Deportation Assembly Points.

No. 36 Moorweidenstra�e.

Provinzialloge von Niedersachsen (Provincial Masonic Lodge of Lower Saxony).Former Deportation Assembly Building for the following Deportation Transports:On 25.10.1941, destination Lodz, Poland.On 8.11.1941, destination Minsk, White Russia.On 18.11.1941, destination Minsk, White Russia.On 6.12.1941, destination Riga, Latvia. � Wilhelm Mosel, Deutsch-j�dische Gesellschaft Hamburg.

Provinzialloge von Niedersachsen, No. 36 Moorweidenstra�e, 1909.

The building which housed the Provinzialloge von Niedersachsen (Provincial MasonicLodge of Lower Saxony), at No. 36 Moorweidenstra�e, was erected by the Freemasons in1907-1909. The architects were M. Gerhardt, H. Schomburgk and Chr. H. L. Strelow. In1935 when the Nazis dissolved the Federation of Freemasons the lodge was liquidated. In1937 the City of Hamburg acquired the building for a ridiculously low price. The newownership continued until 1941. Initially, the Gestapo and the SS occupied the building. Theinside of the building was wantonly destroyed in the search for "secrets". At the start of thewar the building was used as a camp for foreign labourers, and later for prisoners-of-warlabourers.

In 1941 the Provincial Masonic Lodge appeared as owner despite having been liquidated in1937.In 1942 the Hansestadt Hamburg appeared as owner. Initially, a rescue centre was establishedhere which in 1943 occupied the entire building.

No. 36 Moorweidenstra�e served as deportation building for the four deportation transportsof Hamburg Jews in 1941.The Gestapo had to decide from which railway station the Jews could be deported.Initially, they decided on the former cattle railway station, with its sidings. It was relativelycentral, was near the residential area most populated by Jews, i.e. the Grindel Quarter, andwas relatively hidden from unwanted observers. There was "dead" track that allowed thestationing of waggons for other purposes than that of the slaughter-house, while the actualcattle transports could continue undisturbed.

Sternschanze and environs, detail, 1930, with the Cattle Railway Station ("Vieh-Bhf.")and the Lodge building ("Log.Hs.") in Moorweidenstra�e.

No. 36 Moorweidenstra�e was specifically chosen by the Gestapo as an assembly buildingbecause of its size, its relative proximity to the cattle railway station, and because it was stillin the ownership of the Freemasons despite having been forcefully dissolved years before. Dr. Max Plaut, chairman of the "J�dische Religionsverband Hamburg" (Jewish ReligiousFederation Hamburg), gives detailed information regarding the first large deportationtransport on 25.10.1941:"On 25.10.1941, the Jewish Community in K�ln made it known that during October 20,000Jews were to be "evakuated" ("evacuated" = deported) from Germany to Lodz

(Litzmannstadt) in Poland".On 17.10.1941, Kommissar Claus G�ttsche, head of the Jewish department of the Gestapophoned Plaut and informed him that: "Next week, 1,000 Jews will be evacuated toLitzmannstadt".When Plaut asked for more information he received the following statement:"Initially, all Jews from pre 1918 Germany, all naturalized Jews from Eastern Europe, allstateless Jews, and all Jews registered by the Gestapo as "mi�liebigen" ("unpopular"), andtheir families, were affected. Relatives, and those related by marriage, not falling withinthese categories could voluntarily report. All Jews of Polish nationality, not having beenalready deported on 28.10.1938 were included. Those concerned received"Evakuierungsbefehl" ("Evacuation Orders" = Deportation Orders) by registered letter fromthe Gestapo, in which they were informed that they should present themselves at the"Provinzialloge f�r Niedersachsen" (Provincial Masonic Lodge of Lower Saxony), No.36 Moorweidenstra�e, one day before deportation.This order literally stated:"You are ordered to be evacuated to Litzmannstadt. Your property is immediately seized,anyone retaining property will be punished".There followed exact instructions regarding the taking of luggage, provisions for the journey,and money. 50 kg luggage (linen, clothing and blankets), and provisions for two days wereallowed. The deportees also had to fill out an enclosed list with their property and to hand itin at the assembly building with their remaining money. After departing their flat the doorkey was to be deposited at the local police station. The flat was then sealed by the police.Later, the Oberfinanzpr�sident (head of the Hamburg Finance Department) seized theproperty in the name of the Reich, in accordance with the seizure order.

Provincial Lodge, a hall on the groundfloor, 1945.

The majority of those who received the deportation order were given advice and were, as far

as possible, provided for at the office of the Jewish community at No. 2 Beneckestra�e.There was a well stocked clothing store and an unprecedented readiness to help all Jewishpeople. The personnel of the Jewish Volksk�che (soup-kitchen) at No. 9-11Hartungstra�e supplied substantial warm meals to No. 36 Moorweidenstra�e. In addition,the community provided provisions for the journey. Special articles were procured for thetrain: buckets and pots for washing, and drinking water, toilet paper, hand towels and soap,hygiene articles and medicine, reading matter, etc. (...) In the Provincial Lodge the deportees were processed by the Gestapo: baggage control,money confiscation, collection of property list, etc. Jewish community personnel hadunhindered access. The Gestapo personnel had orders to handle the Jews decently and refrainfrom all harassment. Nevertheless, occasional nasty incidents occuried. Over one hundredindividuals voluntarily reported for the first deportation transport in the hope of ending theirlife of persecuion in Germany. This lead to a corresponding number of deportees beingdeferred. For a short period. The next day the deportees were transported by van to theHann�verscher Railway Station. A large contingent of Gestapo personnel, and Jewishcommunity helpers, were present. Adequate food, medicine and blankets were brought. ALieutenant and fifteen men of the Schutzpolizei (policemen), in uniform, escorted thedeportation transport."

Part of the former Hann�verscher Station, 1985.

Dr. Plaut writes further:"(...) We gave 150,000 Mark for food, medicine and dressings. Our representative receivedthe money for the council of elders in Lodz.(...) In Hamburg, Gestapo personnel informed us of the destination of the deportationtransports, many being opponents of this extermination policy and gave us muchinformation, without being able to alter the situation."

Varied figures are available for the first deportation transport:The Gestapo Regional Headquarters Hamburg, in a letter to the Oberfinanzdirektion (head ofthe Finance Department) on 21.10.1941, sent a list of names of the one thousand Jews, whowere to be "evacuated" (deported) on 25.10.1941. There were two hundred namesadditionally listed in case of cancellations.In addition the letter stated:"The train departs Hamburg's Hann�verscher Railway Station at 10 a.m. on 25.10.1941 and,when on schedule, arrives at 11 a.m. on 26.10.1941 in Litzmannstadt."In contrast Leo Lippmann, former councillor of state in the Finance Department, and,following his dismissal by the Nazis, financial expert on the board of the Jewish community,gives the figure of 1,034 deportees.The first edition of the Commemorative Book of Jewish Victims of National Socialism inHamburg gives a figure of 1,034 victims which was corrected, with the help of the Hamburgstate archives, to a figure of 1,021 victims.Hans Lamm quotes a figure of 1,021 deportees.

