member of the Kadima movement. Marcus left Frankfurt and came to the Netherlands where he lived in a training farm for almost two years, working in the vegetable garden and barn. He was first registered in Barsingerhorn (Stichting Joosche Arbeid) on July 29 1937, then on January 2 1938 in Wieringermeer. After his arrival in Israel, he first stayed with his sister in Givat Haim. He later moved to Kibbutz Beit Hashita. He changed his name to Mordechai Horowitz. Mordechai (Marcus) did not start a family. He died in September 1985 at the age of seventy-one in Kibbutz Beit Hashita. Sources: |
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Israel, Manfred
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
7.9.1920
Schlawe German |
Manfred Israel was born September 7, 1920, in Schlawe, a small town near the Baltic Sea in Pomerania (now Poland), the son of Samuel (Sally) Israel,a merchant from Friedrichsbruch (Prussia, now Poland), and Paula Israel (born Klahr), originally from Zolondowo, Poland. He had one younger sister, Inge Charlotte (1924). His parents' home was a traditional Jewish home, which kept kosher and celebrated Jewish holidays, but his parents considered themselves to be Germans of the religion of Moses. When Manfred was 13 years old, the Nazis came to power and the persecutions began immediately. Manfred suffered beatings and harassment. At the age of 14 he left home and went to the hachshara of Werkleute in Silesia, a Zionist youth movement which later joined the National Kibbutz movement. Manfred left Germany in the spring of 1938 and came to the Netherlands where he joined the Werkleute group in Werkdorp. In July 1939 he boarded the Dora and arrived in Israel on August 12, 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II. He first lived in Kibbutz haZorea for two years, then joined the Elgavish nucleus in Ra'anana where he met his wife Rachel Altertum. In July 1943 he came to Kibbutz Kfar Menachem. The couple had four sons. Manfred later changed his name to Moshe Israel. During his work in the fields he discovered archeological artifacts, which formed the basis for the archaeological museum he would later found. For many years he taught at the regional high school. In 1973, he founded the "Museum of the Lowlands" ("מוזיאון השפלה") in Kfar Menachem. He also wrote literary and artistic criticism articles in various publications. He authored "Waehle sagt mir die Erinnerung" (Altius Verlag, 1996), a collection of poems, a play, and a diary. Moshe (Manfred) Israel died in Kfar Menachem in March 2005. Manfred's father Sally Samuel Israel was incarcerated in Sachsenhausen, presumably following the 1938 November Pogrom. Manfred's parents, Sally Samuel Israel (54) and Paula Israel (45), and his sister, Inge Charlotte Israel (17), a student, were deported to Riga on November 27 1941. They were murdered three days later on November 30 1941.
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Jacob, Leopold Siegfried
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk |
10.6.1917
Berlin German |
Leopold Siegfried Jacob was born on June 10, 1917, in Berlin. He fled from Berlin and came to the Netherlands in the fall of 1936. He came to Kibbutz Franeker on October 10, 1936. He did an internship with a cattle farmer in Achlum, a village about 7 km southwest of Franeker. He then left Franeker at the end of April 1938 for Amsterdam. From there he boarded the Dora in the summer of 1939. Source: historischcentrumfraneker.nl |
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Jacobsohn, Ernst
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
18.7.1916
Hamburg German |
Ernst Jacobsohn was born on July 18, 1916, in Hamburg, the son of John Jacobsohn, a merchant from Lübeck, and Else Jacobsohn (born Rosenblum), from Salzwedel, Saxony. He had one brother Manfred (1922). Ernst's father owned a shop selling stationery and travel souvenirs near the main train station in Hamburg. He died in 1928 when Ernst was 12 years old. After his death, his mother Else continued the business until August 1938, by which time the anti-Jewish discrimations contributed to ending her business and made Else Jacobsohn dependent on welfare services from the state and the Jewish community. Ernst Jacobsohn was able to complete an apprenticeship as a bookseller, but was unable to find a job because of his Jewish origins. He left Hamburg in 1936 and lived in Cologne and Nuremberg. He then fled Germany and emigrated to the Netherlands at the beginning of 1938. There he trained for his immigration in Werkdorp Wieringermeer before boarding the Dora. He later immigrated to the USA. He was married and the couple had two sons. Ernst Jacobsohn died in Sepember 1996 at the age of 80 in Nassau, New York. Ernst Jacobsohn's mother Else Jacobsohn was forced to live in a "Judenhaus". She was then deported to the Minsk ghetto in Belarus on November 18, 1941, where she was murdered. Ernst's brother Manfred Jacobsohn was incarcerated in a concentration camp in 1938, most likely following the November pogrom. After his release at the end of 1938, he fled to the Netherlands at the age of 16 but did not (or couldn't?) go to Palestine. He was interned in the Westerbork concentration camp, from where he was deported to Auschwitz in November 1943; there he was murdered on January 2, 1944. He was 21 years old. Sources: |
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Jonas, Max Gerhard
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
16.4.1921
Berlin German |
Gerhard (later Gershon) Jonas was born on April 16, 1921, in Berlin, the son of Erich Jonas, Dr. PhD, and Annie Gertrud Jonas (born Loewenthal). He had on brother, Peter Lutz (1924). After completing school in 1937, Gerhard attended a private Jewish school to learn English in order to attend University in England. Having become an ardent Zionist, he decided to go to Palestine instead. He left Germany in September 1938 for Holland to follow agricultural training in Werkdorp Wieringermeer, then made the decision to go to Palestine against his mother's wishes in January 1939. About life in Palestine, he said:
He enlisted in the Palmach in the 7th company within the German division. He went through a military course and trained together with his friends to operate in the rear of the German enemy. In the end, they only practiced because Rommel was defeated in Egypt. He said: He also participated in "the Saison" operations to suppress the Irgun's insurgency against the government of the British Mandate in Palestine. He then enlisted together with the members of his department in the Jewish Brigade. In 1944* (or 1945), I volunteered to the 'Jewish Brigade' along with 5,000 other Jews in Palestine." During the War of Independence, he served as deputy commander of a platoon in the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade. He participated in battles against the Iraqis in and around Jenin, in battles on the Egyptian front, on Hill 86 in front of Khan Yunis and took part in the occupation of Eilat. In Israel he adopted the name Gershon Jonas. He married Tirza Möller and the couple had two children. He was a farmer in the Bnei Dror Moshav. He later also served as a tour guide for tourists. Gershon died in May 2012 in Bnei Dror, Israel. Gershon's father Erich Jonas died in November 1938 (55) "as a result of the stress of having to forcibly turn over his business because of anti-Jewish legislation". His mother, now Annie Gertrud Klestadt after her second marriage in 1940, emigrated to the USA. His brother Peter Lutz Jonas fled on the Kindertransport in 1939. He served in the British Army in WWII and later emigrated to the USA in 1949.
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Kahn, Siegbert
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
5.7.1920
Lichtenfels, Germany Stateless |
Siegbert Kahn was born July 5, 1920, in Lichtenfels, the son of Arthur Kahn, a cattle dealer, and Carry Oppenheimer. The family moved to Memmelsdorf in 1934. Siegbert Kahn left Memmelsdorf at the end of October 1936 and came to the Netherlands. There he joined Werkdorp Nieuwesluis (Werkdorp Wieringermeer) in December of that year. In Israel, Siegbert Kahn lived in Sha'ar HaNegev. He later changed his name to Simcha Cohen. Simcha Cohen (Siegbert Kahn) died in December 2004 in Beit Ha Shita, Israel. His father commited suicide in the Ebern police jail in November 1937. His mother Carry Kahn, his uncle Berthold Kahn, his aunt Mina Kahn and their son Manfred Kahn were deported from Munich to Kaunas (Kovno) on November 20, 1941, where they were murdered five days later in the Ninth Fort massacre.
Sources: Steven Kahn (2019) |
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Kampf, Heinrich
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
24.2.1916*
Vienna German |
Heinrich Kampf was born February 24, 1915*, in Vienna, the son of Aaron Adolf Kampf, a representative and commercial clerk, originally Opatowice, Poland, and Lea Buxdorf, from Brody. He had two brothers, Siegfried (1906) and Alfred (1911), and one sister, Regina (1908). The family lived in Vienna since 1904. Heinrich Kampf left Austria and came to Germany to pursue hachshara training. He lived in Augsburg in Bavaria from November 11 1938 to January 17 1939. There, two agricultural and horticultural training centers organized by HeChalutz were located near Augsburg, Bannacker and Fischach. He then briefly returned to Austria, maybe to say goodbye to his family. On February 13, 1939, back in Vienna, Heinrich filled out an emigration application with the IKG (Vienna Jewish Community). He was planning to go to the Netherlands to attend a hachshara. He stated his intention to leave for Holland on February 25, and that he was in possession of a valid passport (issued in Augsburg on January 11 1939) and necessary entry visa. Two days later, on February 15, he was alloted 45RM to travel to the Netherlands, and an additional 30RM allowance by the emigration department of the Jewish Community. At the time, Heinrich was almost 24 years old. He was single and didn't list a profession aside from "intern" with hachshara training. In addition to German, he spoke "Ivrit" - modern Hebrew. Although presumably in posession of a valid passport and entry visa, Heinrich Kampf's name doesn't appear on Dutch resident registers. It is assumed that he attended Werkdorp Wieringermeer from late February or early March 1939 until his departure on the Dora in mid-July that year. Heinrich's father filled out an emigration application in Vienna in July 1938 for himself, his wife and two of his sons, Alfred and Siegfried. Missing from the list were his son Heinrich, who might have already been in Germany, and his daughter Regina. He was hoping to get to the USA where a brother of his lived in the Bronx, or to Palestine. His effort to get his family out were in vain. Heinrich's parents Aron and Lea Kampf, and his two brothers Siegfried and Alfred Kampf, were deported from Vienna to Kovno (Kaunas) in Lithuania on November 23 1941. They was murdered on arrival six days later on November 29, 1941. The fate of his sister, Regina Katz is not known but she is presumed to have survived as there are no entries in yadvashem.org. Sources: Note: The passenger list incorrect has 1916 as the year of birth instead of 1915. |
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Kapelner Heinrich
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
31.3.20
Köln Polish |
Heinrich Kapelner was born March 31, 1920, in Cologne, the son of Yehuda and Miriam Kapelner. Heinrich Kapelner left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer. He was registered in Barsingerhorn in the Stichting Joosche Arbeid in December 1936, then was registered on January 2 1938 in Wieringermeer. He was married to (unknown) Braun and the couple had two children. Heinrich Kapelner changed his name to Haim Kapelner. Haim (Heinrich) Kapelner died in 2008 and is burried in Yehud Monosson. |
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Katz, Albert (Katz, Abraham)
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The Deventer Society (Weelsche Broek)
(Deventer society: Papenstraat 45, Deventer) |
Weelsche Broek | Papenstraat 45, Deventer
p.a. Gerritsen |
1.7.1916
Nyirgelse Hungarian |
Abraham Albert Katz was born in Nyírgelse, a village near in Nyírmihálydi in Hungary, on July 7, 1916, the son of Lajos Katz and Eszter Fellner. Albert Katz came to the Netherlands and was registered in Hengelo, along with Günter Russ, another Dora passenger. (date unknown). Abraham Albert Katz married Rachel Spitzer in Haifa and the couple had one child. Abraham Albert Katz died in Haifa in 2010. Abraham Albert Katz appears in one list as "Abraham Katz" and in another as "Albert Katz", both from Hungary. One entry lists the Deventer Society (Weelsche Broek), last address: p.a. Gerritsen. The other the Deventer society, Papenstraat 45, Deventer. Sources: |
Katz, Susi
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
25.7.1918
Posen German |
Susi Katz (later: Shulamit Bar-Shalom) was born on July 25, 1918, in Posen, Germany (now: Poznań, Poland), the daughter of Ludwig Katz, and Hedwig Katz (born Engel). She had one brother, Theodor (Tuvya) (1914). Her father died in 1924, when Susi was 5 years old.
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Katzenstein, Gerhard
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
15.7.1920*
Berlin Stateless |
Gerhard Katzenstein was born July 5, 1920*, in Berlin, the son of Simon Katzenstein and Henriette (Jettka) Katzenstein (born Rubin). He had two siblings, Hans Siegmund (1916) and Anna Sophie (1918). Gerhard Katzenstein changed his name to Gershom Nevo.
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Kaufmann, Ellen
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
28.1.1920*
Berlin German |
Ellen Margot Kaufmann was born on January 28, 1920, in Berlin, the daughter of Alfred Kaufmann and Paula Lea Adler. The second child in a family of four children, she had two brothers: Ernst (1918) and Herbert Peter (1925) and one sister, Ruth (1923). According to Ellen's memorial page, "[She] was born to a family rooted in Germany for hundreds of years, and only when Hitler came to power did they realize their Jewish affiliation." In October 1933, the Kaufmann family emigrated to the Netherlands, and there the four children joined the Zionist youth movement Maccabi HaTsair. Ellen later went to agricultural training, apparently against the will of her father. This training would last for three years, because the Netherlands, considered safe for Jews - unlike Germany or Austria - did not get certificates for Palestine. In April 1938, Ellen joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer, and, on July 16, boarded the Dora with her brother, Ernst Kaufmann. Ellen and her brother Gad joined Kibbutz HaBoneh in Hadera (now Dorot), but the Kibbutz life did not suit her and she left for Haifa where she got married. Her marriage would not last and Ellen built an independent life for herself, including a long stint managing the tourist shop on an Israeli ship, which allowed her to sail around the world. Following the closing of the Zim paasenger lines, she eventually moved to Kfar Menachem where her brother Gad lived. Ellen Kaufmann died in Kibbutz Kfar Menachem in October 1983. Ellen's parents, Alfred and Paula Kaufmann received "Palestine certificates" as part of a prisonner exchange, and were among a group of 222 Jews incarcerated in Bergen-Belsen who were exchanged for German Templars from Palestine interned by the British. They arrived in Haifa in July 1944. Her brother Ernst (Gad) Kaufmann who was also on the Dora, and her sister Ruth Salamon also came to Palestine. Ellen's brother, Peter Kaufmann was sent to Westerbork on July 6, 1942. His fate is unknown. Note: The memorial page for Ellen Kaufmann from Kibbutz Kfar Menachem lists her date of birth as January 20, 1920. Sources: |
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Kaufmann, Ernst
Photo: Roman Vishniac
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
22.9.1918
Berlin Stateless |
Ernst Kaufmann was born on September 22, 1918, in Berlin, the son of Alfred Kaufmann and Paula Lea Adler. The eldest in a family of four children, he had two sisters, Ellen (1920) and Ruth (1923), and one brother, Herbert Peter (1925). According to his sister Ellen's memorial page, "[He] was born to a family rooted in Germany for hundreds of years, and only when Hitler came to power did they realize their Jewish affiliation." In October 1933, the Kaufmann family emigrated to the Netherlands, and there the four children joined the Zionist youth movement Maccabi HaTsair. Ernst belonged to the Werkleute movement and in February 1937, he registered as a trainee at the Werkdorp Nieuwe Sluis in Barsingerhorn (Het Joods Werkdorp). He was then re-registered with all Werkdorper at the Wieringer Meer Werkdorp, where his sister joined him in April 1938. There he met his friends Omri Mainzer and Moshe Israel. Ernst Kaufmann appears in two photographs taken by Roman Vishniac in the work camp Werkdorp Wieringermeer in 1938 or 1939. On July 16, along with 75 other members of the Werkdorp, he boarded the Dora with his sister, Ellen Kaufmann and with other members of the "Elgavish" nucleus. He first came to the "Habonim" nucleus in Hadera, which was intended for Kibbutz Dorot, but left and moved to Kibbutz haZorea, and from there in 1941 to the "Elgavish" nucleus in Ra'anana, a kibbutz composed mainly of veterans of the German Hashomer Hatzair, which then merged in July 1943 with Kibbutz Kfar Menachem. He enlisted in the British army in a transport unit [other source has "Company 870 of the engineering corps"] and reached Basra in Iraq. At the end of the war, he was released from the British army and joined the kibbutz. [other source has "After his release from the brigade, he served as a policeman in the mandate police until the establishment of the IDF.] In Israel, he changed his name to Gad Canaan. After the War of Independence, he enlisted in the IDF and took part in Operation Kadesh (1956 Sinai Campaign), later serving as a military instructor in the Ministry of defense. From there he joined the Ministry of Agriculture as an agricultural instructor in Iran and Nepal. Gad later returned to the kibbutz. After his release from the army he traveled across the world: South and North Poles, North and South America, Alaska, Africa, Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand. He mastered four languages: Hebrew, English, German and Dutch. Gad Canaan (Ernst Kaufmann) never married and didn't start a family. He died in Kfar Menachem in 2002. His parents, Alfred and Paula Kaufmann received "Palestine certificates" as part of a prisonner exchange, and were among a group of 222 Jews incarcerated in Bergen-Belsen who were exchanged for German Templars from Palestine interned by the British. They arrived safely in Haifa in July 1944. His sister, Ellen Kaufmann, another passenger on the Dora, and his sister Ruth Salamon also came to Palestine. His brother, Peter Kaufmann was sent to Westerbork on July 6, 1942. His fate is not known. Sources: |
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Klestadt, Hans (Kleestadt)
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
19.4.1920
Geseke German |
Hans Klestadt was born April 19, 1920 in Geseke, the son of Berthold Klestadt and Toni Sahmer. His father, a doctor, died in August 1923 when Hans was 3 years old. Hans had a younger brother, Bernhard (Bernt) Klestadt, born in October 1923. The family later moved to Cologne, possibly because of Klestadt relatives who ran the Rheinische Papierwaren-Fabrik Max Klestadt. In July 15, 1936, Hans left Cologne and came to The Hague in the Netherlands. In February 1937 he joined the Werkdorp Nieuwe Sluis (Werkdorp Wieringermeer). His mother died in Cologne in May 1938. In July 1939, Hans boarded the Dora for Palestine together with other chalutzim from the Werkdorp and his future wife, Ruth Birnbaum. Hans married Ruth (Grete) Birnbaum, another passenger of the Dora. In Israel Hans Klestadt changed his name to Hanan Keret. The couple lived in Kvar Sava and had two daughters. Hanan Keret died August 22, 1992 in Berlin. He is buried in Kvar Sava. His brother Bernt Klestadt (Benjamin Bobby Keret) emigrated to Israel. Source: spurenimvest.de |
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Kornicker, Peter, J.
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
14.12.1917
Breslau German |
Peter Joachim Kornicker was born December 14, 1917, in Breslau, the son of Georg Korniker, a lawyer and notary born in Breslau, and Herta Cohen. His mother died in 1919 while he was still one year old. His father married Else Hirshel in a second marriage. Peter came to the Netherlands where he attended a Hachschara. In September 1937, he registered in Barsingerhorn, the location of Het Joods Werkdorp. Another future Dora passenger, Marianne Bing was registered there at the same time. Kornicker had previously been registered in Borne, near Hengelo. He left on January 2 1938 for Wieringermeer. In Israel, he married Hanna (Herta) Abrams and the couple had three children. He changed his name to Dan Karni. At first, he resided in a kibbutz. He then joined the Jewish Brigade from 1942 to 1946, and sustained a serious injury in combat. He later joined the Israel Army, which he did not leave until the age of 55. An official in the Ashkelon City Council, he also volunteered for the police department and for Magen David Adom. Dan Karni (Peter Kornicker) died in Ashkelon in February 1985. His father, Georg Korniker, was deported to Auschwitz on March 4, 1943 with his second wife, Else Korniker, where they were murdered. Sources: |
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Lampelz, Saul
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Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel |
27.10.1920
Stuttgart Polish |
Saul Eisig (Isidor) Lampelz was born on October 27, 1920, in Stuttgart, the son of Enoch Heinrich Lampelz and Udel Fiskus, both originally from Galicia. He was the eldest of five children, his siblings being: Klara (1919), Rose (1922), Julius (1925) and Max (1928). His father had come to Stuttgart in 1907 at the age of 20. There he ran a successful fabric and white linen business. According to a compensation claim filed after the war,
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Landsberger, Walter
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The Deventer Society (Klarenbeek bij Voorst) | KLARENBEEK bij Voorst | Papenstraat 45, Deventer | 20.3.1920
Goslar German |
Walter Landsberger was born March 20, 1920, in Goslar, Germany, the son of William Landsberger and Gertrud Landsberger (born Friedmann). He had one older brother, Max (1915). His mother died two weeks after his birth in April 1920. Because his whereabouts following the November Pogrom match the experience of other Elgut pioneers, it is almost certain that Walter Landsberger attended the Elgut Hachshara. Following the so-called "November Pogrom" ("Kristallnacht"), he was brought in from Oppeln and incarcerated in Buchenwald on November 12. His incarceration card described him as an agricultural worker, and his address was listed as "Aunt Anna Friedmann, Römhild/Thür". He was released from Buchenwald on November 30. His last residence in Germany was Bielefeld, after which he came to the Netherlands. (According to Kurt Nattenheimer's testimony, the young men from Elgut were taken to Oppeln then to Buchenwald. After their release, they were concentrated in Bielefeld, from where they were escorted by the Gestapo to the Netherlands.) In Israel, he lived in Beit Yitzhak. He was married and had three children. Walter Landsberger died in January 2001 in Beit Yitzhak. His brother Max Landsberger emigrated to South Africa. His father William Landsberger emigrated to the USA. Sources: |
Leefsma, Eduard (Eddy)
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(Zenderen) | ZENDEREN; near Borne |
1.5.1917*
Den Haag Dutch |
Eduard (Eddy) Leefsma was born on May 31, 1917, in The Hague, the son of Mozes Leefsma, a commercial agent, and Marianne Snijders. He had three siblings: Ella (1920), Raphaël (1924), and Fritz (1931). In 1927 the family moved to Amsterdam. To prepare for his immigration, Eduard first went to the hamlet of Rande no. 230 near Diepenveen to Hasselo. From June 1938 to February 1939 he then lived in Hasselo no. 55 on the farm 'De Bongerd' of the family of Jan Lambertus Snuverink. He then stayed with the Smit family in Zenderen. He passed the two-year agricultural course at Zenderen in April 1939, then left for the youth hostel 'De Assumburg' in Heemskerk. Finally, in July 1939, Eduard left for Palestine on the Dora. At first he lived in Kibbutz Sde Nehemia. In Israel he changed his name to Eliahu Leefsma. He married the widow Clara Helena Goldschmid and the couple had two children together. Eliahu (Eduard) Leefsma died in January 2009 in Yokne'am, Israel. His parents, Mozes Leefsma (50) and Marianne Leefsma (50) were murdered in the Sobibór death camp on July 23, 1943. His brothers Raphaël (19), and Fritz (12) were murdered in Sobibór on July 23, 1943. His sister, Ella Nenner (23) and her husband were murdered in Sobibór on November 30, 1943. Sources: Additional Research: *Note: the passenger list has an incorrect date of birth. The correct date is May 31, 1917, as it appears on his birth record. |
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Lesser, Eva
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk |
26.4.1919
Berlin German |
Eva Therese Lesser (later Eva Schmerzler) was born on April 26, 1919, in Berlin, the daughter of Robert Lesser and Flora Mathilde Lesser (born Ring). She had one brother, Alfred. He mother died in 1937 when Eva was 18 years old. Eva grew up in a very well-established home in Berlin and studied medicine, but was thrown out of school by the Nazis in her second year at the university. Eva Lesser left Berlin and came to the Netherlands and from there boarded the Dora. She first joined Kibbutz Yagur where she met her future husband, Eli Schmerzler. They were married in Rishon LeZion in 1939 and in January 1940 moved to Nahariya. The couple had two sons. Chava Shmertzler was a girls' gymnastics teacher. She also continued with physiotherapy treatments, which she had studied in Berlin/Germany and was a caregiver for children infected with polio. Eva Schmerzler (born Lesser) died in May 1986 in Nahariya. Eva's father Robert Lesser survived the war and is buried in the Netherlands. Her brother Alfred Lesser emigrated to Palestine. Sources: Note: Shimon Berlinger, another Dora passenger was married to an unrelated Eva Lesser. |
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Levie, Kurt
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The Deventer Society (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam |
7.10.1920*
Essen Polish** |
Kurt Levie was born on October 7, 1920, in Essen, the son of Hugo Levie and Olga Henriette Schweizer. He had one brother, Rudy. Kurt attended the Hachshara Lehrgut Gut Winkel near Spreenhagen from 1935 to 1937. According to the Hachshara register, he was a Dutch citizen (and not Polish as recorded on the passenger list). His residence in 1936 was listed as Kaldenkirchen, near the Dutch border. [Other source has Haldenkirchen.] From 1937 until April 20, 1938 he attended another Hachshara in Grüsen (Gruesen). He then came to Amsterdam in April 1938, and first lived on Weesperstraat, the main street of the Jewish quarter. According to his municipal file (now in the Amsterdam Archives), he was an auto mechanic. In July 1939 he boarded the Dora for Palestine, and in December 1939, his personal file in the Amsterdam Archives marked him as "V.O.W." (Vertrokken onbekend waarheen: "left town, destination unknown"). Kurt married Hetty (Heintje) Worms, another immigrant on the Dora. Kurt's father died in March 1942 in Eindhoven. Kurt's mother, Olga Levie (Schweizer) was arrested in Amsterdam on December 23, 1942 for not wearing the "Jewish star", and for carrying forged papers. She was murdered in Auschwitz on January 14, 1943. Sources: * Note: The Amsterdam list has 7.10.1912, but 1920 is the correct year as it appears on two different Hachshara lists and in his personal file in the Amsterdam Archives. |
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Levy, Hans
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
6.7.1918
Berlin German |
Hans Levy was born on July 6, 1918, in Berlin, the son of Abraham (Adolf) Levy, from Stralkowo (Poland), and Marta Levy (born Buttermilkh), from Lisa (Poland). Hans left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he attended Werkdorp Wieringermeer to prepare for his emigration. He changed his name to Hanan Levy. Hanan (Hans) Levy died in January 1998 in Jerusalem. According to their Hanan's testimony, his parents were deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto where they died in 1943. (Other sources have: "Deported to the Kovno Ghetto were they were murdered: his mother Marta Levy on November 25 1941; his father, Abraham (Adolf) Levy on August 26 1942.") Sources: |
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Levy, Ruth
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
22.3.21
Ahrweiler German |
Ruth Levy (later: Teichler) was born March 22, 1921, in Ahrweiler, the only child of Wilhelm and Recha Levy, nee Kaufmann. Her father, Wilhelm Levy, originally from Ahrweiler, was a cattle dealer and the synagogue leader. In 1933 Ahrweiler was home to 31 Jewish residents. Ruth Levy attented Kalvarienberg Gymnasium (Calvarienberg) in Ahrweiler until 1937. It was a private Catholic high school run by nuns, and she was one of seven Jewish students there. Hilde Reiter, another Jewish student who attended the school at the same time as Ruth recalled:
With the increasing violence against the Jews, Ruth Levy decided to secretly flee Germany and she left in 1938 at the age of 17 against the will and without the knowledge of her parents. She came to the Netherlands where she joined Kibbutz Dat veEretz, a religious-Zionist Hachshara of the Mizrachi group. In Israel Ruth Levy married Emil (Menachem) Teichler. At the time of his naturalisation application in 1946, he was a diamond cutter and lived in Jerusalem. Ruth and Emil started a family. Ruth Teichler (Levy) died in June 2009 and was buried in Tel Aviv. Ruth's parents, Wilhelm and Recha Levy, were deported to the Krasniczyn Ghetto in Poland in late April or early May 1942 and were murdered in Treblinka. Sources: |
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Lewinsky, Hans, Arnold
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
6.12.19
Neustettin German |
Hans Arnold Lewinsky (later: Arnold Levinsky) was born December 6, 1919, in Neustettin, the son of Leo Lewinsky and Grete Lewinsky (born Engel). He had one brother, Gerhard (Shlomo) (1914). The family moved to Bad Polzin where Hans attended school. In 1935, sixteen-year-old Hans was abruptly called out of his classroom and into the office of the director of his high school, who informed him that his fellow students refused to continue learning as long as there were Jews in the classroom. He was ordered to leave immediately. v]Following this event, Hans Lewinsky joined his brother in the Lehrgut Gut Winkel Hachsharah in Spreehagen in August 1935. In 1938, he left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Within a year, he received a telegram advising him to leave shortly for Palestine on an illegal ship - the Dora. Four weeks later, Hans boarded the Dora in Amsterdam. According to "Arnold Levinsky: A Soldier of the Jewish Brigade", by the Museum of Jewish Heritage, "It was hardly a coincidence that shortly before the ship's arrival the British coast guard facility had been bombed by the Haganah. [...] Under cover of night, Levinsky and the other halutzim swam ashore, and walked miles to a kibbutz, where they spent their first night in 'Eretz Israel'. The next morning, Zionist dream met the tough reality of primitive living conditions and severe food shortages on the kibbutz where Levinsky began to work." Eventually, Lewinsky moved to Kibbutz Ashdot Ya'akov, where be learned the baker's trade. Arnold Lewinsky enrolled in the British Army with the Palestine Regiment, and in September 1944 became a member of the Jewish brigade group. He worked as a motorcycle dispatch rider in Alexandria, then was dispatched to Italy where the Brigade took part in the early stages of the final Allied offensive in April 1945. After the war, he and other brigade members helped to smuggle survivors from the Displaced Persons camps in Italy into Palestine. Of the 5,000 soldiers who had served in the Jewish Brigade, Chanan Arnold Levinsky was one of 323 members to be decorated. In Brussels to visit family after the war, Levinsky met his future wife, Mary Offentier, also originally from Germany. She had spent years in hiding in Holland and was liberated in Brussels in 1944. Levinsky was discharged from the British Army and returned to Palestine, where he saw service in the Israeli War of Independence. The couple (at least) one child. They eventually immigrated to America in 1957. Arnold Levinsky (Hans Lewinsky) died in April 1999. His parents, Leo Lewinsky and Margarete Lewinsky were deported from Berlin to Auschwitz on February 19 1943 were they were murdered. His brother, Gerhard (Shlomo) Lewinsky, emigrated [presumably to Palestine]. Sources: |
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Lewinsohn, Curt
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
13.12.1912
Osterode German |
Curt Lewinsohn (later Yoram Ariely) was born December 13, 1912, in Osterode, Prussia (now Ostróda, Poland), the son of Martin Lewinsohn, from Osterode, and Grete Lewinsohn (born Herzfeld), from Peine, Saxony. He had one sister, Hildegard (Hilda) (1916). His father, Martin Lewinsohn, had taken over the family business - a distillery producing liquor, wine, and soda, which also included a bar on the ground floor. After his "abitur" (high-school diploma at age 18), Curt went to Freiburg University to study medicine. He was halfway through but unable to continue because of the Nazi laws. Curt then left Germany and came to the Netherlands and worked in a farm to prepare for a life in Palestine. He first arrived in Lochem on April 23 1937 where he spent six months. He then left on October 21 1937 for the Association of Palestine Pioneers in Deventer. Curt lived in a kibbutz (presumably Kibbutz Maoz Chaim) where he met his wife Miriam. He changed his name to Yoram Ariely. Yoram Arieli (formerly Curt Lewinsohn) died in January 1982 (69). After being forced to sign over the family business over to the Nazis, Curt's parents left Osterode and came to Berlin. Martin and Grete Lewinsohn were deported from Berlin to the Riga Ghetto on January 19, 1942 where they were murdered. Curt's sister Hildegard (Hilda) Goldsmith emigrated to England in April 1939. She later emigrated to the USA after the end of the war. Sources: |
Litten, Harry
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
20.2.1910
Posen German |
Harry Litten was born February 20, 1910, in Posen, the son of Richard Raphael Litten and Gertrud Litten (born Loewy), from Moschin, Poland. He had a brother, Manfred Ralph (Rolf?) (1909). Harry Litten and his family lived in Berlin. Harry Litten left Berlin and came to the Netherlands. In August 1936 he left Amsterdam and registered in Barsingerhorn (Het Joods Werkdorp) then was registered on January 2 1938 in Wieringermeer. Harry Litten married Ruth Baruch and the couple had one child. Harry Litten died fighting in Israel's Independence War in 1948. Harry's mother Gertrud Litten was deported from Berlin to the Warsaw Ghetto on April 14 1942. She is believed to have then been deported to Majdanek, or to Sobibór on June 13 1942. His brother Manfred Ralph Litten, a teacher, emigrated to the Netherlands and lived in Amsterdam. He was deported from Westerbork to the Theresienstadt Ghetto on September 4 1944, then to Auschwitz on October 1 1944 where he was murdered. His child Gideon survived the war. His father died in January 1940 in Berlin. Sources: |
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Loeb, Hans
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
20.10.1921
Düsseldorf German |
Hans Ludwig Loeb was born on October 20, 1921, in Düsseldorf, the son of Sali August Loeb and Eleonora (Nora) Maurer. He had an older sister, Hannelore (1920) and a younger brother, Fritz (1924). In January 1934 the Loeb family emigrated from Düsseldorf to Amsterdam. In January, 1938, following in the footsteps of his sister Hannelore, Hans joined the Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Hans Loeb appears in two photographs taken by Roman Vishniac in the training camp Werkdorp Wieringermeer in 1939. The fate of Hans Loeb's parents and younger brother Fritz is unknown. His sister, Hannelore Loeb emigrated to Palestine and married Heinz Jacobinski. Sources: |
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Loewenthal, Bernhard
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
22.7.1920
Schoneberg German |
Bernhard Wolfgang Löwenthal was born July 22, 1920, in Berlin. He left Berlin and came to the Netherlands where he joined the Stichting Joosche Arbeid Werkdorp Nieuwesluis in Barsingerhorn on February 27 1937. He was then registered in Wieringermeer on January 2 1938. Sources: |
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Loszynski, Ernst
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The Deventer Society (Hall, bij Eerbeek) | HALL, bij Eerbeek. | p.a. H. J. Maaldering 23. Papenstraat 45, Deventer |
23.4.1919
Breslau German |
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Luft, Günter
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The Deventer Society (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam | Topaasstr. 7. p/a. Koopman |
21.9.12
Lubschan German |
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Mainzer, Alfred
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The Deventer Society (Hummelo) | HUMMELO | J.E. Hupkes, Op de Kip, A, 109 Hummelo |
25.3.1920
Wissek German |
