5/6/2023 0 Comments A marta animal![]() ![]() On Apthe train stopped near Troebitz, Germany where they were liberated by the Russians. The transport contained several thousand people. One week later on April 10, Ilse, Marti and Lotte were put on a regular train with wooden seats and were told they were going to Theresienstadt. Marti's father Henry died on Apafter he was beaten up for trying to keep warm during a roll call while running in place. Anne said she didn't believe she would survive if Margot did not make it. In March 1945 Marti had contact with Anne Frank who was in a separate lager. This was a privileged position and allowed her to smuggle bits of food out to her family such as sugar and potatoes. One day an SS man took a liking to her as she did not look Jewish and sent her to work in the kitchen. Ilse weighed 70 lbs and was constantly hungry. They took apart old shoes to save the good pieces of leather for repairs and additional use. Ilse worked sorting and repairing shoes that came into the camp. She was responsible for food distribution, cleanliness and other requirements of the Germans. ![]() Since Lotte spoke a fluent German and Dutch she became a Barackenleitsler (second in command of the barracks). In Belsen they were allowed to wear their own clothes. The train stopped in Celle and they had to walk the remaining eight kilometers to the camp carrying their small pieces of luggage. They left by passenger train on the second transport to Belsen from Westerbork. They chose Bergen Belsen as it was described as an exchange camp. However, in January 1944 the family was given a choice to leave for Bergen Belsen or Theresienstadt. He managed to help them to remain in Westerbork longer. A cousin of Marta's family worked on the Contact Committee of the camp reporting to the Germans. On Monday nights the inmates learned the names of those selected for the next transport to Auschwitz. Marti, who was too young to work, attended classes and helped with the younger children. Ilse worked in the laundry facilities with her parents. Upon arriving in the camp, men and women were separated. On June 20, 1943, together with all the other Jews in their neighborhood, the family was arrested and sent to Westerbork. Friends begged them to go into hiding but they did not want to desert Henry's mother. He did not comprehend what she meant.Īfter Ilse was forced out of high school, she began to work in the office of the synagogue which afforded her a special "Sperre" on her ID card exempting her from deportation her father had the same permit as he continued working as well. Marti's mother told the Dutch policeman that she had already gone. Marti's grandmother died in November 1941, and while the family was sitting shiva the Dutch military police arrived to deport her for work in Germany. Marti's father kept a radio hidden in the basement of his home and managed to listen to Radio Orange from London. However, when they had to turn over their bicycles to the authorities their social live was more limited. They also attended classes in the Jewish community center. At the end of the summer of 1941 the sisters were forced to quit their school and began to study in a private Montessori group at the house of Professor Frijda in S. The family took shelter in the cellar during the invasion of Holland in May 1940. ![]() Their home came to be known as the "Hotel Van Collem." After the Nazi seizure of power in Germany, the family always housed German refugees and relatives, sometimes for as much as a few months. The synagogue was the center of Marti's life, and she and her sister attended the same weekly Hebrew school as Margot and Anne Frank. ![]() Lotte sang in the Jewish community choir and belonged to the Jewish burial society. Henry helped found the Progressive Liberal synagogue and was also an administrator for the liberal Jewish community. The girls both attended the Montessori School. Henry was also a partner in the Pento Company which manufactured various cosmetic such as shaving cream, toothpaste, shampoo, face powder and lipstick. The factory was located beneath their apartment. They sold their products all over the world. Marta was born on Jin Amsterdam where her father worked together with his uncle as manager of as "Billiard Factory Wilhelmina," a factory that produced high end billiard tables, cues and balls. May 1, 1894, Eindhoven) and Lotte Randerath (b. Biography Marta Van Collem (later Dotan) is the daughter of Henry (b. ![]()
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