What follows is an interview carried out by Herr Wilhelm Mosel with Herr R. inHamburg in the summer of 1982:

Q. "Thank you for coming here this evening. You are a survivor of Lodz andAuschwitz. I would like to ask you certain questions which I hope you willanswer as fully as possible. Firstly, Herr R., I would like you to tell me about themembers of your family who accompanied you on this deportation transport, orthe following ones."

HerrR.

"My father, a businessman, my mother, my two brothers, one an apprenticejoiner, the other an apprentice shoemaker, my wife, a paternal uncle, mymaternal grandparents, both renown Hamburg doctors, all received the samedeportation order in October 1941. The so-called evacuation (deportation) tookplace on 25 October 1941. (...)We were received by members of the Jewish community at the Provincial MasonLodge in Moorweidenstra�e. We were allocated rooms to spend the night. Therewas only the bare floor to sleep on. It was impossible to sleep and, with theexception of a sick person, practically nobody slept as we did not know when thedeportation transport was to begin."

Q. "Herr R. please tell us what happened next."HerrR.

"Next morning - I cannot recall the exact time - we were loaded aboard lorriesthat arrived at the lodge and, as I remember, driven in the direction ofSternschanze to Schlachthof in Kampstra�e for entraining in passengercarriages."

Q. "Herr R. can you recall the state of the other deportees at the station? Was there

weeping, or breakdowns, when people, perhaps now, grasped the reality of the

situation? How was the process explained so that you unwittingly participated?"HerrR.

"Today, I cannot recall the situation precisely. Naturally, there were tearfulfarewells as we were escorted by members of the Jewish community (J�discheReligionsverband). The rumour circulated that our destination was the so-calledWarthegau. I cannot remember if the term Litzmannstadt was used. I can nolonger remember the circumstances of the journey, not even how long it lasted.We were given provisions, which I remember being sufficient. As the train madeno stops we had little idea where we were at any time. When the train stopped itwas surrounded by guards and the entire train was escorted by SS or police, Ido not know which."

Routes of the Deportation Transports to Lodz, Minsk and Riga; 1,034 is the number ofdeportees of the first transport.

Q. "Could you tell us about the arrival in Lodz? Were the deportees struck by theescorting guards? Was this the case with the entraining in Hamburg? And whatwere the living conditions like in the Lodz ghetto?"

HerrR.

"I can no longer say anything regarding excesses. I cannot remember that therewere any violent incidents either by the entraining or detraining. The guardsacted violently at a later date when I was deported from Lodz to Auschwitz. Ihave no experience of this occuring while being deported from Hamburg toLodz. I remember little of the arrival in the ghetto. I only know that we were metby guards. I cannot even say where. I think it was at the station named

Marischin (Marian�w) situated 3-4 km north-west of the ghetto. This was theline that was also used for the delivery of provisions and materials for the ghetto.We were then allotted accommodation (...). You must image a city district thathas been arbitrarily fenced round with barbed-wire; the inhabitants having beentransferred to accommodation within the city. The Lodz ghetto was in myopinion the slum of Litzmannstadt. There was no sewage system, little water, (...)There were Jews that had formerly lived in this distict and who remained here.The ghetto was called Baluty in polish, and was situated in the north-westernpart of Lodz (...)Life in the ghetto was such that every individual had to work. This enclosed areahoused factories, among others clothes factories. Shoes and uniforms weremanufactured, everything for the German army. The materials were acquiredand brought into the ghetto by the ghetto administration, chaired by a memberof the Gestapo. A very strict control was made. What entered the ghetto had toleave it as finished products.I enrolled with the fire department. As everyone had to work, this appeared tome to be the most agreeable work. I was unaware of what awaited me. Theghetto had its own administration, the ghetto administration, with the Jewishcouncil of elders at its head.

The ghetto had its own currency, i.e. money. Food, rationed, was acquired inexchange for ration-cards and was barely enough to keep one alive. Those whodid not work did not receive food ration-cards. I was able to assume my positionas fireman following several examinations in accordance with german militaryrules. The fire-brigade was a well equipped organization that represented theinterests of the german ghetto administration, (...)It had the job of protecting the buildings during air-raids and extinguishingfires. Each factory had firemen detailed to it, who patrolled to supervise the banon smoking, etc. We worked a 24 hour on 24 hour off shift; this wasautomatically interrupted when air-raids occured. Those who did not report forduty or did not carry out their duty were punished with withdrawal of theirration-cards."

Currency in the Lodz (Litzmannstadt) ghetto, receipt for two Marks, 1940.

Q. "May I ask you, Herr R., what occured to your relatives in Lodz?"HerrR.

"We were all allocated to different accommodation. My wife, parents in law, andI lived in one 15 m�. My parents, my brothers, and my uncle lived in anotherflat, whereby there were no toilets. Buckets were available for this purpose,which were then taken outside.We had to survive on the rations that were allocated to us. There was a blackmarket as was the case everywhere during the war. One bartered bread forsaccharin there being no real sugar. One bartered saccharin for meat, whenthere was any, or one bartered sausage for a scarf or a cap, according to need.Everyone had to work, my parents-in-law, being doctors, in a hospital, my wifein a clothes factory she being a dressmaker, me by the fire-brigade, one brotherin a carpentary department, the other manufacturing army boots for the armedforces."

Q. "Herr R., in July 1944, when the Lodz ghetto was dissolved, you were deported

to Auschwitz concentration camp and extermination camp.Could you tell us about the deportation transport and about the short time youwere in Auschwitz?"

HerrR.

"In July 1944, we learnt in the ghetto that the german army was in retreat. Wewere almost the last to be deported to Auschwitz, the fire-bigade being requiredto protect the ghetto from fire and air-raids until the end. My brothers had beendeported a year previously, to a destination unknown to me. As was my mother.My father and uncle both died from malnutrician. I buried them myself,wrapped in a scarf. My parents-in-law were deported to Auschwitz severalmonths prior to us. My wife and I were deported to Auschwitz in one of the lasttransports. In Lodz we were transported in goods waggons under the mostprimitive conditions, being hardly able to take anything with us. I was still inuniform.

In Auschwitz we were received on the so-called ramp. The "selection" proceededon detraining. The men were separated from the women. The few remainingchildren were immediately "selected". I saw my wife for the penultimate time onthe ramp. We immediately entered a barrack where we had to remove ourclothes and where our relatively good high boots quickly disappeared, and wherewe were allocated prisoners' clothes with corresponding numbers. We were thentaken to another barrack. These barracks, which had once served as stables wereour accommodation. It was warm enough inside as the "stable" was full ofpeople. It was endurable during the day, as long as the weather was dry and wecould linger outside, as long as we were not detailed to work. Here, by chance, Isaw my wife once more. I hardly recognized her as her head had been shavenand she had no head covering, whereas we wore caps on our shaven heads. Atthe end of 1944 we were transported westwards."

Routes of the Deportation Transports to Auschwitz, detail, the figure of 95 beneathLodz is the number of deported on 12.01.1944.