Alfred Mainzer was born on March 25, 1920, in Wissek, Posen (Prussia - now Wysoka, Poland), the son of Ernst Mainzer and Olga Salomon. He had a half-sister Ruth Leiser and a twin brother, Herbert Mainzer. The Mainzer family left Wissek, in what was then West Prussia (now Wysoka, Poland) and came to Oos, a municipality in Baden-Württemberg in June 1920. The reason for the move could have been the cession of West Prussia to the Polish Republic under the terms of the Versailles Treaty. Alfred and his twin brother Herbert were just 3 months old when the family moved. There the Mainzers established a fabric and clothing store. Alfred attended Hachshara in Germany with his twin brother Herbert, as their names appear on a list of members from the Jüdische Jugendhilfe. He later came to the Netherlands, as evidenced by the passenger list which shows he was in Hummelo with the Deventer Society. Nothing more is known about his life in Palestine. Alfred Mainzer later left Israel and emigrated to the USA. He lived in San Antonio, Texas and died in 2002. Alfred's father Ernst Mainzer was taken to the Dachau concentration camp after Kristallnacht on November 12, 1938, where he remained imprisoned until December 8, 1938. Alfred's parents then managed to obtain an emigration visa for Cuba and embarked on the MS St. Louis on May 13, 1939. The ship was bound for Cuba with 937 passengers, most of them Jewish refugees, but was not allowed to anchor in either Cuba or New York and was forced to return to Europe. The Mainzers were able to come to the Netherlands where they lived for almost three years. After the occupation of Holland by German troops, the Mainzers were arrested in August 1942 and deported to Auschwitz via Westerbork. Ernst and Olga Mainzer were murdered on August 31, 1942. Alfred's brother Herbert Mainzer emigrated to Australia. Note: The Gedenkbuch mistakenly state that the Mainzer twins emigrated to England on February 1939. This is clearly incorrect in the case of Alfred since he boarded the Dora for Palestine. It is also wrong in the case of his brother Herbert as evidenced by his 1945 application for Australian nationality, and 1950 letter stating that he had left Baden-Baden/Oos in 1938 with the intention to emigrate to Australia. Sources: |
Mainzer, Robert
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
27.5.1920
Lüdinghausen German |
Robert Mainzer was born May 27, 1920, in Lüdinghausen, the son of Fritz Mainzer and Erna Friede. His parents were sales agents. His mother died in 1930 when Robert was 10 years old. His father wed Bina Muhr in a second marriage. Robert Mainzer left Lüdinghausen and emigrated to the Netherlands October 5, 1936. A month later he registered in the Wieringen Werkdorp, Nieuwesluizerweg 42, Slootdorp (Wieringen). In January 1938 Robert Mainzer deregistered from the Werkdorp. [According to Kfar Menachem, "He left Germany in 1936 and moved to a cattle farm in the Netherlands, where he stayed for three years."] A year after arriving in Eretz Israel, he decided to join national Kibbutz Hashomer HaTza'ir movement out of an ideological choice. He joined Kibbutz Elgavish in Ra'anana, a kibbutz composed mainly of veterans of the German Hashomer Hatzair, then, following its merger, came to Kfar Menachem in July 1943 where he would remain for 64 years. Robert changed name in Israel to Omri Mainzer. He married Laura (Lore) Bender, a holocaust survivor who came with the SS BIRIA, an Aliyah Bet ship in 1946. The couple had three daughters and many grandchildren. Robert Omri Mainzer died in Kibbutz Kfar Menachem in 2006, age 86. His father, Fritz Schlomo Mainzer, and stepmother Bina Mainzer were able to emigrate to Bolivia through the mediation of an officer from the Dortmund police headquarters. They later emigrated to Israel and lived in Givat Brenner. His brother Hans Mainzer emigrated to Palestine around 1938 with the help of Hechaluz. He lived in Givat brener. Sources: |
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Maks, Rita (Heintje Hendrika)
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk |
23.10.1914
Haarlem Dutch |
Heintje Hendrika Maks was born on October 23, 1914, in Haarlem, Holland, the daughter of Gerard Maks and Lea de Klijn. She worked as a nanny and a maid. A registration card kept in the Amsterdam archives provides a detailed list of her addresses over the years: All locations between 1935 and 1938 are small municipalities and villages, suggesting she was receiving agriculture training in various farms. She left Israel and returned to the Netherlands in 1948, then immigrated to the UK. She married Albert Charles Bennell, and the couple settled in Sydney, Australia. Rita Benell (Maks) died in 1916, at the age of 101. An inscription on her grave ("Safe in the arms of Jesus") indicates that she had converted. Sources: |
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Margulius, Heinz
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
28.5.1921
Berlin German |
Heinz Margulius was born May 28, 1921, in Berlin, the son of Heinrich and Gertrude Margulius. Because of his presence in Bielefeld before his departure for the Netherlands, it is assumed that Heinz Margulius attended the Elgut Hachshara. After the destruction of Elgut during the November Pogrom, and after their release from Buchenwald, the young men from the Hachshara were gathered in Bielefeld which acted as a camp for former trainees of the Elgut-Steinau estate. He later came to the Netherlands where he joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Heinz Margulius married Blomah (?) (בלומה). Heinz Margulius died in January 1998 in Holon. Sources: |
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Marx, Ernst
1940's
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
30.9.16
Erfurt German |
Ernst Luitpold Marx was born September 30, 1916, in Erfurt, Thuringia, the son of Gabriel Marx and Emma Marx (born Schönfeld). Ernst Marx left Erfurt and emigrated to the Netherlands as early as January 1937. At the time his profession was listed as decorateur. He resided for a time in Brummen, where several other future Dora passengers also spent time, presumable among farmers as part of an invidivual hachshara. For a short while he belonged to Hashomer Hatzair, the Marxist-Zionist organization. During World War II he enlisted in the British Army, at first with the "Buffs" (Royal East Kent Regiment), then in making mines (or as a saper?) and reached the rank of sergeant. After his demobilization, the joined the Notrim ("Gaffirs"), an auxiliary Jewish police group under nominal British control. After the end of his service he joined Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi where he found the combination of Zionism and socialism he had been looking for. At the outbreak of the War of Independence, he specialized in sabotage and served as a sabotage sergeant in the Negev Brigade. Eliyahu fell in "Operation Yoav", on October 16 1948, while attempting to breach a minefield. Ernst's mother, Emma Marx had emigrated to the Netherlands. She was deported to Gurs in October 1940 where she was murdered on March 25 1943. The fate of his father is not known. It is not know if Ernst had any siblings. Sources: |
Masur, Klaus
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
29.2.1920
Breslau German |
Klaus Masur was born February 29, 1920, in Breslau. He left Breslau and came to the Netherlands where he registered in Barsingerhorn (Het Joods Werkdorp) on October 4 1937, then in Werkdorp Wieringen three months later on January 2, 1938. No further information is available. Sources www.myheritage.com (Netherlands Register) |
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Matuszak, David (Mattuscak)
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
24.7.17
Gelsenkirchen Polish |
David Matuszak was born in Gelsenkirchen on July 24, 1917, the son of Hendryk Chaim Matuszak and Bine Berta Gady. Both of his parents came from Poland. He had three older siblings: Herman Matuszak (1911), Franja Frieda Matuszak (1913), and Abraham (1915), and two younger sisters: Cecilia (Cäcilie) Cilli Matuszak (1923) and Adele Matuszak (1927). [possibly one more sister: Fanny Matuszak (1919)]. His parents were divorced. David Matuszak left Germany (date unknown) and emigrated to the Netherlands. He was with the Deventer Association, and later stayed in the Assumburg youth hostel until mid-July. He was then bussed to Amsterdam and boarded the Dora. No further information is available about his life in Israel. David's mother Bine Berta Matuszak was deported on January 27, 1942 to the Riga ghetto where she was murdered. His sister Cecilia Matuszak was in the Gut Winkel Hachshara in 1939. She was deported to the Riga Ghetto where she was murdered. David's brother Herman Matuszak, his wife Chana, son Berl and daughter-in-law Irmgard were murdered in Izbica after April 1942. David's brother, Abraham Matuszak, attended the Hachshara in Paderborn in July 1939. Arrested in February 1940 as an "enemy alien", he was deported to Sachsenhausen in October 1940, then to Auschwitz. He was on the "Schindler's List" and was rescued in Bohemia. He returned to Gelsenkirchen in 1946. During the roundup of Polish Jews on October 28, David's sister Franja got off the train to Bentschen (Zbaszyn) in Recklinghausen with the promise to emigrate to Belgium immediately, and indeed managed to emigrate to England in 1939. She then emigrated to the USA in 1950 and arrived in New York as a stateless person with the help of the HIAS. She later married Simon Schmerler. David's sister Adele Matuszak survived the war. She died in Enschede in the Netherlands. Fanny Matuszak [possibly David's sister, otherwise a relative] emigrated to Palestine. Married Nachmani. Sources: |
Mendelsohn, Kurt
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
31.1.1921
Gr. Strelitz German |
Kurt Mendelsohn was born January 31, 1921, in Strelitz. Because of his presence in Bielefeld before his coming to the Netherlands, it is assumed that Kurt Mendelsohn attended the Elgut Hachshara. After the November Pogrom, and after their release from Buchenwald, the young men from the Hachshara were gathered in Bielefeld before their emigration to the Netherlands. Sources: |
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Meyer, Behrend (Meyer Berend, Leo), (Mayer, Berend Leo)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
26.2.14
Hamburg German |
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Münzer, Walter
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
28.4.1912
Berlin German |
Walter Münzer was born on April 28, 1912, in Berlin, Germany, the son of Max Münzer and Hedwig Dzialowsky (* other sources have Bernhard Münzer, merchant, and Henriette Lachotski). Walter fled Berlin and came to the Netherlands as a pioneer with the Deventer Association and stayed in the Deventer Association building at Brink 70 in Deventer. He then moved to Hasselo no. 60 at the Gerhardus Leuveld family farm 'de Kogelboer' in the municipality of Weerselo, from February 1937 to February 1939. After his stay in Hasselo he left for the youth hostel 'De Assumburg' in Heemskerk. His father died in 1933, his mother was a victim of the Holocaust. His sister Dorothea emigrated to Palestine. Source: hoorlogsdodendinkelland.nl |
Naftalie, Erich
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
3.5.1920*
Dortmund German |
Erich Naftalie was born on May 8, 1920, in Dortmund, the son of Wilhelm and Rosa Naftalie. He had a younger brother, Hans Claus Naftalie, born 10 years later in 1930. The family moved from Dortmund to Berlin in 1926, then in 1929 to Bochum. His father was a self-employed salesman in Bochum, initially for textile goods and later for confectionery. He bought confectionery from a confectionery factory, and sold it on his own account, supplying the booths at fairs and smaller shops.1 Erich attended elementary school in Berlin. After moving to Bochum in August 1929, he attended the Jewish elementary school for six months, then briefly switched to the Goethe high school for three months in 1930. A neighbor of the Naftalie family in Bochum wrote:
From June 1935 to July 1936, Erich attended a Hachshara in Lobitten which provided initial training. He then moved to a "middle Hachscharah" in Gruesen until May 1937, which offered vocational training for 15- to 17-year-olds. Finally he joined the Hachshara in Elgut near Steinau, until its abrupt end in November 1938. On November 10, 1938 during the so-called "November Pogrom", Erich was arrested in the Elgut Hachshara by the SA and deported to Buchenwald. The same day, his father was arrested and deported to Sachsenhausen. Three weeks later, on December 3, his mother Rosa Naftalie wrote in a letter about the recent events:
Erich was released from Buchenwald one month after his arrest with the help of the Jewish Agency, and against the assurance that he would leave Germany within two months. On February 8, 1939, he filled out the questionnaire for emigrants sent by the foreign exchange office. In it he confirmed that the travel expenses were paid for by the welfare office of the Jewish community in Bochum, and on February 9, 1939, Erich received his emigration permit. On February 12, 1939, he arrived in the Netherlands and came to Werkdorp Wieringen. There he waited for permission to enter Palestine. After a few months of waiting in vain for his entry permit to Palestine, he decided to get there illegally and managed leave aboard the Dora. In Israel, Erich Naftalie first lived in Kibbutz Gal'Ed from until 1946, after which he worked for various farmers for a year. He was then drafted into the army in May 1948. After his release in January 1950, he lived in Moshav Arbel in the Galilee. In April 1955 he left the settlement and came to Petah-Tikva where he worked as a youth group leader in an agricultural school. He stayed there for the next few years and married. Hans Naftalie, Erich's brother, emigrated to the Netherlands in 1939 with a Kindertransport. Starting in March 1942, he lived in the Jewish Orphanage of Rotterdam. From there he was taken to the Westerbork camp in October 1942, then deported to Sobibór where he was murdered by gas immediately upon arrival on March 5, 1943. He hadn't turned 13 yet. Erich's father, Wilhelm Naftalie, was incarcerated in Sachsenhausen following the November Pogrom. From 1939 to 1942, he was assigned to forced labor. He and his wife Rosa were deported in January 1942 to Riga. Wilhelm was then sent to the Salaspils camp near Riga. He was last seen alive in August 1944. Erich's mother, Rosa Naftalie, was transferred from Riga to the Stutthoff concentration camp on October 1, 1944. In April 1945 she was liberated from the Thorn camp. She first returned to Bochum, then emigrated to London in 1954, then to Israel in 1955 where she died in 1963. Sources: * The Amsterdam list incorrectly has May 3rd. |
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Nattenheimer, Kurt
1946
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The Deventer Society (Hasselo) | HASSELO 5 | p.a. Sanderman Papenstraat 45, Deventers |
4.8.1920
Hamburg German |
Kurt Nattenheimer was born on August 4, 1920, in Hamburg, the son of Siegfried Nattenheimer, from Regensburg, and Erna Speyer, from Göttingen. At the age of 6, he started attending elementary school in Tedsen [?], a place where strict Prussian discipline prevailed. After 4 years he moved to secondary school (Realschule), which he had to leave when the Nazis came to power. He then studied at a Talmud Torah (or Jewish school?) until 1935.www.galed.org.il During this period he decided to immigrate to Palestine and joined the Habonim youth group. He got a job as an intern with a farmer in Schleswig-Holstein, where he learned the basics of agriculture. In 1937, Kurt moved to Bad Oldesloe where he worked as a messenger (?). (Obit: About a year later he moved to the "Nitschau" (?) (ניטשאו) farm where he stayed for about a year.) He then decided to join the Hachshara in Elgut in Upper Silesia. There the young men worked until 2:00 PM and then studied for 3-4 hours. Kurt Nattenheimer was in Elgut during the November Pogrom. He said:
All the members of the Elgut group were then concentrated in Bielefeld, and from there, accompanied by two Gestapo officials, they traveled to the Holland border. After his release, Kurt Nattenheimer left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he was a pioneer with the Deventer Association and worked for a farmer. He lived in Weerselo until the end of June 1939. From there he went to "De Korenbloem" in Deventer, where he stayed until his departure for Palestine on board the Dora in mid-July. In Palestine, the group from the Elgut hachshara intended to continue on a common path and its members were first sent to Givat Haim. About a year later, they moved to a camp near Ra'anana (Hagarin). He enlisted in the British Army on May 31 1942 and joined the Jewish Brigade, and belonged to the Jewish Brigade Group Provost Unit (CMP = Corps of Military Police). He served in Libya, Italy, Holland and Germany, where at the end of the war he helped the Jewish refugees to immigrate illegally to Palestine. After his release from the army in May 1946 he returned to Palestine to his friends, who in the meantime had founded Kibbutz Gal'ed. In June 1946, he applied for naturalization. His application recorded that he had entered Palestine in August 1939, with the means and/or port of entry captured as two question marks "? ?". At the time of his application he resided in Hagarin, Raanana. One of the witness in his application was Giora Yoseftal, one of the founders of Kibbutz Gal'ed. Kurt Nattenheimer married Gerda Gila Lipper and lived on Kibbutz Gal'ed. In the 1950s, he began to establish a herd of beef cattle in Gal'ed and in 1970, he was asked by the Ministry of Agriculture to establish herds of cattle in the Golan Heights. He engaged in this work for 15 years and received an award for his contribution to the establishment of the cattle industry in Israel. He then returned to Kibbutz Gal'ed. He died in October 1991 in Kibbutz Gal'ed. He was 71 years old. Kurt Nattenheimer's parents emigrated to Chicago in 1939, where his father died in 1942. Sources: |
Niedermann, Simon E. (Ernst)
1946
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
8.9.1920
Frankfort German |
Ernst Simon Niederman (later Shimon Navon) was born Septempber 8, 1920, in Frankfurt A/Main, the son of Ferdinand Niedermann and Hedvic Niedermann (born Strauss). He had one brother, Issak Kurt (1922). The family seems to have emigrated to the Netherlands as early as 1933. (Both parents died in Amsterdam in 1939 and 1941 respectively; His brother Isaak Kurt is known to have resided in Amsterdam since June 1933.) Ernst Niederman came from Amsterdam to Barsingerhorn (Stichting Joosche Arbeid) on January 16 1937. He was then registered in Wieringermeer on January 2, 1938. Ernst Niederman enlisted in the British Army on January 24 1941 at Sarafand and was released in March 1944. He was naturalized on May 13 1946. His naturalization application noted "Entered Palestine in 1939 illegally". At the time he was married to Marianne Pauli. He lived in Haifa and was a weaver. Ernst Niederman changed his name to Shimon Navon. He was the father of three children. Shimon Navon (born Ernst Niedermann) died in July 1980 in Kiryat Motskin. Ernst's father Ferdinand Niedermann died ca 1939 in Amsterdam. His mother Hedwig Niedermann (born Strauss) died in May 1941 in Amsterdam. Ernst's brother Isaak Kurt Niedermann emigraged to the Netherlands on June 1 1933. He was deported from Westerbork to the Blechhammer concentration camp (Auschwitz subcamp near Sławięcice / Slawentzitz) where he died on January 21 1945 (23). Sources: |
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Noafeld, Wolfram
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
2.4.21
Königsberg German |
Wolfram Noafeld was born April 2, 1921, in Königsberg. He left Königsberg and came to the Netherlands where he joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer. No other information is available. |
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Nussbaum, Paul, Karl (Paul)
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
27.3.1920
Berlin German |
Paul Nussbaum was born on March 27, 1920, in Berlin, the son of Otto and Sophie Nussbaum. His father was a teacher and one of the heads of the Social Democratic teacher organization in Berlin. A soldier during WW1, he had been a prisoner of war in South Africa. Paul Nussbaum said:
Immediately after the Nazis came to power, his father lost his job: "In a matter of days, our entite existence changed at once." A year and a half later, Paul Nussbaum had to leave the gymnasium because of the numerus clausus. His parents then put him for a short time in a Jewish school. At the age of 14, he joined the Werkleute movement. He attended a Hachshara in Neuendorf, in the Berlin area, where he learned agriculture for two years. He then went to Frankfurt where he worked with a German farmer, while he waited to be able to leave the country. After seven months, he finally received the permit to leave Germany, and on on June 6, 1938, took a train to the Netherlands, where he joined the Werkdorp Wieringermeer kibbutz. From there he would sail to Israel on the Dora, against his father's wish, who firmly "believed in Germany, and in German culture", and was convinced that Hitler would not remain in power.
Paul's older brother had left a few years before for Palestine:
A few months later, he would talk to his parents for the last time: "I had the last phone call with my parents after Kristallnacht, I wanted to make sure if they're still at home, or taken away, and so on." On the Dora, Paul Nussbaum travelled with three friends from Werkdorp Wieringermeer, including Ernst Kaufmann and Moshe Israel. He recalled:
He added that he thought some people didn't follow the directive. Reminiscing about the Dora, Nussbaum said "It took more than half a year, from December/January untill July - about seven months." He insisted on how crucial Gideon Raphael had been:
In Israel, he changed his name to Yoram Nussbaum. He first joined Kibbutz haZorea, then settled in Kfar Menachem where he would remain for the rest of his life. There he met and married Rachel Gross, an Auschwitz survivor from Hungary. The couple had two daughters and a son. His political involvement led him to participate in various activities for public and social issues, and he worked extensively on the kibbutz's political committee. When he reached retirement age, he devoted himself to studies at the Hebrew University, at the Buber Institute, and at Givat Haviva. About the shared experience of his friends, he noted:
Yoram Nussbaum died in September 2001 at the age of 81. Yoram Nussbaum's parents were forced to move into a so-called "Judenhaus". Their last message to their son was a Red Cross postcard in 1940, which said "We are well, papa, mama.". Otto and Sophie Nussbaum were later deported to Riga where they were murdered. His brother fled Germany for the Netherlands in 1933, from where he emigrated to Palestine in 1936. Sources: |
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Ochs, Rudolf
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The Deventer Society (Ellecom) | ELLECOM | G. Frederiks, Binnenweg 25, Ellecom Frederiks. p.a. |
30.6.1918
St. Ingwert German |
Rudolf Ochs was born June 30, 1918, in Sankt Ingbert, Saarland. His last place of residence in Germany was the nearby Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland. He then emigrated to the Netherlands. Nothing more is known about Rudolf Ochs. Around 1924, the Jewish community of Sankt Ingbert counted a total of 83 members. Because of the tiny size of the Jewish community, and because of the closeness of their respective dates of birth, two people are likely to have been Rudolf' siblings, although it's impossible to confirm without more information about their respective parents. Eva Heimann-Ochs, born June 6 1914 in Sankt Ingbert. She emigrated to the Netherlands and/or Belgium She was deported from Westerbork to Theresienstadt on January 18 1944. From there she was deported to Auschwitz on October 4 1944. She was murdered there on October 30 1944. Erich Ochs, born March 19 1920 in Sankt Ingbert. Like Rudolf, he lived in Saarbrücken before the war. He fled in 1937 to the Netherlands, where he briefly joined the Werkdorp, registering in November in Stichting Joosche Arbeid. He left a month later for Amsterdam then in 1939 to Belgium, and finally to France, where he resided in Paris 20. He was then interned in the Drancy camp near Paris sometime between June 1942 and March 1943, when he was deported to Majdanek where he was murdered on arrival. Sources: |
Oppenheimer, Marcus (Markus)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
15.8.1919*
Marktbreid German |
Marcus (later: Mordechai) Oppenheimer was born August (or September) 15, 1919, in Marktbreid, Bavaria, the son of Issachar Bernhard Oppenheimer, a teacher from Marktbreid, and Klara Oppenheimer (née Levy). He was the twelfth child out of fifteen. His father died ca 1925, when Marcus was about 6 years old. Marcus Oppenheimer changed his name in Israel to Mordechai Oppenheimer (מרדכי אופנהיימר).
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Oppenheimer, Walter (Oppenheim ?)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
30.12.1917
Stateless |
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Polak, Edmund (Pollack)
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The Deventer Society (Voorst) | VOORST | Gasthuismolensteeg 14, Amsterdam |
23.11.13
Vienna German (Austrian) |
Edmund Pollak was born November 23, 1913, in Vienna, the son of Berthold Pollak and Jolanka/ Julie Blau. He had five siblings: Wilhelm (1905), Hans (1907), Lina (1908), Erwin (1911), and Franz (1918). Nothing is known about Edmund Pollak's life before or after the Dora. Edmund's brother Erwin Pollak was in France during the war. He was deported from the Drancy internment camp to Sobibór on March 6 1943 where he was murdered. His brother Franz Pollak emigrated to the Netherlands. He was deported and murdered on July 31 1944. Edmund's sister Lina Duschak (nee Pollak) lived in Riga during the war. It is assumed that she was murdered there, although no further information is available. The fates of his parents and two other brothers Hans and Whilehm Pollak are not known. Sources: |
Radzewski, Bernd
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
14.3.1916
Wriezen German |
Bernd Radzewski was born on March 14, 1916, in Wriezen, Brandenburg, Germany, the son of David Radzewski and Frieda Neustadt. He had a twin sister, Meta. Bernd's grandfather, Salomon Max Radzewski, was born in Russia and had fled to East Prussia in the 19th century to avoid military conscription. Bernd's father, David Radzewski, had a department store in Radzewski and was one of three directors of the board of the Jewish Community of Radzewski, a small town with 127 Jews in 1933. Bernd's uncle died in the First World War while serving in the Prussian Army. Bernd left Germany and came to the Netherlands in 1936 and joined the Werkdorp to prepare for his immigration. He registered on April 20 1936 in Barsingerhorn (Stichting Joosche Arbeid), then on January 2 1938 in Wieringermeer. Bernd was married to Nani Radzewski and had three children. He later changed his name to Benjamin. Bernd Radzewski died in Ness Ziona. Bernd Radzewski's parents and sister emigrated to Chile in 1938 aboard the SS Patria. Her mother Frieda later returned to Frankfurt. Bernd's twin sister (later: Meta Krotoschiner) later emigrated to the USA then finally returned to Germany where she died in 2015. |
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Rath, Simon
1946
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
31.8.1919
Stanislawo Stateless< |
Simon Rath was born on August 31, 1919, in Stanislav, Russia, the son of Nathan Rath, a managing director, and Mina Stopper. His parents originally came from Ivano-Frankivska, Ukraine/ Simon Rath left Germany and came to the Netherlands with his family. At first, he lived in Amsterdam with his parents. From June 1937 to February 1938 he stayed on the farm on Hasselo no. 46 (municipality of Weerselo) with the family Jan Willem Huiskes. He then left for Brummen and a year later to Heemskerk. At the time, his profession was listed as plumber. He left in July 1939 to Palestine with the Dora. Simon enrolled in the British Army in December 1942. In October 1946, while still enrolled in the Police force, he applied for naturalization. His application mentioned that he had entered Palestine on August 13 1939 illegally on the Dora at an unknown location and that he had no passport. At the time of his application he was single and lived in Kibbutz Gvar'am. Simon married Deborah Schönfeld. The couple had two children. Simon Rath died in 2010 in Omer, Israel. His brother Rubin Hersch Rath was murdered in Sobibór on July 2 1943. His sister Erna Rath and her family were killed in Auschwitz on April 8 1944. His parents and his brother Gershon survived the war and lived in the Netherlands. Sources: |
Rawet, Samuel (Samuel Judel)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
12.2.1918
Altona Polish |
Samuel Rawet was born February 12, 1918, in Altona, the son of Yaakov David Rawet and Hanna Gitel Rawet (born Brendel). He had four siblings: Avraham (1913), Eliyahu, Menahem Tzvi, and Heinrich. His parents, Yaakov David and Hanna Gitel Rawet were murdered in 1942. His brother Avraham was was a victim of the Holocaust. His other three brothers, Eliyahu, Menahem and Heinrich emigrated to Palestine. Sources: The information above is believed to be correct, however the lack of a date and place of birth in online records make it impossible to confirm the match with certainty. |
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Reens, Elias
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Amsterdam | Pl.Muidergr. 27 |
3.1.1913*
Amsterdam Dutch |
Elias (Eliyahu) Reens was born October 3, 1913, in Amsterdam, the son of Levie (Louis Yehuda) Reens and Duifje (Dvora) Waagenaar. His father was a diamond cutter from Amsterdam. He had two brothers, Asher (1909) and Alexander (1918). His mother died in September 1932, when Elias was 18 years old. Elias Reens changed his name to Eliyahu Reens (אליהו רינס).
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Riez, Hermann
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
9.9.1920
Miskolcz Hungarian |
Hermann Riez was born on September 9, 1920, in Miskolcz (Miskolc), Hungary, the son of Ilona Rapaport and Elek Riez. According to his family card held in The Hague Archives, Herman came to The Hague in May 1935 from Miskolcz, Hungary, where his brother Simon had a sewing workshop where shirts were made. His sisters Lydia and Etel and their mother Ilona also lived in The Hague. Herman was in Kibbutz Beverwijk for his training from October 1937 to March 1938. He then continued his education in Kibbutz Franeker until 13-01-1939. In the spring of 1939 Herman returned to Beverwijk, now in its new location in Velsen-Noord. There he awaited his departure to Palestine with a group of 29 Palestine-goers. Herman left the Netherlands on Sunday morning July 16, 1939, with the Dora from the port of Amsterdam. His mother, Ilona Riez, was murdered in Auschwitz 21-09-1942. His brother Simon Riez was murdered in Auschwitz 31-12-1942. Simon's wife Cecilia was murdered in Auschwitz 21-09-1942. His sister Etelka was murdered in Auschwitz 21-01-1943 along with her husband Jacob Fonteijn. Source: oorlogsslachtoffersijmond.nl |
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Roodveldt, Jakob
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Berg-Stichting, Laren | Berg-Stichting, Laren |
3.9.1915
Amsterdam Dutch |
Jakob Roodveldt was born on September 3, 1915, in Amsterdam, the son of Levie Isaac* (Yehuda) Roodveldt, a merchant, and Heintje (Heni) van Thijn, the middle child of a family of four sons and two daughters. His five siblings were Izak (1912), Mietje (1914), Anna (1917), Samuel (1918), Abraham (1921). His mother died in January 1921 (presumably as a result of the birth of her last child) when Jakob was 6, and his father died in 1924, when Jakob was 9 years old. After losing his parents, Jakob lived in the Jewish Boys Orphanage "Megadle Jethomim" (Amstel 21, Amsterdam) starting in June 1925, at the age of ten. According to the register of the orphanage, he was an optician, although, considering his young age, this probably meant he was an optician apprentice. A later registration card indicated that he had no profession. He joined Kibbutz Franeker in June 1936, where he began his agricultural training for immigration. He left Franeker and returned to Amsterdam in May 1938. From there he left for Palestine aboard the Dora, together with his sister Mietje Roodveldt. In Israel, Jakob Roodveldt changed his name to Yaakov Admon. He married Malka Van Dam and the couple had four children. Yacov Admon (Jakob Roodveldt) died in August 1997 in Petach Tikva. Aside from his sister Mietje, all of Jakob's siblings were killed in the Shoah. His older brother Izak Roodveldt was murdered on July 9, 1943, in Sobibór. His sister Mietje Roodveldt joined Jakob in Kibbutz Franeker in July 1937, where she remained for only three months. She too later boarded the Dora to Palestine. Sources: *Note: Yaakov Admon's tombstone has his father's name as Eliahu. Note: The date of Jakob's departure for Palestine is incorrectly recorded as February 1941 in his family card kept in the Amsterdam Archives |
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Roodveldt, Mietje
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Amsterdam |
5.5.1914
Amsterdam Dutch |
Mietje Roodveldt was born on May 5, 1914, in Amsterdam, the daughter of Levie Isaac (Yehuda) Roodveldt and Heintje (Heni) van Thijn, in a family of six children. Her mother died in 1921 when Mietje was seven, and her father, a merchant, died in 1924, when she was 10 years old. She then lived in the Jewish Girls Orphanage on Rapenburgstraat 171 in Amsterdam. Mietje Roodveldt joined Kibbutz Franeker in July 1936, a month after her brother Jakob. There she began her training for immigration and learned housekeeping. She left Franeker three months later and returned to Amsterdam in October 1937. Almost two years later she boarded the Dora to Palestine, together with her brother Jakob RoodveldtMietje. Aside from her brother Jakob, all of Mietje's siblings were killed in the Shoah. Her older brother Izak was murdered on July 9, 1943 in Sobibór. Sources: Her Family card in the Amsterdam Archives incorrectly has her departure for Palestine as March 1942. |
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Rooz, Isaak (Isaac)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
22.2.1919
? Hungarian |
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Rosen, Bernhard
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Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel |
15.11.20
Magdeburg Stateless |
Bernhard Rosen was born November 15, 1920, in Magdeburg, the son of Jakob Schulim Rosen Weinberg, an orthodox religion teacher, and Rachel Landsberg. Both parents were originally from the Łódź Voivodeship in Galicia (now Poland) and came to Germany after the end of WW1. Bernhard had two brothers: Chaim Heinrich Heini (1918) and Moritz (1924). In 1938, Bernhard went for Hachshara training in the training center of Agudas Yisroel (religious Zionist) in Enschede. On July 16, he traveled to Amsterdam about 100 miles away to board the Dora. It's assumed that he was with the group of seven youngsters from the Enschede Hachshara. According to the daily "Het Volk", "The Dora did not leave until 5 o'clock at night, three hours later than planned. They had been waiting for seven refugees from Enschede who were coming by car and had gotten lost." In Palestine Bernhard enrolled in the British Army where he served from 1940 to 1946. The January 1944 issue of The Brooklyn Jewish Center Review1 mentions one Bernhard Rosen, soldier in the British Army, who *may be the same person. ("Stateless" Jews were typically of Polish origin, either Polish citizens who had lost their citizenship because they had lived outside of Poland for 5 years, or Jews from Galicia who had been stripped of their German nationality acquired after WW1). "The first Polish soldier in Italy to receive a British decoration for valor is a Jew, Lance Cpl. Bernhard Rosen, it was reported in London. Rosen, who has just been discharged from a military hospital somewhere in Italy, has been awarded the Military Medal for exceptional bravery." In 1948 Bernhard emigrated from Palestine to Canada. He died in 1955 in Montreal. In 1939 Bernhard's parents were forced to move to a "Judenhaus" in Braunschweig. On March 31, 1942 they were deported to the Warsaw ghetto where they vanished. Bernhard's brother Moritz had to sit on the "Judenbench" in elementary school while his teacher read from the Der Stürmer, the virulently anti-Semitic weekly. In 1937 he moved to the one-class Jewish elementary school in Braunschweig. On January 5, 1939, Max (Moritz) was able to emigrate to England on a Kindertransport. Upon turning 18, he became a soldier in the Royal Army from 1942 to 1946. After decommissioning he emigrated to Canada. Bernhard's brother Heinrich Chaim Rosen emigrated to Palestine in 1937. He later enrolled in the British Army where he served from 1940 until 1946. In 1948 he emigrated to Canada. Sources: |
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Rosenberg, Heinz
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
29.6.1917
Thorn German |
Heinz (later: Hanan) Rosenberg was born on June 29, 1917, in Thorn (now Torun, Poland), the son of Arthur Rosenberg, a merchant (businessman), and Gertrud Rosenberg (born Brenner). He had two siblings, Alice (1911) and Lutz (1913). His parents and younger siblings were originally from Schwetz (now Świecie, Poland). The family came to Thorn sometime between 1913 and 1917 where Heinz was born.
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Rosenberger, Emil
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The Deventer Society (Vierakker) | VIERAKKER | H. Wagenvoort, Vierakker |
12.1.1910
Iwan Unger German |
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Rosenblatt, Eli
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
30.6.1921
Berlin German |
Eli Abraham Rosenblatt-Karo was born June 30, 1921, in Berlin, the son of Leo Yitzhak Yehuda Rosenblatt and Erna Karo. He had one sister. Eli Rosenblatt (Rosenblatt Sofer Avraham Eli) changed his name to Abraham Eli Rosenblatt Karo (אברהם עלי רוזנבלט קרא)
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Rosenfeld, Josef, Joachim (Janos J.
?)
