Else Hirsch
Encyclopedia
Else Hirsch was a Jewish teacher in Bochum
, Germany and a member of the German Resistance
against the Third Reich. She organized transports of Jewish children to the Netherlands
and England
, saving them from Nazi deportation to concentration camps and death. Hirsch was killed in the Riga Ghetto
.
, Schwerin
, Hirsch came from Berlin
to Bochum at the end of 1926 and lived with her mother. She had taken her teaching exam to qualify as a teacher of older children, but was unemployed and was assigned (and required) to teach at the Jewish school. She was initially less than pleased with this, but soon threw herself into her work. In her free time, Hirsch worked at the Bochum Jewish Women's Club and gave Hebrew
lessons to girls, until these activities were denied her by the Nazis in autumn 1933.
In October 1937, she took a course in English
at the Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden
in Berlin
in order to be able to give English lessons to those who might be able to emigrate. She travelled to Palestine in June 1938, probably to contact the Youth Aliyah
.
On 11 November 1938, Reichskristallnacht, the Bochum synagogue was burned down. The Jewish school was also destroyed by the SA
. Afterward, all of the official representatives of the Jewish community were deported. Hirsch fought to have the Jewish school reopened, but it stayed open only for a short while. Hirsch began to organize transports for children and adolescents in arrangement with the Jewish Reichsvertretung. Between December 1938 and August 1939, she organized ten children's transport
s to the Netherlands and England. Hirsch took care of all the travel preparations, filling out lengthy forms, registering the children, gathering required documents, sending papers to London
, securing exit visas, reserving seating on the trains, buying the tickets and staying in close touch with the parents.
She stayed with the remaining pupils as the only Jewish teacher until the school was closed in September 1941. Emigration for Jews was prohibited after 1941. In late January 1942, Hirsch and some of her pupils were deported into the Riga Ghetto
. A surviving pupil reports that for a short while, she continued to teach children. She also organized meals for weakened people and the elderly. The last time when the surviving student saw her, she was collecting nettle
s and dandelion leaves to cook as a vegetable for the seniors. Hirsch was deported to the Riga Ghetto, where she was killed in 1942 or 1943.
are named after her.
There is a stolperstein for Hirsch at Huestraße 28 in Bochum, where she taught from 1927 to 1941.
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, Germany and a member of the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
against the Third Reich. She organized transports of Jewish children to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, saving them from Nazi deportation to concentration camps and death. Hirsch was killed in the Riga Ghetto
Riga Ghetto
The Riga Ghetto was a small area in Maskavas Forštate, neighborhood of Riga, Latvia, designated by the Nazis where Jews from Latvia, and later from Germany, were forced to live during World War II. On October 25, 1941, the Nazis relocated all Jews from Riga and the vicinity to the ghetto while the...
.
Biography
Born in BützowBützow
Bützow is a town in the district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany, with a population of 8,122 .The town was first mentioned in 1171....
, Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
, Hirsch came from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to Bochum at the end of 1926 and lived with her mother. She had taken her teaching exam to qualify as a teacher of older children, but was unemployed and was assigned (and required) to teach at the Jewish school. She was initially less than pleased with this, but soon threw herself into her work. In her free time, Hirsch worked at the Bochum Jewish Women's Club and gave Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
lessons to girls, until these activities were denied her by the Nazis in autumn 1933.
In October 1937, she took a course in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at the Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden
Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden
The Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden was founded on 17 September 1933. It established as the umbrella organisation, which for the first time ever united all the quarrelling Jewish organisations and religious bodies on a nationwide range. It was organized to represent Jewish interests at a...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in order to be able to give English lessons to those who might be able to emigrate. She travelled to Palestine in June 1938, probably to contact the Youth Aliyah
Youth Aliyah
Szold was initially skeptical about the merits of Freier's proposal, as she believed that Germany offered better educational opportunities for Jewish children than Palestine. However, Hitler's rise to power convinced her otherwise. The Nuremberg Laws were enacted in 1935 and on 31 March 1936 German...
.
On 11 November 1938, Reichskristallnacht, the Bochum synagogue was burned down. The Jewish school was also destroyed by the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
. Afterward, all of the official representatives of the Jewish community were deported. Hirsch fought to have the Jewish school reopened, but it stayed open only for a short while. Hirsch began to organize transports for children and adolescents in arrangement with the Jewish Reichsvertretung. Between December 1938 and August 1939, she organized ten children's transport
Kindertransport
Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig...
s to the Netherlands and England. Hirsch took care of all the travel preparations, filling out lengthy forms, registering the children, gathering required documents, sending papers to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, securing exit visas, reserving seating on the trains, buying the tickets and staying in close touch with the parents.
She stayed with the remaining pupils as the only Jewish teacher until the school was closed in September 1941. Emigration for Jews was prohibited after 1941. In late January 1942, Hirsch and some of her pupils were deported into the Riga Ghetto
Riga Ghetto
The Riga Ghetto was a small area in Maskavas Forštate, neighborhood of Riga, Latvia, designated by the Nazis where Jews from Latvia, and later from Germany, were forced to live during World War II. On October 25, 1941, the Nazis relocated all Jews from Riga and the vicinity to the ghetto while the...
. A surviving pupil reports that for a short while, she continued to teach children. She also organized meals for weakened people and the elderly. The last time when the surviving student saw her, she was collecting nettle
Nettle
Nettles constitute between 24 and 39 species of flowering plants of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae, with a cosmopolitan though mainly temperate distribution. They are mostly herbaceous perennial plants, but some are annual and a few are shrubby...
s and dandelion leaves to cook as a vegetable for the seniors. Hirsch was deported to the Riga Ghetto, where she was killed in 1942 or 1943.
Quote
Hirsch wrote in the poetry album of a pupil, "Judge not the worth of men / after just one peep / Up above are but ripples / to probe, one must dig deep."Legacy
Although she was able to save the lives of others, she herself died in the Holocaust. Streets in Bochum and Bad LausickBad Lausick
Bad Lausick is a town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 12 km southwest of Grimma, and 29 km southeast of Leipzig.- References :...
are named after her.
There is a stolperstein for Hirsch at Huestraße 28 in Bochum, where she taught from 1927 to 1941.
External links
- "Gedenkveranstaltung zum 65. Jahrestag der Pogromnacht" City of Bochum. Retrieved 24 April 2010