In conclusion follows a selection of names of those deported to Lodz on 25.10.1941

Deportation Transport on 25.10.1941 destination Lodz:

Name Date ofBirth Place of Birth Occupation Last Address

Abrahams, Denny 20.09.1938 Hamburg No. 17 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Behrens, Alfred 7.09.1935 Hamburg No. 4 Beneckestra�eBehrens, Uri 22.11.1938 Hamburg No. 4 Beneckestra�e

Beith, G�nther 14.06.1933 Hamburg No. 11 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Beith, Harald 19.10.1927 Hamburg No. 11 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Beith, Uri 23.09.1938 Hamburg No. 11 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Blankenstein, Edith 15.05.1881 Hamburg Teacher No. 5 B�ttgerstra�e

Brummer, Hans 31.12.1925 Hamburg No. 63Schl�terstra�e

Brummer, Irma 18.07.1926 Hamburg No. 63Schl�terstra�e

Brummer, Ruth 2.08.1929 Hamburg No. 63Schl�terstra�e

Cohn, Arnold 12.05.1927 L�beck No. 17 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Finkel, Ludwig 27.05.1885 Posen Choir-Master No. 95 GrindelhofFrankenthal, Lothar 2.08.1924 Hamburg Apprentice No. 15 Dillstra�e

Freudlich, Siegfried 18.01.1882 Hamburg Musician No. 14 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Gl�ck, Bernhard 5.08.1938 Hamburg No. 5 RutschbahnHammer, Alfred 21.10.1936 Hamburg No. 153 GrindelalleeHirsch, Denny 25.08.1938 Hamburg No. 13 Rappstra�eHirsch, Rolf 15.11.1934 Hamburg No. 13 Rappstra�eJacobsohn, Rolf 28.12.1926 Hamburg No. 15 RutschbahnKahan, Gustav Jacob 15.02.1930 Hamburg No. 16 Bornstra�eKahan, Rahel 27.12.1926 Hamburg No. 16 Bornstra�eKahan, Rosi 25.06.1925 Berlin No. 16 Bornstra�eKargauer, Gisela, n�eMularski 12.04.1920 Breczyin No. 1 Heinrich-Barth-

Stra�e

Kuppermann, Gerda 22.06.1922 Hamburg TraineeNurse No. 6 Beneckestra�e

Maidanek, Herbert 5.04.1920 Harburg Builder No. 15 Dillstra�e

Mannheim, Ester Ella 18.12.1889 L�beck LanguageTeacher No. 16 Bornstra�e

Monheit, Mirla 21.04.1926 Kiel No. 3 Rappstra�eM�nster, Ester Sara 4.12.1920 Hamburg Worker No. 8 Dillstra�e

Mularski, Siegfried 11.09.1930 L�beck No. 1 Heinrich-Barth-

Mularski, Siegfried 11.09.1930 L�beck Stra�eNossen, Henry 23.05.1892 Freiburg/Schl. Pharmacist No. 2 Rappstra�ePippersberg, Gerd 20.10.1931 Hamburg School Pupil No. 68 GrindelalleePlessner, Esther 1.03.1924 Hamburg No. 168 GrindelalleePlessner, Ruth 6.02.1925 Hamburg No. 168 GrindelalleeRendsburg, Norbert 26.07.1921 Hamburg No 20 Bornstra�eRendsburg, Werner 12.11.1924 Hamburg No 20 Bornstra�e

Schwarz, Helga 6.05.1930 Berlin-Wilmersdorf No. 95 Grindelhof

Taubermann, Else 5.07.1920 Koposvar Packer No. 123 GrindelalleeWestfeld, David 16.04.1885 Braunschweig Nurse No. 4 Beneckestra�eBehrend, Edith 15.01.1895 Hamburg Teacher No 20 Bornstra�eBlumenthal, Anni 26.03.1922 N�rnberg Worker No. 123 GrindelalleeNeumann, Miriam 27.11.1923 Hamburg No. 6 Rappstra�e

Melamerson, Reha 15.08.1941 Hamburg No. 7 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Melamerson, Ruth Sonja 28.06.1922 Hamburg Worker No. 7 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Herrmannsen, David 1.01.1920 Ignalinow Locksmith No. 6 Rappstra�eHerrmannsen, Jakob 10.01.1922 Wilna No. 6 Bornstra�e

There are also varied figures available for the deportation transport to Minsk on 8.11.1941:The Gestapo Regional Headquarters Hamburg, in a letter to the Oberfinanzdirektion (head ofthe Finance Department) on 7.11.1941, sent a list of names of the one thousand Jews, whowere to be "evacuated" (deported) to Minsk on 8.11.1941.In addition the letter stated:"The train departs Hamburg's Hann�verscher Railway Station at 10.25 a.m. on 25.10.1941and, when on schedule, arrives in Minsk on 8.11.1941."In contrast Leo Lippmann, former councillor of state in the Finance Department, and,following his dismissal by the Nazis, financial expert on the board of the Jewish community,gives the figure of 959 deportees.The first edition of the Commemorative Book of Jewish Victims of National Socialism inHamburg gives a figure of 965 victims which was corrected, with the help of the Hamburgstate archives, to a figure of 963 victims.Hans Lamm quotes a figure of 1,004 deportees.

Dr. M. Plaut, relates the following regarding the two deportation transports to Minsk (i.e.on 8.11.1942 and 18.11.1941):"I was informed that further deportation transports were to take place within the followingfew weeks. This time all people under 65 years of age (women under 60) were affected. The

circular to all Gestapo departments from the Reichssicherheitshauptamtes (GestapoHeadquarters) contained the precise timetables and number of people. The local Jewishorganizations were to "collaborate". Among other things, I was instructed to draw up lists ofdeportees. I absolutely declined to do this. Thereby, Kommissar G�ttsche instructed hiscolleagues Walter W. Wohlers and Walter M. Mecklenburg to do this miserable business.It was forbidden to use the word "Evakuierung" ("evacuation"). The term that was now to beused was "Abwanderung" ("migration"). The regulations remained the same for all followingdeportation transports, as did the transport procedure (...)"Later in his report Dr. Plaut mentions that the escorting officer of the Hamburg Schutzpolitei(police) of one of the deportation transports to Minsk had so badly maltreated a deportee thathe died immediately.He remarks that the Hamburg civil service departments were comparatively "tolerable" andin comparison to other cities, e.g. Hannover, Kassel, Berlin, more "humane".Dr. Plaut concludes:"The deportees bore themselves not only with composure but also with courage. The feelingthat "it cannot get much worse" may have made some fatalistic, but the majority knew theirfate under Nazi power and endured it. (...)"