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
24.12.1913
Breslau German |
Appears on one list as "Janos J. Rosenfeld, Hong" (Hungarian), and as "Josef Joachim Rosenfeld, Hong, 24.12.13, Breslau". Assuming both entries point to the same person. This person could also possibly be a brother of Frida Fuchs (nee Rosenfeld) from Breslau, who had a brother named Hans Joachim Rosenfeld, born in 1913. |
Rottenberg, Luzia
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
22.8.1921
Vienna German (Austria) |
Luzia Rottenberg was born August 22, 1921, in Vienna, the daughter of Markus David Rottenberg and Regina (Rebekka) Rottenberg (nee Nussen). Her parents were originally from Galicia (later Poland, now Ukraine) and came to Vienna in 1904. Her father was a self-employed merchant in the men's cloting business. She had one brother, Fritz Leo (1924). On June 20 1938, three months after the Anschluss, Luzia's father filled out an emigration application with the Welfare Headquarters of the IKG (the Jewish Community of Vienna). His preferred destinations for emigration were Palestine, North America or Argentina. His first choice suggests that the family was Zionist as he listed the names of relatives or friends in New York and Buenos Aires, but had none for Palestine. At the time, the family lived in Vienna's 20th district, and Luzia was a student. Luzia Rottenberg left Vienna and came to the Netherlands where she joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Luzia's brother, Fritz Leo Rottenberg, emigrated to Palestine in November 1938 at the age of 14. At the time of his naturalization in 1945 he lived in Kibbutz Neve Eitan. The fate of her parents is not known. Sources: |
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Rottenberg, Rubin
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Enschede Hachscharah Agudas Yisroel |
10.12.15
Berlin Polish |
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Ruhemann, Ursula
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The Deventer Society (Zandvoort) | ZANDVOORT | p.a. Waldeck Breederoodeweg 45 a. |
28.2.1921
Berlin German |
Ursula Ruhemann (later: Ursula Bartur) was born February 28, 1921, in Berlin, the only child of Paul Ruhemann (birth name Itzig), a grain merchant, and Johanna Ruhemann (born Heymann). Her parents later divorced. She left Berlin and came to the Netherlands from where she later boarded the Dora in July 1939. Ursula Ruhemann married Max Moshe Bartur and the couple had three children. Ursula Bartur (born Ruhemann) died in March 1972 in Kibbutz Gal-Ed. Ursula's mother Johanna Ruhemann was deported from Berlin to Riga on August 15, 1942. She was murdered on arrival three days later on August 18 1942. Ursula's father Paul Ruhemann emigrated to Shanghai and survived the war. He is listed in the "Shanghai Musicians Association of Stateless Refugees" as a violonist. |
Russ, Günter
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The Deventer Society (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam | Gasthuismolensteeg 14, Amsterdam | 21.6.14
Berlin German |
Günter Russ was born on June 21, 1914, in Berlin-Schöneberg, the son of Moritz Russ and Jettel Russ (born Kaiser). Günter fled Germany and came to the Netherlands. There he was a pioneer with the Deventer Association. He first lived at Hasselo No. 42 and Deurningen No. 21, both in the municipality of Weerselo. In January 1937 he lived for a short time, along with Walter Münzer, another Dora passenger, in the Deventer Association building at Brink 70 in Deventer. Günter Russ stayed on the farm of the Sanderman family in Hasselo No. 5 (municipality of Weerselo) from November 1938 to February 1939, after which he left for Weesperstraat 2 in Amsterdam. At this address was located the building of "Hagnosas Ourechiem", the Association to Support Emigration. In July 1939 he left for Palestine on the Dora. Günter's father Moritz Russ died in Berlin in 1941. His mother Jettel Russ was deported from Berlin to the Lodz Ghetto on October 18 1941, then to the death camp Chelmno (Kulmhof) on May 8 1942 where she was murdered. Sources: |
Sallein, Werner
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
8.2.1918*
Berlin German |
Werner Sallein was born December 8, 1918, in Berlin, the son of Hanz Sallein and Julia Joseph. He had one brother, Arno (1923), and [presumably] one sister, Ruth (1920). His brother Arno appears to have lived in a Berlin orphanage, suggesting that his parents died at an early age. Werner Sallein left Berlin and came to the Netherlands where he joined the Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Werner Sallein married Elizabeth Karolina Kahn in Haifa in February 1946. His wife Elizabeth, also born in Germany, had emigrated to the USA in 1938 and had become a US citizen in 1944. The couple emigrated to the USA in December 1946 and Werner Joseph Sallein became an American citizen in 1949. At the time he was a mechanic. The couple had two children. Werner Joseph Sallein died in November 2001 in San Francisco. Werner's brother, Arno Sallein, presumably lived in the Jewish Children's Home on Fehrbelliner Strasse in Berlin. He was deported to Theresienstadt in November 1944 and survived. He later emigrated to the USA. Assuming that Ruth Sallein was Werner's sister. She was deported to Ravensbrück in 1939, then transported to the killing center in Bernburg an der Saale in the spring of 1942 where she was murdered. She was one of 1,400 women from Ravensbrück who were murdered there. Sources: *Note: The passenger list incorrectly has his date of birth as 8.2.18. |
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Sanders, Adolf
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The Deventer Society (Enschede) | ENSCHEDE | Prinsenstraat 12 |
27.2.1917
Arnhem Dutch |
Benjamin Adolf Sanders (later Amos Sanders) was born on February 27, 1917, in Arnhem, Netherlands, the son of Johan Ferdinand Sanders and Klara Sanders (born Gans). His father died in November 1932 when Benjamin Adolf was 15 years old. He belonged to the youth movement Hechalutz (תנועת נוער חלוצית) and pursued agricultural training (Hachshara). In Israel, he was one of the founders of Kibbutz Sde Nehemia in 1939, where he remained until 1950. He then joined Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv in 1962. He changed his name to Amos Sanders. Amos married Suzane Friedmann and the couple had three children. Amos (Benjamin Adolf) Sanders died in December 1990 at the age of 73. His mother, Clara Sanders was deported to Auschwitz where se was murdered on November 19 1943. Sources: |
Schelasnitzki, Horst
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Kibbutz Misrachi, Franeker | Franeker, Harlingerweg 45 (Kibbutz Misrachi) |
1.6.1921
Darkehmen German |
Horst Schelasnitzki was born on June 1, 1921, in Darkehmen, East Prussia (later: Angerapp, Germany, now Ozyorsk - Russia). His parents may have been Bernhard and Julia Schelasnitzki. Bernhard Schelasnitzki was a textile merchant who died in April 1938 in Berlin. He may have had one brother, Manfred (Manny). Horst left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he joined Kibbutz Misrachi, a religious Zionist hachshara in Franeker. Horst Schelasnitzki was married and had two children. He later changed his name to Yitzhak. Yitzhak (Horst) Schelasnitzki died in November 1989 in Holon. Horst Schelasnitzki's (to be confirmed) brother Manfred (Manny) Schelasnitzki (Shell) emigrated to the USA around 1937. He later was a Mahal volunteer and served as chief stewart for an Alyiah Bet ship, the Northland-Jewish State which sailed from Bulgaria in 1947 with 2,664 Jewish emigrants on board bound for Tel Aviv. The "Northland" was intercepted by a British destroyer and the emigrants and the crew were deported to Cyprus. Sources: |
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Scheuer, Kurt
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
19.08.1919
Heilbronn German |
Kurt Scheuer was born in Heilbronn on August 19, 1919, the son of Aaron Albert Scheuer and Emma Scheuer (born Neu). He had two siblings, Ruth (1912) and Paul Joseph (1915). His father died in 1931 when Kurt was 11 years old, and his mother in 1937 when he was 1y years old. He lived in a religious home until the age of 17. At the age of 17 he fled Germany because of the antisemitism and came to the Netherlands in April 1936. There he went to Werkdorp Wieringermeer, a "working village" for his hachshasra where he studied various subjects, including Locksmithing. He was first registered on April 20 1936 in Barsingerhorn (Stichting Joosche Arbeid), then on January 2 1938 in Wieringermeer. He appears on several photographs taken by Roman Vishniac in the training camp in 1938 or 1939. (See Joods Cultureel Kwartier.) In July 1939 he boarded the Dora, together with his friends from the Werdorp. A year later he joined them in HaZorea, and they never parted ways again. Together they founded - along with other groups, most of them from Germany and some from Poland - Kibbutz Elgavish in Ra'anana, and together they moved in 1943 to Kfar Menachem. He changed his name to Reuven Scheuer. Having learned locksmithing in the Werdorp, he later helped found the small locksmith shop in Algabish, then later the Kfar Menachem locksmith shop which greq into a metal factory, where he worked as the factory's coordinator and representative, and helped develop international exports. He was married and had three children. Reuven (Kurt) Scheuer died in November 1982 in Kfar Menachem. His sister Ruth Rosenstock (born Scheuer) emigrated to Palestine. His brother, Paul Joseph Scheuer, emigrated to Sweden. Sources: |
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Schönebaum, Heinz
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The Deventer Society (Deventer) | DEVENTER | Papenstraat 45 B. Oosterink, Brinkweg 28, Rheden |
23.4.1917
Heurden German |
Heinz Schönebaum (later: Ilan Chanoch) was born on April 23, 1917, in Hörde-Dortmund, the third child of Emil Schönenbaum and Bertha Mueller. He had a sister, Liesel (1912), and two brothers, Alfred (1914), and Gerhard (1919, Gerd, later Gad Ilan). From a very modest background, he was forced after the rise of the Nazi regime in 1933 to drop out of school to help support the family. In 1937 he set out for agricultural training in preparation for immigration to Israel at a Jewish-owned mansion in East Prussia where he worked in agriculture. After the estate was confiscated by the Nazis, he managed to flee Germany and came to the Netherlands. He first lived in Brummen starting in March, 1937 and worked for a farmer. He then left Brummen in October the same year. As the danger to Jewish life in Germany increased, he was asked by his parents to help save his younger brother Gerd [Gerhard]. Taking advantage of his connections, he managed to bring his brother to the Netherlands to the Paviljoen Loosdrechtse Rade of the youth farm of the Deventer Association. Prior to his aliyah on the Dora, he was tasked with organizing the luggage of all the candidates for aliyah staying with various farmers throughout the Netherlands. After the Dora arrived and dropped the anchor on the shore near Herzliya, in the hours of darkness, after they [all] had left the ship, despite the personal risk, Ilan Chanoch decided to make sure that all the illegal immigrants had left the ship. While scanning the ship he found his friend Uzi Binyamin sleeping and rescued him, saving him from going back to Europe. With other Dora immigrants, he joined the "Mahar" company, which later became Kibbutz Gvar'am. In 1943, he married Elisheva and a month later left for Syria and Lebanon as a civilian driver in the British Army. In 1947, he was accepted as a member of Darom Yehuda ("Southern Judea" was a transport cooperative which was later absorbed by Egged). During the War of Independence he was the only bus driver in the southern region. Courageously, he drove an armored bus at the head of convoys on the southern roads and assisted in maintaining the transportation connection between the southern and central settlements. He managed to get illegal immigrants from Nitzanim Beach under the noses of British soldiers as workers who were returned due to lack of work that day. He became known for having rescued a convoy that was ambushed in the Yazur area and for evacuating the children of Kibbutz Nitzanim and Kibbutz Be'erot Yitzhak under attack by the Egyptian army. He continued to work with Egged and took an active part in the social and economic activity in Kibbutz Gvar'am. Ilan Chanoch died in September 2009 at the age of 92 in Kibbutz Gvar'am. His parents, Emil and Bertha Schönenbaum, were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto on July 29, 1942, then to Auschwitz on September 6, 1943, where they vanished. His young brother Gerd managed to remain in hiding in the Netherlands during the entire duration of the war. He later emigrated to Israel and changed his name to Gad Ilan. His sister Liesel Schoenebaum emigrated to South Africa. His elder brother Alfred Schonebaum emigrated to the USA and lived in San Diego. Sources: |
Selka, Hermann
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
11.9.1919
Frankfurt am Main German |
Hermann (later: Zvi) Selka was born in Frankfurt am Main on September 11, 1919, the son of Fritz Shlomo Selka, a businessman, and Sophie Selka. He had three siblings: Harry (1923), and twins Dorothea (Dorle) (1927) and Alfred (1927) . He said:
Hermann Selka left Frankfurt and came to the Netherlands in August 1937. He first regsistered in Barsingerhorn on August 3, 1937, then in Wieringermeer on January 2 1938. Hermann married Dina Wolff and changed his name in Israel to Zvi Selka. The couple had three children. Zvi (Hermann) Selka died in July 2017 in Beit Yitzchak. His brother Harry emigrated to Palestine in March 1939. His parents and two youngest siblings, Dorothea and Alfred, also emigrated to Palestine shortly thereafter, in October 1939. The family lived in Beit Yitzhak. Sources: |
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Siegel, Kurt
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
6.7.1921*
Altona German |
Kurt Siegel (later Shimshon Eschel) was born July 8, 1921, in Altona, Germany. His name appears on the list of the Jüdische Jugendhilfe dated April 1937, indicating that he attended a Hachshara in Germany that year and he was a member of Hashomer Hatzair, the Marxist-Zionist organization. His last place of residence before emigrating was in Landau, Bavaria. After fleeing Germany for the Netherlands, he continued his haschshara in Werkdorp Wieringermeer. In Israel, he changed his name to Shimshon Eschel and lived in Kfar Warburg, a moshav near Ashdod and Gedera.(1) His name appears in the May 12 1959 issue of Al HaMishmar ("On Guard"), as a candidate representing the Israeli Communist Party and non-partisans for the ninth conference of the General Histadrut. (Al HaMishmar was a daily newspaper published affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair as well as the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine, which became Mapam after 1948). Its motto was "For Zionism, Socialism and Brotherhood amongst Nations". Julius Yehuda Offen, another Dora passenger, was a contributor to the publication). Shimshon Eschel (Kurt Siegel) died in January 1988 in Kfar Warburg. Sources: The passenger list has his date of birth as July 6. |
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Sigal, Markus (Segal)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
24.4.1918*
Groningen* Dutch |
Marcus Segal was born on April 29, 1918, in Amsterdam, the son of Abraham Segal and Leentje van Sijs. One of six children, his mother died in January 1927 when Marcus was not yet nine years old. In June of that year, Marcus was taken to the Central Israelite Orphanage in Utrecht where he lived for the next 10 years. His father remarried a year later in 1928. In October 1937 Marcus Segal left the orphanage and joined the Mizrachi (religious Zionist) Kibbutz Dat veEretz in Beverwijk, where he remained until March 1938. He then continued his training in Kibbutz Franeker until February 1939. In the spring of 1939 he returned to Beverwijk, now in a new location in Velsen-Noord. There he awaited his departure to Palestine with a group of 29 comrades. Marcus left the Netherlands on Sunday morning July 16, 1939, with the Dora from the harbor of Amsterdam. Marcus' entire family was murdered in the Shoah: Sources: Note: The date of birth and the spelling of his last name on the passenger list are incorrect. His name is Segal in the military register), and date of birth is 29.4.1918. |
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Silberstein, Hermann
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
27.1.1921
Berlin German |
Hermann Silberstein was born on January, 27, 1921, in Berlin. The youngest of three children, he had two sisters, one 20 years older, and the other 11 years older. He came from an assimilated family, in a comfortable home and recalled:
His father worked in the Berlin stock exchange, from where he was expelled in 1933 as a Jew. Hermann attended the Gymnasium until 1934. His parents then sent him to a Jewish school on Kaiserdamm (the Theodor Herzl School, a Zionist school) where he remained until 1936. His parents understood early on the need to leave Germany, and his mother was receptive to Zionism. He remembered: "My mother always said 'let's go to Palestine.'" Although they were not able to do so themselves for financial reasons, his parents ensured that their three children got out in time. Hermann recalled "they always said, 'if we can't get out, the children should get out'". One of his sister went to Denmark in 1933. His older sister went to the Netherlands in 1934, then to Palestine in the summer of 1936. In 1936, at the age of 16, Hermann left Germany and came to the Netherlands, registering in Barsingerhorn on November 2, 1936 11. A member of Hechalutz, he came to Werkdorp Wieringermeer through the Zionist movement, where he remained for three years. During his stay, he worked with cows while continuing to receive a general education and reading about Zionism. One of the youngest members of the Werkdorp, he became friends with several future passengers of the Dora. Among them, he remembered Rafi Kochavi (Raphael Sternberg), who had also joined the Werkdorp the same day, and with whom he would later go to Kibbutz Haboneh, as a profound influence. About the Dora, Hermann remembered that it took half a year before the ship finally materialized: "We waited and waited... always 'tomorrow, tomorrow'...", but never stopped believing it would happen.
Of the trip, his only recollection was: "They threw our passports in the sea... " In Israel, Hermann first joined the Haboneh group in Hadera with friends from the Werkdorp. Haboneh had no land of its own and its members worked in various places, such as orange groves. While his friends moved on to Dorot, Hermann went to haZorea. Hermann later left the kibbutz and joined the British Army in 1942, along with two other Dora passengers, Ernst Kaufman and Zvi Weisskopf. He remained there for four years, working as a driver for the British Army in Haifa until 1946. He became a legal citizen after leaving the British Army and got married. Hermann's parents finally received the permission to emigrate to Denmark the very day the Germans invaded the country, in April 1940. They remained in Germany until their deportation to Theresienstadt, where they died in 1942. Herman's sisters came to Palestine. Sources: |
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Simonis, Heinz
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(Zeddam) | ZEDDAM | Gasthuismolensteeg 14, Amsterdam |
30.4.1919
Berlin German |
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Singer, Ascher
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
16.12.20*
Ustrzyki German |
Ascher Singer was born on December 26, 1920, in Ustrzyki Dolne, Poland. Source: collections.arolsen-archives.org (Index card from the National Association of Jews in Germany ("Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland")) |
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Singer, Michael
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
4.2.1912
Baden (Austria) German (Austrian) |
Michael Singer was born in Baden near Vienna on February 4, 1912, the son of Arnold Singer, and Josephine Ernestine Singer (born Schap). Both parents were originally from Bratislava, Slovakia and came to Baden in 1911. Michael had four siblings: Lilli (1914), Edith (1919), Leopold (1921), and Franziska (1933). Michael's father was a religion teacher and civil servant of the religious community of Baden. On May 17, 1938, two months after the Anschluss, his father filled out an emigration application with the Vienna Jewish Community. In this application, he stated that his son Michael was in Holland and that his profession was "Komis" - possibly meaning a commissioner. No additional information is available about Michael Singer. Online genealogoy sites state that he died in Baden bei Wien, Austria. In his emigration application, Michael's father Arnold stated he wanted to go to France or to a colony and hoped to teach the Talmud, or eventuallay languages and religious studies. Michael's parents were not able to emigrate and Arnold and Josephine Ernestine Singer were murdered in the Majdanek death camp on July 11 1942. His sister Edith Singer was murdered in 1942. She was 23. His sister Franziska Singer was murdered in 1944. She was 11 years old. His sister Lilli Singer emigrated to England where she worked as a domestic servant. His brother Leopold Singer, a talmudic student, emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Sondheimer, Ewald
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The Deventer Society (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam | Frederikstr. I8 a. |
16.8.1919
Neuhof German |
Ewald Sondheimer was born on August 16, 1919, in Neuhof near Fulda, Germany, the son of Nathan Sondheimer, a merchant, and Lina Sommer. He had two older sisters, Elli and Liesel. The family moved to Hünfeld in 1929 then to Kassel in May 1933. Due to the Nazi persecutions, Ewald was forced to leave school around the age of 14. He then became an apprentice in April 1934, but this lasted only a little more than a year, again due to anti-Jewish legislation. Ewald then moved to the Netherlands in 1936 to practice agriculture with a Dutch farmer, with the rest of the family following a year later. He stayed on the farm of the Arnold ten Kate family in the village of Deurningen near Weerselo from October 1936 to April 1938. Another German refugee and future passenger of the Dora, Siegismond (Shmuel) Ebel also worked there during that time. While in the Netherlands, Ewald developed a strong conviction in Zionism and became very active with the Hachshara movement, becoming a social leader for young people who had come there from Germany. A member of the Deventer Association, he briefly moved to the Deventer Association building at Brink 70 in Deventer. In February 1939, his parents and sister Elli emigrated to Brazil but Ewald - who wanted to go to Palestine - and his sister Liesel - who had married in Amsterdam - decided to stay in the Netherlands. He lived among others in the Jewish orphanage "De Vondelhof" run by by Aliyat Hano'ar and led by Simon Berlinger. His attempts to get an English visa for Palestine having failed, he boarded the "illegal" ship the Dora for Palestine with other pioneers from his Hachshara. After coming to Eretz Israel, Ewald joined members of his Hachshara group in Kfar Saba and settled in what later became Kibbutz Gvar'Am. There he Ewald changed his name to Shlomo and married Hava (Eva) Levy, whom he knew from the Netherlands. In 1942, Hava and Shlomo decided to leave the Kibbutz and moved to Nira (later Beit Yitzhak), a new settlement (moshav) in Emek Hefer where they started their new private agricultural farm. Their two children, a son and a daughter, were born there. Shlomo was drafted in the Haganah and fought in the War of Independence, defending the region of Emek Hefer from the invading Iraqi army. In the 1970s, he engaged more in local politics and soon rose to leadership positions. In his function as "Regional Council deputy", he actively participated in the exchange between Israel and Germany. Over the years, he remained in close contact with other Dora passengers and friends from his Hachshara days: Rudolf (Uzi) Benjamin, Siegismond (Shmuel) Ebel, Zvi Weisskopf, Shimon Berlinger, and Walter Landsberger and Herman (Zvi) Selka, both from Beit Yitzhak. He was especially close friends with Shmuel Ebel and Shimon Berlinger. In Amsterdam, the three men had stayed in De Vondelhof, a Jewish orphanage run by Aliyat Hano'ar for children from Austria and Germany, with Simon Berlinger the director of the orphanage. Shlomo (Ewald) Sondheimer died in November 1996 in Beit Yitzchak, Israel. Ewald's sister Liesel, her husband Benedictus Wijnman and their 7-year old son Wolfgang were murdered in Auschwitz. His other sister Elli moved back from Brazil to Germany in 1957 with her family. After the death of her husband, his mother Lina left Brazil for Israel in 1952 and lived with her son Ewald. Sources: |
Sonnenberg, Fritz
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
14.8.1921
Koblenz German |
Gerhard Siegfried Fritz Sonnenberg was born on August 14, 1921, in Koblenz, the son of Moses Sonnenberg and Irma Sonnenberg (born Blum). He had one brother, Paul (1925). His father was a horse dealer and the family was solidly middle-class: they employed a nanny, drove a brand new car, and voted for the German State Party, a left-liberal, middle-class party. Starting in 1933, and with the boycott of Jews on April 1st, his father's business declined progressively. His mother, Irma Sonnenberg, committed suicide in December 1934, when Fritz was 13 years old. Following the Nuremberg racial laws of September 15, 1935, the climate at school had become increasingly difficult and, following a riot by students against Fritz Gerhard Siegfried, he had to leave school (Realgymnasium) at the end of the 9th grade in 1936. At the age of 14 he began an apprenticeship as a machinist in Düsseldorf. After a second attempt at the end of December 1938, Fritz (Gerhard) Siegfried finally managed to emigrate from Germany to the Netherlands. There he joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer and boarded the Dora with 75 comrades in mid-July 1939. No further information is available about his later life. His father, Moses Sonnenberg, fled to the Netherlands in February 1938. In 1940/1941, he asked his son Fritz (Gerhard) for help in emigrating, but in vain. He was incarcerated in Westerbork, from where he was transported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto with his son Paul on September 4, 1944. A month later, on October 16, 1944, he was sent to Auschwitz where he was murdered on arrival two days later on October 18, 1944). His brother, Paul Sonnenberg, fled from Koblenz to Amsterdam in April 1939. He came with a transport of the Youth Aliyah and lived in a youth aliyah home. He later lived in Loosdrecht, then was later taken to Amsterdam by the Westerweel group. He hid in a "bunker" but was caught by the Germans in 1942 shortly after his 17th birthday and was sent to the Westerbork camp where he met with his father. There he helped a couple of people escape but did not flee himself because he wanted to remain with his father. Paul and his father were deported on September 4, 1944, to the Theresienstadt Ghetto. From there he was transported to Auschwitz on September 29, 1944. He died on January 22, 1945 during a "death march", five days before the liberation of the camp by the Red Army. He was 19 years old. Sources: |
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Spatz, Max (Maks)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
1.4.20
Worms Polish |
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Spitzer, Gerda
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk |
26.8.1918
Baden German (Austrian) |
Gerda Spitzer was born August 16, 1918, in Vienna, the daughter of Dr. Alfred Spitzer and Stefanie Spitzer (born Hauser). She had one sister, Erika. Lily Skall, a young friend of Gerda wrote in her memoirs: "Gerda Spitzer [...] lived in the Fifteenth District, on the corner of Talgasse and Mariahilferstrasse.". Gerda Spitzer belonged to Brith Zirenu, a Jewish Scouts Association which was later incorporated into the Zionist Youth Association. Gerda Spitzer settled in Kibbutz Kfar Hamaccabi with her husband, Gershon Cohn, whom she had met in Vienna. Gerda Spitzer's mother, Stefanie (Steffi) Spitzer, was deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto on October 1 1942, then from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz Birkenau on May 18 1944 where she was murdered. Gerda's sister, Erika Königsberger, emigrated to the USA. The fate of her father is not known. Sources: |
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Spuch, Oskar
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
2.1.18
Wieden Polish |
Oskar Spuch (later: Yehoshua Shpukh) was born January 2, 1918, in the Wieden district of Vienna, the son of Mendel (Menachem) Spuch and Perel (Pnina) Treister*, from Shinova (Sieniawa), Poland. He was born to a family of 3 children. One older brother, Alfred, was born in 1911 in Maastricht, Netherlands. The family, originally from Galicia (now Poland), had lived in Belgium from 1910 to 1914 but moved to Vienna in 1914. [His parents would have been Austrian citizens and their move may have been caused by the onset of WW1.] Oskar's father fought in World War I and did not return, so he never knew his father. His mother worked as a bank clerk but it was difficult for her to support her three children and at the age of 5 Oskar was sent to a Jewish orphanage in Vienna. On May 26 1938, two months and a half after the Anschluss, Pepi Treister-Spruch, a widow, filled out an emigration application form with the IKG in Vienna, listing two sons: Oskar and Alfred Treister-Spuch. At the time of the application, Oskar was a "gardener", presumably meaning that he was attending a Hachshara. Oskar Spuch was able to leave Vienna and came to the Netherlands where he joined the Deventer group. In Israel, Oskar enrolled in the British Army. He joined the excavation corps and was deployed to Greece where he was captured by the Germans and worked in captivity for about 5* years in coal mines. Upon his release, he returned to Israel and worked in a bank in Afula where he met his future wife, Judith Schneide. Oskar changed his name to Yehoshua Shpuch. He had (at least) one daughter. Yehoshua Shpukh (Oskar Spuch) died in May 1996 in Afula. His mother, Perl Treister, was deported from Vienna to Maly Trostinec near Minsk where she was murdered on September 4 1942. [Other source: His mother, Jozefina Schpuch, was murdered in the Shoah.] His brother, Alfred Spuch, was deported to Stanisławów (now: Ivano-Frankivsk), where he was murdered in 1942. Sources: *The name of his mother is not clear. His birth certificate has "Peril Jule Gottlieb", the Vienna emigration form "Pepi Treister-Spruch", and a Holocaust memorial page "Perl Treister". His daughter listed "Jozefina Pnina Trister". |
Steiner, Ladislaw (Laszlo)
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The Deventer Society (Deventer) | DEVENTER | Papenstraat 45, Deventer |
5.11.1911
Hüdin Hungarian |
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Steinhof, Ludwig
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The Deventer Society (Gouda) | GOUDA | Catharina-Hoeve,R.v. Catsweg 61, Gouda |
13.11.17
Mattesberg German |
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Stern, Günter
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
29.9.1921*
Breslau German |
Günter Stern was born on September 28*, 1921, in Breslau, the son of Emil Stern, a merchant from Halle, and Ella Bertha Stern (born Just) from Krosno Odrzanskie (Prussia, now Poland). He had one brother, Hans Rolf (1920). His father died in 1928 when Günter was seven years old and his mother wed Franz Orgler in a second marriage. Günter Stern left Breslau and came to the Netherlands in 1937 to prepare for emigration in the Werkdorp. He first registered in Barsingerhorn (Stichting Joosche Arbeid) on May 19 1937, then on January 2 1938 in Wieringermeer. He boarded the Dora from Amsterdam in July 1939. Günter Stern at first lived in a kibbutz in Hadera. He married Mirjam Loewy and te couple had one son. Günter Stern died in August 1993 (or 1996?) and is buried in Beer Sheva. Günter's mother Ella Bertha Stern emigrated to the Netherlands. She was deported from Westerbork to Theresienstadt in January 1944, then to Auschwitz on May 16 1944, then to in July 1944 to Stutthof where she died in October 1944. She was 49. Günter's brother Hans Rolf Stern was deported to Mauthausen where he was murdered on September 14 1941. His half-brother Helmut Orgler was deported and disappeared, a victim of the Holocaust. Sources: |
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Sternberg, Rafael
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
4.5.1920
Berlin German |
Rafael Sternberg (later: Rafi Kochavi) was born in Berlin on May 4, 1920, the son of Louis Eugen Sternberg and Rosa Sternberg (born Davidsohn). He had two siblings, the twins Joachim and Miriam (1922). His father, Dr. Louis Eugen Sternberg, was a dentist who had served for four years as a doctor in the German Army and was awarded the Iron Cross as a token of appreciation for his service. His mother, Rosa Sternberg, served as an army nurse in WW1. According to the Stolperstein in memory of his father, his family home was one of culture. It had many books, the children went to museums, and the family discussed important intellectual matters around the dinner table. They also had the joys of childhood: They often went to the zoo near their home, walked through the Tiergarten Park, and in the winter ice-skated on the frozen Neuer-See Lake. They went berry picking in Grunewald with their mother, and all went for walks in the forests and lakes around Berlin the weekends. His parents considered themselves to be proud citizens of the German nation, but also instilled their children with Jewish national heritage and Rafael grew up in a Zionist home. Rafael and his siblings attended Theodor Herzl Schule, a Jewish Zionist school, where he learned Hebrew - which he spoke and wrote fluently. He was a member of the Kadima and later Habonim youth movements. Understanding the growing danger for their family, Rafael's parents decided to send their children to safety, and in 1936, they sent 16-year-old Rafael to the Netherlands where he came for Hachshara training in the Werkdorp Wieringermeer. Rafael first registered in Barsingerhorn on November 2 1936, then on January 2 1938 in Wieringermeer. (Two years later they would send the twins with Youth Alyiah.) Rafael immigrated to Israel on the Dora and arrived directly at Kibbutz Haboneh (הבונה) in Hadera, which served as an absorption center for Werkdorp members. (Kibbutz Haboneh later became Kibbutz Dorot). In Israel he changed his name to Raphael (Rafi) Kochavi. Rafael Kochavi lived in Kibbutz Dorot where he was a teacher. He married Chava (Pines?) Hirsch in 1951. He had two daughters and four sons. Rafael Kochavi died in 1981. Rafael's parents tried to flee Germany, but in vain. His mother, Rosa Sternberg, commited suicide in Berlin to avoid deportation on November 16 1941. His father, Dr. Louis Eugen Sternberg, died on January 3 1943 in Berlin. His brother, Joachim Kochavi (Sternberg), and his sister, Miriam Naor (born Kochavi, Sternberg), emigrated to Palestine with Youth Alyiah in 1938 and lived in kibbutz Dorot. Sources: |
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Sternfeld, Fritz
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
15.8.1914
Halle German |
Fritz Wilhelm Sternfeld was born on August 15, 1914, in Halle. Fritz Sternfeld lived in Halle in the 1930s. He left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he attended Werkdorp Wieringermeer to prepare for this immigration. Source: |
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Stoppelmann, Max
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
19.5.1919
Hamburg German |
Max Stoppelman was born on May 19, 1919, in Hamburg, the son of Gerson Stoppelmann and Auguste Loebenstein. Max had three sisters, Grete/Gretchen (1907), Hedwig (1910), and Ilse, and one brother, Alfred (1911). His father, Gerson, ran a butcher's shop. Max's mother died in 1935 when he was 16 years old. Max married Liesel Lea Heinrich in 1941, and the couple had four children. Max Meir Stoppelman died in February 1990 at the age of 70 in Bitzaron, Israel. By 1937, Max's father Gerson saw that there was no future in Germany and applied to emigrate to Holland with his daughter Ilse. They finally came to the Netherlands on December 31, 1938. From there he hoped to emigrate to the USA where his daughters Hedwig and Grete had already emigrated. They expected that their place in the visa waiting list would allow them to leave in the Spring of 1940, but the German invasion of the Netherlands prevented them from fleeing to America. Gerson Stoppelman was deported to Auschwitz where he was murdered on October 2 1942. Max's sister Ilse Deutsch was deported and murdered with her husband in Sobibór in April 1943. Max's brother Alfred Stoppelmann was killed in Auschwitz on September 30, 1942. Two of his sisters, Grete Kaiser and Hedwig Heimann, emigrated to the USA via the Netherlands. Sources: |
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Stopper, Arthur
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
25.12.1920
Bochum Stateless |
Arthur Stopper was born on December 25, 1920, in Bochum, the son of Leib Leo Stopper and Lotte Rothbaum. His parents originally came from Galicia (now Ukraine). He had a younger brother Sigmund, born in 1922. Arthur's family left Bochum and came to Amsterdam in May 1932. What prompted this move before Hitler's rise to power is not known. His parents had a men's clothing shop in Amsterdam. In September 1936 Arthur Stopper registered in the Het Joods Werkdorp near Barsingerhorn, then in the Wieringermeer-Werkdorp Wieringen in January 2, 1938. In July 1939 he boarded the Dora from Amsterdam. Arthur changed his name to Uri Stopper, then later to Uri Shapir. Artur Stopper returned to the Netherlands and was registered in Amsterdam in May 1949. It is not known if he had been stationed there as a British soldier, or if he had been a personal decision. He married Lore Zuckerberg in Amsterdam in September 1949, then returned to Tel Aviv in December that year. He later returned to Amsterdam in April 1967 and lived there at least until 1977. His parents Leo and Lotte Stopper were deported from Westerbork to Sobibór on July 20, 1943 despite having certificates for Palestine ("Albersheim Verklaring"). They were murdered upon their arrival on July 23, 1943. His brother, Sigmund (Sieg) Stopper (Later Yeshayahu 'Yesha' Shapir) emigrated to Israel in 1946 aboard the Aliyah Bet ship SS BIRIA. Sources: |
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Strassburger, Berthold
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
13.10.1918
Ulm German |
Berthold Strassburger (later: Baruch Svir) was born in Ulm on October 13, 1918, the eldest son of Rabbi Dr. Ferdinand Ferdinand (Nathan) Strasburger and Alice Strassburger, nee Nördlinger. He was raised in a "family in which Jewish tradition merged with Western culture". His mother had served as a nurse in the Red Cross during World War I. His father served as Rabbi of the city of Ulm until his early death in 1927. Berthold was 9 years old when his father died. (An unusual occurence among Dora passengers, not only was Berthold's father a Rabbi, but so was his uncle Rabbi Jesaias Straßburger). Baruch (nicknamed Babo) went for Hachshara training in Werkdorp Wieringermeer in the Netherlands. In Israel he changed his name to Baruch Svir (ברוך סביר). He first joined Kibbutz haZorea, then was one of the founder of Kibbutz Elgavish in Raanana. He later joined Kibbutz Kfar Menachem in 1943, where he worked as a sheperd, then later became the chief accountant in the 1950s. Baruch Svir (Berthold Strassburger) died in 1982 in Kfar Menachem at the age of 64. Baruch's mother Alice Strassburger was deputy manager of the Jewish retirement home in Herrlingen in 1941. In 1942, she took over the management of the newly built Jewish retirement home in Tigerfeld. On August 22, 1942, she was deported to Theresienstadt together with the other residents, including her mother Rosa Nördlinger. On January 29, 1943, Alice Strassburger was transported to Auschwitz where she was murdered. Baruch's younger brother Helmut (Hanan) Strassburger made Aliyah with Aliyat Hano'ar (Youth Aliya) in 1938. He also lived in Kfar Menachem, where he died prematurely in an accident in 1951. Sources: Photo credit: strassburgers.blogspot.com |
