Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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burial, which occurred on 17 November 1939. 39 Owing to the unusual size of the
casket, the late arrival of the corpse and the onset of the Sabbath, Berendsohn had
not dug the grave deep enough. The end result was that after the burial of Moses
Lewin, the ground settled in the ensuing days and the casket moved upwards,
creating a hillock. Through the intercession of the Jüdische Kultusvereinigung,
which pleaded Berendsohn’s case, he was neither charged nor imprisoned. At the
time of Berendsohn’s arrest, he was the sole carer of five children. His wife, the
widow Hertha Zander née Basch, was in Waldheim prison, serving a sentence of
two years and three months for aborting their child and was not due to be released
until July 1941. 40 On 6 August 1940, the mayor’s office issued a written warning
to Berendsohn that such an occurrence was not to be repeated. 41
For the period up until October 1941 the Jewish community was also
responsible for the collection of community levies from those members still in a
financial position to contribute. For the accounting year of 1940 sixty-five
individuals were levied on their remaining assets. The total value of those assets
listed was RM 3,889,674.40 and the total levies received amounted to RM
39
For the complete and comprehensive police reports and all correspondence between
the relevant parties concerning this matter see Bestand Rep. 38, Signatur Nr. 2501 R1,
STAM, pp. 14–22. For a comprehensive personal file on the Berendsohn family see
Bestand Pe, Signatur Nr. 06, ASGM.
40
Betr.: Jude Kurt Israel Berendsohn, geb. 14.4.89 in Hamburg, 14. Juni 1940,
Bestand Rep. 38, Signatur Nr. 2501 R1, STAM, p. 16 R. Hertha Zander née Basch
was eventually released from prison, but later sent to Ravensbrück Concentration
Camp, where she perished on 12 May 1942. Her husband Kurt Berendsohn, together
with their five children, four whom were from his wife’s previous marriage, were
deported to the Warsaw ghetto in April 1942. It is unknown whether or not they
perished in the ghetto or in an extermination camp. For complete details on the
Berendsohn and Zander children see Bestand Pe, Signatur Nr. 06, ASGM.
41
Verwarnung an Herrn Kurt Israel Berendsohn, Magdeburg, Fermersleberweg Nr.
40/46, 6. August 1940, ibid., p. 22.