Frau W., living in Hamburg, gave the following report as an eye-witness to the procedurefrom the receiving of the "Evakuierungsbefehle" ("evacuation order"), i.e. deportation order,by a family living at No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e to her accompanying them to theProvincial Masonic Lodge building at No. 36 Moorweidenstra�e:"I was visiting a family living at No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e one day in November 1941when the postman brought "Evakuierungsbefehle" ("evacuation orders"). I heard the doors ofthe flats being opened and people receiving their orders and how they immediately burst intoscreams and tears.The Evakuierungs-Nummer ("evacuation number") had to be written or sewn on to everypiece of luggage, suitcase, rucksack or bag.I was there when our friends, Gustav and Rosa Spiegel, with their 11 and 14 year olddaughters Marga and Rita, and their two foster sons received their "evacuation order".Gustav Spiegel worked, up until the last moment, for HAPAG, i.e. Hapag Lloyd ShippingLine (Hamburg-Amerikanische Paketfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft) and had, through his untiringwork, enabled numerous people to emigrate. For himself and his family it was too late.A form was enclosed to list all household goods. The flats were to be sealed up after thekeys were deposited at the police station in Sedanstra�e.Imagine the situation: they had only a few hours to pack a suitcase to a specified weight andmake a very detailed list of their household goods. This was done with a panic-stricken fearof the fate that awaited them, and the uncertainty whether they could stay together.Meanwhile rumours spread of a previous deportation transport where people vanishedwithout trace, mothers and children being torn apart, i.e. no "Umsiedlund" ("resettlement") asofficially reported.I knitted a pair of gloves for the eleven year old Marga Spiegel, that she had always wishedfor and not acquired, Jews not being given Kleiderkarten (clothing coupons). In exchangeshe gave me a picture and a small valueless brooch. I am in possession of them until today

and the small pin is worth gold to me.

Gustav Spiegel (1896-1942) Marga Spiegel's brooch Marga Spiegel (born24.10.1931)

On the following day we went to the Provincial Masonic Lodge building inMoorweidenstra�e. I still remember it being a grey, cloudy, very cold November morning.We stood there. A barbed-wire barrier had been erected around the Masonic Lodge. Myfriends had to enter, and were probably registered, but we could not see this as the Gestapoprevented us from entering.I recollect how all of us stood in front of the building, mute, like a frightened flock of sheep.I particularly noticed a little girl. She stood with her back to me and had long, blond pigtails.She must have been of school-age as she had her satchel on her back and a doll in her arms.It was especially dreadful to see such children. One had the feeling of complete desolation.The Gestapo were most hostile. Suddenly they clubbed the nearest people to them andkicked them up the steps of the building.

My mother told me how later, when the people were being loaded onto lorries, one of theGestapo officers had told her that if she did not "clear off" immediately, she could go withthem. My brother reported that people stood around and that some had applauded withapproval."

Jews in No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e on receiving the "Evakuierungsbefehle"("Evacuation Order"), drawing by an eye-witness.

Heinz Rosenberg, one of the very few survivors of Minsk, reports in detail about hisdeportation on 8.11.1941 from Hamburg to Minsk, and the unbelievable years there in hisbook: Jahre des Schreckens: ... und ich blieb �brig dass ich Dir's ansage. Steidl,G�ttingen 1985 & 1992:On 7.11.1941, Heinz Rosenberg's family received the following letter:"The Jew Fritz Alexander Israel Rosenberg, his wife Elsa Sara, his son Heinz Ludwig Israel,and daughter Irmgard Sara must present themselves to the Provincial Masonic Lodge inMoorweidenstra�e. (...) All property, bank accounts, cash and valuables are hereby seized.(...)"Heinz Rosenberg gives the following detailed information:His parents telephoned him and his sister at work and they had immediately returned home.All were horrified. His mother had wept, his aunt Meta had arrived and had also wept, butcould do nothing to help.

Rosenberg family, 1936; from left to right: Heinz, Father, Curt, Irmgard; sitting:Mother.

They had sat down to lunch together for the last time, but no one was hungry. Eventually, itwas time to pack the suitcases and rucksack. Lastly, they wrote some letters for aunt Meta topost. None could sleep that night. Mother was particularly in despair that she had to leavebehind all her furniture, pictures, china, etc.The following morning his father took the house key to the police station. On returning herecounted how there had been hundreds of Jews doing the same thing. They left No. 40Hansastra�e at 10 a.m. and cast a last look at what they were never to see again.When they reported to the Masonic Lodge in Moorweidenstra�e firstly their suitcases wereexamined by members of the Jewish community and the Gestapo and placed in a storeroom.Then they had to line up, left or right, according to the first letter of their names. Left andright were four tables each with a member of the Jewish community and a Gestapo or SSman behind. At the first table one gave ones name, date of birth and address. Thereupon acard was taken out of the index and the SS man crossed through the name on a long list ofnames.At the next table one handed in ones identity card and signed the following document:"I, the undersigned Jew, hereby attest to being an enemy of the German government, and assuch have no entitlement to my remaining property, furniture, valuables, bank account orcash. My German citizenship is hereby revoked and I am, from 8 November 1941, stateless."As soon as the document was signed the SS or Gestapo man placed it inside the identitycard.At the next table one had to empty out all pockets and throw all wallets and money into alarge waste paper basket. All letters had to be ripped up.At the fourth table gold, silver and jewelry was collected.Finally, one entered the large room in which hundreds of people were assembled. One cameacross many friends there.The Jewish community had equipped the empty rooms with beds and straw to make the night

as bearable as possible. Hot bean soup, tea and bread were shared out. Dr. Plaut told themthat the transport was intended to rebuild the cities in the East. Their suitcases were to arrivein special railway carriages and in addition there were three goods-waggons with food,bedding, medicine and work tools.There was a strange atmosphere consisting of hope and despair, laughter and weeping,praying and cursing.At 5 a.m. next morning large, closed police vans arrived. The people were loaded into thevans under police guard and driven to the G�terbahnhof (goods depot). 20 people and 5goods waggons awaited us there. The carriages were old but had doors and windows, whichhowever could not be opened from the inside. Each carriage held 50 people and all placeswere occupied. The entrainment took many hours. Finally, the SS appointed Dr. EdgarFrank as the Jewish leader of the transport, who in his turn appointed someone responsiblefor each carriage. He was himself responsible for a carriage. He received a yellow armbandand distributed food and water when the train made a stop. Even before the train departedHamburg three goods-waggons of food and special provisions were distributed. The Jewishcommunity again stressed that there was no grounds for panic. Finally, the SS men alightedtheir special carriage and the train departed at 10 a.m.

Irmgard and Curt Rosenberg, Hamburg 1937.

The carriages were unheated and the compartments were over full with people and luggage.Some family members and friends were separated. Disquiet and anxiousness was so intensethat the least thing provoked a dispute. At each stop - approximately every eight hours -armed SS guards patrolled the train. The train travelled via Berlin, through Poland to theRussian border and on to Minsk where it arrived on the evening of 11 November 1941. Wewere under way for three days and nights. As it was late evening when we arrived the SSdecided not to let us off the train until the morning. And so we spent another cold night onthe train. By this time water and provisions were low.We were able to detrain at 5 a.m. An SS officer gave various orders. Suddenly he called the