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Strauss, Hans
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
8.11.1914
Westerburg German |
Hans Strauss was born on November 8, 1914, in Westerburg, the son of Salomon Strauss, a cattle trader originally from Willmenrod, and Hanna Strauss (born Michael), from Muenchholzhausen. Hans had three siblings: Julius, Kurt (Shmuel) (1923), and Brunhilde (Hilda) (1928). [Other sources have two additional siblings: Walter and Hanna]. Hans Strauss left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he joined the religious-Zionist Kibbutz Dat VeEretz in Beverwijk. Hans changed his name to Chaim Strauss. He married Hilda Bracha Weingold ca 1950 in Tel Aviv and the couple had (at least) one child. Chaim (Hans) Strauss died in March 2001 in Bnei Brak. [Other source has Ramat Gan]. His parents, Salomon and Hanna Strauss, his brother, Kurt Strauss (17), and his sister, Brunhilde (Hilda) Strauss (13), were deported from Frankfurt to the Minsk Ghetto in November 1941 where they were murdered. His brother, Julius Yehiel Strauss, emigrated to the USA [or Palestine ?]. Sources: |
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Strauss, Josef
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The Deventer Society (Krajenburg bij Hengelo) | KRAJENBURG bij HENGELO | Papenstraat 45, Deventer |
5.4.1916
Bamberg German |
Josef Strauss was born on April 5, 1916, in Bamberg, the son of Julius Strauß and Rosa Strauß (nee Katz). He had one brother, Hans. He was raised in a Zionist family that also maintained religious customs. His parents were active in charity institutions, "Chevra Kadisha", "Bnei Brit", and his father founded the local Zionist Association in 1921. Joseph received both a traditional and Zionist education, receiving lessons in the Bible and Hebrew from the community rabbi, and it was already clear to him at the age of bar mitzvah that he wanted to immigrate to Israel. At the age of 14, he joined the Jewish Scouts movement (Jüdischer Pfadfinderbund Deutschland: JPD) for three years, then belonged to the Habonim movement for four years. In 1936, he joined the on-the-job training at "Beit Chalutz" in Munich, studied carpentry and was active in "Habonim" as a physical education instructor. He was arrested on Kristallnacht (November 9-10 1938) and incarcerated in Dachau where he remained for 6 weeks. In December 1938 he received the order to leave Germany within 48 hours. He was released, went to say goodbye to his parents, went to the city of Bielefeld where he got a passport, and came to the Netherlands to continue his training. In Holland he met with a group of pioneers who had come from Elgut. They worked in agriculture and every two weeks they met at the "Beit HaKashrut" to study Hebrew and socialize. In early June 1939, he joined a group organized by Giora Yoseftal with the help of the Hechalutz, and they immigrated to Israel illegally on the "Dora". After landing in the vicinity of Shefayim, they were divided into groups and walked to Moshav Rishpon [about 3 kms away] , and waited until the English stopped looking for them. From there he went to Nahariya to meet his parents, who had already immigrated to Israel. After two months in Nahariya where he worked in agriculture and was recruited for night shifts on behalf of the "Hagana", he joined his friends in preparation for their independence - the group "nucleus" (גרעין). About a month later, the group moved to Ra'anana. Its members worked in the orchards, were sent to set up army camps for the British and some were sent to a labor company in Sodom. He was in Sodom for 6 weeks and this is how he described the period:
After their return there was no work, so he established with friends independent industries: a dairy, a bakery, an industrial carpentry where they made boxes for food and for ammunition for the British army, and he took it upon himself to establish a vegetable garden for selling in the market in Ra'anana and Tel Aviv. He and Rita Wollenberg, another Dora passenger, were married in Nahariya at his parents' home. The Rabbi who officiated for their wedding had taught him the Torah and Hebrew in his youth in Germany. He was one of the founders of Kibbutz Galed in the north of the country in 1945. Amongst the founders were the couple Giora and Senetta Yoseftal, both of whom were later members of the Knesset, with Giora serving in several ministerial portfolios. He died in Kibbutz Galed in June 2003 at the age of 87. His parents emigrated to Palestine. His father listed his occupation in his naturalization application as "Tax Collector". His brother Hans also emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Taubes, Mirjam
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
13.11.1919
Baden German |
Mirjam Taubes was born on November 30, 1919, in Baden, a spa town near Vienna, the daughter of Dr. David Taubes, from Babin, Rumania, and Breindel Reich. She had one sister, Noemi (1922). Her mother died in May 1938 in Vienna. She left Austria and came to the Netherlands where she joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer. No further information is available on Miriam Taubes. Miriam's father, David Taubes, left Vienna on in December 1938 and came to the Netherlands. From there he went to Belgium, then crossed the French border in February 1940 and arrived in Marseille, from where he boarded a ship for Haifa, arriving in Palestine on Feb 20 1940. Her sister, Noemi Gershuny, emigrated to Palestine in September 1938. Sources: |
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Tausz, Jene (Jennö)
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The Deventer Society (Assumburg) | Assumburg: Heemskerk | Assumburg Youth Hostel, Heemskerk |
30.7.1918
Pápa Hungarian |
Jene (Jennö? Jannö?) Tausz was born on July 30, 1918, in Päpa, Hungary. He came from Budapest on 16 June 1938 to the Deventer Association building at the Brink 70 in Deventer and left for Deurningen a week later. He may have stayed with the Arnold ten Kate family at Deurningen no. 17. 1 Source: 1oorlogsdodendinkelland.nl |
Teichmann, Benno
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
19.10.1921
Breslau German |
Benno Teichmann was born on October 19, 1921, in Breslau (Wrocław), the son of Carl Teichman Gottlieb (?) and Chaia Anne Zolotoyabko. He had five siblings: Käthe (1919), Esther (1920), Wilma, Alfred, and Shulamit. Benno Teichmann did his Hachshara in Elgut, Upper Silesia. On November 10, 1938, during the November Pogrom, Benno Teichmann and his comrades from the Elgut Hachshara were arrested by the Gestapo and incarcerated in the Buchenwald concentration camp. After his release from Buchenwald, Benno Teichmann went to see his parents in Breslau to say goodbye. On February 15, 1939 he left Elgut with other members of the Hachshara camp and came to the Netherlands. Because his last place of residence was in Bielefeld, it can be assumed that his path was the same as what Kurt Nattenheimer described: All the members of the Elgut group were then concentrated in Bielefeld, and from there traveled to the Holland border, under the guard of two Gestapo officials. He later wrote a report about Elgut for Yad Vashem. He married Johanna Hadassa Hanne Norel (nee Deutsch) around 1944. He married again in 1954 to Geula Biton. He had four children. Benno Teichmann died in Kibbutz Na'an in 2008. His parents and his sisters Käthe Nagelberg, Esther Levin, and Shulamit Triger emigrated to Palestine. The fate of his sister Wilma Süsmann is not known. Sources: |
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Timendorfer, Heinrich
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The Deventer Society (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam | Uithoornstr. 44 |
7.4.1917
Pless German |
Heinrich Timendorfer (later: Shmuel Timnah) was born on April 7, 1917, in Pless, Schlesien (now Pszczyna, Poland), the son of Arthur, a merchant originally from Kattowitz, and Johanna (Hanna) Timendorfer, nee Guttmann, from Tarnowice. He had one brother, Günter Timendorfer, born in 1919 in Pless. Heinrich Timendorfer was a member of the youth group Maccabi Hatzair. He joined the Hachshara in Havelberg on July 1 1938 where he (presumably) met his future wife Margot Bagainski. He lived in Mühlhausen in Thuringia before emigrating to the Netherlands. Heinrich Timendorfer and Margot Bagainski boarded the Dora together in July 1939. In Israel, he changed his name to Shmuel Timnah. The couple lived in Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi and had three (or four?) children. Shmuel Timnah (Heinrich Timendorfer) died in March 1995 at the age of 78 in Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi. His parents, Arthur and Hanna Timendorfer, were deported from a Jewish Retirement home in Frankfurt am Main on September 15, 1942, to the Theresienstadt Ghetto. His mother died there on November 2, 1942. His father was murdered on January 27, 1943. His brother, Günter Timendorfer, attended the Havelberg Hachshara, and later emigrated to Palestine. He adopted the name Gershon Timnah and he too lived in Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi. Sources: |
van Amerongen, Emil (Emanuel)
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The Deventer Society (Buurssen, em. Haaksbergen) | Buurssen (em. Haaksbergen) |
13.6.1918
Haarlem Dutch |
Emanuel van Amerongen ("Emil") was born on June 13, 1918, in Haarlem, the son of Abraham van Amerongen, a merchant, and Saartje (Sara) Peper. He had two (or three?) siblings, Marie (1913), and Juda (1915). Emanuel's parents Abraham and Saatje van Amerongen were murdered in Auschwitz on September 24, 1942. His sister, Marie Brinitzer (born Van Amerongen, later Wittenburg), survived the war and remained in the Netherlands. Sources: Emanuel van Amerongen *may have changed his name to Amram. |
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Verdoner, Alida
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The Deventer Society (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam |
22.4.1918
Amsterdam Dutch |
Alida Verdoner was born on April 22, 1918, in Amsterdam, the daughter of Moses Verdoner, originally from London, and Naatje Zurel, born in Amsterdam. She had nine siblings: Benedictus (1900), Joachim (1902), Jozef Jacob (1904), Marianne (1906), Kaatje (1907), Isaac (1910), Samuel (1911), Nathan (1914) and Abraham (1916). Her mother died in 1932 when Alida was 14 years old. Before her emigration, she was a domestic servant. Alida married Eliezer Luft. The couple had two children. Alida Luft (Verdoner) died in October 1982 in Haifa. Her father, Moses Verdoner, was murdered in Bergen-Belsen on January 15 1945. Six of her brothers, Benedictus, Joachim, Jozef Jacob, Nathan, Samuel and Abraham Verdoner, were murdered in Auschwitz on October 12 1944. Her two sisters were also victims of the Holocaust: her sister Marianne Verdoner was murdered Auschwitz on February 12 1943, and her sister Kaatje Verdoner was murdered in Sobibor on May 21 1943. Only one sibling, Isaac Verdoner, survived the war. He died in 1971 in Amsterdam. Sources: |
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Wajntrob, Dwojra (Waintrob, Dwoire, Deborah)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Beverwijk: Velsen-Noord |
6.10.1917
Warschau Polish |
Possibly Dwojra Wajntot, born on July 6, 1917, in Warsaw, from a post-war employment record dated 1934 in Fulda. Source: collections.arolsen-archives.org |
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Warschawzik, Ernst
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The Deventer Society (Hengelo) | HENGELO | Deldenerstr. 57 |
4.5.1919
Copenhagen Danzig |
Ernst Warschawzik (later David Eron, "Dudi"), was born in Copenhagen on May 4, 1919, the son of Avsei-Chaim Warschawzik, from Kovna,Kaunas, Lithuania, and Roza Warschawczik (born Schapira), from Danzig. Warschawzik belonged to the youth group Habonim. About the Dora, he said:
He first resided in Givat Haim. He belonged to Giora Yoseftal's group in Kibbutz Gal'ed. He enlisted in the British Army in 1942 and served until 1946. He married Erica Erela Heiman and the couple had three children. David Eron (Ernst Warschawzik) died in 1999 at the age of 80 in Ramat-Efal, Israel. His parents were deported to Rabka, Nowy Targ. His father, Avsei Chaim Warschawzik, was murdered in 1939. His mother, Roza Warschawczik, was murdered on July 17 1942. Sources: |
Weinberg, Karla
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
29.6.1909
Hamburg German |
Karla Weinberg (later Goldschmidt) was born on June 29, 1909, in Hamburg, the daughter of Adolf Weinberg, a goldsmith, and Eva (Chava) Weinberg (nee Lazarus). Her father died in 1918 when Karla was 9 years old. Karla Weinberg's last place of residence in Germany was Berlin. She emigrated to the Netherlands where she joined Werdorp Wierinermeer. She first registered in Barsingerhorn (Stichting Joosche Arbeid) on October 1 1936. She was then registered in Wieringermeer on January 2 1938. Karla was a doctor. She married (unknown) Goldschmidt and later shortened her name to Karla Gold. Karla Gold (Weinberg) died in 2007 in Nes Ziona. Karla's mother, Eva (Chava) Weinberg was deported from Hamburg to the Theresienstadt Ghetto (Terezin) on July 16 1942. Two months later, on September 21 1942, she was deported to Treblinka where she was murdered on arrival. Sources: |
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Weinberg, Klaus
1946
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
27.5.16
Wupperthal German |
Klaus Weinberg was born on May 27, 1916, in Wuppertal (Barmen-Elberfeld). Klaus left Germany and came to the Netherlands where he joined Werdorp Wieringermeer. He boarded the Dora in July 1939 together with 75 other members of the work village. In 1946 he applied for naturalization. By then he had changed his name to Dov Weinberg. He was single, an "agriculturist" and lived in Kibbutz Ein Gev, a "Wall and Tower" kibbutz establised in 1937 on the eastern bank of the Kinneret. (Another Dora passenger in Ein Gev was Fritz Binstok). His application noted that he had entered the country illegally on August 13 [sic] 1939. He presumably had volunteered in the British Army, although this is not specified in his application, save for a mention of his being a member of "H.M.A.". (Former "illegal" immigrants who had enrolled in the British Army were able to regularize their situation and apply for citizenship.) No further details are available about Dov (Klaus) Weinberg. There were a few people with the Weinberg name from Wuppertal; It is not possible to confirm if they were related. Sources: |
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Weinberg, Ruth
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
2.3.1922
Dortmund German |
Ruth Erika Weinberg was born on March 2, 1922, in Dortmund. She was 17 years old when she boarded the Dora. Sources: |
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Weisskopf, Herwarth (Herward)
1946
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
7.3.1917
Ratibor German |
Herward (later Zvi) Weisskopf was born March 7, 1917, in Ratibor (now Racibórz, Poland), the son of Isidor (Yitzhak, Izi) and Tzila Weisskopf (nee Schuettenberg). He had two siblings, Michael, and Fritz (later: Shalom Hermon). Herward grew up in an educated, well-to-do, bourgeois home. His father was a respected merchant who was well-liked by his employees. During WW1, he was recruited into the army in the 1st reserve battalion in the infantry. He was a member of the Ratibor Bnei Brith, the Gymnastics Association, and a volunteer medics in the Ratibor Red Cross. He was also a member of the city's Chevra Kadisha Society. His mother played piano, guitar, loved the theater and dancing. She was also a good tennis player and was a member of the Zionist youth group. His mother died in 1936 when Herward was 19 years old. Herward hated school, and was expelled after many incidents with teachers. He was then sent to the Hessen district to learn leather work, then to learn agriculture. In 1939 he came to the Netherlands where he went to Hachshara to prepare for life in Israel. There he met his future wife Mary Gottlieb from Vienna, with whom he would sail on the Dora. He said:
Herward first joined Kibbutz haZorea, a kibbutz in northern Israel established in 1936 by members of the German Werkleute movement, a Jewish Socialist movement which later evolved into a Labour Zionist movement. There he worked in agriculture, and as an electrician. As part of his work as an electrician, he later developed a steaming device for sterilizing hatching eggs. Herward married Mary Gottlieb (Miriam Weisskopf) in 1941. He then took over the farm ("meshek") in Kfar Yedidia from his older brother Michael who wanted to move to a kibbutz. He enrolled in the British Army in late August 1942 and was stationed in Egypt. After leaving the army in 1945 he went back to live in the farm. Herward changed his name to Zvi Weisskopf and the couple had two children. In 1946, Zwi Weisskopf applied for citizenship and filled out both an "Application for Registration as an Immigrant by Discharged Member of His Majesty's Forces or Policeman", and an "Application by a Traveller for Permission to Remain Permanently in Palestine". Both Zvi and his wife Miriam were naturalized in September 1946, under the Immigration Ordinance of 1941. At the time he had a 1 1/2 year-old son. As part of his application, he declared he had entered Palestine in August 1939 in Haifa with his wife and wrote:
Considering that several passengers of the Dora also declared having entered in Haifa in their naturalization applications, it is more than likely that this collective "forgetting" was done to protect the secret of the location of the landing, as Shefayim was a used repeatedly in the late 1930s and in the 1940s. Zvi Weisskopf died in September 1994 at the age of 77 in Moshav Kfar Yedidya. His parents had come to Palestine in 1934/35 to visit their eldest son Michael, and the couple had looked into the option of immigrating to Palestine, but returned to Germany where his mother died in 1936. His father, Isidore Weisskopf, later emigrated to Palestine before 1939 and lived in Kibbutz Hazorea. His brother Michael emigrated to Palestine in (or before) 1934/35. His other sibling, Shalom Hermon (Fritz Weisskopf), also emigrated to Palestine before 1939 and lived in Jerusalem. Sources: |
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Windmuller, Isaak
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The Deventer Society |
29.10.1915
Emden Stateless |
Isaak Windmüller was born October 29, 1915, in Emden, Germany, the son of Moritz Windmüller, a butcher and cattle dealer, and Jette Windmüller (née Seligmann), He had four siblings: Salomon (1910), Max (1920), Ruth (1923) and Emil (1924). After the German authorities had withdrawn their father's business license, the family fled to the Netherlands in 1933. While in Groningen, Isaak and his brother Max joined a group that organized the emigration of young people to Palestine, and Isaak became the leader of this group, while Max completed his agricultural training on a farm near Assen in preparation for emigration to Palestine. Their father Moritz Windmüller died in May 1937 in Groningen. When Isaak embarked on the Dora, his brother Max accompanied him. Max, who was already on board, was persuaded by Ru Cohen, the organizer of the training for Palestine pioneers, to go ashore again; he was to continue to help build the Hachshara, which brought young Jews from Germany and Austria to Palestine on Dutch farms. Max let himself be talked into staying in the Netherlands to give co-guidance to the Palestine pioneers. [Note: Max Windmuller's name doesn't appear on the list of passengers, so it is possible that the story is apocryphal.] Isaak left Holland on the Dora and arrived in Mandatory Palestine in August 1939. During the war he served in the British army. After 1945, Isaak Windmüller found a new home in Israel. Isaak Windmüller died on January 1st, 1999 in Israel. His mother, Jette Windmüller was murdered December 15, 1942 in Auschwitz. His brother, Salomon Windmüller, was murdered in Auschwitz on March 31, 1943 along with his wife Ruth Kornblum and their son Maurice. His brother Max was incarcerated in the Westerbork camp in early 1942, from where he escaped [Other sources have August 1943; He would have escaped two days later in a laundry van]. Later that year he joined the Westerweel resistance group of Joop Westerweel, which helped save almost 400 Jews. Max Windmüller was actively involved in the escape route from Holland across the Pyrenees to Spain that the Westerweel group organized for Palestine pioneers. It is estimated that about 100 young Jews were smuggled to freedom and saved from certain death by Windmüller himself, including his own brother Emil. He was betrayed and arrested by the Gestapo in Paris in July 1944. Deported to Buchenwald in August that year, he was shot by a guard during the death march to Dachau on April 21, 1945, one day before the column of prisoners were to be liberated by the US army, and two weeks before the end of the war. His sister, Ruth emigrated to Palestine in 1937 and lived in Kibbutz Yakum. His brother Emil was able to escape Europe and flee to Palestine thanks to the work of his brother Max and the Westerweel Group. He lived in Kibbutz Yakum. Sources: |
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Wittner, Franz
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
7.9.1916
Berlin German |
Franz Wittner was born September 7, 1916, in Berlin. He had (at least) one brother, Heinz (ca 1914). Franz Wittner left Berlin and came to the Neterlands in 1937 where he joined Werkdorp Wieringermeer. He was registered in Barsingerhorn on April 29 1937 then in Wieringermeer on January 2 1938. From there he boarded the Dora in July 1939. Franz Wittner left Israel and emigrated to the USA in 1950 with his brother Heinz (later: Henry). He lived in New York and changed his name to Frank Wittner. He was married and had two sons. Frank Wittner died in October 2009 in New York. Sources: |
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Wollenberg, Rita
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The Deventer Society (Brummen) | Brummen | p.a. Beker |
23.7.1920
Elberfeld German |
Rita Wollenberg was born July 23, 1920, in Elberfeld, the daughter of Arthur Wollenberg and Chana Hanna Capell. She had one younger brother, Felix (1922). Rita married Josef Strauss. She later changed her name to Rita Yaan (ריטה יען). She died in Israel in August 2010, at the age of 90.
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Wolff, Fritz
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The Deventer Society (Deurningen) | DEURNINGEN | H. Leufeld, Deutningen H.6o |
1.10.1914
Bingerbrück German |
Fritz Wolff was born October 1, 1914, in Bingerbrück, the son of Moritz Wolf and Elisabeth Else Seligman. He had two sisters: Margot (1913) and Ruth (1918). His father was a merchant and Fritz grew up in a family that was wealthy, but was also religious and kept a tradition of holidays and traditional foods. Fritz studied at the Real Gymnasium. Starting in 1933, he was a member of the Hechalutz movement in Frankfurt, and joined the "Habonim" movement for five years. He was a also a member of "Kameraden", a non-Zionist hiking club for German Jewish youths. He was a youth guide ("madrich") in Rodnitz and Orfeld and in 1938 he was sentto Eretz Israel to accompany a group of teenagers whom he guided. When he returned, he met his future wife, Eva Hirsch, who would later accompany him on the Dora. In August 1938, he was sent to Elgut to be a counselor ("madrich") to replace Giora and Senetta Yoseftal who had immigrated to Israel, and Eva joined him there. Elgut was an agricultural hachshara farm; there, in addition to agricultural training, classes were held to study Hebrew, the geography of the Land of Israel, and the Bible. On November 10, 1938 during Kristallnacht, the Nazis rounded up the trainees in Elgut, beat them severely and all the young men were sent to Buchenwald, including Fritz. After about a month they were released and returned to Elgut. Two weeks later the boys left to say goodbye to their families and to prepare for their departure. In January 1939, they came to the Netherlands and were arranged to work with farmers. Fritz joined the Vakopleiding der Deventer Vereniging (Professional Training of the Deventer Association) in Deurningen, near Hengelo. On July 16, Fritz [and the young men from Elgut] boarded the Dora for Palestine. They first stayed in Givat Haim where Fritz worked as an electrician, then moved to Ra'anana and joined the members of HaGarin. In Ra'anana he worked like everyone else in outside jobs, as an electrician, a baker and the manager of "Masuriya" - a small factory that employed a number of members who went out with large hand saws to cut down Eucalyptus trees for posts near Ra'anana. He later help found Kibbutz Galed where he remained for the rest of his life. Fritz married Eva Hirsch, another passenger on the Dora. He later changed his name to Yehuda Wolff. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter. Yehuda (Fritz) Wolff died in 1975 in Kibbutz Galed. His parents, Moritz and Else Wolf, and his aunt Bertha were deported from Mainz to Piaski on March 25, 1942. Most of the inhabitants of the Piaski ghetto were later deported to the death camps of Belzec and Sobibór where they were murdered upon their arrival, with a smaller number shot to death in the Piaski cemetary. His sister Margot Wolff (later Hahn) emigrated to the USA. His sister Ruth Livneh also survived the war. |
Wolff, Willy, Günter
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(Delden) | Delden: Wiene G.79 | G.Wijnbergen,G.79, Wiene, Ambt-Delden |
15.2.1918*
Strigau German |
Willi-Günter Wolff (Günter Willy Wolff) was born February 5, 1918, in Strigau, the son of Michael and Emmy Wolff. He was a member of Habonim. In Israel, he first lived in Raanana. He enlisted in the Palmach in 1942 and served until 1945. He was then drafted in the 92nd Battalion in 1948. After his release from the army in 1949, he lived in Kibbutz Gal'ed and Kibbutz HaHotrim. He later lived in Kiryat Motzkin. In Israel he adopted the name Gideon Wolf. He was married to Ora Rosenzweig and had (at least) one child. An article about Kibbutz Gal'ed mentions a Gideon Wolf who oversaw as building coordinator the establishment of the new Kibbutz dining hall in 1978. He had a daughter, Dorit Hadar. Gideon Wolf died in May 2012 and is burried in HaHotrim. Sources: * The date of birth on the Amsterdam passenger list is incorrect. |
Wolkowicz, Szyje, (Wollkowicz, Szyje)
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Mizrachi Kibbutz Dat veEretz, Beverwijk | Amsterdam | Jekerstr. 5 |
4.3.1919
Zelow Stateless |
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Worms, Hetty (Heintje)
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The Deventer Society (Den Haag) | DEN HAAG |
15.12.16
Amsterdam Dutch |
Heintje Worms was born on December 15, 1916, in Amsterdam, the daughter of Abraham Worms and Sophia Kesner. The couple had nine children. Heintje's mother died in June 1921 when she was just 5 years old. In November 1922, Heintje was placed in the Central Israelite Orphanage in Utrecht. Her father then died in March 1926 when she was 9 years old. Heintje received her education in this orphanage, learned to teach gymnastics and received a certification to teach in a high school. She left the orphanage and came to Rotterdam in 1936. In October 1938 she joined the Jewish "Youth Farm" in Gouda, a training boarding school for Palestinian pioneers where pupils learned to work the land, with courses in horticulture, livestock and dairy work, and prepared for emigration to Palestine. In June 1939 she left Gouda and went to Amsterdam to the "Pioneer" house (Beit Chalutz). There she met Kurt Levi, her future husband, and together they boarded the "Dora" in July. Upon their arrival, Hetty and Kurt joined Kibbutz Yagur. Hetty married Kurt and the couple had three children. Hetty Levi (nee Worms) died in September 1994 in Kibbutz Yagur. Heintje's brother Joseph (Joop) was murdered in Auschwitz on September 30, 1942, at the age of 22. Her brother Leendert Worms emigrated to Palestine. Her brother Jacob Worms survived the war and lived in Amsterdam. Sources: Note: The date of her departure for Palestine is incorrectly recorded in her family card as December 31, 1940 |
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Wreschinsky, Walter (Wreschinski)
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The Deventer Society (Warnsveld) | WARNSVELD | Rouvenhorst Gasthuismolensteeg 14, Amsterdam |
26.10.1920
Berlin German |
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Zobel, AIfred
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Werkdorp Wieringermeer | Werkdorp Wieringermeer |
4.2.11
Berlin German |
List 2: Passengers who boarded the Dora in Antwerp, 19 July 1939, from the Antwerp Police List.
Source: The Foreign Police in Belgium ARA; Foreign Police files, A177.761 (via Janiv Stamberger)
The list contains 171 names: 108 men and 63 women.
The names are listed in the same order as that from the original passenger list. The last eight names, starting with Mordohe Deresiewicz, are not in alphabetical order, suggesting these passengers were last-minute additions to the list.
The Antwerp list only contains names and dates of birth. All additional information (place of birth and nationality) is derived from other sources and is indicated by square brackets ("[]").
| Name |
D.O.B from list (dd.mm.yy)
[Place of birth] [Nationality] |
Bio |
Arndt, Erna
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14.11.1906
[Liegnitz] |
Erna Arndt (Koenigsberger) was born on November 14, 1906, in Liegnitz, Poland, the daughter of Paul Koenigsberger, a medical doctor, and Lydia Koenigsberger. She had one older brother, Franz (1901). Erna married Georg Arndt in 1929. The couple had one daughter.
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Arndt, Georg
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30.5.1896
[Regenwalde] |
Georg Arndt was born in May 1896 in Regenwalde, Pomerania, Prussia, (now Resko, Poland), the son of Georg Arndt, a medical doctor, and Rosa Arndt, née Lichtenstein. Georg had two sisters, Helene and Henriette (1892) and one brother, Leopold Felix. The family was assimilated and Georg and his brother (but not his sister Henriette) were baptized1. Georg's mother died on the year of his birth, in 1896. His father wed in a second marriage Luise Rudolphsohn. His father died in 1932. Georg Arndt was married to Erna Koenigsberger, another Dora passenger. The couple had one daughter.
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Aron, Hella
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8.12.1920 |
Hella Aron was born December 8, 1920, in Dortmund. Her married name was Hella Przemyslaw. Nothing more is known about her. Source: www.myheritage.com |
Atlasz, Ilse
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14.7.1904 |
Ilse Atlasz was born July 14, 1904, in Berlin. At the time of the German Minority Census, on May 17 1939, she lived in Berlin, Wilmersdorf with her sister, Rita Atlasz (1906). Her destination for emigration was listed as the USA. Nothing more is known about her. Source: www.myheritage.com (German Minority Census) |
Austern, lsrael
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18.4.1908 |
Israel Austern was born April 18, 1908. No information other seems to be available about him or his family. However, another passenger of the Dora, Markus Mordechai Dersievitz, was a business partner with an Israel Auster, as recorded in the November 25, 1943 issue of the official journal of the Palestinian Authority. The business traded in perfumes and cosmetic goods under the name "Soap Esther". The address for both Dersievitz and Austern (or maybe for the business) was 18 B King George Street, Tel Aviv. It is assumed that this Auster was the same as this passenger. Source: www.nevo.co.il (pdf) (Registration for partnership) |
Bauer, Hilde
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18.1.1919
[Gießen] |
Hilde Bauer was born on January 18, 1919, in Gießen, the daughter of Moses Moritz Bauer and Ida Bauer (born Joseph). The youngest of three children, she had two siblings: Margot (1913), and Helmut (1916). Hilde moved to Frankfurt/Main in 1934. She married Walter Krauthammer. Together they boarded the Dora. Hilde and Walter Krauthammer had two children. Hilde Krauthammer (Bauer) died in May 2006 in Nahariya. Her parents, Moses Moritz Bauer and Ida Bauer were murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. Her sister, Margot Gonen emigrated to Palestine and died in Jerusalem. Her brother, Helmut Bauer emigrated to Palestine and died in Haifa. Sources: |
Beer, Berthold
|
8.9.1907 |
Berthold Beer was born September 8, 1907, in Leipzig. At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939 he lived in Leipzig. He lived there with Martin Beer (28), Paula Beer (23) and Charlotte Beer (16), presumably three siblings. His destination for immigration was listed as Palestine, while the destimation for the three others was Great Britain. Berthold Beer left Leipzig and came to Antwerp between mid-May and mid-July 1939. From there he boarded the Dora. A person named Berthold Beer, born circa 1907, appears on the manifest of a ship that landed in New York from Haifa in 1950. If this is the same person, it means that Berthold Beer left Israel and emigrated to the USA. At the time of his arrival he was married and the couple had a young daughter. All three were listed as "stateless". No further details are available. Sources: |
Berger, Felix
|
29.3.1917 |
Felix Berger-Löfkovics was born on March 29, 1917, in Vienna, the son of Arnold Moses Berger-Löfkovics (Arnold Gems F Berger), originally from Lemberg (Lviv), and Gertruda Feiwelsohn (Gertrude Gems Berger), from Vienna. He had a younger sister, Gisella (1919). On May 12, 1938, two months afer the Anschluss, his father Arnold filled out an immigration application with the Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde), and listed his son Felix and his daughter Gisela as relatives still in Vienna. At the time his father manufactured silk lingerie, his mother was a seamstress and his sister was an embroiderer and seamstress. His father had been in the industry since 1922 and had his own workshops, but stated he had been very lightly employed since January 1938. Felix's occupation was listed as "Wirker", i.e. someone who works with textiles, or possibly weaver. Felix Berger made his way from Vienna to Antwerp sometime between May 1938 and July 1939, maybe with the help of the Kultusgemeinde. From there he boarded the Dora for Palestine. Felix Berger's parents, Arnold and Gertruda Berger managed to emigrate to Palestine, arriving in Haifa in February 1939. His sister, Gisela Lowi, also emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Bier, Anni
|
31.10.1914 |
Anna Bier was born in Duisburg on October 31, 1914, the daughter of Paul Paisech Bier and Rachel Regina Kleinmann. Her parents were originally from Galicia (now Poland). Her father died in November 1920 when she was 6 years old. Her mother remarried and Anna had a half-sister, Minna Miriam Kleinmann. On May 17, 1939, Anna Bier was registered in Skaby, a hamlet near Spreenhagen, [Beeskow-Storkow, Spreenhagen], close to Berlin. [Assuming she was attending a Hachshara established there in 1939, or the Gut Winkel Hachshara in Spreenhagen]. From there, Anna made her way to Belgium, presumably illegally like many other chalutzim. Two months later, she boarded the Dora in Antwerp. (Because chalutzim were selected based on their readiness for a future communal life in Palestine, she may have attended another Hachshara prior to Skaby, but no further details are available.) She later married Fritz Karliner, presumably in Palestine. Karliner had come to Palestine in October 1938 on a tourist visa. Overstaying his visa, he remained in the country illegally, despite the British police's unsuccessful efforts to locate him and deport him. Karliner's parents came to Palestine in November 1940 aboard the Patria, his father being one of the victims of the sinking of the ship. In January 1943 he joined the British Army as a driver and was dispatched in North Africa. It can be assumed that Anna Bier and Fritz Karliner were married sometimes after his demobilization at the end of WW2. The couple later emigrated to the USA and had one child. Anna Karliner (Bier) died in Nassau, New York in August 2003 at the age of 88. Her mother, Rachel Regina Bier (nee Kleinmann) was deported in April 1942 to Izbica where she was murdered, presumably during the liquidation of the ghetto in November 1942. Her half-sister, Minna Miriam Kleinmann, survived the war and lived in the Bronx. Sources: |
Boehm, Gert
|
3.10.1920 |
Gert Boehm was born October 3, 1920, in Allenstein, East Prussia (now Olsztyn, Poland). No further information is available. Source: www.myheritage.com |
Brand, Grete
|
8.4.1911 |
Grete Brand was born Grete Linkowski, on April 8, 1911, in Berlin, the daughter of Shlomo Linkowski. Grete was married to Manfred Brand. The couple were listed in the German Minority Census of May 1939. At the time they lived in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg, and their emigration destination was listed as Palestine. They left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939. In Israel Grete changed her name to Tovah Brand. She died in Aug 2000 in Holon, aged 89. Sources: |
Brand, Manfred
|
30.5.1909 |
Manfred Brand was born May 30, 1909, in Berlin, the son of Ezekiel (Yecheskiel) Brand and ?. Manfred was married to Grete Linkowski. The couple were listed in the German Minority Census of May 1939. At the time they lived in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg, and their emigration destination was listed as Palestine. They left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939. In Israel Manfred changed his name to Mordechai Brand. Mordechai (Manfred) Brand died in May 1981 in Holon, at the age of 72. Sources: |
Bronstein, Gregor
|
12.2.1921 | |
Buchaster, Berta
|
27.10.1913 |
Berta Buchaster was born October 27, 1913, in Leipzig, the daughter of Chaim Leib Buchaster and Feige Rachel (Ruchl, Ruchel) Hasenlauf. Her parents were originally from Bochnia in Galicia (Austria-Hungary). The couple had thirteen children, two of which died as infants and a third, Leon David Buchaster, at the age of nine in 1924. Berta's siblings were: Hermann Osias (1904), Toni (1906), Jacob (1907), Marie (1911), Nathan (1912), Eliyahu (1916), Isaak (1920), Ester Elsa (1921) and Simi Selma (1923).
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Buchaster, Marja
|
9.4.1911 |
Marie (Maria, Miriam, Marja) Buchaster was born April 9, 1911, in Leipzig, the daughter of Chaim Leib Buchaster and Feige Rachel Ruchl Hasenlauf. Her parents were originally from Bochnia in Galicia (Austria-Hungary). The couple had thirteen children, two of which died as infants and a third, Leon David Buchaster, at the age of nine in 1924. Marie's siblings were: Hermann Osias (1904), Toni (1906), Jacob (1907), Nathan (1912), Berta (1913), Eliyahu (1916), Isaak (1920), Ester Elsa (1921) and Simi Selma (1923).
