German Concentration Camp Mail (continued)
Oranienburg / Sachsenhausen
Oranienburg, located near Berlin, was an early Nazi concentration camp which was taken over by the SS and renamed Sachsenhausen Camp in 1936. The earlier name, Oranienburg, continued to be used as can be seen on this correspondence. Between 1936 and 1945, more than 200,000 people were held there. Some were domestic or foreign political opponents of the regime, while the camp also housed forced laborers and Allied prisoners of war. Tens of thousands died from forced labor, disease, hunger, or systematic extermination by the SS, where for example the SS killed 88 Dutch civilian hostages in May 1942. Sachsenhausen was liberated by the Red Army on April 22, 1945.
Post War Enquiries
Oranienburg / Sachsenhausen
“How you doing? Mom died January 28 ‘in s-Herogenbosch. Suffered a lot. Am very sad. Mom died alone. Dad hotel. I am with Dick.”
This Red Cross form was sent from Middelburg (liberated November 6, 1944) to enquire about the van den Hil family in Utrecht (still occupied) Forms were sent via the Dutch Red Cross to its headquarters in Geneva, which then placed the large circular handstamp. The Dutch censorship marking was placed in Eindhoven. Messages were limited to 25 words.
“Considering that since the deportation nothing has been heard from or regarding the subject, it has to be concluded that David Hijman Hirsch must have died as the results of illness, exhaustion, gassing or otherwise.”
This Dutch Red Cross National Tracing Bureau responded to an enquiry seeking information on David Hijman Hirsch. He had been deported from Westerbork to Auschwitz on August 24, 1943. His name appears on the “Judentransport aus den Niederlanded” list maintained by the Germans.
“Can you please let me know by return if these family members are shown on any list or provide information about their fate. They lived at Noorder Amstellaan 160, Amsterdam and were transported to Westerbork.”
This postcard, sent by J. van Praag to Inlichtingen Joodse Aangelegenheden (Information on Jewish Affairs), sought information on the fate of his family. The answer was all too familiar: Dr. H. Limburg, his wife Rosetta Limburg-van Praag and son Nico died in Auschwitz on October 30, 1944. Another son, David Juda Limburg, died in Germany on May 31, 1945.
Enquiries and Endings
The Jewish Council (Joodseraad) had been created by the Germans in February 1941 to administer the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Council Directors Asscher and Cohen became accomplices in enforcing anti-Jewish measures. However, in September 1943 the members of the Jewish Council were themselves deported to Westerbork and the council ceased to exist. Joseph Sanders (b. 1861) sent this letter to the Jewish Council in Rotterdam. The content is missing but one can guess the subject. Sanders, who lived in Rotterdam, died in Sobibor on April 30, 1943.
The Central Registration Bureau for Jews was created in 1945 to coordinate information for the liberated areas of the Netherlands. This letter dated July 16, 1946 to a surviving family member con rmed his worst fears. His parents had been deported to Theresienstadt on September 4, 1944, and his in-laws to Auschwitz on January 1, 1943. The Bureau advises him that “Until now we have received no news about their return to the Netherlands.” Post-war records leave no doubt about their fate.
One way to hear news about loved ones was the “Sign of Life” card sent to family members via the Geneva Red Cross. Albertus Frederik Steffen had been captured December 1, 1944, and held as a POW at Oflag 67 in Neu Brandenburg. It is dated May 25, 1945, and sent to his wife in Arnhem. After the Battle of Arnhem, she had moved to the Hague.