Jewish leader of the transport. Dr. Frank immediately reported, stood to attention, andreported the number of men, women and children from Hamburg.The SS officer looked at him and called him "dirty Jew". He added that when wishing tospeak to an officer, or some other German, he was to remove his hat and wait until he wasspoken to. At the same time he took his leather whip and struck Dr. Frank to the ground withsuch force that he had to be helped up on his feet.Next we were ordered to march, under guard by soldiers, to the Minsk ghetto. Anyonetrying to flee or not obeying the order was to be shot. One hundred of us were to be shot forevery one that attempted to flee.Clearing-up operations in the ghetto had to begin immediately. No one was allowed on thestreets of the ghetto between 8 p.m. and 6 p.m.Dr. Frank and the twenty individuals responsible for the train carriages were taken to theghetto first. It lay above a very old city district. It was completely fenced around withbarbed-wire and only had one exit.They were given the order to clear-out a particular building. On entering the building theywere confronted with a second terrible experience: the floor was covered with hundreds ofcorpses. There was blood everywhere. There was still food on the stove and tables. All therooms were in a havoc. There was not one person left alive.Gradually, the other deportees arrived from the station. It was a long way. It was too far forthe elderely, who were loaded onto lorries.The day was soon over. The SS gradually released "residential buildings" and a massive wirefence was erected around the ghetto. We cleared the houses with the most primitive ofresources. In the following weeks deportation transports arrived from Berlin, Vienna, Pragueand Bremen/Hamburg, each with 1,000 deportees. The last transport from Bremen/Hamburgbrought some relatives of the deportees from the first transport from Hamburg.In January, the Jewish ghetto leadership was arrested. Dr. Edgar Frank, and his colleaguesSpiegel, Fritz Rappolt, Gerhard Akermann, etc. were placed in an SS prison. Nothing washeard of them until March. Then on a Sunday morning all the German Jews were ordered toassemble on the large square. An SS lorry arrived and the twelve "living skeletons" werethrown out onto the middle of the square. They were bound hand and foot. The SS-Sturmbannf�hrer announced that Dr. Frank and his "rogues" were to be shot for disciplinaryoffences. The men were then killed where they lay with a shot to the back of the head.

In the Spring a new SS ghetto commander was appointed: SS-Haubtscharf�hrer AdolfR�be. He was a violent, medium-sized man. His conspicuously large hands permanentlybrandished a whip or pistol. His "speciality" was to stroll through the ghetto with twoLatvian SS men and to call one to ten Jews to him - mostly women, elderly people orchildren - and to lead them to the nearby cemetery, and shoot them. Atrocities like thisoccured practically every day. Once R�be saw a beautifully painted sign. Having found outthat Marion Baruch, from Hamburg, had painted it he ordered her to him. He spoke shortlywith her, led her to the cemetery and shot her.

Marion Baruch (born 19.03.1919).

In conclusion a selection of names of those deported to Minsk on 8.11.1941 follows:

Deportation Transport on 8.11.1941 destination Minsk:

Name Date ofBirth

Place ofBirth Occupation Last Address

Appermann,Gerhard 26.04.1907 Hamburg Representative No. 4 Kantstra�e

Behrens, Ruth Bella 13.10.1932 Hamburg No. 15 Rappstra�e

Bleiweiss, Oskar 16.11.1927 Hamburg No. 7 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Bandmann,Siegfried 21.06.1884 Hamburg Engineer No. 122 Grindelallee

Baruch, E. Marion 19.03.1919 Hamburg Designer No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Cohn, Edgar 23.12.1929 Hamburg No. 16 MittelwegCohn, Hans 26.05.1925 Hamburg No. 64 Grindelhof

Cohn, Julius 16.01.1886 Hamburg Supervisor for RitualFoodstuffs No. 16e Dillstra�e

Cossloff, Heinz 24.03.1922 Hamburg Gardener No. 16 Dillstra�eEhrmann, Harold 14.04.1922 Hamburg Apprentice No. 24 Grindelallee

No. 8 Heinrich-

Falck, James 11.08.1902 Hamburg Esoteric Doctor No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Fl�rsheim, Dr.Arthur 23.03.1890 Wildungen Dentist No. 17 Grindelhof

Frack, Dr. Edgar 28.07.1896 Hamburg Banker No. 40Heilwigstra�e

Frank, Max 14.02.1877 Chemnitz Teacher No. 15 Rappstra�eHasenberg, Kurt 8.07.1920 Hamburg Locksmith No. 6 Bornstra�eHoffmann, Walter 25.04.1930 Hamburg No. 13 Rappstra�e

Israel, Hans 16.08.1920 Borken Carpenter No. 46/48Grindelallee

Jacoby, Walter 27.02.1925 Hannover No. 80 Grindelhof

Josephs, Hanna 21.03.1923 Hamburg Trainee Nurse No. 6Beneckestra�e

Jutrosinski,Alexander 15.02.1909 Hamburg Pharmacist No. 63

Schl�terstra�e

Kaftal, Gabriele 2.12.1922 Hamburg Nurse No. 6Beneckestra�e

Kahn, Hubert 25.03.1922 Walld�ren No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Kahn, Ingrid 28.07.1924 Hamburg No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Kahn, Ruth 17.03.1922 Hamburg No. 15 RutschbahnKatz, Manfred 12.04.1921 Gellichhausen No. 18 Rappstra�eKatz, Mathilde 3.02.1924 GIlsa Dressmaker No. 18 Rappstra�eLaupheimer, Rolf 24.01.1922 Hamburg Painter No. 22 Bornstra�eLevinson, Erwin 3.09.1929 Hamburg No. 21 Dillstra�e

Levinson, Ilse 11.09.1921 Hamburg Trainee Nurse No. 6Beneckestra�e

Levy, Else, n�eHeynssen 3.05.1991 Hamburg Nurse No. 2 Bieberstra�e

Levy, Ester 18.02.1930 Hamburg No. 16 Rappstra�eL�wenstein, Ilse 21.09.1924 Hamburg Domestic Servant No. 21 GrindelalleeLondon, Sophie,n�e Cohn 3.04.1894 Hamburg Teacher No. 134 Grindelallee

Mathias, Vera 15.12.1923 Hamburg Domestic Servant No. 6Beneckestra�e

Meinhardt, Ernst 2.12.1886 Schwedt Pharmacist No. 18 Binderstra�e

Menke, Arthur 23.02.1927 Hamburg No. 2Ostmarkstra�e

Menke, Hannelore 14.08.1924 Hamburg Dressmaker No. 2Ostmarkstra�e

Moses, Ruth 1.05.1925 Altona No. 116 GrindelalleeNissensohn,Joachim 25.01.1924 Berhometh Gardener No. 15 Dillstra�e

Oppenheim,Hermann 26.11.1927 Hamburg No. 22 Bornstra�e

Pilatus, G�nther 22.03.1931 Hamburg No. 15 RutschbahnRappold, Fritz 22.08.1900 Berlin Textile Manufacturer No. 10 Haynstra�eRosenberg, Heinz 15.09.1921 G�ttingen Businessman No. 40 Hansastra�eRosenschein, Ernst 25.01.1897 Harburg Lawyer No. 25 RutschbahnSeelig, Gert 24.05.1927 Stettin No. 2 GrindelhofSeelig, Horst 25.09.1929 Stettin No. 2 GrindelhofSeelig, Manfred 10.12.1921 Stettin Locksmith No. 2 GrindelhofSeelig, Ernst 29.11.1922 Friedrichstadt Textile Salesman No. 20 Bornstra�eSeelig, Werner 30.08.1921 Friedrichstadt Clerk No. 20 Bornstra�e