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Buchaster, Nathan
|
13.9.1912 |
Nathan Buchaster was born on September 13, 1912, in Leipzig, the son of Chaim Leib Buchaster and Feige Rachel Ruchl Hasenlauf. His parents were originally from Bochnia in Galicia (Austria-Hungary). The couple had thirteen children, two of which died as infants and a third, Leon David Buchaster, at the age of nine in 1924. Nathan's siblings were: Hermann Osias (1904), Toni (1906), Jacob (1907), Marie (1911), Berta (1913), Eliyahu (1916), Isaak (1920), Ester Elsa (1921) and Simi Selma (1923).
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Burak, Paul
|
30.7.1900
[Leipzig] [German] |
Paul Pinchas Burak was born on July 30, 1900, in Leipzig, the son of Moshe Borak, from Kolomyya (Ukraine) and Klara Bratel, from Eisleben (Germany). He had two brothers, Arthur Avraham (1902) and Wilhelm "Willy" (Ze'ev) (1905), and a sister, Marie (1907). The family had a shoe shop in Eisleben and was quite wealthy. His son wrote: "When the Nazis came to power in Germany, my father left for the Netherlands where he joined a group that organized for immigration to Israel because no country would accept them. There he prepared for immigration to Israel." "My father boarded the Dora after a problem was solved with the Dutch authorities*. They reached the shores of Shefayim and from there a group of friends smuggled them away from the surrounding communities before the British arrived." [Paul Burak was on the list of passengers that boarded in Antwerp, so it's possible that, having an issue with the Dutch authorities, he had to cross the boder to Belgium and boarded the Dora from Antwerp.] Paul's sister, Marie Hacker also sailed on the Dora from Antwerp. Paul Burak married Karmela (Kajla) "Karola" Szarfharc in 1940. The couple had one son. Paul Burak died in March 1993 at the age of 92 in Giv'atayim. His parents Moses Burak and Klara Burak managed to emigrate to Palestine before the outbreak of the war and lived with their son in Kibbutz Sarid. His sister Mary Hacker also came to Palestine aboard the Dora. His brother brother Ze'ev Wilhelm Burak emigrated to Palestine and lived in Kibbutz Sarid. His brother Arthur Avraham Burak lived in the Netherlands and died in Brussels in 1980. Sources: |
Celnik, Abram
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14.5.1894 |
Abram Celnik was born May 14, 1894, in Zgierz, a small town near Łódź. He lived in Duisburg. No further information available. Source: www.myheritage.com |
Celnik, Ziporja
|
18.3.1892 | |
Cisinski, Heinz
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30.3.1915 |
Heinz Cisinski was born on March 30, 1915. He later left Israel and emigrated to the USA where he changed his name to Henry Cisinski. In the 1950 census, he was listed as a butler, and his wife Nancy, originally from Holland, was a maid, both for a private house. He died in New York in December 1967, at the age of 52. Sources: |
Cohen, Artur
|
16.11.1901 |
Artur Cohen was born November 16, 1901, in Zossen, about 20 miles (30km) south of Berlin. According to the 1939 German Minority Census, he lived in Berlin with his brother Helmut Cohen, his sister-in-law Meta and their 2-year old daughter Eva. Artur's emigration destination was listed as Palestine. [Assuming this means that he still lived in Berlin at the time of the census (May 17), but already knew that his place on the Dora was secured.] Artur left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July. It is presumed that he crossed the Belgian border illegally and hid in Antwerp until the departure day. Artur Cohen lived in Tel-Aviv in the 1940s. No further details are available. Artur's brother Helmut Cohen, his wife and daughter, moved into the Jewish Hospital on Iranishestrasse in Berlin where Dr. Helmut Cohen was employed as a physician. They remained there for the duration of the war and survived. In May 1944, Dr. Helmut Cohen wrote to a friend in Switzerland inquiring whether his brother Arthur in Tel-Aviv had obtained certificate applications for immigration for him and his family. Sources: |
Danziger, Bruno
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1.12.1906 |
Bruno Danziger was born on December 1, 1906, in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany (now Gliwice, Poland). At the time of the May 1939 German Minority Census, he lived in Berlin, Schöneberg. His emigration destination was listed as Palestine. Bruno Danziger left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939. He presumably crossed the Belgian border illegally and hid in Antwerp until his departure on the Dora. Source: www.myheritage.com (German Minority Census) |
Dorn, Netanel
|
30.8.1916 | |
Eichwald, Theodor
|
14.6.1902
[Breslau] |
Theodor Eichwald was born on June 14, 1902, in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), the son of Salomon Eichwald and Fanny Armer. He had two elder brothers, Ernst (1895) and Fritz (1897). In the address list of the Breslau Jewish community (ca 1930), Theo's occupation was listed as travelling salesman ("Reisender"). His father's was "Handelsm.", his brother Ernst was "assembly inspector" ("Montage-Inspektor") and Fritz "Elektrische Monteur". His mother's name doesn't appear on the address list, suggesting she was not alive by then. On June 15, 1938, Theo was arrested in Breslau during the Reich-wide "Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich" ("Work-shy Reich"), during which about 9 000 men were arrested by police from June 13-18. During previous "Work-shy Reich" actions in April and May, the "work shy" were those who were criminals, had refused to work, or fit other descriptions deemed "socially undesirable" - "asocial individuals" who might endanger society with "asocial behavior". Was considered "asocial" any person who showed continual misconduct or repeated violations of the law, who did not fit into the community and submit to the "self-evident order" of the Nazi state. These included vagrants, beggars, prostitutes, gypsies and alcoholics, even people with untreated venereal diseases.wikipedia.org In the June Aktion, Jews were disproportionately detained, with about 2,300 to 2,500 men who had received previous convictions for varied reasons. Criminal history was often not based on normal delinquency alone, but based largely on tracking back several offenses far from the past, including minor infringements such as traffic violations.wikipedia.org Following this arrest, Theo was incarcerated in the Buchenwald concentration camp. The exact reason for his arrest is not known, the only information in his Buchenwald prisoner card being the umbrella term "ASR" ("Arbeitsscheue-Reich"). At the time of his incarceration, his profession was listed as painter, and he lived with his brother. He was released seven months later on January 10, 1939. At some point, between 1938 and 1939, Theo and his brother Fritz applied with the Hilfsverein der Juden in Deutschland (Relief Organization of German Jews) for assistance in emigrating to Harbin and Shanghai, China. There, Theo listed his occupations as fitter and plumber. His brother would manage to emigrate to Shanghai, but not Theo. At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939, Theodor Eichwald, aged 36, lived in Breslau. He lived there with his brother Fritz, Fritz' wife Johanna, and their son Walter. Theo left Breslau and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939 from where he boarded the Dora. No further details are available on Theo's life. Theodor's brother Ernst Eichwald emigrated to Palestine in December 1933 and lived in Kiryat Bialik, Haifa. His father Salomon Eichwald also died in Israel in Kiryat Bialik. His brother Fritz Eichwald managed to emigrate to Shanghai in 1939. In 1948 he emigrated to the USA with his wife and son. Sources: |
Eisner, Salli
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4.6.1916 | |
Feldmann, Chana
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2.5.1909 |
Hanna Feldmann is mentioned in Günter Stillman's book "Berlin - Palästina und zurück" (p.78) as one of only three Communists on the Dora besides him. He mentions that in 1944, "Hanna Feldmann also wanted to go back to Dresden to her relatives, friends and comrades." In October 1946, her name was on a list of forty-eight "anti-fascist Germans" requesting entry permits back into the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, "because they did not want to stay in Palestine". She presumably returned to East Germany around 1947. Source: "Berlin - Palästina und zurück Erinnerungen", by Guenter Stillmann (Berlin Dietz, 1989.) |
Fink, Isidor (Isy)
|
3.12.1919
[Cologne] [German] |
Isidor (Izzy, Yitzhak) Fink was born on December 3, 1919, in Cologne, the son of Aharon Fink and Sarah Neumann. He had two sisters, Bracha (1922), and [מירהל'ה] . He attended an elementary school and due to his skills skipped a number of classes. His studies in high school were interrupted by the rise of the Nazis to power, and he completed his studies in a Jewish school. Izzy was a member of Hashomer Hatzair. At the time of the German Minority Census in mid-May 1939, he lived in Beeskow-Storkow, Spreenhagen. [Assuming this means the Gut Winkel Hachshara in Spreenhagen, about 30 kms south of Berlin]. In May 1939 he was smuggled to Belgium where he prepared for immigration to Israel. In Israel, Izzy lived for a while in the village of Nachman, near Raanana, and from there joined Kibbutz Ein Hashofet. In 1943, he joined Kibbutz Kfar Menachem. A year earlier, in 1942, Izzy enlisted in a transport unit with the Jewish Brigade. During World War II, Izzy served in Egypt, Libya, Malta, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. He later took part in the Six Day War as part of a transport unit. He married in the early 1950s and had three sons. Izzy Fink died in 2018 at the age of 99. His mother, Sarah Fink was murdered in Auschwitz in 1942. His father, Aharon Fink died in Israel in 1985. His sister Bracha Brichman died in Kibbutz Sdot Yam. The fate of his second sister מירהל'ה is not known. Sources: |
Finn, Hilde
|
3.10.1917*
[Berlin] [Stateless; previously: German] |
Hilde Judith Finn was born October 13, 1917*, in Berlin, the daughter of Hermann and Leah Finn. Hilde Finn attended a 10-day leadership course ("führerkursus") in the Gut Winkel Hachshara in Spreehagen in April 1936. From September 1936 to Janury 1937, by then a "stateless" resident of Berlin, she attended the Hachshara center of Ahrensdorf (Hachschara-Landwerk Ahrensdorf). The "reason for departure (from Ahrensdorf)" is marked as "hard to classify". She resided at one time [possibly in 1939] in Schniebinchen, the location of a Hachshara affiliated with the Habonim youth movement. Hilde Finn left Germany in 1939 - presumably from the Schniebinchen Hachshara - and came to Antwerp, from where she boarded the Dora for Palestine in July. In 1940, Hilde married Herbert Zvi Irom and the couple had a daughter born in Petah Tikwah in 1943. She now went by the name Hilde Judith Irom. In the couple's naturalization application filed in September 1946, Hilde's name was crossed out because she had come to Palestine as an illegal immigrant and was thus not able to apply for citizenship. It seems however that the authorities collected additional fees related to her situation, maybe as part of a regularization procedure. At the time, Hilde and her husband lived on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv. On April 28, 1948, two weeks before the end of the British Mandate and the start of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Hilde Judith Irom applied for a visa to visit her parents in the USA. Her nationality was still recorded as "stateless". She was a housewife and lived on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv. Hilde wed Abraham Nemet in a second marriage and had a second daughter. Hilda Nemet (Irom, Finn) died in November 2004 in Ramat Hasharon, at the age 87. Hilde Finn's parents emigrated to the USA before the war. Sources: *The passenger list incorrectly has Hilde Finn's date of birth as 3.10.1917. |
Frank, Robert
|
15.3.1902
[Vienna] |
Robert Frank was born on March 15, 1902, in Vienna, the son of Julius (Jules, Gyula) Frank, a leather merchant originally from from Majteny (?) in Hungary, and Rosa Krakauer, from Vienna. He had one sister, Erna (1908). On May 12 1938, just two months after the annexation of Austria by Germany (the "Anschluss"), Robert Frank filled out an emigration appllication with the Welfare Headquarters of the Israelite Kultusgemeinde (Jewish Community) in Vienna. At the time he was single. He listed his occupations as commercial clerk and leather cutter, with 3 years of apprenticeship, 10 years experience as an assistant, and 5 years as a representative. He spoke French and English. He declared having no assets and no income, and had very little to contribute to the cost of his emigration. As for his desired destinations, he was ready to emigrate "wherever possible", but "preferably Palestine", and didn't list any relatives or friends abroad. His plan after emigration was to "accept any job". The only relatives he listed were his parents, implying that by that time his sister Erna had already left Vienna. To the question "Which of the above-mentioned members should emigrate now and which later?", he responded: "All at the same time". Robert Frank's name appears in the records of the "Assets Transfer Office" ("Vermögensverkehrstelle") of the Ministry of Commerce and Transportation. A decree concerning the reporting of Jewish assets of April 26, 1938, required all Jewish citizens to report their total domestic and foreign assets, where such assets exceeded 5,000 Reichsmarks. The "Assets Transfer Office" was created three weeks later to oversee the expropriation of such Jewish assets into "Aryan" hands. Robert Frank was incarcerated in the Dachau concentration camp on June 3 1938 (under the so-called "Protective Custody") from where he was released more than three months later on September 22. Robert Frank left Germany and came to Antwerp at some point between his September 1938 release and mid-July 1939. From there he would have boarded the Dora for Palestine. No further details are available. Robert's sister, Erna Katz came to Belgium with her husband. From there, they received visas for Palestine in March 1940 and were able to emigrate with their two children, arriving in Tel Aviv in April 1940. The fate of Robert Frank's parents Julius and Rosa Frank is not known. Sources: Robert Frank is one of only two people on the Antwerp with a pencil mark next to their name, although it is not clear what this absence means as the other passenger with such a mark, Emil Rothschild is known to have gone to Palestine. |
Fuchs, Frieda
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3.12.1907 |
Frieda (Frida) Fuchs (nee Rosenfeld) was born on December 3, 1907, in Breslau*, Germany, the daughter of Anton Rosenfeld and Klara Rosenfeld (nee Militscher). She had one sister, Margot (1906), and at least two brothers: Hans Joachim (ca. 1913) and Rudolf (ca. 1916). Her father was originally from Ostrava (now the Czech Republic) and was a shoemaker. Frida Rosenfeld married Paul Fuchs in 1933 in Breslau, also a shoemaker.
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Fuchs, Paul
|
29.3.1908 |
Paul Fuchs was born on March 29, 1908, in Breslau, Germany, of a Jewish father and a Christian mother, Emma (nee Fischer). He had at least three brothers and one sister: Fritz (1896), Siegfried (1906), Herbert (1908), and Sophie (1909). After his father died, he was brought up in an orphanage. From 1930 he worked as a shoemaker. He married Frida (Frieda) Rosenfeld in 1933 in Breslau.
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Fuerst, Gisela
|
30.12.1909 | |
Fuerst, Osias
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13.10.1898 | |
Gallewski, Josef
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21.5.1917 |
Josef Gallewski was born May 21, 1917, in Posen (Poznan), the son of Max (Moses) Gallewski, a physician, and Ernestine Schäfer. He had four siblings: Hermann (1912), Saul (1913), Minna (1915) and Recha (1920). His father died in 1927 when Josef was not yet 10 years old. Josef Gallewski lived in Nürnberg. At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939, he was registered in Oberbarnim, Rüdnitz. Gut Rüdnitz was a hachshara near Berlin. Josef Gallewski left Rüdnitz and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora to Palestine. Josef Gallewski married Margot Cappelen. He died in February 1986 in Haifa. Josef's mother, Ernestine Gallewski died in 1942 in Berlin. His brother Saul (Salo) Gallewski was deported to Warsaw in 1941 and disappeared in the Shoah. His brother Hermann Gallewski emigrated to Palestine. His sister, Recha Jacobs lived in Australia, and his other sister Minna Gale Howard also survived the war. Sources: |
Gaenser, Ella
|
19.2.1921 | |
Gerson, Julius
|
10.1.1903 |
Julius Gerson was born January 10, 1903, in Fulda, the son of Israel Gerson and Hannchen Stern. Julius had ten* siblings: Bertha (1891), Philipp (Apr 1893), Wilhelm (Apr 1894), Emilie (Aug 1895 - or 1898?), Gertrude (Dec 1896), Max (Dec 1898), Paul (1900), Gustav (1901), Karl (1905) and Ruth (1906). His mother died in 1928 and his father three years later in 1931. *The available data on the Gerson family is inconsistent and this list may be incorrect. Emilie (Aug 1898) and Max (Dec 1898) could not have been born from the same mother. At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939, Julius Gerson lived in Berlin, Charlottenburg. His emigration destination was listed as Palestine. He left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July. All, or most, of Julius Gerson's siblings survived the war**. His brothers Philipp, Paul, Wilhelm, Gustav died in the USA. His sisters Gertrude and Ruth died in Israel. Depending on the sources, his sister Emilie Rotschild died either in Israel or in the USA. His brother Max Gerson died in Fulda, Germany in 1958. The fate of his brother Karl is unknown. ** The list of siblings is not confirmed and may include too many children. Sources: |
Goldberg, Ruth
|
7.7.?? |
(Year unreadable) |
Goldenhar, Abraham
|
2.9.1916* |
Abraham Goldenhar was born on September 12, 1916*, in Warsaw, the son of Mendel (Menahem) Goldenhar and Faiige Mindel (Tzipora) Lipschitz. He had three siblings: Sarah (1906 or 1907), Rachel (Ruchla) (1918 or 1919) and David (1928). The family moved from Poland to Belgium in the 1920s, and David, their youngest child, was born in Antwerp. Abraham Goldenhar joined the Hashomer Hatzair youth group in Antwerp. He married Henny Einhorn, another Hashomer Hatzair member. Together, they boarded the Dora. Abraham and Henny joined Kibbutz Ein Horesh, a Kibbutz originally founded by Hashomer Hatzair members from Poland in 1929, and later augmented by Hashomer Hatzair graduates from Belgium. The couple had three children. He later changed his name to Abraham Shoam (אברהם שוהם). Abraham died in September 2010 in Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh. He was 94. His father, Menahem Mendel Goldenhar, his mother, Faige Mindel (Tzipora) Goldenhar, and his young brother David Goldenhar, were murdered in Auschwitz in 1943. His sister Sara (שרה שיבא) died in Kiriat Shaul. His sister Rachel (רחל גשרי) died in Kibbutz Ginegar. *According to the passenger list, Abraham Goldenhar was born Sept 2. The Antwerp police file for the family has September 16. Other sources, including his obituary have September 12. Likewise, the years of birth for his sisters as recorded in the Antwerp police register differ from dates available in other sources. Sources: |
Goldenhar, Hanni
|
11.8.1919
[Rotterdam] |
Henny Goldenhar (maident name: Einhorn) was born August 11, 1919, in Rotterdam, the daughter of Ben-Zion and Rosa Einhorn. Her parents were originally from Hungary. She had three brothers: Zvi Hirsch Meir Einhorn, Hanoch Einhorn (later: Arnon), and Zalman Einhorn. She belonged to Hashomer Hatzair and married Abraham Goldenhar, another member of the youth organization. Together they boarded the Dora for Palestine. Henny and Abraham joined Kibbutz Ein Horesh, a Kibbutz originally founded by Hashomer Hatzair members from Poland in 1929, and later augmented by Hashomer Hatzair graduates from Belgium. The couple had three children. She later changed her name to Henny Shoam (הני שוהם). Henny Goldenhar died in October 2009 in Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh, at the age of 90. Her parents, Ben-Zion and Rosa Einhorn were murdered in Auschwitz in 1943. The fate of her brothers Zvi Hirsch Meir Einhorn and Zalman Einhorn is not known. Her brother Hanoch Einhorn (Arnon) survived and later changed his name to Hanoch Arnon. Sources: |
Goldstein, Arthur
|
5.1.1920 | |
Goldstein, Joseph
|
26.12.1915 |
Joseph Goldstein was born December 26, 1915, the son on Pinhas and Hanna Goldstein in Belgium. He joined Hashomer Hatzair before coming to Palestine. He first lived in Kibbutz Dan, then moved to Kibbutz Sarid in 1943. He later adopted the name Yoseleh (or Yosel ?) Dan. He didn't start a family. Yosel Dan (Joseph Goldstein) died in November 1993 in Kibbutz Sarid. Sources: |
Goldstein, Kadisch
|
27.8.1910 |
Kadisch Goldstein was born August 27, 1910, in Saint Petersburg (Petrograd, Leningrad), Russia. He lived in Fischach, Land Bayern, |
Gotthilf, Herbert
|
22.8.1910
[Bärwalde] [German] |
Herbert Gotthilf was born August 22, 1910, in Bärwalde, the son of Siegmund Gotthilf and Elsbeth Rosen. He had three siblings: Günther (1914), Ruth (1919) and Elinor Margarete Gretel (1921). Herbert Gotthilf belonged to Maccabi Hatzair. In May 1938 he joined the Havelberg Hachshara, 110 kms (70 miles) west of Berlin. His sister Ruth (Johanna) Gotthilf was also in the Havelberg Hachshara. At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939, he lived in Berlin, Wilmersdorf with his parents, Siegmund (54) and Elsbeth Gotthilf (49), and his sister Margarete (17). Herbert was 28 and single. Herbert Gotthilf left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. He married Alice Esther Cohn in 1940 in Haifa, where their son, Gadi Golan, was born in 1943. Herbert Gotthilf died in 1989. His parents Siegmund and Elsbeth Gotthilf tried to emigrate to Palestine illegally at the end of 1940 aboard the S.S. Atlantic. After its arrival in Haifa, they were deported by the British to the Mauritius internment camp in 1941 where they remained at least until 1943, as evidenced by two 1943 letters for sale on eBay from S. Gotthilf to his sons Herbert in Kfar Ata near Haifa, and Gunter in Haifa. His mother Elsbeth Gotthilf died in Kibbuz Gvat in 1946, his father Siegmund Gotthilf died in Kibbutz Hazorea in 1955. His sister, Ruth (Johanna) Grebler (Gotthilf) also attended the Havelberg Hachshara farm. She left Germany in 1939 and came to Palestine on the SS Hilde (Hilda), an illegal refugee ship that was intercepted by the British and arrived in Haifa in January 1940 via Bratislava. She was then detained in Atlit. She died in 1968. His brother Günther Gotthilf emigrated to Palestine and lived in Haifa. His sister Nurit (Elinor Margarete Gretel) Elor (born Gotthilf) emigrated to Palestine and lived in Kibbutz Hazorea. Sources: |
Grun, Mendel
|
16.6.1915 | |
Gutmann, Eva
|
16.8.1920
[Berlin] |
Eva Gutmann was born August 16, 1920, in Berlin, the daughter of Siegfried Gutmann, merchant. Sources: |
Gutmann, Naumi
|
10.5.1920 | |
Haase, Gisela
|
29.4.1903 |
Gisela Haase (nee Fränkel) was born April 29, 1903, in Vienna, the daughter of Alwin Fränkel and Röschen Flatow. Her siblings were Herbert (1901), Walter (1905), Lina (1906), and possibly Hermine (1899). At the time of the German Minority Census of May 1939, Gisela lived in Breslau with her husband Kurt Haase, along with Martha Haase, 68, and Helene Wrazidlo, 43 (born Haase). Gisela and her husband Kurt left Breslau and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May 1939 and mid-July 1939, from where they would board the Dora that would take them to Palestine. Her parents, Alwin and Rosa Fränkel lived in Breslau at the time of the May 1939 German Minority Census. Her mother was deported to Theresienstadt and was murdered on December 15 1944. With them lived Hermine Fränkel, aged 39, presumably a daughter. She was deported to the Lublin area and was a victim of the Shoah. The fate of her father, Alwin Fränkel is not known, neither are the fates of her siblings Hertber, Walter and Lina Fränkel. Sources: |
Haase, Kurt
|
23.1.1905 |
Kurt Haase was born January 23, 1905, in Santomischel, Posen, Germany (now Zaniemysl, Schroda district), the son of Bernhard Haase and Dorothea Boroschek. He had four siblings: Alfred (1903), Siegfried (Sigi) (1906), Herbert (1909), and Sofie (1914). The family lived in Breslau around 1930. At the time of the German Minority Census of May 17, 1939, he lived in Breslau (Wrocław) with his wife, Gisela Haase (36), along with Martha Haase (68) and Helene Wrazidlo (née Haase) (43). (It's not clear what his exact connection was with Martha Haase and Helene Wrazidlo.) Kurt and his wife Gisela left Breslau and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May 1939 and mid-July 1939, from where they boarded the Dora for Palestine. Kurt's mother Dorothea Haase was murdered as part of the Nazi euthanasia program in Sonnenstein some time between June 1940 and September 1941. Kurt's father Bernhard Haase was deported to Theresienstadt, then to the Treblinka death camp on September 23 1942 where he was murdered on arrival. His sister, Sophie Katz, was also deported to Theresienstadt, then vanished in the Shoah. Kurt's brother Siegfried Haase, a "cult officer" (Kultusbeamter) and a cantor fled to Shanghai in December 1938 with his wife Martha and their new-born daughter Ruth, who was born in May of that year. They were among the first refugees from the "Third Reich" to use the free entry option to Shanghai. Another brother, Herbert Haase, also emigrated to Shanghai in 1939. The fate of Kurt's other siblings Alfred Haase and Sophie Haase is not known. Sources: |
Halpern, Leo
|
31.12.1920
[Berlin] |
Leo Halpern was born on December 31, 1920, in in Berlin. He was listed in the German Minority Census of May 1939 as residing in Falkenberg Klein Schnellendorf, in Upper Silesia (now Poland). He left Falkenberg and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939. Sources: |
Hanauer, Lothar
|
30.3.1907 |
Lothar Hanauer was born on March 30, 1907, in Wiesenfeld, Thuringia, Germany, the son of Moses Hanauer, a cattle rancher, and Pauline Hanauer (Steinheimer). The Hanauer family came from a long line of cattle traders who had lived in Wiesenfeld since at least 1780. Lothar had two brothers: Benno and Max, and three sisters: Irma, Ida and Erna. Lothar Hanauer was incarcerated in Buchenwald following Kristallnacht on November 11, 1938, and was released on November 30, 1938. He was incarcerated again in Buchenwald on December 28, 1938, from where he was released shortly after on January 3, 1939. At the time of his incarceration, his profession was businessman("Kaufmann"). After fleeing Germany he reached Antwerp from where he boarded the Dora. Lothar's parents were deported to Theresienstadt; his mother Pauline Hanauer died there on January 25, 1943 (68), his father Moses Hanauer on February 10, 1943 (67). Lothar's sister Ida was deported to Izbica, Poland in 1942 and disappeared in the Shoah. His sister Irma Siegel was deported to the Łódź Ghetto, where she was murdered in 1942. (Irma Siegel's daughter, Karola Ruth Siegel, was sent by her mother to an orphanage in Switzerland at age 10 in 1938 and survived the war. She later emigrated to Palestine where she joined the Hagannah, then later to the USA where she became a sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, better known as "Dr. Ruth".) Lothar's brother Benno emigrated to England in June 1939. His brother Max emigrated in July 1939 to San Francisco. His sister, Erna (later Erna Fingerhut), fled to England. Sources: |
Hecht, Herbert
|
5.9.1912 |
Herbert Hecht was born September 5, 1912, in Beuthen, Germany (now Bytom, Poland), the son of Jacob Hecht, a merchant, and Emma Leschziner. He had five siblings: Kaethe (1910), Ilse (1914), Hildegard (1916), Irma (1919) and Ruth (or Rudi?) (1922). Herbert Hecht married Ruth Frey in 1937. In Israel Herbert Hecht adopted the name Chaim Hadar. Chaim and his wife lived in Pardes Hanna and had two children. Chaim Hadar (Herbert Hecht) died in Pardes Hanna in October 1999, at the age of 87.
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Hecht, Ruth
|
29.6.1912* |
Ruth Hecht (maiden name: Frey) was born on June 29, 1912, in Langendorf, Tost-Gleiwitz, Schlesien, (or Gleiwitz, Germany (now Gliwice, Poland)?), the daughter of Wilhelm Frey and Clara Kallmann. She had two siblings, Hertha (1907-1937), and Hans Joachim Frey (1909 - 1951). Her father Wilhelm Frey died in 1930 when Ruth was 18 years old. Ruth Frey married Herbert Hecht in October 1937. He was a part-time physical education teacher at the "Waldschule Kaliski" (PriWaKi) in Berlin and also taught with practical courses to prepare for emigration to Palestine. The couple later left Berlin and came to Antwerp, from where they boarded the Dora for Palestine. The couple first lived in Kiriat Bialik near Haifa, then came to Pardes Hanna. The couple had two children. She adopted the name Ruth Hadar. Ruth Hadar died in 1995 in Pardes Hanna. Her mother, Clara Frey was deported to the Lodz Ghetto, then to the Chelmno death camp where she was murdered in 1942 [or November 1944]. Sources:
www.myheritage.com The passenger list has June 26, while online trees variously list June 28 or 29. |
Heimann, Sally
|
25.12.1907 |
Saul Sally Heimann was born December 25, 1907, in Schwanfeld, Bavaria, the son of David Heimann and Regina Bachmann. He had seven siblings: Marta (1898), Selma (1899), Clara (1900), Max (1901), Bella (1903), Gretchen (1906) and Frieda (1914). His father died in 1931. He lived in Erfurt in 1930s. In Israel, he married Miriam Menia Mariampolski and the couple had four children. Saul Sally Heimann died in 1971 in Tel Mond, Israel. Saul's sister, Selma Gerst, was deported with her husband Gustav and daughter Senta to Lublin in 1942 where they were murdered. His sister, Marta Rozenberg, survived the war and emigrated to Palestine (in 1945?). Saul's mother, Regina Heimann, four sisters, Bella Loeb, Clara Berk, Frieda Hammerschlag, Gretchen Kraemer, and his brother, Max Heimann, emigrated to the USA. Sources: |
Heller, Dora
|
23.6.1920 |
Dora Heller was born June 23, 1920, in Chemnitz, Germany. At the time of the May 1939 German Minoriy Census, she lived in Chemnitz, and her emigration destination was listed as Palestine. She left Chemnitz and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, and from there boarded the Dora. Source: www.myheritage.com |
Herzberg, Samuel
|
26.2.1912
[Poland] |
Samuel Herzberg was born on February 26, 1912, in Poland, the son of Yaakov Gershon and Frida Hertzberg. When he was two months old, his parents moved to Vienna where he attended school, gymnasium and applied to study medicine at university. His mother passed away, and his father who owned a shop was very ill. After his father's death he closed the family store and left Austria. He traveled through Germany to Belgium, was in the Mercksplatz camp from where he immigrated to Mandate Palestine. About the Dora, he recalled:
His first place of residence in Israel was Hadera. He married Hanna (Hanse) Pinas who had hid during the war with her family in Holland. She came with the Aliyah Bet ship the "Yagur" which was intercepted and was deported to Cyprus. The couple had two children. Samuel Herzberg died in February 2001 in Ness Ziona. Sources: |
Heumann, Erna
|
21.4.1913 |
Erna Heumann was born April 21, 1913, in Eschweiler, Germany, the daughter of Philipp Heumann, a butcher, and Bertha Heumann (nee Daniel). She had two brothers, Leo (Leopold) (1903), and Alexander (1907). Her father died in January 1921 when Erna was 7 years old. Her mother died seven years later in 1928 when Erna was 15. Erna Heumann lived in Aachen in the 1930s, close to Eschweiler. Aachen, a border town between Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, seems to have been used as a crossing point for a number of future passengers of the Dora. One can assume that she went directly from Aachen to Belgium, then made her way to Antwerp some time between 1938 and 1939. Her brother Leo Heumann died in 1938. Her brother Alex Heumann emigrated to the USA. Sources: |
Honik, Szarlotte
|
9.5.1917 | |
Hoffmann, Erich
|
4.4.1916
[Wolbeck] [German] |
Erich Hoffmann was born April 4, 1916, in Wolbeck, the son of Solomon Hoffmann, a livestock and fertilizer dealer, and Martha Arensberg. He had three brothers, Arnold, Ludwig, and Fritz (Fred). His father, Solomon, was the chairman and cantor of the Jewish community in Wolbeck, a suburb in Münster. His mother, Martha, ran a shop for manufactured goods. On October 19, 1937, Erich Hoffmann left Germany and came to the Netherlands, staying in the agricultural Hachshara of the Deventer Vereniging in Brummen near Vorden. In March 1938, members of the NSDAP devastated the synagogue in Wolbeck and, among other things, the furniture in the house of Salomon Hofmann. Hoffmann was seen picking up the Torah scrolls from the gutter. On April 21, 1938, Erich Hoffmann was deregistered from Vorden then returned to Germany. Apparently his parents asked him to come back after the devastation in Wolbeck and in preparation of their planned move to Münster. On 21 February 1939, Erich deregistered from Wolbeck, with his destination marked as "France", but appeared to still be in Wolbeck in May 1939. In July he boarded the Dora from Antwerp. Erich Hoffmann fought as a soldier in the Royal Army. Erich Hoffmann married Nellie della Rocca. They emigrated to the USA in 1947. The couple had two children. Erich Hoffmann died in San Jose in 1998, at the age of 81. Erich's parents attempts to emigrate to South Africa to their son Arnold failed due to the intensification of South African immigration policy from 1937. Their attempt to emigrate to Palestine failed not only because of the immigration policy, but also because of the start of the Second World War. Their plans to flee to the USA were also fruitless. The Hoffmann couple did not receive a visa for the USA despite the submission of all necessary papers, and despite their son Ludwig's petitioning President Roosevelt. They were deported to the Riga ghetto on December 13, 1941. Salomon Hoffmann died in the Riga-Salaspils camp in 1942. Martha Hoffmann (Arensberg) was killed in Riga, most likely following the liquidation of the Riga ghetto in November 1943. Erich's elder brother, Arnold Hoffmann, emigrated to Johannesburg in 1936 and fought in the South African army against Nazi Germany. His younger brother, Ludwig (later: Harold) Hoffmann, emigrated to the USA in 1938. His brother Fritz was sent to London on a Kindertransport in 1939, and emigrated to New York after the war. Sources: |
Hoffmann, Theodor
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28.3.1902 | |
Horowitz, Jakob
|
19.1.1902
[Vienna] [Austrian] |
Jakob Horowitz was born January 19, 1902, in Vienna, the son of Fischel (Fiszel, Philippe) Horowitz and Rebeka (Riwe, Regine) Nebenzahl. He had a brother Sigmund (1896) and a sister Malvine (Malwine). His father died in 1915, when Jakob was 13 years old. His brother Sigmund died a year later in 1916, at the age of 20.
