Germany and the Netherlands

I'm about to embark on a journey that will bring me to places my fathers family lived in Europe.  As I've been wanted to do this trip since I was a child, it's about time!

My Oma's family was from Cologne Germany, and she was born in a small town outside of Cologne, called Neuwied.  Although I may not make it to Neuwied, I do know it's just about 50 miles down the Rhine River from Cologne.  My beautiful Oma lived in Cologne until she married and with impending WWII and the government sanctioned hate of the Jewish race, they moved to Berlin.  They felt that since Berlin was a large city they would be safer than in Cologne, a city of parishes and Catholics.  They were, of course, wrong.  After moving to Berlin, my father was born in January 1938.  They left Berlin on Kristalnacht (the night of broken glass) in November of 1938.  They saw the writing on the wall (literally) and walked to Belgium, where they again believed they could possibly be safe.  They were not.  They then took a train to Amsterdam, where they believed they could be safe.  They were not, but my Oma was able to hide out for a couple of years.  She got fake papers from a man who did this for the Jews, but that ended up being her downfall.  Her name was possibly Miriam or Marie Goldmeyer with these papers, but she forgot that name.  Her real name was Rose, or as everyone called her Roschen for "little Rose".

I always wonder why some people left and others didn't.  Rose had two brothers, Herman and Karl.  Herman left and went to Columbia when they saw what was happening.  He stayed in Columbia and eventually moved to Florida with his Swedish wife.  They had a daughter, Liz, and he had another daughter with a mistress from Columbia, Helen.  Helen was named after my Great Grandmother Helen, the same person I was named for.  Her name was Helen, or Helena, and they called her Lenschon (little Helen - see a pattern :-P )  Yes, I take after that side of the family!  T m hey were little, but they were also quite badass.  My Oma used to always tell me that no one messed with the Meyer boys.  They boxed and wrestled and would beat anyone who challenged them.

My Uncle Karl was married to my Aunt Margueretta and they had moved to Amsterdam before my Oma with my great grandparents, Helen and Jacob.  Aunt Margueretta was not Jewish and they had a son, Herbert, who was a little older than my father.

Rose married Gustav (my grandfather) when she was 26 in 1937 and had my father in 1938.  Ok, I just had a small epiphany that could be scandalous!  Gustav was much older than Rose, but he was the love of her life.  He was 49 when they married.  Gustav was an importer of brushes and combs from Ireland.

Some pictures I found in an old album - possibly Uncle Karl's album - Amsterdam around March of 1940

 

My Oma is the third from the left

Uncle Karl on the right, my great grandparents Helen and Jacob in the middle

Marguaretta holding my father, Rose with Herbert and Karl

Now, about that downfall of the fake papers ....

My great grandparents and Uncle and Aunt went to Amsterdam when Rose went to Berlin.  They thought that it would be safer there.  My Great Grandfather, Jacob, was arrested in the street in Cologne and somehow they freed him and went to the Netherlands.  My father was able to stay with my Oma until he was four years old and it became too dangerous for them.  At that point, they found a friend in Rotterdam with two boys of there own and paid the family to hide my father.  My Oma moved to Rotterdam to be closer to him.  My grandfather had already been murdered in Auschwitz at that point.  How did this woman who was treated like a princess her whole life up to that point do what she did to survive and allow her baby boy to survive?   She sold all her jewelry to pay them and survive.  How did she have so much strength? 

There was a man who had forged her papers as well as papers for many other Jews.  He was turned in by someone and told that if he gave the names of the Jews who he forged papers for, they would let him go.  Of course they killed him after they got the information out of him!  Oma would go to see my father every weekend and take him for the day, but that day it was raining extremely hard and she decided not to go.  Thank G-d!  They came to get her and told her they would kill her if she didn't tell her where her son was.  She said she had no idea as her family had hidden him, so they would just have to kill her.  And so began her deportation out of Westerbork and to Auschwitz.