Spiegel, Gustav 9.11.1896 Versmold No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Spiegel, Marga 24.10.1931 Versmold No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Spiegel, Rita 26.09.1929 Versmold No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Spiegel, Rosalie,n�e Wolff 20.02.1899 Wesel No. 8 Heinrich-

Barth-Stra�eSchlachcic, Rita 3.06.1935 Harburg No. 13 Dillstra�eSchlesinger, Ester 16.03.1928 No. 25 a RutschbahnDeutsch, Fritz Heinz 6.12.1936 Hamburg No. 15 Rappstra�e

Falck, Bescha 11.01.1939 Hamburg No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Graff, Gerd 7.12.1928 Hamburg No. 25 a RutschbahnScheier, IlmaHedwig 16.10.1934 Hamburg No. 83

RothenbaumchausseeHoffmann, Gerhard 9.02 1923 Hamburg Factory Worker No. 13 Rappstra�e

Hirschhorn, Ester 5.05.1924 Vijnita Dressmaker No. 11 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Meinhardt, Hans 23.07.1923 Stettin No. 18 Binderstra�eLazarus, Ursula 17.07.1921 Hamburg Factory Worker No. 21 Grindelallee

Meyer, Inge 9.06.1927 Hamburg No. 63Schl�terstra�e

Gerson, Jutta 2.03.1928 Vechta Domestic Servant No. 15 RutschbahnWolf, Friedel 24.11.1927 Niederohmen No. 8 Bornstra�eSchlesinger, David 6.01.1924 Hamburg No. 25 a Rutschbahn

L�benstein, Inge 5.09.1923 Hamburg Dressmaker No. 4Beneckestra�e

Wagener, Bela Reha 11.01.1939 Hamburg No. 19 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Wagener, Jana 15.11.1940 Hamburg No. 19 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

Meier, Rolf 10.05.1921 Friedrichstadt Locksmith No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-Stra�e

The next deportation transport departed on 18.11.1941 also from Hamburg to Minsk.

There are also varied figures available for the deportation transport to Minsk on 18.11.1941:The Gestapo Regional Headquarters Hamburg, in a letter to the Oberfinanzdirektion (head ofthe Finance Department) on 15.11.1941, sent a list of names of the 420 Jews that were to be"evakuiert" ("evacuated" = deported) to Minsk on 18.11.1941. These Jews were to join atransport of 580 Jews from Bremen. In addition the letter stated:"The train departs Bremen on schedule at 8.40 a.m. on 18.11.1941 and should arrive inHamburg at 11.32 a.m.In contrast Leo Lippmann, former councillor of state in the Finance Department, and,following his dismissal by the Nazis, financial expert on the board of the Jewish community,gives the figure of 355 deportees.The first edition of the Commemorative Book of Jewish Victims of National Socialism inHamburg gives a figure of 402 victims which was corrected, with the help of the Hamburgstate archives, to a figure of 404 victims.Hans Lamm quotes a figure of 407 deportees.

A letter from Hermine Mayer, born 21.07.1914 in Altona, dressmaker, address No. 3Lenhartzstra�e, written on the journey to Minsk follows:

Schneidem�hl,19.11.1941 15.00 hrs

My Dear Elsa,

Thus far 23 hours under way in wildly shaking, old, Czechoslovakian railway carriages,without water supply, completely filthy, a small foretaste of what is to come. Being 10persons to a compartment (naturally a passenger train) there is no thought of sleeping, thiswill be the third night. However, morale is not bad, we are not letting things get us down.We have a good relationship with the person responsible for our carriage, we workedtogether helping with the previous transports. The children under 6 years of age areaccommodated with small hammocks, with their families, in additional carriages. The escort(Landespolizei = police) is not so harsh as the impression their bayonetted weapons give.The man responsible for the train is also good, however, the further east we travel the moreantisemitism one experiences at the stations. - The Jewish community has organizedeverything magnificently, as an example, I only wish to say that the financing of the lasttransport of 1,000 individuals cost RM 70,000. - The journey will take 5 days, very nice,especially as Ruthi and I do not have seats, and are camped out in the corridor with ourluggage. Washing is a luxury, water being limited to what we are allowed to carry on boardat the various stations. - In the Masonic Lodge building Mama fell down the stairs on theway to the toilet at night. The doctor established that there is no concussion or fracture, buther forehead - and especially eye sockets and eyelids - is suffused with blood, as if it waspainted with ink; it looks terrible. Incidentally, in Hamburg I collapsed weeping under theweight of my monstrous rucksack. If only we will be met in Minsk! Otherwise, I must throwhalf the contents away. Hopefully, our men are allowed to meet us. That would be nice. Idread the nights. - When possible, I will write to you, for the time being this will be the lastletter. (...)"

Telegram from William Philip (born 4.08.1974) to Werner Philip in Haifa; regardingthe third Deportation Transport.

In conclusion a selection of names of those deported to Minsk on 18.11.1941 follows:

Deportation Transport on 18.11.1941 destination Minsk:

Name Date ofBirth

Place ofBirth Occupation Last Address

Ascher, Chana 22.06.1940 Hamburg No. 64 Grindelhof

Bieber, Denny 15.10.1939 Hamburg No. 13Rappstra�e

Bieber, Ilse 19.07.1936 Hamburg No. 13Rappstra�e

Bieber, Ruth 31.05.1931 Hamburg No. 13Rappstra�e

Brager, Asriel 24.11.1940 Hamburg No. 25 aRutschbahn

Ehrenberg, Inge 18.01.1933 Hamburg No. 64 GrindelhofEhrenberg, Lotte 3.07.1936 Hamburg No. 64 GrindelhofFl�rsheim, Hanne 12.01.1931 Hamburg No. 17 GrindelhofFl�rsheim, Margot 19.05.1927 Hamburg No. 17 GrindelhofHansen, Henny, n�e Daltrop 3.01.1889 Harburg Nurse No. 68 Johnsallee

Jacobsohn, Bertha 9.03.1924 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Jacobsohn, Ernestine 18.06.1925 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Jacobsohn, Eva 28.04.1927 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Jacobsohn, John 17.03.1894 Altona Lawyer No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Jacobsohn, Mathilde 30.08.1934 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Jacobsohn, Sally 22.07.1930 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Levy, Tirze 31.07.1939 Hamburg No. 4Beneckestra�e

Rosenberg, Irene, n�eOppenheim 4.02.1920 Berlin No. 21

Grindelallee

Rosenberg, Ivel 6.01.1941 Hamburg No. 21Grindelallee

Simon, Gerhard Wilhelm 11.09.1920 Hamburg Navvy No. 16 Dillstra�eSimon, Ingeborg, n�e Cosloff 13.01.1921 Hamburg Seamstress No. 16 Dillstra�eSchmul, Berl 5.04.1941 Hamburg No. 16 Dillstra�eSchmul, Lieselotte, n�eKeibel 23.03.1921 Hamburg No. 16 Dillstra�e

Szeslanski, Rita 25.11.1936 Hamburg No. 43 Grindelhof

There are also varied figures available for the deportation transport to Riga on 6.12.1941:The Gestapo Regional Headquarters Hamburg, in a letter to the Oberfinanzdirektion (head ofthe Finance Department) on 1.12.1941, sent a list of names of the 794 Jews that were to be"evakuiert" ("evacuated" = deported) to Riga, Latvia on 4.12.1941.In addition the letter stated:"These Jews are to join 44 Jews from L�neburg, 136 from Kiel and L�beck, and 75 fromDanzig.The train departs on schedule from Hamburg's Hann�verscher Railway Station at 12.11hours on 4.12.1941."Regarding the Hamburg Jews, the typed figure of 750 is crossed out, as is the destination ofMinsk.In contrast Leo Lippmann, former councillor of state in the Finance Department, and,following his dismissal by the Nazis, financial expert on the board of the Jewish community,gives the figure of 744 deportees.The first edition of the Commemorative Book of Jewish Victims of National Socialism inHamburg gives a figure of 747 victims which was corrected, with the help of the Hamburgstate archives, to a figure of 744 victims.Hans Lamm quotes a figure of 766 deportees.