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Inowlodzka, Ruchla
|
1914 | |
Jacobowicz, Hirsch
|
22.12.1912 | |
Jordan, Alfred
|
25.10.1920
[Berlin] |
Alfred Abraham Jordan was born October 25, 1920, in Berlin, the son of Max Jordan and Johanna 'Hanna' Haase. He had two brothers, Horst (1925) and Heinz (1930). He lived in the 1930s in Berlin. From there he made his way to Antwerp, where he boarded the Dora. He later left Israel and emigrated to the USA. Alfred Jordan died in June 15 1998 in Pacific Palisades, California. His parents and siblings were all deported to the Łódź Ghetto (Litzmannstadt). His mother, Johanna Jordan, died there on October 24, 1941 (43). His father, Max Jordan, died in Aug 1942 (50). His brother, Horst Jordan, died there around 1942, at the age of 17, so did his brother Heinz Jordan. He was only 12 years old. Sources: |
Kattkitzki, Erich
|
19.1.1906 |
Erich Kattkitzki was born January 19, 1906, in Frankfurt, the son of Isidor Kattkitzki, and agent, and Anna Ela Sachs. Erich Kattkitzki (here spelled Katkitzki) seems to have lived in Bremen in the mid-1930s, where he was the leader of Bar Kochba, its treasurer and secretary. He then went to Chemnitz1. At the time of the German Minority Census of May 17, 1939, he lived in Berlin (Prenzlauer Berg) with his parents Isidor and Anna Kattkitzki. In Israel, Erich Kattkitzki later changed his name to Eliezer Katz. His parents, Anna and Isidor Kattkitzki were deported from Berling to Riga on November 27, 1941. They were murdered in Riga-Rumbula three days later on November 30, 1941. Sources: |
Katz, Elisabeth
|
16.10.1906 |
Elisabeth Katz was born on October 19, 1906, in Vásárosnamény (today: Hungary)/ She was married to Louis Leonardo Katz, another passenger of the Dora. Sources:
www.myheritage.com (Vienna Emigration Application) |
Katz, Louis
|
22.7.1904
[Bojan, Romania] |
Louis Leonardo Katz was born July 22, 1904, in Bojan, Bukowina, Romania (Austria, Romania from 1918 to 1940). He spent the first ten years of his life in Bojan (Boyan), a Hassidic center. Between 1914 and 1918, his family lived in Gernowitz and Bucharest, then again in Gernowitz from 1918 to 1922. Louis Katz then came to Vienna in 1922. On May 11 1938, less than two months after the Anschluss, Louis Katz filled out an emigration application with the Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde). At the time he was 33 years old and married to Elisabeth Katz. Originally a Romanian citizen, his citizenship was now in question, and he was expecting a decision in the next few days and stated: "If the decision is negative, I will be stateless." As professions, he listed "Organizer and seller of office machines [for ?] printing, duplicating and mailing machines (?), card index specialist, filing, advertising and address (?) sales. He had received vocational training, had a high school diploma, and had attended 5 semesters at a technical university. His professional experience included ten years as a seller and organizer (manager?) for a Vienna company, then representative of the Addressograph - Multigraph - Corporation from Cleveland U.S.A. In addition to his business experience, he spoke German, French and Romanian, and was beginning with English. His financial situation was, like most other applicants, not good as he had been terminated on July 15, 1938, and quoted his former salary of S. 200 per month. He was however a rate applicant who was able to contribute approximately R.M. 500 towards his resetllement. Regarding the future, he wished to be able to emigrate to the USA, where he had a brother-in-law in Brooklyn, and where he hoped to find use as a seller at the Adressograph - Multigraph - Corporation in Cleveland USA, becaue "I sold their products in Vienna". The only relative he listed was his wife Elizabeth Katz, suggesting that his parents either didn't live in Vienna, or may have been dead. Louis and Elizabet Katz left Vienna and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May 1938 and mid-Julay 1939, from where they boarded the Dora together for Palestine. Sources: |
Katz, Toni
|
30.9.1919
[Sokal, Poland] [Stateless, formerly Polish] |
Toni Katz was born on September 30, 1919, in Sokal (Poland, now Ukraine), the daughter of Leo Katz and Frida Tabak. The family came to Gera in Thuringia, Germany, when she was 3 years old. After leaving school at the age of 14 due to the Nazi anti-Jewish policies, she became an apprentice in a department store in Gera, later to be dismissed after it became "Aryanized" in 1935. She then joined Bar Kochba, a Zionist youth group. In the Summer of 1938, she went for Hachshara in "Kibbutz Jägerslust" in Flensburg, in the north of Germany. Her training was cut short after only a few months by the events of Kristallnacht. Arrested during the night of the "November Pogrom", she was released the next day and forced to go back to Gera. Coming home, she discovered that he parents had been deported ten days earlier during the "Polenaktion". She had planned to cross the border with Poland to be reunited with her parents in Krakow, but the day before her departure, she received an invitation to go on an illegal ship for Palestine. She called her parents in Krakow asking for their advice, and after they told her to go so that she at least would be safe, she accepted the offer. She then hid with friends of the family for several months until she received the signal that the ship was finally ready. She made her way across Germany, then crossed the Belgian border illegally, then spent a month hiding in Antwerp, again waiting for the arrival of the Dora. She described her trip in detail: leaving Germany with a backpack with a blanket and a pair of shoes, the sleeping arrangements, being anchored in Turkey for several days, eating watermelons, the crew rebellion. In Israel, she first lived in a kibbutz in Raanana, then went to Maoz Haim, a kibbutz in the Beit She'an valley. She later left the kibbutz and came to Tel Aviv where she worked in a flower shop. In the early 50s she left for Paris to marry Uriel Abraham. Her parents Leo and Frida Katz were deported to Poland during the so-called Polenaktion on October 28, 1938. They were forced into the Krakow ghetto in 1941. Their last sign of life was a Red Cross card they sent from Tuchow in May 1942. They then disappeared in the Shoah, probably murdered in Belzec in the fall of 1942 following the liquidation of the Tuchow ghetto. Toni's younger brother Yitzhak Katz emigrated to Palestine in 1937 with Youth Aliyah. |
Kaufmann, Frieda
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4.1.1906 | |
Kleinschmidt, Herbert
|
30.12.1921 |
This may be Herbert Kleinschmidt born December 20 (and not 30), 1921 in Soest, the son of Isidore Kleinschmidt and Olga Felix. Source: spurenimvest.de |
Koopman, Hans
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4.1.1915 |
Hans Koopman was born January 4, 1915, in Amsterdam, the son of Simon Koopman and Meta Eichenberg. He had one brother, David Richard (1916). His family left Amsterdam and emigrated to Antwerp sometime between 1916 and 1930. Hans married Fanny (Feiga) Gutwirth in February 1939. Together they boarded the Dora for Palestine. The couple lived in Kibbutz Dan and had three children. Hans Koopman changed his name to Hans Golani. Hans Golani (Koopman) died in Kibbutz Dan in May 1987, at the age of 72. Hans' brother David Richard Koopman was murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau on December 1 1942. Hans' mother Meta Koopman died (murdered?) in Upper Silesia around 1940. His father, Simon Koopman, survived the war and died in Antwerpen in the early 1950s. Sources: |
Koopman, Feiga
|
7.6.1916* |
Fanny Koopman (nee Feiga Gutwirth) was born June 17, 1916, in Prague, Czechoslovakia, the daughter of Yehuda Leib Gutwirth, originally from Jascenica, Poland, and Chaya Rachel Katz, originally from Dobromil, Poland. She had seven siblings: Tauba (1904), Sara (1906), Chaim Israel "Srule" (1908), Lea (1910), Miriam (1912), Raphael "Fulu" (1919), and Estera Gitla (1924). All of Fanny's siblings were born in Dobromil, the town where her mother was born. Since she alone was born in Prague in 1916, it can be assumed that her parents fled Galicia during WW1 and found temporary refuge in Czechoslovakia. Fanny married Hans Koopman in February 1939. Together they boarded the Dora for Palestine. The couple lived in Kibbutz Dan and had three children. Fanny Koopman adopted the name Fanny Golani. Fanny Golani (Koopman) died in Kibbutz Dan in 2006, at the age of 89. Her parents, Yehuda Leib Gutwirth and Chaya Rachel Gutwirth were murdered in the Shoah in October 1942. Her brothers, Chaim Israel "Srule" Gutwirth, Raphael "fulu" Gutwirth, and her sister, Estera Gitla, were murdered in the Shoah in September or October 1942. Her sister, Tauba Gutwirth survived the war and died in Antwerp in 1983. Her sisters Sara Grodberg, Lea Roter, and Miriam Zemachovitch emigrated to Palestine. Sources: *The date of birth (June 7) in the passenger list seems incorrect. Also her first name was listed as Feiga, most likely her birth name. All other records have the secular Fanny instead. |
Kominski, Rita
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26.4.1915 | |
Kratz, Fritz
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20.1.1909 |
Fritz Kratz was born on January 20, 1909. He was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Orianenburg, from where he was released on December 24, 1938. Source: www.ushmm.org |
Krauthammer, Walter
|
28.1.1912
[Velbert] [Stateless] |
Walter Krauthammer was born on January 28, 1912, in Velbert, near Dusseldorf, the son of Abraham Adolf Krauthammer, a merchant, and Cipa Malka (Cilli) Dier, both originally from Eastern Galicia. He had three brothers, Max, Leo and Heinz. A year after his birth, the family moved to nearby Bottrop. His brother Leo died in 1919, at the age of four. Walter's father, Adolf Abraham Krauthammer, had come to Germany in 1902. He fought in WW1 in the Austro-Hungarian army and was naturalized in 1923. A merchant, first with an egg trade and later with a furniture store, his business went bankrupt during the Great Depression of 1932 and later could only be continued on a modest scale by his wife. As a young man, Walter worked in a clothing store, until the implementation of the Nazi racial laws. In 1936, he became "stateless" following the revocation of the family's German citizenship by the National Socialist regime. On April 15, 1936, Walter went to the Gut Winkel Hachshara in Spreenhagen, where he took part in an agricultural course to prepare for immigration to Palestine. In May 1939, he joined (or was?) in the Schniebinchen Hachshara of the Habonim youth movement. From there he made his way to Antwerp more than 500 miles away and boarded the Dora in mid-July. Walter married Hilde Bauer, another Dora passenger. It is not known if the couple had children. Walter Krauthammer died in January 1980 in Hazafon. On the day of the Jewish boycott of April 1, 1933, Walter's father was forced by the Nazis to walk through the streets with a sign that read "I am a Jewish pig". Following the pogrom night of 9/10 November 1938, he was taken into "protective custody" and imprisoned in the police jail. After his relase, in poor health, Adolf Krauthammer lived on Jewish welfare. He died on January 13, 1941. Walter's mother, Cilli, suffered under the Nazi regime not only from racial persecution as a Jew and a Pole, but also became the victim of the National Socialist euthanasia program. After falling ill with chronic encephalitis in 1937, she was considered "unworthy of life" and was taken to a sanatorium on September 21, 1940, where she was most likely murdered by gas on the same day. Walter's youngest brother, Heinz Krauthammer, was deported on January 27, 1942 at the age of 17 to the Riga Ghetto. He was transferred in August 1943 to the Kaiserwald concentration camp in Riga. Ahead of the advancing Russian Army, he was evacuated in August 1944 to the Stutthof concentration camp near Danzig, then a few days later to Buchenwald. On September 16, 1944, he was taken to the "Bochumer Verein" forced labor camp. On March 21, 1945, he was transported back to the Buchenwald main camp. In all probability Heinz Krauthammer died before the liberation of Buchenwald by American troops on April 11, 1945, at the age of 21, possibly in a death march to Flossenbürg or Dachau. Walter's oldest brother, Max Krauthammer, fled Germany without a passport at the end of June 1933. He reached France illegally via Holland and Belgium. After a Zionist-inspired agricultural retraining course, he arrived in Palestine in September 1934. Sources: |
Kugelmass, Max
|
30.9.1910
[Leipzig] |
Max (Karl Max) Kugelmass was born September 30, 1910, in Leipzig, the son of Hulda (Hudia Chaja Chaje) Kugelmass (born Rosner), originally from Romania. At the time of the German Minority Census from May 17, 1939, he was 28 and lived in Leipzig with his mother. Both of them had their emigration destination listed as Belgium. Max left Leipzig and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora. No further information is available about Max Kugelmass or his mother's fate. Source: www.myheritage.com (German Minority Census) |
Kuschnerow, Rosel
|
16.11.1920 | |
Lampen, Hermann
|
19.5.1919
[Dresden] |
Hermann Lampen was born in Dresden on May 19, 1919, the son of David Aba (Abraham) Lampen, originally from Romania, and Betty (Batia), nee Schneck (Minority Census has: "Lekach"), a nurse, originally from Budapest, Hungary. He had two sisters, Zill Cecili (1917) and Esther (1920). At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939, he lived in Dresden with his parents, David Lampen (62) and Betti Lampen (45). Victor Klemperer briefly mentions Hermann Lampen's departure in his diary:
Hermann Lampen married Judit Else Hannes. He later changed his name to Zvi Herman Shalhavi and lived in Beit Yitzhak-Sha'ar Hefer, a moshav in HaSharon. The couple had three children. Zvi Shalhavi (Hermann Lampen) died in Beit Yitzhak-Sha'ar Hefer in June 1997, at the age of 78. Hermann's parents, David and Betty Lampen had to move into the "Judenhaus" on Zeughausstraße in Dresden. In the same building lived Victor Klemperer and his wife Eva. Klemperer would later publish his war diaries, which included a couple of brief mentions about Mrs. Lampen. On July 10 1942, he wrote: "Yesterday, in addition to the transport of old people for Theresienstadt, a new evacuation of those capable of working was announced: seventeen people in their forties and fifties, including Lampen, the nurse, who came to look after Frau Pick, and whose father was recently sent to Theresienstadt, will be transported to Poland on Monday night." Zvi Herman's mother, Betty Batia Lampen was murdered in Auschwitz in 1942. His father, David Aba Lampen was murdered in Auschwitz in May 1944. His two sisters, Zill Cecili Salomon and Esther Cohn, emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Landy, Alfred
|
15.8.1920 |
Alfred Landy was born August 15, 1920, in Berlin, the son of Guste (Gusti) Landy (born Goldenthal), originally from Brody (Poland), and (unknown) Landy. He had (at least) one sister, Ruth (1922). Alfred Landy's name appears in two separate entries of the German Minority Census from May 1939. According to the first one, he was living with his mother Guste Landy (49), and his sister Ruth Landy (16) in Berlin, Friedrichshain. He was 18 years old. According to a second entry, he was living in Beeskow-Storkow, Spreenhagen, where the Gut Winkel Hachshara was located, about 30 kms south of Berlin. He was 18 years old. Alfred Landy left Gut Winkel (or Berlin) and came to Antwerp between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora. Alfred's mother, Guste (Gusti) Landy, was deported to Riga on October 19 1942. She was murdered on arrival three days later on October 22 1942. Alfred's young sister, Ruth Landy, emigrated to Palestine on June 19 1939 at the age of 17, presumably with Aliyat Hano'ar (Youth Aliya). She later married Max Mitt and lived in Rishon LeZion. Sources: |
Langsam, Elsa
|
11.8.1912 |
Elsa Langsam was born August 11, 1912, in Cologne. At the time of the May 1939 German Minority Census, she lived Hamburg, Blankenese. She left Hamburg and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939. From there she later boarded the Dora. Source: www.myheritage.com (German Minority Census) |
Lazar, David
|
25.10.1915 |
David Leon Lazar was born on October 25, 1915, in Banila, Romania, the son of Abraham and Mantie (or Minah?) Lazar. His father, a merchant, was originally from Kolomea (Kolomyia) (Austro-Hungaria - Galicia, then Poland, now Ukraine) and his mother, a homemaker, was from Banila. He had one sister, Fanny (1912). The family moved to Vienna in 1916.
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Lehmann, Walter
|
18.11.1896 | |
Levy, Marie
|
31.5.1920 |
Marie (Marion) Levy was born May 31, 1920, in Berlin, the daughter of Samuel Levy and Rosa Adelmann (Adeimann?), both originally from Constantinople (Istanbul). At the time of the Germany Minority Census in mid-May 1939, she lived in Berlin with her parents, Samuel Levy (50) and Rosa Levy (48). Marie was 18 years old. Marie left Berlin and came to Antwerp at some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where she boarded the Dora for Palestine. She married Hans Heinz Abraham in December 1939 in Kfar Sava and the couple had a daughter in 1942. The couple separated in 1943. In June 1947, her ex-husband filed a naturalization application in which he declared: "I was married to Marie Abraham, nee Levy [...] . She came illegally to Palestine. A child was born to us [...] . I divorced the wife on the 30.5.43. She left Palestine approx. 1945 to Greece. I have no knowledge of the whereabouts at present. She even deserted her child. Wife had German passport before arriving but was taken of her in Palestine on the ship by the ship leader illegally." It is impossible to tell if this is really what happened, or if her ex-husband had to make up a story to shield her as she had come to the country illegally. No further information is available. Sources: |
Lewin, Marie
|
21.6.1913 |
Marie Lewin was born Marie Wolff on June 21, 1913, in Bad Warmbrunn, the daughter of Max Wolff, a bank manager, and Katharina Kaethe Wolff (born Moses). Marie had one brother, Klaus (1919). Marie Lewin was a mathematics and English teacher at the Jüdische Gymnasium in Breslau. At the time of the German Minority Census of May 17, 1939, Marie Lewin lived in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) with her husband Richard Lewin (35). She was 25. Marie and her husband Richard left Breslau and came to Antwerp sometime betwen mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where they boarded the Dora. In Israel Miriam (Marie) Lewin continued to teach mathematics. She died in April 1964 in Jerusalem. Her father Max Wolff died on November 27 1938 in the Buchenwald concentration camp. The official cause was uremia, according to the camp physician and SS Untersturmführer, Dr. Erwin Ding. (Ding conducted extensive medical experiments on some 1,000 inmates, many of whom lost their lives.) Her mother, Katharina Kaethe Wolff was deported on March 4 1943 to Auschwitz where she was murdered. Her brother Zvi Klaus Wolff emigrated to Palestine and lived in Kibbutz haZorea. Sources: |
Lewin, Richard
|
28.1.1904 |
Richard Lewin was born January 28, 1904, in Pogorzela, a very small town in the province of Posen (now Poland), the son of Adolf Aron Lewin and Cecylia (Cäcilie, Zilla, Cilia, Cilly) Sandberg. He had two siblings, Erich (1902), and Irma Lewin (1908). Richard received a Jewish education in Breslau and then in the Jewish teacher seminar in Cologne. He later was employed as a teacher at the Breslauer Jüdische School, where he presumably met his future wife Marie Wolff, a mathematics and English teacher. At the time of the German Minority Census of May 17, 1939, Richard Lewin lived in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) with his wife Marie Lewin. Richard and his wife Marie left Breslau and came to Antwerp sometime betwen mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where they boarded the Dora. In Jerusalem he worked as a teacher at the "Beth Hayeleth", and later became the director of the school. Richard Lewin died in Jerusalem in 1962. Richard's father, Adolf Aron Lewin died on May 28 1941 in Breslau. His name is not listed on YadVashem. The fate of his mother, Cecylia Lewin is not known. His brother, Erich Lewin, was incarcerated in Buchenwald in December 1938. Erich Eliezer Tzvi Lewin later emigrated to Palestine and lived in Tel Aviv. His sister, Irma Sheindel Freund, also emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Littauer, Else
|
23.7.1908 |
Else Littauer was born on July 23, 1908. Else Littauer boarded the Dora with her husband Jakob Littauer. The couple left their Jutta Littauer daughter behind in Germany because young children couldn't travel on "illegal" ships. The Littauers identified as "Hebrew-Christians".
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Littauer, Jakob
|
15.7.1904 |
Jakob Littauer was born on July 15, 1904. Jakob Littauer boarded the Dora with his wife Else Littauer. The couple left their daughter Jutta Littauer behind in Germany because young children couldn't travel on "illegal" ships. The Littauers identified as "Hebrew-Christians".
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Loewenstein, Herbert
|
21.4.1921 |
Herbert Loewenstein (later Zvi Avnon) was born on April 21 1921 in Cologne, the son of Hugo Loewenstein and Elsa Lion. His father died when Herbert was only 7 years old. In 1928 Herbert and his sister Irene moved to the the city's Jewish orphanage "Abraham-Frank-Haus" where they received a modern Jewish and Zionist education. Starting at the age of ten, the children of the orphanage went on trips and activities organized by members of the pioneering Zionist youth groups. It was his first introduction to pioneering and Zionism. At the age of 14 he moved to the Beit Halutz residence where he met some of his future friends and learned the plumbing trade. In the evening he studied Judaism and Hebrew and completed his general education. He was an outstanding sprinter in the youth team in the 4x100 meter relay race, and his team won the Maccabi championship time and time again. Despite his good professional preparation, Herbert and his friends were not able to get a certificate from the British Mandate government to immigrate to Palestine. Thanks to the Haganah emissaries, he was able to board the Dora with his friends and his group joined Kibbutz Givat-Haim after his arrival. Rather than go as a work party to Ra'anana, he decided to leave and helped found Kibbutz Galed. In Israel Herbert changed his name to Zvi Avnon. He married Hanna (Hannelore) Kahn, a Holocaust survivor, and the couple had two daughters, Hadva and Ziva. Zvi Avnon (Berbert Loewenstein) died in May 1992, aged 71. His mother, Elsa Löwenstein, was murdered on February 14 1941 in the Hadamar killing centre as part of the Nazi euthanasia program. His sister, Irit (Irene) Ronen, (presumably) emigrated to Israel. Sources: |
Loewenstein, Kurt
|
8.5.1902 |
Curt Löwenstein (Kurt Loewenstein) was born May 8, 1902, in Chemnitz, the son of Max Moses Löwenstein and Lise Elisa Michaelis. He had two siblings, Erna (1899) and Lotte (1908). At the time of the German Minority Census of May 1939, he lived in Chemnitz with his parents, Elisa Löwenstein (69) and Moses Löwenstein (68). He was 36 years old and single. His emigration destination was listed as Palestine. Kurt Loewenstein left Chemnitz and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. His father died in July 1939 in Chemnitz. Kurt Loewenstein's mother, Lise Elisa Löwenstein, was deported to Theresienstadt where she died in December 1942. His sister, Erna Rost and her husband died in 1942 victims of the Shoah. His sister, Lotte Löwenstein, was murdered in Auschwitz on December 21 1942. Sources: |
Mahler, Sigismund
|
18.6.1915 |
Sigismund (Sigi, later Shimon) Mahler was born on June 18, 1915, in Duisburg, Germany, the son of Zeev and Hana Mahler. Sigi Mahler joined the Dror youth movement in Antwerp in 1933. Starting in early 1939, he took an active part in organizing the departure of members of the Hechalutz movement from Antwerp aboard the Dora. Shimon Mahler took two photos aboard the Dora included on this page. After arriving in Palestine, he took part in the founding of Kibbutz Beit Oren. In October 1942, he enlisted in the British army, later joining the Jewish Brigade. In 1946, he came to the Netherlands as a representative of the United Kibbutz Movement (HaKibbutz haMeuchad, and represented the organization abroad until 1967. He was married to Hetty Cohen and the couple lived in Beit Oren. Shimon Mahler died in January 1997 in Kibbutz Beit Oren at the age of 81. Sources: |
Malz, Emil
|
2.10.1915
[Przeworsk] [Polish] |
Emil Malz was born October 2, 1915, in Przeworsk in Austrian Galicia (after 1918, Poland). Emil Malz belonged to Maccabi Hatzair and started his Hachshara training 4 January 1938,[presumably in Gut Winkel Hachshsarr, in Post Spreehagen). His residence then was Saarbrücken. At the time of the German Minority Census in mid-May 1939, Emil Malz' residence was listed as Beeskow-Storkow, Spreenhagen near Berlin, meaning he was training in the Gut Winkel Hachshara. Emil Malz left Spreenhagen and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. Sources: |
Maml(ot?), Rosa
|
23.4.1905 | (first name unreadable) |
Margules, Erna
|
18.3.1915 | |
Marx, Klara
|
19.10.1919 | |
Mendel, Willi
1946
|
13.6.1920
[Wronke] [German] |
Willi Mendel was born June 13, 1920, in Wronke (Prussia until 1919; today: Wronki, Poland), the son of Simon Mendel and Johanna Hana Cohen. Willi had one brother, Mordechai Gunter (1915). [He may also have had up to two more siblings: Herbert (1907) and Kurt (1909)]. Willi Mendel lived in Berlin in the 30s. In January 1937, Willi Mendel joined the Havelberg Hachshara where he remained for 10 months until October 1937. He then went to the Urfeld Hachshara near Bonn. He later left Germany and came to Antwerp from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. He married Rachel Rosa (Rozel) Yager. Willi Mendel joined the British Army (Palestine Regiment) in June 1941 at Sarafand, and served for over five years, until his demobilization in August 1946. That same month, he filled out a citizenship application to regularize his situation with the British authorities and was granted the authorization to remain in Palestine. By then he had adopted the name Zeev Mendel. He declared that he had entered Palestine in July 1939 via Haifa (sic) with the Dora; ("Not intercepted" was duly noted). He was married to Rahel, née Yager, and had a young child. He lived in Raanana and was part of the "Hagarin" squad. (The work brigade called "HaGarin Ra'anana" [Ra'anana Core Group] was founded in Ra'anana in 1939 by a group of members of the HaBonim Movement. The core group members, headed by Giora and Senetta Yoseftal, aspired to establish a kibbutz for German-born immigrants, and in 1945 they founded Kibbutz Gal'ed - today called Even Yitzhak.) Zeev (Willi) Mendel died in January 2007 in Nahariya. Willi's parents, Simon and Hana Mendel were deported from Berlin on March 1 1943 to Auschwitz where they were murdered. His brother Mordechai Gunter Mendel emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Milich, Meusche
|
3.4.1914
[Rava*] |
Assuming that Meusche Milich (Moshe) is Max Milich, born April 3, 1914, in Rewa, Poland. At the time of the German Minority Census in mid-May 1939, Max Milich resided in Schniebinchen (now Świbinki, Poland), indicating he was attending the Schniebinchen Hachshara affiliated with Habonim. Milich left Schniebinchen and came to Antwerp sometime between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. There is a grave for a Moshe Milich (משה מיליך) born in 1914 in the Kfar Sava cemetery. Because the name is rather uncommon, this could be the same person. If that is the case, one inscription indicates that he was the son of Abraham Milich, was married, had children, grandchildren, and one brother. He died in 1986. A second inscription is in memory of his family members who died in the Shoah. Sources: |
Mirowski, Nathan
|
3.4.1916 |
Nathan Mirowski was born April 3, 1916, the son of Zeidel (or Yehuda?) Mirovsky and Zissel Sophie, nee Bluestein. He was married to Tsameret Nashelsky (or Shelsky?). The couple lived in Kibbutz Gvat and had three children. Nathan Miron died in February 1991. Sources: |
Mirowski, Zypra
|
30.5.1916 |
Tshesha (Zypra) Shelsky (Nashelsky ?) was born on May 30, 1916, in Włocławek (Poland) the second daughter of Haim Shelsky and Chana Rona (Rene?) Wolf. She had three siblings: Hadassah born before her, and two younger brothers, Arieh and Dov. At the age of ten, Tshesha joined the Hashomer Hatzair movement in her hometown. In the movement, the names of the trainees were changed to Hebrew names, which is when she adopted the name Tzameret. The difficult economic situation pushed the family to emigrate in 1930 to Belgium, but the family's financial situation eventually worsened after her father's death. She recalled "a joyless childhood and going to work at a young age as a hatter to help the family." Tzameret belonged to Hashomer Hatzair in Brussels where "they talked about the communist Russian revolution with no less enthusiasm than they talked about the pioneering enterprise in the Land of Israel." For several years, Tzameret was the only girl in the group, and she eventually decided to defect to the less dogmatic Gordonia pioneering youth movement. There she met Nathan Mirowski, a "quiet and serious but very charismatic" young man with whom she fell in love. The two went on bicycle trips and hikes in nature, and together they dreamed about the Land of Israel. After two years, they went to training together and waited for the opportunity to immigrate to Israel. She married Nathan Mirowski in 1939 and a few months later, they both boarded the Dora. The couple lived in Kibbutz Gvat and had three children. Tzameret Miron (Zypra Mirowski) died in December 2011. Her mother was a victim of the Holocaust, so was her sister, Hadassah. Her two brothers, Arieh and Dov emigrated to Palestine. Sources: * It's not clear whether her maiden name was Nashelsky or Shelsky. In addition, her first name on the Antwerp list is Zypra, but she is referred to as "Tshesha" in her obituary. |
Mitelberg, Eliezer
|
19.1.1916 | |
Neufeld, Richard
|
16.5.1912
[Vienna] |
Richard Neufeld was born May 16, 1912, in Vienna, the son of Benzion Neufeld and Sara Weinstock. He had two siblings, Max (1906) and Martha (1908). His father Benzion Neufeld died in 1936. His sister, Martha Schwabl, emigrated to Palestine. The fate of his mother and other sibling is not known. Sources: |
Neurath, Artur
|
17.4.1905 | |
Nussbaum, Thekla
|
26.12.1907 | |
Offen, Juljusz
|
4.4.1922
[Hamburg] [Polish] |
Julius Yehuda Offen was born April 4, 1922, in Hamburg (Altona), the son of Naftali Offen and Taube Appelberg. He had one sister, Hanna (1924). Yehuda Offen was a poet, songwriter, editor, journalist, translator and composer. Most of the following is from his wikipedia page. Julius Yehuda Offen was educated in gymnasiums in Kiel and Hamburg. In October 1938 he was deported from Germany to Zbąszyń, Poland, during the so-called Polenaktion. It isn't known how he managed to get from Poland to Antwerp, from where he boarded the Dora at the age of 17. He spent two years in Kibbutz Naan training the working youth, until 1941. He then enlisted in the British Army and served during World War II. He married Tova Gitla Arbisser in 1946, and the couple had a daughter. After a stint in the IDF, he tried his luck in agriculture, clerical work, and diamond polishing, before finally becoming a journalist. From 1960 until 1980, he was a journalist and senior editor at "Al HaMishmar", the journal of Hashomer Hatzair. (At the top of the first page of every issue was the banner "For Zionism, Socialism and Brotherhood amongst Nations".) Yehuda Offen published about ten volumes of poetry and about five collections of stories. He wrote songs for musicians and singers, among them for the singer Aris San. He also translated books of the German author Erich Kastner (of "Emil and the Detectives" fame). Yehuda Offen died in April 1997 in Tel Aviv. His parents, Naftali Offen (46), Taube Offen (46), and his sister, Hana Offen (17), were deported to Auschwitz where they were murdered in September 1942. |
Ohlhausen, Fritz
|
2.9.1919 |
Fritz Ohlhausen was born September 2, 1919, in Königsberg, the son of Adolph Abraham Ohlhausen and Bertha Ohlhausen (nee Fritz). He had one sister, Lisel (Zippora) (1921). He lived in Berlin in the 1930s. Nothing else is known about him. His father Adolf Abraham Ohlausen died in 1940. The fate of his mother Bertha ohlausen is not known. His sister, Lisel-zippora Frank (nee Ohlhausen) survived - presumably by emigrating to Palestine. She was married and had three children. Sources: |
Peiper, Hans
|
8.7.1913*
[Stettin] |
Hans Peiper was born July 8, 1913, in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland), the son of Mordche (Markus Mordechai Mordekai) Peiper, a merchant, and Rosa Liebgol, both from Krakow. He had one brother, Ludwig (1909), and two sisters, Hani (1912) and Thea (1917). Hans Peiper was incarcerated in Sachsenhausen on 15 Dec 1938. At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939, he lived in Stettin with his parents Mordche Peiper (63) and Rosa Peiper (53). Hans was 25 at the time and single. Hans Peiper left Stettin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. Hans Peiper died in Kusel, Germany, in March 1975, age 61. He is buried in Bad Kreuznach, suggesting that he had moved back to Germany, and was not simply traveling to Germany at the time of his death. Hans Peiper did not start a family. No further information is available. Hans Peiper's parents were deported from Stettin to the Piaski ghetto on February 13, 1940, along with over 800 Jews from Stettin in what was the first deportation of German Jews to Poland and marked the beginning of the "Final Solution" in Germany, almost one year before the Wannsee Conference. His father, Mordche Peiper, died on March 5 1940 in either Piaski or Lublin. His mother, Rosa Peiper, probably died in March 1942 when Jews from Stettin were removed from the ghetto to make room for new arrivals, disappearing in Trawniki or in Belzec. His three siblings all emigrated to Palestine. His brother, Ludwig (Lutz) Peiper died in Ramat Hasharon. His sisters, Hani (Heni) Rindsberger, died in Ramat HaSharon (or Ramat Chen), and Thea Meir, in Hadarom. Sources: |
Perlmutter, Gizela
|
8.1.1897 | |
Protter, Hermann (Benno)
1946
|
3.1.1914
[Koln] |
Hermann (Benno) Proter was born on January 3, 1914, in Cologne, the son of Lejzor Lippa (Eliezer, Leopold) Proter and Rosa (née Hochhaus). His father Lejzor was born in the then Austrian province of Galicia, and came to Cologne with his parents in 1900. Hermann had three siblings: Jakob (1911), Joseph (1918), and Selma (1921). The Proter family belonged to an Eastern Jewish Orthodox community. After the end of the First World War, Leopold Proter founded a factory for protective work clothing. In the mid-1930s, Hermann's parents made sure that their children Jakob, Joseph and Selma left Germany. Benno Hermann and his father however did not leave and were deported on October 28, 1938, as part of the so-called Poland action to Zbaszyn (Bentschen). From there they managed to reach Gdansk (Danzig). They later boarded a ship to Holland, then reached Antwerp by train in January 1939. Hermann Benno boarded the Dora with his sister Selma. He married Hilde Liebeskind in 1944, and the couple had two children. They later emigrated to the USA. Hermann Benno Proter died in 1979 (aged 65) in Texas. Hermann's father, Eliezer Proter, died in July 1944 in a hospital in Antwerp. Hermann's mother Rosa fled to Belgium. She was deported to Auschwitz in September 1942, where she was presumably murdered circa Sep 3 1942. Hermann's siblings all survived the war. His sister Selma came to Palestine with him on the Dora. His eldest brother Jakob Proter emigrated to Palestine in 1936. His younger brother Joseph (later Joseph "Yubshen" Porat) managed to emigrate to Switzerland in 1937 and from there came to Palestine in 1942. Sources: |
Protter, Selma
1946
|
6.4.1921
[Koln] |
Selma Proter was born on June 4, 1921, in Cologne, the daughter of Lejzor Lippa (Leyzer, Leopold) Proter and Rosa (née Hochhaus). Selma had three brothers: Jakob (1911), Hermann (1914), and Joseph (1918). Selma left Germany in the mid-1930s. She boarded the Dora with her brother Hermann Benno. Selma's mother Rosa was deported to Auschwitz in September 1942 where she was murdered. Her father Lejzor died on July 29, 1944, in a Belgian hospital. Her brothers all survived the war. Jakob Proter emigrated to Palestine in 1936. Joseph (later Joseph "Yubshen" Porat) managed to emigrate to Switzerland in 1937 and from there came to Palestine in 1942. Hermann Benno was a passenger on the Dora. Sources: |
Rachwalsky, Gerhard
|
25.2.1912 | |
Rauner, Hugo
|
10.2.1915
[Hargesheim] |
Hugo Rauner was born on February 10, 1915, in Hargesheim, the son of Arthur and Augusta Rauner. He had three siblings: Walter (Michael) Rauner (1912), Erika (1921). and Wolfgang (Wolf, later Ze'ev) (1927) Rauner. The Rauner family was one of the the only Jewish families in Hargesheim. Hugo's father had taken over his father's grocery store. A sports enthusiast, he was a founding member of the town's gymnastics and sports club and was elected its first chairman. After Kristallnacht, the family moved to Bad Kreuznach, and his parents, undertstanding the danger facing the family, started working to save their children. They sent their youngest son, who was 10 years old, to his aunt in France, from where he would later reach Israel.1 (The three other children would all emigrate to Palestin via different ways.) Hugo escaped right after Kristallnacht, in 1938. He told his parents he would pick them up to go to Eretz Israel and asked them to wait for him beneath the town clock on a certain day, but when he arrived, the neighbors told him that the Nazis had already taken them.2 Presumably soon after, Hugo Rauner came to Belgium. He later boarded the Dora from Antwerp. Hugo married Ruth Strauss, and the couple had a daughter. The family lived in Netanya where Hugo worked in the ornamental farm (חוות הנוי), a demonstration and training center for ornamental plant horticulture. Hugo Rauner died in 1997 in Netaniya, Israel. Hugo's parents, Arthur and Augusta Rauner were transported in 1942 to Theresienstadt then to Auschwitz where they were murdered. Hugo's three siblings, Walter (Michael) Rauner, Wolfgang (Zeev) Rauner, and Erika Stern emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Rechtschaffen, Jakob
|
13.4.1922 | |
Reifer, Toni
|
12.6.1916
[Leipzig] |
Toni Reifer was born June 12, 1916, in Leipzig, the daughter of Shulam (Schalom) Reifer and Bertha Goldenzweig, from Galicia. At the time of the German Minority Census in mid-May 1939, she lived in Leipzig with her mother Bella Reifer (61) and her brother Josef Reifer (27). Toni was 22 and planning to emigrate to Palestine. Toni Reifer left Leipzig and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where she boarded the Dora for Palestine. She married (unknown) Bear. Toni Bear (nee Reifer) later emigrated to the USA and lived in Forest Hill, NY. Toni's mother Bertha (Bella) Reifer and her brother Josef Reifer were deported to Riga in January or February 1942, where they were murdered. Toni's father, Shulam Reifer, was also a victim of the Shoah. Sources: |
Reig, Simon
|
11.1.1909 |
Simon Reig was born January 11, 1909, in Leipzig, Germany, the son of Mortko Max (Markus Morschai) Reig, a marchant, originally from Poland, amd Dresel (Therese Dreizel) Reig (born Neumann) in Tarnov. He had two siblings, Rachel (Rosa) (1910) amd Kalma (1916). During the German Minority Census taken in mid-May, Simon Reig lived in Leipzig with his parents Mortko Max Reig (60) and Dresel Reig (59). Simon Reig was single, 30 years old. and had plans to emigrate to Palestine. Simom Reig changed his name to Shimon Reig. He deid in 1953 Simon's father, Mortko Max (Markus Morschai) Reig died before May 1945, and so did his mother, Dresel Reig, who disappeared in the Shoah without leaving a trace. His brother Kalman Reig was killed by British soldiers on August 1 1947. His sister, Rachel- (Rosa) Soltes (born Reig) died in 1986 Sources |
Roer, Kurt
|
31.1.1907
[Berg, near Landshut] |
Kurt Isaac Roer was born January 31, 1907, in Berg near Landshut, in the Greater Munich area, the son of Moritz Roer and Selma Roer (nee Marx). He had a sister, Ilse (1905). His father was a cattle and hop dealer in Landshut. Kurt Roer was a member of the boxing club SC Bavaria in Landshut, and according to the 1936 Landshut address book, he was a livestock dealer together with his father Moritz. Following the November 9/10 Kristallnacht Pogrom, Kurt Roer was held in the Landshut regional court prison, and was then incarcerated in the Dachau concentration camp on November 12, where he remained until his release on January 5th, 1939. On March 1st, 1939, Kurt Roer left Landshut and came to the Gut Winkel Hachshara farm near Spreenhagen. At the time of the German Minority Census of May 1939, he was residing in Beeskow-Storkow, Spreenhagen and his place of emigration was recorded as the USA. It is not clear if this was indeed where he intended to emigrate, or simply incorrect information. Kurt Roer left Spreenhagen and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora to Palestine. Kurt's father, Moritz Roer (born November 18, 1870), died on October 20th 1936 in Landshut. Kurt's mother, Selma Roer (born 08/16/1880, born Marx), fled to Porto Alegre in Brazil in 1939. The fate of Kurt's sister Ilse is unknown. Sources: |
Rosenthal, Ernst
|
10.12.1901 | |
Rothschild, Emil
|
17.3.1915* |
Emil Rothschild was born September 3, 1909, in Grunsfeld, Baden, Germany, the son of Simon Siegfried Rothschild and Rosa Bierig. He had seven siblings: Irma (1903), Bruno (1904), Max (1905), Ritha (1906), Elly (1911), Justin (1915) and Klementine (1917). Emil married Charlotte Richheimer in August 1937. The couple later left Germany and came to Antwerp from where they both boarded the Dora to Palestine. The couple had two children. Emil Rothschild died in December 1984 in Rishon Leziyyon. His father Simon Siegfried Rothschild died in 1939 in Grunsfeld. [possibly of natural causes] Emil's mother, Rosa Rothschild, died in January 1941 in the Gurs internment camp in France, presumably from typhus or dysentery. His sister Irma Baer was deported to Auschwitz where she was murdered. His brothers Bruno Rothschild and Justin Rothschild emigrated to Palestine, so did his sisters Elly Rothschild and Klementine Heyne. His brother Max Rothschild emigrated to Brazil, then to the USA in 1948. His sister Ritha Löwenberg went to France, from where she emigrated to the USA in 1937. Sources: The date of birth on the Antwerp passenger list is incorrect. He didn't share the same birthdate as his wife Charlotte but was born on September 3, 1909. Emil's name is one of only two names on the Antwerp with a pencil mark. I originally assumed this was an indication that he had not been able to board the Dora; this assumption is actually wrong since he came to Palestine with his wife Charlotte. It is not clear then what this mark meant. |
Rothschild, Charlotte
|
17.3.1915 |
Charlotte Lieselotte Rothschild (nee Richheimer) was born March 17, 1915, in Dermbach, Thuringia, the daughter of Shlomo Rischheimer and Clara Gutmann, his second wife. Charlotte had two half-sisters: Lisbeth "Elisabeth" (1906), Gertrude (1910 - 1933), and three sisters: Dina (1916 - 1934), Sitta (1921), and Ilse (1928). She married Emil Rothschild in August 1937. The couple later left Germany and came to Antwerp from where they boarded the Dora for Palestine. The couple had two children. Charlotte Rothschild died in December 2008 in Ramat Gan. Her father Shlomo Rischheimer emigrated to Palestine, and presumably so did her mother and sister Sitta Aviva Wolf. Her half-sister, Gertrude Richheimer, died in Palestine in 1933. Another sister, Dina Richheimer, also died in Palestine, in 1934. The fate of her sister, Ilse Richheimer, is not known. Sources: |
Rymald, Adolf
|
8.6.1921 | |
Sachsenhaus, Philipp
|
14.2.1912
[Munich] [Polish] |
Philipp Sachsenhaus was born February 14, 1912, in Munich, the son of Markus Sachsenhaus and Rebekka Banda. He had a younger sister, Mathilde, born in 1917. His mother (and presumably his father) came from Galicia, and thus Philipp Polish nationality. Philipp Sachsenhaus was a salesman or salesclerk ("Verkäufer"). He was married to Irmgard Berkhausen (Miriam Sachsenhaus), another Dora passenger. (In May 17, 1939, the couple were listed in Leipzig in the Minority Census.) Born into a family of Polish descent, Philipp Sachsenhaus held Polish citizenship which allowed him and his wife to leave Germany. On July 17, 1939 they boarded the Dora for Palestine. The couple had a daughter. In Israel, Philipp changed his name to Pinchas Sachsenhaus. His father had deregistered for Warsaw in 1933, suggesting a separation with his wife. His fate during the war is not known. His mother Rebecca emigrated to Italy. His sister Mathilde emigrated to the Netherlands and from there reached safety in England before the beginning of the war. Sources: |
Sachsenhaus, Irmgard
|
17.5.1911
[Lünen] |
Irmgard Sachsenhaus, née Berghausen, was born May 17, 1911, in Lünen near Dortmund, the daughter of Robert Berghausen, a cattle dealer, and Bertha Grueneberg. She was the middle child of three children, with an older brother, Julius Berghausen (1908) and a younger sister, Ruth Berghausen (1913). Irmgard was an artisan, and she was married to Philipp (Pinchas) Sachsenhaus. According to the minority census, Irmgard and her husband Philipp still lived in Leipzig as of May 17, 1939. Irmgard and Philipp Sachsenhaus boarded the Dora on July 17 in Antwerp. Irmgard later changed her name to Miriam Sachsenhaus. The couple had daugher. Miriam Sachsenhaus (née Irmgard Berghausen) died in Israel in 2006. Her father, Robert Berghausen, died in 1941 in Hanover, possibly in the Jewish hospital. Her mother, Bertha Berghausen née Grueneberg, was deported on July 31, 1942 to the Theresienstadt ghetto and from there to Treblinka on September 26 1942 where she was murdered. Her brother, Julius Berghausen, was incarcerated in Buchenwald in "protective custody" following Kristallnacht in November 1938. After his release he joined the Jewish retraining and deployment camp (Hachshara) on Grüner Weg in Paderborn. He was deported with his wife Ursula Ardel and their infant daughter Tana to Auschwitz in the March 2, 1943 transport. Upon arrival on March 4, their four-month-old daughter Tana was beaten to death by an SS soldier under the eyes of her horrified parents. According to a survivor testimony, an SS man smashed little Tana's head on a railway wagon upon arrival in Auschwitz. Julius Berghausen mas murdered in Auschwitz in March 1943, so was presumably his wife. Her sister Ruth Berghausen fled to England and survived the war. Sources: |
Sapierstein, Isaak
|
5.2.1916
[Chemnitz] |
Isaac (Yitzhak) Sapirstein was born February 5, 1916, in Chemnitz, the son of Josef Elstein, originall from Kherson (Ukraine), and Freida Elstein, originally from Sokolka (Poland). He had three siblings, Mirel (1913), Genda Debora (1914), and Sara Rebecka (1917). His father may have been a "Messianic Jew" - i.e. a Jew who believed in Jesus Christ, yet continued to see himself as a Jew and continued to celebrate Jewish customs. He died in 1925 when Isaac was 9 years old. Isaac Sapirstein was a delicatessen merchant. At the time of the German Minority Census in mid-May 1939, Isaac Sapirstein lived in Regensburg, and had been incarcerated in Dachau - presumably following the November Pogrom. He left Regensburg and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora to Palestine. Yitzhak Sapirstein married Mina Linden in Israel. The couple had two children and lived in Ramat Gan. Yitzhak Sapirstein died in March 1992 in Israel. Yitzhak's mother, Freida Sapirstein was deported to Auschwitz in 1943 where she was murdered. His sisters, Sara Rebecka Sapirstein and Genda Debora Perelman, both emigrated to England. His sister, Mirel Mayer died in 2003 in Berlin. Sources: |
Segal, Lipa
|
29.1.1905 | |
Segal, Srul
|
10.2.1911 | |
Simon, Adalbert
|
26.7.1892 |
Adalbert Simon was born July 26, 1892, in Berlin. He married Bettina Hirsch in 1923 in Frankfurt. His profession was "Kaufmann" (merchant, shopkeeper). One of the witnesses was Fritz Simon, 28 years old, also a "Kaufmann", possibly a brother of his. At the time of the German Minority Census in mid-May 1939, he lived in Berlin, Schöneberg (Münchener St. 23) with his wife, Bettina Simon. He was 46 years old. On June 29, 1939, his marriage certificate was amended by the authorities in Frankfurt, adding "Israel" to his name, (and "Sara" to his wife's), following the "The Executive Order on the Law on the Alteration of Family and Personal Names". It is not clear if this means that the couple was still in Frankfurt by that time, or if this was done in their absence. Simon and Bettina Adalbert left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May 1939 and mid-July 1939, from where they boarded the Dora to Palestine. Adalbert Simon died sometime before June 1947, as evidenced by Bettina's emigrant application. According to this document, he had been employed by the Government Department of Light Industry. Source:
www.myheritage.com (German Minority Census) |
Simon, Bettina
|
12.11.1901 |
Bettina Simon, née Hirsch, was born November 12, 1901, in Frankfort. Bettina married Adalbert Simon in June 1923 in Frankfort. One of the two witnesses was Ludwig Hirsch, 22 years old, a "Kaufmann", presumably a brother of hers. At the time of the German Minority Census in mid-May 1939, the couple lived in Berlin, Schöneberg, (Münchener St. 23). She was 37, he was 46 years old. On June 29, 1939, her marriage certificate was amended by the authorities in Frankfurt, adding "Sara" to her name, (and "Israel" to her husband's), following the "The Executive Order on the Law on the Alteration of Family and Personal Names". It is not clear if this means that Bettina and Adalbert were still in Frankfurt by that time, or if this was done in their absence. Bettina and Simon Adalbert left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May (or after June 29 if they were present at the time their marriage certificate was updated) and mid-July 1939, from where they boarded the Dora to Palestine. On May 30 1947, Bettina Simon filled out an emigrant registration application with the British Government of Palestine ("Application by a traveller for permission to remain permanently in Palestine") and was now a widow. She lived in Tel Aviv, 23 Pinsker Street and did housework. She stated having entered Palestine on August 12 1939 by sea. In another document ("Record of Traveller registered as an immigrant"), she listed her place of entry as Haifa. It is not clear if this was a forged document, or if it was possible to provide unverified information, presumably to appear as a legal emigrant. An envelope from the Consulate General of Poland in Tel Aviv suggests that either Bettina's or her late husband' family originally came from Galicia, and that, although born in Germany, they were considered Polish citizens. No other information is available about her. A Ludwig Simon born in Frankfurt in August 1900 may have been her brother who was a witness to her wedding. He emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Schaefer, Kurt
|
23.4.1915 | |
Schaefer, Ester
|
26.4.1916 | |
Schieber, Schiffre
|
25.1.1910 | |
Schlorch, Erich
|
12.11.1915
[Obbach] |
Erich Schlorch was born on November 12, 1915, in Obbach, Unterfranken, Bayern, the son of Emil Schlorch and Sophie Silbermann. He was deported to Dachau after Kristallnacht. He was registered in Regensburg in the 1939 German Minority Census. He later left Palestine and emigrated to the USA in 1953. He died in Chicago in 1996. Sources: |
Schwarz, Bernhard
|
5.11.1918 |
Bernhard Schwarz was born in Hungary on November 5, 1918, the son of Josef Schwarz and Serena Klein. He later left Israel and emigrated to the USA as early as 1960. He was married and had two children. He died in West Palm Beach, Florida in 2007. Sources: |
Schwarz, Ester
|
2.12.1918 | |
Schwarz, Kaete
|
9.10.1912 | |
Schwarz, Theodor
|
14.11.1916
[Chemnitz] |
Theodor Schwarz was born November 14, 1916, in Chemnitz. He lived in Mainz in the 1930s. Source: www.myheritage.com |
Sokolski, Karol
|
14.2.1919 |
Karol (Karl Heinz) Sokolski was born February 14, 1919, in Berlin. At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939, he lived in Regensburg. (According to a History of Jews in Regensburg, Karol Sokolski was deported from Regensburg to Poland on October 28, 1938 during the so-called "Polenaktion". This must be incorrect since he was still in Regensburg according to the Minority Census seven months later. It does indicate however that he was a Polish citizen (maybe from a family from Sokol?) and had been living in Regensburg since at least 1938. According to this document, he was a "worker".) Karol Sokolski left Regensburg and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, and from there boarded the Dora. His name may have been Karl Heinz Sokolsky. He married Chaya Sima Botvinik, and the couple had one child. He changed his name to Yaakov Sokolski (יעקב קרול סוקולסקי). He died in Bne Brak in February 2003, (possibly 2002). A grave in the Yarkon Cemetery for one Yaakov (Karol) Sokolski born in 1919 may be his resting place. If so, his parents were Leiv and Miriam. According to the inscription on the grave, he died in February 2002. Sources: |
Spiegel, Samuel
|
2.10.1913 | |
Spitz, Walter
|
27.11.1908 |
Walter Spitz was born on November 27, 1908, in Vienna, the son of Hugo Spitz and Sidonie Spitz (born Bäck), from Czechoslovakia. He had two brothers, Alfred (1905) and Paul (1906). On June 15 1938, three months after the annexation of Austria by Germany (the "Anschluss"), Walter Spitz filled out an emigration application with the Emigration Department of the Welfare Headquarters of the Israelite Kultusgemeinde (Jewish Community) in Vienna. At the time, he was 29 years old and was married. Under "Profession", Walter Spitz provided a long list of occupations: Seller of men's and women's wool fabrics, certified window dresser, typewriter mechanic, seller and organizer in the typewriter sales and rental industry, specialist in liqueur production, distribution and serving, pecialist in gift advertising and accessories, warehouse specialist and organizer of the sale of wood and coal. He had received vocational training in a commercial school, a textile school and a state window dresser school. Regarding his current economic situation and monthly earnings, he stated: "I am currently in the worst financial situation, as I have to support my wife with unemployment benefits of RM 10 per week and I have no other income." As for his future plans, he stated "I am willing to accept any kind of work." He left unanswered the question as to what funds he could contribute for his emigration, suggesting he had none. His preferred destinations were Australia,New Zealand, Nordic States, English Dominions, U.S.A., South American States, (Palestine). The underlining indicated his prefered choices, with Palestine seemingly his least desired option. He had no connections in any of the countries he wanted to emigrate to. The only relative he listed was his wife, Gerta Spitz, from Trebitsch (Třebíč, Czech Republic). She too listed multiple professions and skills: Saleswoman, accountant, correspondent, seven years of practice as manager, full-time economist, dietetic kitchen, glove seamstress and arts and crafts. To the last question "Which of the above-mentioned members should emigrate now and which later?", he explained: "First Walter Spitz, then my wife, but if possible both at the same time." It is not known how Walter Spitz ended up in Antwerp, and if this was organized by the Vienna Jewish Organization, but he arrived in Belgium in December 1938. From there he boarded the Dora seven months later. In February 1939, his wife Gerta who had remained in Vienna filled out an application with the Emigration Department of the Jewish Community in Vienna, stating that she intended to emigrate to Palestine and had a valid passport. A few days later she received RM. 150 to help pay for her emigration. Walter's mother, Sidonie Spitz, was murdered on September 18 1942 in Maly Trostinec, Belorussia. His brother Paul Spitz was deported from Vienna to Poland and disappeard in the Shoah. The fate of his father Hugo Spitz is not known. Walter's brother Alfred Spitz died in Cleveland in 1989. Sources: |
Staendig, Charlotte
|
26.1.1921*
[Gelsenkirchen] |
Charlotte (Lotte, Lotchen) Staendig (Ständig) was born on January 25, 1921, in Gelsenkirchen, the daughter of Moritz (Moses) Ständig and Rebecca Alpern. Her parents were originally from Eastern Galicia and first lived in Herten, where her three older brothers were born: Alexander (1917), Karl (1919), and Max (1922). There her father owned a shop for manufactured goods, ready-made goods and shoes. Her family then moved to nearby Gelsenkirchen, where Lotte then her three younger sisters were born: Leah (1931), Betty (1933), and Sabine (1934). Lotte grew up in a Jewish home where kosher and Jewish holidays were observed, and she remembered her early years as a happy childhood. With the rise of the Nazis to power and the expulsion of Jewish children from schools in Germany, Lotte joined the Habonim movement, where one of her brothers already belonged, while another one was in the Mizrahi movement. In 1936, she was in urban training (Hachshara) in Cologne with Hechalutz, then a year later received agricultural training in the Elgut Hachshara, where she was one of the youngest members. She and members of her group decided to emigrate to Israel and establish a kibbutz. (The guides - Georg Yoseftal and his wife Senetta - traveled a year in advance to prepare such a place). On October 28, 1938, while she was in Elgut, her parents, brother Karl and sisters were deported to Zbaszyn on the Polish border. A week and a half later, on Kristallnacht, dozens of villagers from the area with the support of the local police broke into the property and beat its occupants. The young men were incarcerated in concentration camps, while the girls were expelled and scattered in all directions. The Hechalutz organization would later succeed in freeing the young men from the concentration camps and send them to farms in Belgium and the Netherlands. In May 1939, Lotte was in the Gut Wecker Aliyah camp of the Jewish socialist-Zionist youth movement in Rüdnitz, near Berlin. From there she came to a Hachshara in Urfeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen, near Bonn and Cologne, about 60 miles from the Belgian border. One day her group was notified to gather at a certain place to prepare for their departure. For many hours they rode in a truck and walked in the woods, and at the end of the journey Lotte arrived with her friends to the port of Antwerp. She recalled in an interview with the Ha'apala museum:
There she boarded the Dora. She recalled:
She spent one day in Shefayim and then came to Givat Haim where she joined a group of chalutzim from Germany who were already there. In December, the group moved to Raanana, where her brother Alex lived. In Israel, Lotte married Kurt (Gideon) Neuhaus, an immigrant from the "Patria", and she changed her name to Yael Neuhaus. The couple lived in Kibbutz Gal'ed and had sons, grandchildren and great grand children. She died in 2019, at the age of 98 in Kibbutz Gal'ed. Her parents, Moses and Rebekka Ständig, and four siblings were deported to Poland. The last sign of life from her parents was through the Red Cross in 1942. Her mother (age 47) and little sister Sabine (age 8) were deported to Warsaw in the spring of 1942, then disappeared in the Shoah. Her father (age 51), her two other sisters, Betty Ständig (age 9), Leah Ständig (age 11), and her brother Karl Ständig also disappeared in the Shoah. Two brothers emigrated to Palestine and survived: the youngest, Max Ständig, with Youth Aliyah, and one of her older brothers, Alexander Ständig, with Aliyah Bet. Sources: |
Staub, Leizor
|
7.6.1913 | |
Staub, Hanna
|
29.2.1916 | |
Stein, Peppi
|
22.1.1921 | |
Steinhauer, Max
|
13.1.1910 | |
Stern, Albert
1948
|
30.7.1916 |
Albert Aron Stern was born on July 30, 1916, in Geisa, Thuringia, the son of Adolf Avraham Stern and Sitta/Zita Sidonie Stern (Schwahn). He had an older brother, Martin Werner, and a younger sister, Marga. The following excerpts are drawn from Albert Stern's 1956 declaration related to German compensations:
A search warrant was issued in Hamburg against Albert and the ship's captain advised him to disappear. Left unmentioned in Stern's declaration, it is very likely that the reason Stern was wanted by the Gestapo was for his Communist activities which are described in Günter Stillmann's memoir.
Albert came to Eretz Israel in 1938 to visit his brother, Martin Werner Stern who had emigrated there in 1937. Despite all his entreaties Albert refused to remain and returned to Hamburg.
In Israel, Stern first lived in Kibbutz Plugat Hayam (later moved to Mishmar HaYam), near present-day Kiryat Haim, with the goal of getting jobs in the Port of Haifa. He later settled in Rishon LeZion. Albert Stern married Esther Wassertheil another passenger on the Dora he had met during his stay in Antwerp. Originally from Galicia, she had emigrated with her family to Antwerp as a young girl and worked in the diamond industry. During WW2, both Albert and Ester volunteered for service in the British Army. Albert Stern wrote:
The couple settled in Tel Aviv, then in Ramat Gan, and started a family. Two sons were born to Esther, and seven grandchildren. Albert Stern is mentioned in Günter Stillman's book "Berlin - Palästina und zurück" (p.78) who paints a rather different portrait. There he is said to have been one of only three Communists on the Dora besides him. According to Stillmann, Albert Stern met again with Günter Stillmann in the street in Tel Aviv in 1940. At the time, Stern worked in the diamond industry as a disk grinder and was an active member of the local Palestinian Communist Party which was still illegal, due to the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact. Stern then helped Stillmann get hired as a disk grinder and introduced him to the local Party cell where they would work alongside until Stillman's departure in 1947. Albert Stern's parents, Adolf and Sitta Stern were deported to the Belzyce ghetto in May 1942. They disappeared in the Shoah. Albert's brother, Martin Werner Stern, emigrated to Palestine in 1937. His sister, Marga Blumenthal, emigrated to the USA in 1938. Sources: |
Stillmann, Guenther
|
2.5.1912
[Berlin] |
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Storch, Hillel
|
16.1.1899 |
Hillel Storch is listed in the records of the "Vermögensverkehrstelle" (Assets Transfer Office) of the Nazi-era "Ministerium für Handel und Verkehr" (Ministry of Commerce and Transportation). A decree concerning the Reporting of Jewish assets of April 26, 1938, required all Jewish citizens to report their total domestic and foreign assets, where such assets exceeded 5,000 Reichsmarks, and the Vermögensverkehrstelle was created three weeks later to oversee the transfer of such Jewish assets into Aryan hands. Assuming this is the same person as "Heinrich Storch", born on January 16, 1899, incarcerated in Sachsenhausen, 2 Dec 1938. Sources: |
Strauss, Kurt
|
5.2.1909 |
Kurt Strauss was born February 5, 1909, in Berlin, the son of Anschel Löb (Leopold) Strauss and Ida Falkenstein. He had two brothers: Fritz (1904) and Werner (Zvi Shimshon) (1914). His father was a master tailor and ran a men's and women's salon. Kurt Strauss started aeronautics studies at the university which he voluntarily gave up in favor of the Zionist ideal. Kurt Strauss first came to Kibbutz Givat Brenner. There he met his future wife, Regina (Rivka, "Renny") Haberman (née Lobel). She had emigrated to Palestine in 1933 and had been one of the founders of the Kibbutz. The couple were married in 1940, then left the kibbutz and came to Kiryat Motzkin in 1941. The couple had three children. Kurt Strauss joined the Noaz company, "Nehgi Emek Zebulon" as a driver. He later purchased a share in the company and bought his own truck. Kurt Strauss died in Kiryat Motzkin in June 1965, at the age of 56. Kurt's brother Fritz Strauss was arrested for "illegal activities" as a member of the Social Democratic Party on October 28, 1933. He was taken to the Gestapo prison in Berlin in January 10, 1934 where he remained incarcerated for eight months. He was acquitted for lack of evidence on August 30, 1934. On August 15, 1942 Fritz Strauss, his wife Katharina Strauss and their three children Evelyn (16), Hans-Michael (6) and Judith (4) were deported to Riga, where they were murdered in the surrounding forests immediately after their arrival on August 18, 1942. Kurt's parents, Leopold and Ida Strauss, were deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in July 1942. Leopold and Ida Strauss survived Theresienstadt and returned to Berlin in August 1945. In 1947 they emigrated to Israel, where Leopold Strauss died in 1950. Since Ida Strauss couldn't stand the climate in Israel, she returned to Berlin in the early 1950s. But after a few years she went back to Israel, where she died on November 22, 1965. Kurt's brother Werner Strauss emigrated to Palestine in 1935 and later adopted the name Zvi Shimshon Shapir. Sources: |
Struck, Adelheid
|
18.5.1911 |
Adelheid Struck was born May 18, 1911, in Köln, the daughter of Hermannn Struck and Selma Schlesinger. She had two siblings, Ruth and Rudolf (Rudi). Note: The following information seems to match the Dora passenger but needs to be confirmed because of a small discrepancy with her date of birth. Adelheid Struck worked for the Jewish Cultural Association of Rhineland-Ruhr, and her background seems to have been quite different from most of the other passengers. She is said to have "lived in artistic circles and collected photos from premieres and celebrations." Even more exceptional, whereas most passengers only took the bare minimum with them on the Dora, (my mother said she had a backpack with 'a blanket and a pair of shoes'), Adelheid Struck carried a photo album and program brochures of the culture association, thus preserving traces of a world that would soon disappear. Adelheid Struck met her future husband Heinz Wangenheim in Palestine. The couple had two children. Adelheid Wangenheim (Struck) died in March 1991 in Tel Aviv-Yafo. Adelheid's parents, Herman and Selma Struck, were deported from the Drancy internment camp to Auschwitz on March 2, 1943 where they were murdered*. Sources: |
Stoppelmann, Siegfried
|
5.10.1913
[Aurich] |
Siegfried Stoppelmann was born on October 5, 1913, in Aurich, Lower Saxony, Germany, the son of Gerson Stoppelmann and Minna Wolff. He had a brother, Norbert Nathan Stoppelmann, who died in 1935. His family was religious and regularly attended services in the Aurich synagogue. His father ran a slaughterhouse in Aurich, which they had to close in 1935 because customers no longer came to shop [presumably because of Nazi persecutions]. After leaving school [presumably due to Nazi pressure], Siegfried began an apprenticeship with a master shoemaker, which he completed with a journeyman's examination before the examination board of the Aurich Chamber of Crafts. On November 9, 1938, the night of the November pogrom, Siegfried and his father were "attacked by Nazi henchmen in their house" and taken to the market square where the Jews had to gather. As they walked through the streets, people watched and applauded. The next day, November 10, 1938, Siegfried and the Jewish men were taken to Ellernfeld (a field of army barracks) where they were spat on by spectators. On the evening of November 10, all men, including Siegfried and his father Gerson, were locked in the Aurich prison. The next morning they were taken by train to Bremen, and then to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he experienced "inhuman conditions". Siegfried was released at the beginning of 1939 against the promise to leave Germany within 24 hours. Since he hadn't planned or financed his emigration yet, Siegfried hid in a friend's pigeon shed for three weeks. He was then taken to Antwerp with others "in a box labeled 'Caution Glass'". From there he boarded the Dora. According to the German Minority Census however, Siegfried Stoppelmann resided in Beeskow-Storkow, Spreenhagen, presumably in the Gut Winkel Hachshara, in mid-May 1939. At first, Siegfried joined a kibbutz. He later opened a small shoemaker shop. In 1949, Siegfried married Edit Kahn, a Holocaust survivor who had been liberated from a camp in 1945. Their son, Gershon, was born in 1952. In 1957, Siegfried, Edith and their son Gershon moved back to Germany, to the state of Bremen. Siegfried was a member of the board of the Israelite Community of Bremen, then chairman of the community. He received the Federal Cross of Merit First Class presented by the mayor of Bremen. Siegfried Stoppelman died December 31, 2002 (89), in Bremen, Germany. Siegfried's parents, Gerson and Minna Stoppelmann had to leave Aurich and were taken to Berlin in February 1940. The last sign of life from Gerson and Minna Stoppelmann was a brief card sent through the International Red Cross dated November 6, 1940, sent from Berlin to Herzliya in Palestine. They were deported from Berlin to the Lodz Ghetto (Litzmannstadt) on October 18, 1941, then to the Kulmhof (Chelmno) death camp on May 4, 1942, where they were murdered upon their arrival. Sources: |
Treu, Guenther
|
7.11.1911 |
Guenther (Günter Josef) Treu was born November 7, 1911, in Magdeburg, the son of Erwin Treu from Berlin, and Martha Langer, from Magdeburg. He had one sister, Eva Henriette (1926). At the time of the German Minority Census on May 17, 1939, Günter Treu lived in Magdeburg with his parents and his twelve-year-old sister, Eva Henriette. He was 27. Günter Treu left Magdeburg and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. In Palestine, Treu first joined Kibbut Givat Brenner, then in 1941, Kibbutz Beit Arava near the Dead Sea. (Due to its relative remoteness, the kibbutz served as a training and training camp for companies of the Palmach. After the Allenby Bridge bombing in June 1946, British army soldiers came to the kibbutz and looked for weapons. After finding nothing, they arrested almost all the men and transferred them to the Latrun detention camp. With the start of the Arab invasion following the declaration of Independence on May 15, 1948, the decision was taken to evacuate the kibbutz as it was deemed impossible to defend. Families were evacuated by May 20th, and in 1949 they founded two kibbutzim: Gesher HaZiv and Kabari.) Following the evacuation of Beit Arava, Josef Treu was one of the founders of Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv. He married Hanna Uhlmann and the couple had two children and seven grandchildren. Yosef Treu died in Kibbutz Gescher HaZiv in January 1975 at the age of 63. His parents, Erwin and Martha Treu and his sister Eva Henriette Treu were murdered in Auschwitzh around 1943. His sister was 17. Sources: |
Ucko, Hermann
|
26.11.1910 |
Hermann (Heinrich) Ucko was born on November 26, 1910, in Leipzig. There are two very brief mentions to one Hermann Ucko who was a member of a jazz club in Leipzig in "Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany" (Michael H. Kater) and in "Leipziger Jugendgruppen im Dritten Reich - Meuten, Broadway-Cliquen, Junge Garde" (Alexander Lange). According to the 1939 German Minority Census, he still lived in Leipzig up to May 1939 before emigrating to Palestine with his wife, Annemarie Ucko. Sources: |
Ucko, Annemarie
|
29.6.1916 |
Annemarie Ucko (born Schussheim) was born on June 29, 1916, in Leipzig. According to the 1939 German Minority Census, she still lived in Leipzig up to May 1939 before emigrating to Palestine with her husband, Hermann (Heinrich) Ucko. Source: |
Unger, Karl*
|
6.4.1915
[Budapest] [Romanian, stateless] |
Karl Ungar was born April 6, 1915, in Budapest, the son of Faybush (or Samuel?) and Deborah (or Fani?). On May 15, 1938, two months afer the Anschluss, Karl Ungar filled out an immigration application with the Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde). At the time, Karl was 23 years old and single. Although born in Budapest, his nationality was originally Romanian, but he was now stateless [tbc] and had lived in Vienna since 1916-1917. He was a carpenter by trade ("construction and softwood carpentry"), working as a journeyman after a 3 1/2 years apprenticeship. At the time of his application, he was unemployed and had no money to help pay for his emigration. His destination choices were Australia and South America, but had no connections abroad and only spoke German. The only relative he listed was his brother Siegfried Kerner, suggesting that his parents were either not alive, or not in Vienna anymore, and maybe - because of the different last name - that his mother had remarried. Karl Ungar left Vienna and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May 1938 and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora. Karl Ungar married Zila. The couple had a daughter. Karl Ungar died in September 1994 in Kibbutz Sde Nahum. *Karl Ungar's name is incorrectly spelled "Unger" in the passengers list. His brother (half-brother?) Siegfried Kerner, emigrated to England then to the USA in 1940. Sources: |
Wadler, Adolf
|
25.8.1899
[Budapest] [Austria] |
Adolf Wadler was born August 25, 1899, in Budapest, the son of (unknonw) and Lina Wadler, from Tarnow. He was married to Netty Wadler, another passenger on the Dora. On May 12, 1938, just two months after the Anschluss, Adolf Wadler filled out an immigration application with the Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde). He stated that he had lived in Vienna since 1899, the year of his birth, and was an Austrian citizen. He worked in men's confectionery as a tailor and a salesman, and, as for references, simply said: "Almost all cloth manufacturers in Vienna, as well as cloth wholesalers". His was the rare example of someone who still was employed and received an income (200-250 shillings). His desired destinations were the three A's: Australia, Argentina and America. The only other relative he listed aside from his wife was his mother, Lina Walder, suggesting that his father was not alive anymore. Adolf and Netty left Vienna and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May 1938 and mid-July 1939, from where they boarded the Dora. No further information is available. Sources: |
Wadler, Netti
|
4.7.1907 |
Netty Wadler was born on July 4, 1907, in Gura Humora (Gura Humorului - Romania). She was married to Adolf Wadler, another passenger on the Dora. The couple lived in Vienna, and she was a personal cook. They left Vienna and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May 1938 and mid-July 1939, where they boarded the Dora to Palestine. No further information is available. Sources: |
Wassertheil, Ester
1948
|
6.3.1917 |
Esther Wassertheil was born on March 6, 1917, in Chrzanow, Poland (Galicia), the daughter of Naftali Hertz Wasserteil and Sara Mindel Wietschner. She had six siblings: Josef (1898), Hanka (1906), Charlotte (1908), Jehuda (Idel) (1913), Tzila and Rosa. As a young girl she emigrated with her family to Antwerp, Belgium. There she worked in the diamond industry. In Antwerp, she met her future husband, Albert Stern. Together they fled Europe on the Dora. At first, the couple lived in Kibbutz Plugat Hayam, then settled in Rishon LeZion. During World War II, Ester and Albert both volunteered for service in the British Army. At the end of the war, she was released, returned to Israel, and reunited with her husband. The couple settled in Tel Aviv, then in Ramat Gan, and started a family. Two sons were born to Esther, and seven grandchildren. Ester Stern died in 2016 at the age of 99 in Ramat Gan. Her sisters, Tzila Schlesinger and Rosa Hauser were victims of the Holocaust. Her father Naftali Hertz Wasserteil died in December 1941; It's not clear if he was a victim of the Holocaust as his name doesn't appear in Yad Vashem. The rest of the family survived the Holocaust: Her mother Sara Mindel Wassertheil died in 1963. Her sister Hanka Bardash emigrated to Palestine; Her sister Charlotte Wassertheil emigrated to either Palestine or the USA. Her brother, Josef Wassertheil emigrated to the USA. Jehuda (Idel) emigrated to Mexico. Sources: |