A letter from Thekla Bernau, born 29.05.1900 in Dannenberg, worker, address No. 57Lehmweg, written to her daughters Margarethe and Selma, living in Friendsfield, USA,shortly before her deportation to Riga follows. Before she was deported she wasaccommodated with 10 strangers, in two rooms of four houses, in Hartungstra�e. Many ofthe last addresses of the deportees on the deportation list for the 6.12.1941 are other thantheir own, so that they were probably quartered elsewhere shortly before being deported.The letter relates:"We now know: we leave on the 5 or 6 December. Nobody asks where. Everyone knows butno one admits to it. We are now eleven in two rooms in Hartungstra�e. (...) This morningSS men arrived on three separate occasions demanding our papers. We informed them thatwe had already handed them in and that we were registered. We asked if we could have fuelfor the stove and a doctor for Fanny Borower. They grinned and said we did not need astove anymore and that there were not even doctors for respectable people.Then a woman arrived. Fat and coarse. Medical inspection. She reached under everyonesshirt and in their trousers. We had to raise our arms and spread our legs. She felt everythingand removed the tincture from old Wolf Borower's knee. She said it was alcohol and thatJews were forbidden all alcohol. On penalty of death. Fanny whimpered, Wolf said nothing.

The woman said that she was knitting a pullover for her son for Christmas but that one couldnot find such lovely wool as in Celine Wenkel 's scarf anywhere. The Jews always hadeverything! The best! But soon she would also own such wool. Perhaps tomorrow! (...)The woman said departure was early tomorrow. We would be woken, and would have tohand over watches and wedding rings. And woe betide anyone who hid anything. (...)Two black cars are parked in front of the house. Guards. We are all accommodated in fourhouses. (Probably 9-11 Hartungstra�e). Above us children are crying. (...)In the evening I had a crying fit. Celine Wenkel said it was like previous deportationtransports. At the Sternschanze railway station the cattle-waggons were waiting. Open. Fortyto a waggon. Women and men were separated. In Altona waggons from Kiel and Hannoverwere added. (...) It is now shortly before midnight, or later. (...) The hauswart (caretaker)came and said that it would be better to give all remaining valuables to him for safekeeping.I have nothing. Only these pages and indelible pencil. He will give me an old envelope. Iwill put everything into it and give it to him. He promises to send it to Margarethe andSelma. I will stop writing now. Farewell, my loves. Do not think ill of me."

Frau W., gave the following report, in Hamburg in 1982, that highlights the catastrophicconditions in the Masonic Lodge building in Moorweidenstra�e during the night of 5/6December 1941:"I wish to relate what occured here on a very, very cold night. At this time I was helping inthe Gemeinschaftshaus (Jewish community building). The people had to spend the night inthe Masonic Lodge building. As they required something to eat and drink we made coffee.That meant that in less than an hour we had to find hundreds of thermos flasks, coffee, andcooking facilities. I have no idea how many thermos flasks I filled that night.Herr Fritz Benscher, who was also helping, then transported these flasks to the MasonicLodge building. Suddenly, he returned with the flasks and said we must stop. The toiletshad become frozen due to the frost and the unheated building. The toilets had overflowedwith so many people using them. Thereby the Gestapo had ordered us not to give the peopleany food or drink. Benscher said we should pour the coffee away. He required ladles.When I asked him why, he replied that he was going to ladle the toilets empty. He did this.And then finally at dawn, just before the deportation transport left, we were allowed to makecoffee again and fill thermos flasks."

Gro�er Mozartsaal (Larger Mozart Hall), Provincial Lodge, 1988.

Chief-Rabbi Dr. Joseph Carlebach, his wife Charlotte and their four youngest children:Noemi, Ruth, Salomon and Sara Stella were also members of the fourth deportationtransport.

Charlotte Carlebach (1900-1942).

An eyewitness of the Carlebach's last night in Hamburg relates:"(...) He expected that one day he and his family would be deported like all other Jews.However, he did not hide his disappointment when he and those members of his family stillremaining in Hamburg were allocated to the deportation transport to Riga. His deep concern

was that of all Jewish fathers, with the additional pain of not being able to stand by theremains of his now abandoned community (...). The conflict between the duty to his familyand the intellectual-spiritual leadership of his community had long been a burden. During hislast night in Hamburg he professed that he took heart from the fact that the tyranny of theoppressor had resolved this difficult conflict (...)."

In conclusion follows a selection of names of those deported to Riga on 6.12.1941:

Deportation Transport on 6.12.1941 destination Riga:

Name Date ofBirth

Place ofBirth Occupation Last Address

Arnheim, Rudolf 13.12.03 Hamburg Architect No. 2Beneckestra�e

Brill, Dr. Erich 20.09.1895 L�beck Artist No. 2Beneckestra�e

Carlebach, Charlotte,n�e Preuss 16.12.1900 Berlin No. 76

Ostmarkstra�e

Carlebach, Joseph 30.01.1983 L�beck Chief-Rabbi No. 76Ostmarkstra�e

Carlebach, Noemie 24.10.1927 Hamburg No. 76Ostmarkstra�e

Carlebach, Ruth 11.08.1926 Altona No. 76Ostmarkstra�e

Carlebach, Salomon 17.08.1925 Hamburg No. 76Ostmarkstra�e

Carlebach, Sara Stella 24.12.1929 Hamburg No. 76Ostmarkstra�e

Crossmann, Inge 26.09.1924 Rostock No. 8 Bornstra�e

Dammann, Gertrud 17.10.1920 G�ttingen Worker No. 76Ostmarkstra�e

Dammann, Lotte 4.05.1922 G�ttingen Worker No. 76Ostmarkstra�e

Daniel, Bernhard 27.03.1937 Hamburg No. 20 bBeneckestra�e

Daniel, Hannelore 26.02.1936 Hamburg No. 20 bBeneckestra�e

Daniel, Maja 22.09.1934 Hamburg No. 20 bBeneckestra�e

Daniel, Manfred 15.08.1924 Hamburg No. 25 a Rutschbahn

Eldot, David 24.12.1937 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Eldot, Eli 1.12.1940 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Eldot, Judith Getta 15.12.1936 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Eldot, Naphtalie 3.02.1899 H�chberg Secondary SchoolTeacher