Weil, Susi
|
18.11.1914
[German] |
Susi Amalie Weil was born November 18, 1914, in Eschwege, the daughter of Oskar Weil and Eva Rosa Levy. She had one brother, Helmut Zvi Paul Weil (1917). Her father died in 1932 in Dessau. Susi was registered with her mother Eva in the May 17, 1939, minority census in Dessau. She had a child. She died in 1973. Her mother died in Paraguay. Her brother, Helmut Zvi Paul Weil, emigrated to Palestine in October 1935. Source: spurenimvest.de |
Weiss, Ludwig
|
2.4.1915 |
Assuming this is Arieh (Ludwig) Weiss, whose date of birth is reversed and incorrectly listed as February 4 instead of April 2 in various online family trees. Arieh (Ludwig) Weiss was born April 2, 1915, in Giulmelcis, Romania. He left Palestine and came to New York on January 30, 1948. According to the ship manifest, he now went by Arieh Weiss, was single, a clerk, and stateless. He claimed his nearest relative or friend in Palestine was his fiance: Lily Schonfeld, in Haifa. His ticket had been paid by his sister, Elizabeth Brown, who lived in Astoria, NY. He declared he intended to return to Palestine within six months and didn't plan on becoming a US citizen. He married Frieda Spiegel a little over three months later in May 1948. In 1950, he lived in the Bronx and had two sons, Arthur (10) and Raymond (newly born). Arieh (Ludwig) Weiss died in Miami, Florida, in February 1997. Sources: |
Werner, Heinz
|
9.6.1912 |
Heinz Werner was born June 9, 1912, in Siegmar-Schönau, Chemnitz, Germany. At the time of the German Minority Census of May 1939, he lived in Berlin (Mitte), he was 27 years old and was single. He left Berlin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora. No further information is available. Source: www.myheritage.com (German Minority Census) |
Winterfeld, Artur
|
3.10.1916 |
Alfred Arthur Winterfeld was born in Stolp, Pomerania, (now Słupsk, Poland) on October 3, 1916. Alfred Winterfeld was registerd in the minority census as living in Berlin Mitte as late as May 17, 1939. He married Miriam Margot Kiwi after 1945 and the couple had two children. Nothing is known about his parents or their fate during the war. A Martin Winterfeld, born in 1911 in Stolp, was murdered on November 13, 1943 in Auschwitz. He may have been Alfred's brother but this is unconfirmed. Source: spurenimvest.de |
Wolff, Arnold
1947
|
4.3.1914
[Stettin] |
Arnold Wolff was born March 4, 1914, in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), the only child of Hermann Wolff and Henriette Gompertz. He was incarcerated in Sachsenhausen following the November Pogrom. (Inmate list Dec 12 1938). At the time of the German Minority Census in May 1939 he lived in Stettin with his mother, Henriette Wolff. Arnold Wolff left Stettin and came to Antwerp some time between mid-May and mid-July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. In April 1942 he enlisted in the British Army at Sarafand, and was discharged in October 1946. He applied for citizenship in Palestine as an ex-serviceman in 1947, and became naturalized in January 1948. At the time he was "stateless" ("previously German") and worked as a clerk. He was single and lived in Jerusalem. Arnold's mother, Henriette Wolff, was deported from Stettin to the Piaski Ghetto on February 12 1940. She disappeared in the Shoah. Sources: |
Wolff, Ernst
|
19.6.1905
[German] |
Ernst Judah Wolff was born June 19, 1905, in Briesen, the son of Wilhelm Wolff, a medical doctor, and Hermione Neisser. He had one sister, Hanne (1896) and four brothers: Martin (1898), Karl (1900), Gustave (1904) and Arnold (1906). His father died in 1920 when Ernst was 15 years old. Ernst Wolff was arrested on November 10, 1938 during the November pogrom, and was incarcerated in Buchenwald ("Protective Custody") until January 18, 1939. After his release he made his way to Belgium and boarded the Dora in Antwerp on July 19 with his wife, Irma Wolff (nee Lion). He died in March 1985 in Israel and is buried in Holon. Ernst's mother, Hermione Wolff died in March 1942 in Berlin. His sister emigrated to England. Sources: |
Wolff, Ilse
|
12.1.1911
[German] |
Ilse Wolff née Heymann was born January 12, 1911, in Opole (German: Oppeln), the daughter of Albert, a merchant, and Helene Heyman. She was married to Heinz Henry Simon Wolff. In May 1939, she was registered with her parents and her Aunt Helene in Oppeln in the Minority Census. She would have fled shortly after and crossed the Belgian border before reaching Antwerp and boarding the Dora. Nothing is known about her life until her escape from Germany. Her husband's name doesn't appear on the list of passengers, so they may have fled to Palestine separately. The couple had a son and a daughter both born in Israel. In 1952 the family emigrated to New York. Ilse Wolff died in March 1995 in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother, Helene Heyman was deported in 1942 and died in Auschwitz in 1944. Her father was arrested on November 10, 1938 during the "November Pogrom" and was incarcerated in Buchenwald under the so-called "Protective Custody", from where he was released one month later. He was deported in 1942 to an unknown destination and disappeared in the Shoah. Sources: |
Wolff, Irma
|
7.2.1906
[German] |
Irma Wolf née Lion was born February 7, 1906, in Nordeck, Gießen, the daughter of Adolph Lion and Frieda Fanny Grünewald. She had four siblings: Ludwig (1909), Betty (1911), Jacob Julius (1915), and Walter Nathan (1920). She boarded the Dora with her husband, Ernst Wolf. Her father, Adolph Lion, was arrested on November 10, 1938 during Kristallnacht in Nordeck and was incarcerated in Dachau in "protective custody". He was later murdered in Auschwitz. Her mother, Frieda Fanny Lion, was deported to Riga in December 1941. Depending on the sources, she was either murdered there in 1942 or in Auschwitz in 1943. Her brother, Ludwig Lion and his wife Ruth, were deported to the Riga Ghetto in December 1941 and murdered in May 1942 in Riga-Salaspils. Her sister, Betty Lang, escaped to Shanghai. She later emigrated to the USA and lived in Chicago. Her brother, Jacob Julius, emigrated to Palestine. Her brother Walter Nathan attended the Hachshara in the Elgut Steinau estate in Silesia from 1939 to May 1940. He then traveled by train to Vienna, then to the Black Sea from where he boarded the S.S. Pacific, an "illegal" immigrant ship. On arrival in Haifa, all passengers of the S.S. Pacific were transfered to the S.S. Patria with the goal to deport them to Mauritius. Haganah operatives placed explosives on the S.S. Patria in an attempt to prevent the deportation. However, the amount of explosives used was too great, and the ship sank. Over 200 refugees drowned, while survivors on the Patria were allowed to stay in Palestine. The fate of Walter Nathan Lion is not known. [Note that Lion's name doesn't appear on the list of passenger of the Patria, so his presence on the Patria cannot be confirmed.] Source: |
Zajac, Adolf
|
19.12.1920 | |
Zinn, Abraham
|
22.3.1904 | |
Deresiewicz, Mordohe*
|
15.6.1905
[Polish] |
Markus (Mordohe, Mordechai) Deresiewicz was born in Ustrzyki Dolne near Lwów (Poland) on June 15, 1905. He lived in Vienna since 1914. Markus Deresiewicz filled out an immigration application with the Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde) on June 10, 1938, three months afer the Anschluss. According to this document, Markus was a textile merchant. He declared he hadn't had any income for 4 months. His preferred destinations for emigration were America (where he had a nephew in Brooklyn) or Palestine. Markus Deresiewicz' name appears in the records of the Assets Transfer Office ("Vermögensverkehrstelle") of the Ministry of Commerce and Transportation ("Ministerium für Handel und Verkehr"). (A decree concerning the reporting of Jewish assets of April 26, 1938, required all Jewish citizens to report their total domestic and foreign assets, where such assets exceeded 5,000 Reichsmarks. The Assets Transfer Office was created three weeks later to oversee the transfer of such Jewish assets into "Aryan" hands. Markus and Anna Deresiewicz' names also appear on a list of unclaimed Holocaust-era assets, derived from the Austrian State Archives in Vienna. When the Germans occupied Vienna in 1938, they required all Jewish residents to complete a detailed declaration of valuables, including bank accounts, insurance policies, real estate, art, etc. Markus and his wife Anna left Vienna and came to Antwerp where they would board the Dora for Palestine in July 1939. It is not known how or when they managed to cross the borders between Austria and Belgium, and if they were able to leave with the Dora thanks to the help of the Jewish Community of Vienna, or on their own. In the November 25, 1943 issue of the official journal of the Palestinian Authority was published the registration of a commercial partnership between Markus Mordechai Dersievitz and Israel Austern, another passenger of the Dora, to trade in perfumes and cosmetic goods under the name "Soap Esther". The address for both Dersievitz and Austern (or maybe for the business) was 18 B King George Street, Tel Aviv. Sources: |
Deresiewicz, Anna
|
11.10.1909 |
Anna Deresiewicz (maiden name unknown) was born on October 10, 1909, in Kraków, Poland. She was married to Markus Deresiewicz. Nothing is known else is known about her background. Her name appears on Markus Deresiewicz' emigration application with the Vienna Jewish Community. She is also listed (albeit with an incorrect date of birth 11 October 1905) with her husband in the records of the Assets Transfer Office ("Vermögensverkehrstelle") of the Ministry of Commerce and Transportation ("Ministerium für Handel und Verkehr"), and on a recent list of unclaimed Holocaust-era assets, derived from the Austrian State Archives in Vienna. She left Vienna and came to Antwerp where she boarded the Dora for Palestine in July 1939 with her husband. No further details are available about Anna's life. Sources: |
Schlosser, Josef
|
21.3.1919
[Graz, Austria] |
Josef Schlosser was born March 21, 1919, in Graz, Austria, the son of [Reimund (Rachmiel)?] Schlosser and [Miria Suppan ?]. He had [at least] four siblings: Gizella (ca 1907), Leopold (1912), Berta (1915), and Regina (1916). On June 23, 1938, a little over three months after the Anschluss, Josef Schlosser filled out an emigration application with the welfare headquarters of the Jewish Community in Vienna (IKG, Israelite Kultusgemeinde). An Austrian citizen, he was 19 years old and single. He had graduated from the Higer School for mechanical and electrical engineering" in Graz. In addition to German, he spoke English and Hebrew, suggesting either a religious upbringing, or else a period of Zionist training where he would have learned the language. Like almost all Jews attempting to emigrate, he was unemployed, and had "almost no" money to help finance his emigration. He aimed to work as a technician but seemed ready to emigrate anywhere possible. He listed two sisters abroad. One, Berta Hochmann, lived in Haifa and one, Gizella Borgmann, in Detroit. Surprisingly, he didn't list a third sister, Regina Dreschsler, who also lived in Haifa. He also didn't list any relatives in Vienna, suggesting that his parents may have been dead. (His brother Leopold Schlosser had also filled out an application two weeks earlier and listed all three sisters, but not his brother Josef, and not his parents.) Josef Schlosser left Graz and came to Antwerp some time between the end of June 1938 and July 1939, from where he boarded the Dora for Palestine. His sisters Berta Hochmann and Regina Drechsler emigrated to Palestine and lived in Haifa. His sister Gizella Borgmann had emigrated to the USA in 1924 at the age of 17 and lived in Detroit. Josef may have had more siblings according to online family trees. Sources: |
Wallach, Siegfried
1948
|
25.5.1921
[Vienna] |
Siegfried Wallach was born May 25, 1921, in Vienna, the son of Beno Wallach, a civil servant originally from Chernivtsi, Bukovina (now Ukraine), and Mali Engler, a housewife originally from Sadhora (now Ukraine). He had one brother, Wilhelm (1918).
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Bezner, Markus
|
21.3.1910* |
Mordechai Marcus Bezner was born April 1 (or March 21?), 1910, in Czortkow (Galicia, Poland, now Chortkiv, Ukraine), the son of Baruch Bezner and Henya Glinert. He had four siblings: Leib (Leon) (1895), Perl (1896), Chaja (1899), and Salomon Moshe Lumek (1904).
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Landau, Regine
|
31.11.1897* |
Regine (Regina, Genia) Landau was born November 30, 1897, in Zbaraz (Galicia, now Ukraine), the daughter of Chaskel (Yehezkel) Landau, and Basie Breine (Batya) Landau (born Roniger), both from Galicia. She had six siblings: Salo (1888), Ludwik (1889), Max (1892), Ignatz (1893), Sabine (Sophie)(1896), Aurelia (Rela) (1902). Her brother Salo died in 1922. Nothing is known about her life, how she made her way to Antwerp and to the Dora, or about her life in Israel. Regine Landau's name appears out of alphabetical order at the bottom of the Antwerp list, suggesting that she was a last-minute addition to the passenger list. Regina (Genia) Landau died in Israel. Her brother Ludvik Landau, a physician who was born and lived in Zbarazh, was one of only 60 Zbarazh Jews who survived the war of the 3000 who had lived in the town before the war. Most Zbarazh Jews were sent to the Belzec death camp, while several hundreds were murdered by the German police and Ukrainian nationalists in the town itself and the surrounding forests. He died in 1964. Her brother, Max (Moshe, Munio) Landau and her sister Sabine (Sophie) Hulles (born Landau) emigrated to Palestine and died in Ramat Gan. Her brother, Ignatz Landau, filled out an emigration application in Vienna in May 1938 with the Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde). He had lived in Vienna since 1914 and was a pharmacist. He hoped to emigrate to the Americas or Australia with his wife and son, and had five relatives in the USA. His fate is not known. Her sister Aurelia (Rela) Berglass (born Landau) died in 1972. *The passenger list has November 31. Sources: |
Hacker, Adolf
|
31.10.1902*
[Erfurt] |
Adolf Hacker was born October 23, 1902, in Erfurt, Thuringia, the son of Hermann (Hirsch, Hersh) Hacker and Anna Ardel. Two children born before him died as infants. He had two siblings: Betty (1896) and Erich [possibly a third brother, or half-brother: Siegfried Hacker]. His mother Anna Hacker died in 1912 when he was 9 years old. His father later wed Selma Bibo in a second marriage. He lived in Erfurt during the 1930s and married Marie Burak. They left Efurt and came to Antwerp, from where they boarded the Dora. (Adolf and Marie Hacker's names are listed out of alphabetical order at the bottom of the Antwerp list of passengers, suggesting that they were a last-minute inclusion). He later changed his name to Avraham Hacker. The couple had two children. Avraham Hacker died in Israel in June 1989. His father Hermann Hirsch Hacker was deported to Poland on October 1938. He was murdered in the East in 1941. His sister Betty Ardel (?) (born Betty Hacker) was deported from Weimar to the Belzyce, a "transit ghetto" on May 10 1942. The Belzyce Ghetto was liquidated on May 22, 1942 and its inhabitants were sent to the death camps of Majdanek and Sobibór. The fate of his brother Erich Hacker is not known. The date of birth on the passengers list seems to be incorrect, with the actual date of birth October 23. Sources: |
Hacker, Marie
|
16.6.1907
[Eisleben] |
Mary Hacker (nee Mary Burak) was born June 16, 1907, in Eisleben, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, the daughter of Moses Burak, from Kolomyya (Ukraine), and Klara Bratel, from Eisleben. She had three brothers: Paul Pinkhas (1900), Arthur Avraham (1902), and Wilhelm "Willy" (Ze'ev) (1905). The family had a shoe shop in Eisleben and was quite wealthy. Mary Burak married Adolf (Avraham) Hacker. The couple left Efurt and came to Antwerp, from where they boarded the Dora. Also on board was her brother Paul Burak. (Adolf and Marie Hacker's names are listed out of alphabetical order at the bottom of the Antwerp list of passengers, suggesting that they were a last-minute inclusion). The couple had two children. Marie Hacker died in Haifa in February (or June?) 1980. Her brother Paul Burak emigrated to Palestine together with her on the Dora. Her parents Moses Burak and Klara Burak managed to emigrate to Palestine before the outbreak of the war and lived with their son in Kibbutz Sarid. Her brother Ze'ev Wilhelm Burak emigrated to Palestine and lived in Kibbutz Sarid. Her brother Arthur Avraham Burak lived in the Netherlands and died in Brussels in 1980. Sources: |
Additional Passengers
This list includes the names of additional Dora passengers not included in either the Amsterdam or Antwerp lists that were provided by the various Zionist organizations. It is assumed that most, if not all, of these passengers boarded in Amsterdam, as the Antwerp list seems to be comprehensive.
Since there were an estimated 300 to 350 passengers in Amsterdam, but the existing lists contain only 183 names, there may have been 120 to 170 passengers in Amsterdam who did not belong to pioneering groups. These were either refugees, teenage orphans, possibly some wealthy individuals or families, leaders of various Jewish organizations, and people with connections.
To date, 31 of these unaffiliated passengers have been identified, with an estimated 100 to 150 more still unknown. 23 of those boarded from Amsterdam. For the remaining 8, the port of departure is not known.
A few passengers mentioned the presence of about 10 teenage orphans on the Dora. To date, only one has been identified, Johanna Jacob.
List 3: Additional passengers who boarded in Amsterdam (not on the Hehalutz Lists)
| Name | D.O.B | Bio |
Altberger, Samuel
|
17.07.1912
Frankfurt am Main |
Samuel ("Sanny") Altberger was born on July 7, 1912, in Frankfurt am Main, the son of Lazar (Ludwig) Altberger and Regina Elias, the sixth of nine children. The family originally came to Germany from the Czech-Hungarian border area at the beginning of the 20th century. His father was a shoe dealer who had three shops on the market square. Sanny's mother died in 1927, and so did his father two years later in 1929. Sanny fled to the Netherlands to escape Nazi persecution and found work in Amsterdam. He then boarded the Dora in July 1939 together with his younger brother Karl Altberger. Later that year however, Samuel decided to return to Europe to join a Czech volunteer group and fight the Nazis. He was arrested in southern France and incarcerated in the Military Prison in Villefranche-de-Rouergue (Aveyron), then was sent to the Drancy camp. He was later deported to Auschwitz on August 12, 1942. There he survived two and a half years in the coal mines of Auschwitz. He was then sent to Theresienstadt after a "death march". After the war, he returned to Amsterdam, from where he emigrated to the United States in 1947 with his wife, a survivor of the Ravensbrück concentration camp. He worked in Dallas as a driver in a food company. His wife had become infertile as a result of "experiments" in the concentration camp and the couple had no children. Samuel ("Sanny") Altberger died in September 1989 in Dallas, Texas. Samuel's brother Arnold Altberger escaped in 1937 to Czechoslovakia. He was later sent to forced labor for the Hungarian army and died while clearing mines in 1942. His sister Rosa Seiden emigrated to Belgium. She was deported from the Mechelen (Malines) camp with her family to Auschwitz on April 19, 1943, where she was murdered. Samuel's brother Max Altberger was deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto in 1942 and survived the war. He later emigrated to the USA. His sister, Sidonie Björk, fled to Holland from where she was deported. She was liberated from the Ravenbrück concentration camp in 1945. She later emigrated to Sweden. Samuel's brother Karl Altberger also boarded the Dora to Palestine. His sister, Johanna/Hannah Gunz née Altberger, emigrated to Palestine three years earlier in 1936. His sister, Paula Goldstein, emigrated to the USA, then later Sweden. His brother, Hermann Altberger, emigrated to Argentina with his wife in 1938. Sources: The presence of Sanny Altberger on the Dora is documented in an article in aachener-nachrichten.de, and in eschweiler-juden.de. They note that Samuel Altberger "left on an illegal emigration ship together with his younger brother Karl". Karl Atberger was a documented passenger on the Dora. |
Berlinger, Simon
|
Simon Berlinger was born June 11, 1914, in Berlichingen (Schöntal), Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the son of Ahron Berlinger, a merchant, and Babette (Betty) Sulzbacher. He has a eights siblings: Selma (Schefa, Sheva) (1903), Elieser (1904), Asher (1906), Naftali (1907), Wolf (Zeev) (1909), Michael (1910), Jaakov (1915), and Hanna (1918). Like his two older brothers Wolf and Michael, Simon attended the Israelite Preparatory School in Höchberg and studied at the Israelite teacher training institute (ILBA) in Würzburg. He completed his six years of studies at the ILBA in 1934 with the seminar final exam (1st state examination), but was no longer allowed to take the second state exam after the Nazi seizure of power. After completing the seminar, Simon Berlinger worked as a teacher in the Franconian region of Hohenlohe in Württemberg in a one-class elementary school. In 1936, after Jewish children had been excluded from attending public schools, Simon Berlinger opened a district school for Jewish children in Braunsbach. Simon Berlinger was arrested during the 1938 "November Pogrom" and incarcerated in Buchenwald. He was released after three months, with the order to leave Germany. Following his release, Berlinger fled to Holland. There he became the director of De Vondelhof, a Jewish orphanage established at the end of 1938 by Aliyat Hano'ar in Amsterdam for orphans from Austria and Germany. Simon Berlinger immigrated to Israel in August 1939, aboard the Dora. His passage is mentioned in "Vorig jaar in Jeruzalem: Israël en de Palestinapioniers", by Lisette Lewin: "'Incredible!' said Simon Berlinger in Haifa when I remarked that he had been lucky to win a place on the Dora as a young German chalutz." Simon Berlinger was married to Eva Lesser. (Unrelated to Eva Lesser, another passenger on the Dora.) The couple lived in Haifa and had two daughters. Simon Berlinger campaigned until his death for the reconciliation between Jews and Germans. The Rabbinatsmuseum in Braunsbach was renamed "Simon-Berlinger-Haus" in his honor. Simon Berlinger died in Haifa in October 2010 at the age of 96. Simon's sister, Schefa (Sheva) Selma Levie, was deported from Amsterdam to Auschwitz where she was murdered on November 19 1943. His parents emigrated to Palestine and lived in Haifa. Simon's other seven siblings all emigrated to Palestine. Michael (in 1936), Wolf (Zeev) (in 1938), Asher, and Jaakov Berlinger lived in Haifa; Elieser Berlinger in Tel Aviv; Naftali Berlinger in Bne-Brak, and his sister Hanna Brilleman in Jerusalem. Sources: |
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Cosmann, Fritz
1945
|
March 10, 1910
Recklinghausen, Germany |
Fritz (Shimon) Cosmann, was born in Recklinghausen (Westphalia), on March 10, 1910, the son of Otto an Anna Cosmann. The family was neither religious nor Zionist and considered themselves, like many, as German citizens of the Jewish faith. His father had served in the Kaiser's army during the First World War. His parents were prosperous merchants who owned a large department store in Recklinghausen which sold clothing, fabrics, curtains and rugs. He had two (or possibly three, depending on the sources) sisters: Louisa, Ella and Lilly*. Starting in 1928, Fritz studied law at the University of Heidelberg and in Cologne. After Hitler's seizure of power, Fritz - who had until then had little to no connection to Judaism or Zionism - joined Hechalutz, the Zionist pioneering organization. He then left Germany and came to the Netherlands, where he attended the Hachshara program in the Wieringermeer polder between February 1936 and January 1938. During that time he changed his name to Shimon, probably the name he had been given at birth, but hadn't used until then. His whereabouts between January and July 1938 are unknown. His departure for Palestine aboard the Dora on July 15, 1939, is recorded in the Amsterdam municipal registers. Upon his arrival in Palestine, Shimon's group was at first assigned for further farm training in Kibbutz Ramat Hashavim near Kfar Saba in the Sharon Valley. His group was later sent to Gvar'am, a new kibbutz founded in 1942, in the northern edge of the Negev desert between Ashkelon and the Gaza Strip. In 1945 he filled out an application for naturalization, a rare occurence with passengers of the Dora, who, as "illegal emigrants" could not legalize their status, with the exception of volunteers who had enrolled in the British Army. According to his application, he had entered in Palestine in March 1939. In another document, he listed the date of his arrival as 1938. At the time he was divorced and lived in Kibbutz Machar near Kfar Saba (also known as Gvar'am). In 1948, Shimon married Mien (Mink) Zion. The couple had two children. In the late 1950s, Shimon became secretary of kibbutz Gvar'am, the highest leadership position. In 1965 Shimon and Mien left the Kibbutz and moved to Kiryat Tivon, near Haifa. He worked in the Haifa's central office for "Wiedergutmachung" until his retirement in 1980. Shimon Cosmann died on October 25, 2001 in Haifa. His son Gad died during the October Yom Kipur War. Fritz Cosmann's parents Otto and Anna fled Germany and came to Brussels where they managed to survive in hiding for the duration of the war. In March 1946, their son filled out an immigration application on their behalf. The application stated: "Until the outbreak of the war, [they] lived in Cologne. In early 1940 they fled from Cologne to Brussels with their eldest daughter Ella, but during the war the Nazis deported this daughter to the extermination camps. " Otto and Anna were 73 and 62 respectively when their certificates were finally issued more than a year later in July 1947. His sister Lily Neumann emigrated to Palestine in 1936 and lived in Kibbutz Yagur. *According to a well-document family history, he had a siser Louisa (1906) who married Kurt Lande. She died of cancer in the US in 1936. According to his parents' emigration application however, he had a sister named Ella who had been deported from Brussels to a death camp. Sources: |
Dehmel, Ernst
|
Ernst Dehmel is mentioned in Günter Stillman's book "Berlin - Palästina und zurück" (p.78) as a passenger on the Dora, and one of only three Communists on the Dora besides him. |
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Elsoffer, Siegfried Adolf
|
1918
Berlin |
Siegfried Adolf Elsoffer, called "Friedel", was born in June 1918, in Berlin, and came from a well-to-do family. He joined Hashomer Hatzair, where he met his future wife Regina ("Gina") Milgram. Gina and Friedel tied the knot in the presence of a hastily arranged minyan. The day after the wedding, they left Berlin via a train headed to the Netherlands. There they stayed in a hotel where foreigners had to report to the police. One morning, the guards came to their hotel room and arrested Friedel. He was let go against the promise to leave the Netherlands. The couple then moved to a refugee hotel in Amsterdam, staying with a group of young refugees - 17 to 19/20 years old. (One person was 33). One evening in July, someone came with a list of names and said "you, you, you, and you, come". They walked from the Hotel to the harbour, it was pretty quick, maybe a 10 minutes stroll. They then boarded the Dora. Friedel and Regina had a daughter in Palestine in 1940. Friedel served in the British Army and was a POW in the Altengrabow camp. After his release, he immigrated to the UK around 1947 and changed his name to George Samuel Elsoffer. He lived in Surrey where he died in 1967. Friedel's father went to Shanghai, then left in 1949 and came to Israel. Source: Mimi Premo |
Elsoffer, Regina ("Gina") (née Milgram)
|
1920
Katowice |
Regina ("Gina") Elsoffer (nee Milgram), was born on July 1, 1920, in Katowice, the daughter of Simon and Devorja (Dora) Milgram. She had three brothers - Gedalja (Gedalya), Joel, and Jakob (Yaakov), and two sisters - Laja (Lotte), and Hilde.
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Contact us to gain access to this profile. Gina's father, Simon Milgram, and her older brother, Gedalja (Gedalya) Milgram, were incarcerated in Sachsenhausen in October 1939. They were then deported to Lublin, then likely murdered at Majdanek. Gina's mother, Devorja (Dora) Milgram, and her youngest sister, Hilde, were deported to the Łódź Ghetto on October 18, 1941 from Berlin. They were then deported to the Chelmno death camp on May 4, 1942, where they were murdered. Gina's older sister Laja (Lotte) Stier was deported to the Warsaw ghetto, then to a death camp. Two of Gina's brothers survived the war. Her oldest brother, Joel Milgram, was hidden in Berlin by his future wife from 1941 until the end of the war. He immigrated to the United States with her and her daughters in the late 1940s, and died there in his 90s. Her younger brother Jakob (Yaakov) Milgram left Germany with Youth Aliyah at the of age 13 around 1936 or 1937. He lived in Kibbutz Givat Brenner, where he spent the rest of his life. Source: Mimi Premo |
Färber, Bernard
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20 May 1901
Oswiecim |
Bernard Färber was born on May 20, 1901, in Oświęcim (Auschwitz), Poland. Bernard, his wife Cirl Fradel Hoffnung and their month-old daughter Mindel left Dusseldorf and came to Holland as illegal immigrants in May 1939. As young children were not allowed on board of the Dora due to the uncertainties of the illegal trip, the parents - not foreseeing the invasion of Holland a year later - boarded the Dora alone, leaving their three-month old infant child Mindel behind in the care of the family of Bernard's brother, with the intention of having her join later through other means. (Their daughter Mindel later lived in the Jewish Orphanage in Leiden from 1941 to 1943; She was then sent to the Westerbork transit camp in March 1943, but was saved by having a Palestine Certificate. She was later deported to Bergen-Belsen, where she was included in a group of prisoners to be exchanged for a group of German POWs. She was sent to Palestine as part of that exchange program at the end of June/early July 1944, where she was collected by her mother in the Atlit camp, then reunited with her parents in Haifa.) Sources: |
Friedmann, Schulim
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July 23, 1913
Rossosz, Poland |
Schulim (Fritz) Friedmann was born July 23, 1913, in Rossosz, Poland, the son of Pinchas and Esther Friedman. In September 1938, Schulim left Bochum and came to Amsterdam. He was a salesman ("Verkäufer"). Schulim and his partner Hertha Helena Schwarz left Amsterdam for Palestine by ship in July 1939. Schulim Friedmann's departure for Palestine in July 1939 is recorded in Stadsarchief Amsterdam. He was married to Hertha Helena Schwarz and the couple had a daughter. Schulim Friedmann died around 1949 in Israel. His parents, Pinchas and Esther Friedman died in 1941. Sources: Note: Although his presence on the Dora cannot be confirmed, I believe it is beyond reasonable doubt as it was the only Aliyah Bet ship that ever sailed from Northern Europe before the war, and regular maritime lines to Palestine sailed from the Adriatic and Mediterranean. |
Henle, Walter
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May 24, 1921
Munich |
Walter Henle was born May 24, 1921, in Munich, the youngest son of Albert Henle, a grain wholesaler, and Anna Lederer. Two years later, the marriage ended in divorce, and his mother, Anna Henle married Dr. Julius Mainzer. Walter had one brother, Fritz Richard (1916). Walter left Munich and came to the Netherlands on March 30, 1939, as part of a Kindertransport. He briefly stayed in Rotterdam, then was transferred to the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam after a few weeks, and was then able to board the Dora. Walter's departure is documented in a file in the Dutch National Archives, under "Walther Israel Henle". The file confirms that he left Holland on July 15, 1939, by sea with the SS Dora, "Destination unknown". On September 30, 1938, as a result of the "Fourth Decree of the Reich Citizenship Law" revoking the medical license for all Jewish doctors, Dr. Julius Mainzer lost his ability to practice medicine. On March 18, 1939, less than six months later, Julius and Anna Mainzer fled Germany and came to Amsterdam. Their efforts to emigrate to America from there were unsuccessful. In October 1943 both were interned in the Westerbork transit camp. On January 20, 1944, Julius and Anna Mainzer were deported to Theresienstadt, then to Auschwitz where they were murdered on October 30, 1944. Walter's biological father, Albert Henle, emigrated to Palestine in September 1940. Walter's younger brother Fritz Richard Henle emigrated to Palestine. Sources: |
Hoffnung, Cirl Fradel
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14 October 1909
Podgorze |
Cirl Fradel Hoffnung was born in Podgorze (Poland), October 14, 1909. Together with her husband Bernard Färber and their newborn daughter Mindel, she left Düsseldorf and came to Holland as an illegal immigrant in May 1939. As young children were not allowed on board of the Dora due to the uncertainties of the illegal trip, her parents - not foreseeing the invasion of Holland a year later - boarded the Dora alone, leaving three-month old Mindel behind in the care of her brother-in-law's family, with the intention of having her join later through other means. (Their daughter Mindel later lived in the Jewish Orphanage in Leiden from 1941 to 1943. She was then sent to the Westerbork transit camp in March 1943, then to Bergen-Belsen. Because she had a Palestine Certificate, she was part of a group of Bergen-Belsen prisonners that were released in exchange for German POWs. She was sent to Palestine at the end of June/early July 1944 and was finally reunited with her parents in Haifa.) Sources: |
Kardos, Ernest
1947
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28.07.1916
Vienna |
Ernst Kardos (later: Dan Yaron) was born on July 28, 1916, in Vienna, the son of Emerich (Imre) Kardos and Leontine Wolf. He had four siblings: Margit (1911 or 1912), Edith (1913), Hans (later Gershon Yaron) (1921) and Mara Angelica (1926). Ernst's father fought in the infantry in the Austrian army during WW1 and died in 1934 when Ernst was 18 years old. Ernst's mother died a year later in 1935. On May 12, 1938, two months after the Anschluss, Ernst Kardos filled out an emigration application with the welfare headquarters of the Jewish Community in Vienna (IKG, Israelite Kultusgemeinde). At the time, Ernst was 22. He had attended a vocational school and was a warehouse clerk in the cloth industry. For additional skills, he listed "Ladies Hat Maker" and "Agricultural Education". The Agricultural training suggests that he may have attended a hachshara in or near Vienna. About his financial situation, he declared being an orphan, having no income, no money to help fund his emigration, and living with his 18-year-old brother Hans who was an apprentice. His desired destinations for emigration were Mexico, Uruguay, Australia and the U.S.A, and his plans after emigration were to work in agriculture. The only relative he listed was his brother, whom he wanted to emigrate with him at the same time, suggesting that his sisters may have already left Vienna by then. Some time after mid-May 1938 or 1939, Ernst and his brother Hans Kardos (later: Gershon Yaron) fled Vienna and came to the Netherlands. From there they boarded the Dora together. Despite Eretz Israel not having been his destination of choice, Ernst Kardos would remain there until the end of his life. He changed his name in Israel, first to Dan Kardos, then to Dan Yaron. Dan and his brother Gershon came to Kibbutz Na'an near Rehovot. In August 1942 he enlisted in the British Army and served until his discharge in September 1946 in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC, a transport unit). In 1946, while still in the British Army, he applied for citizenship with the British authorities of Palestine. |
My mother had been offered a place on a ship after her parents had been deported to Poland (this could have been as early as December 1938), but there had been multiple, seemingly endless, delays. She went into hiding with friends and neighbors for three to four months, waiting for a departure date. At last, she received the signal to leave and headed for Belgium. Being "stateless", she could not get a visa, and could only cross borders illegally. I used to picture her walking through the border at night with the help of a guide, but she most likely went not alone but with a group of chalutzim. Another Dora passenger, Charlotte Staendig (later Yael Neuhaus), described how she came to Belgium. From Urfeld, a village located about 50 kms (30 miles) from the Belgian border, she was taken along with a group of about ten people in a tarpaulin-covered truck to Antwerp. She noted that "the road to the Belgian port was smooth, oiled with bribes." I assume that my mother's path followed a similar route. She then spent one month in Belgium waiting for the Dora to arrive.