No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Eldot, Rosa, n�eFr�hlich 8.02.1908 Bad

Mergentheim No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Eldot, Walter Samuel 27.08.1934 Hamburg No. 55Ostmarkstra�e

Heilbut, Jettchen 7.09.1885 Altona Teacher No. 184 GrindelalleeHeilbut, Julia 12.08.1934 Hamburg No. 20 Bornstra�eHeilbut, Rosa 12.12.1925 Hamburg Domestic Servant No. 20 Bornstra�eLondon, Martin 31.05.1928 Hamburg No. 24 Rappstra�eMenke, Elisabeth 16.11.1894 Kiel Nurse No. 22 Bornstra�ePhilip, Denny 17.06.1941 Hamburg No. 68 GrindelhofPhilip, Senta 29.10.1921 Hamburg No. 68 Grindelhof

Salomon, Ida 2.08.1878 Altona Singer No. 24Ostmarkstra�e

Szpic, Bernd 15.07.1938 Neum�nster No. 26Beneckestra�e

Szpic, Denny 12.08.1941 Hamburg No. 26Beneckestra�e

Szpic, Egon 5.02.1934 Neum�nster No. 26Beneckestra�e

Szpic, Hans 22.12.1929 Barmen No. 26Beneckestra�e

Szpic, Ines 29.03.1931 Elberfeld No. 26Beneckestra�e

Schuster, Herbert Victor 3.07.1924 Hamburg Apprentice No. 16 Bornstra�eSchwarzschild,Abraham 8.07.1937 Hamburg No. 27 Bornstra�e

Schwarzschild, Leopold 2.02.1924 Hamburg ApprenticeGardener No. 22 Bornstra�e

Schwarzschild, Sara 9.09.1938 Hamburg No. 22 Bornstra�eStreim, Ephraim 4.07.1903 Hamburg Teacher No. 184 Grindelallee

Streim, Mirjam 24.06.1927 Hamburg No. 184 GrindelalleeStreim, Walter 23.12.1928 Hamburg No. 184 Grindelallee

Weldt, Helga Lina 3.04.1933 Hamburg No. 19 Heinrich-Barth-stra�e

Wolff, Ellinor 9.09.1935 Hamburg No. 8 Heinrich-Barth-stra�e

Koff, Werner 27.03.1924 Hamburg No. 2Beneckestra�e

Littmann, Lotte 4.10.20 Hamburg Nurse No. 54 JohnsalleeStrauss, Hilde E. M. 22.06.1914 Hamburg Apprentice Nurse No. 54 Johnsallee

Today the building at No. 36 Moorweidenstra�e once again houses the Provinzialloge vonNiedersachsen der Gro�en Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland (ProvincialMasonic Lodge of Lower Saxony, the largest Freemason Lodge in Germany).

Memorial Stone with the Provincial Masonic Lodge in the background, 1983.

The area fronting the Provincial Lodge is now called "Platz der J�dischen Deportierten"(Square of the Deported Jews).

Platz der J�dischen Deportierten (Square of the DeportedJews):

The Platz der J�dischen Deportierten is a triangular green area lying betweenMoorweidenstra�e and Edmund-Siemers-Allee which fronts the Privincial Masonic Lodgeand lies adjacent to the Hamburg University main building. In the years 1941/42 thousandsof Hamburg Jews were assembled here for deportation to the concentration and exterminationcamps.

Monument for the Deported:Plans to erect a commemorative stone on this spot were initiated in 1980 through a dialoguebetween private and political initiatives and the Jewish Community.In 1982 the Department for the Arts commissioned Ulrich R�ckriem (born 1938), at thattime professor at the Hamburg College of Art, to construct a memorial. The dedicationceremony took place in January 1982.The commemorative stone, a 4 metre high, 2 metre wide and 0�7 metre thick granite block,stands in the left base angle of the triangular shaped green area.

Ulrich R�ckriem proceeded with the project according to his charateristic method ofworking. In 1968 the artist had developed his individual concept of dividing up stone.R�ckriem took a block of Finnish granite weighing 35 metric tonnes, one of his favouritematerials, and divided it into seven separate sections: three foundation stones, three columnsand a roofing slab. These separate sections were then reassembled. Precise horizontal andvertical dividing lines reveal the block to be a reassembled unity of its divided sections. Theregularly spaced holes along these dividing lines and the notches on the outer edges of the

skulpture reveal where the chisel was driven into the stone in the process of dividing up theblock. R�ckriem proportioned the separate sections so that the lengths of the edges aredivisible by seven, a significant number (however, not a "sacred" number) within Judaism.The stone is intended to arouse associations with the Western Wall/Wailing Wall inJerusalem.

Despite such references R�ckriem's artistic stance corresponds more with minimal andconceptual art such as developed in the 1960s by the american artists Donald Judd and SolLeWitt. The philosophy of this movement was that skulptures were objects in themselvesand were not representative of anything. R�ckriem extended this approach by focusing onthe object's "presence". The material of the stone is highlighted thereby denighing itsfunctionality as a memorial. Accordingly, the granite block is not engraved with anyexplanatory inscription. The rough natural surface of the stone with its visible signs of theworking process speaks for itself.

Memorial Plaques at two corners of the triangular area on Edmund-Siemers-Allee.

The Hamburg Department for the Arts has erected plaques at the three points of thetriangular area. Two read:

Platz der J�dischen Deportierten

Im Jahr 1933 lebten in Hamburg 24.000 Juden

Hier began der Weg tausender j�discher B�rger Hamburgsder in den Vernichtungslagen des Nazi Regimes endete.

Memorial Plaque at the corner of Moorweidenstra�e and Schl�terstra�e.

The plaque at the corner of Moorweidenstra�e and Schl�terstra�e, in accord with theJewish Community, reads:

DEM GEDENKEN AN DIE J�DISCHEN B�RGER HAMBURGSDIE IN DEN TAGEN DER

NATIONALSOZIALISTISCHEN GEWALTHERRSCHAFTZU THAUSENDEN VON DIESEM PLATZ

IN DEN TOD GESCHICHT WURDEN.

VERGESST ES NICHTSEID WACHSAM.

"In remembrance of the Jewish citizens of Hamburg who, during the National Socialisttyranny, were sent from this place to their deaths in their thousands. Remember always,remain vigilant". This, however, has not prevented criticism of the abstract andinscriptionless memorial.

It was R�ckriem's understanding that the monument constituted the entire expanse of theSquare of the Deported. The plaques erected at the three angles of the triangular green areawere not part of his original conception. These were erected in 1989 on the occasion of theofficial naming of the area as "Square of the Deported", within the framework of the so-called "Black Plaques" programm, within which the City of Hamburg erected explanatorycommemorative plaques in all places connected with atrocities perpetrated by the NationalSocialist tyranny.

Memorial Stone, from the other side, with the Radisson SAS Hotel Hamburg in thebackground, 1983.

Literature:Rosenberg, Heinz: Jahre des Schreckens: ... und ich blieb �brig dass ich Dir's ansage,Stedle, G�ttingen, 1985 & 1992.

German text: Dipl.-Pol. Wilhelm Mosel, Deutsch-J�dische Gesellschaft, Hamburg.

Struan Robertson