Monday, April 23, 2018

"I hope you won't have to suffer because of me!"

Those were my grandfather Hans Heinz Hanauer's last words to my grandmother Ursula in a note he wrote her as he sat on a train deporting him to Gut Winkel on March 3, 1941.

Hans risked his life everyday helping Jews escape Berlin. He had been warned not to leave his hiding place because an arrest warrant was issued against him. He did not believe he would be caught. Hans was arrested as soon as he left his hiding place in Berlin.

Hans was a member of the Adolph Koch Institute and someone from inside the institute turned him in! 


Gertrude "Tutta" Petzow Helped save my family in Berlin during the Holocaust. Tutta sent me a copy of her German work permit with my great grandfather Max Hanauer's business as her first employer. She also sent me two pieces of woodwork that my grandfather Hans Heinz Hanauer made and gave to her. Hans was murdered in Auschwitz on March 31, 1943.
Tutta was my great aunt Ilse's best friend and she kept Ilse safe in her home in Berlin throughout the entire Holocaust. Along with Adolph Koch, Lotti Mader, and Max and Alma Schrader. Each played a roll in the protection of my family.
Ilse Hanauer's testimonial
https://youtu.be/aiMelqhWSy8
Adolph Koch owned a gymnasium in Berlin which was used as a cover for those German's who did not agree with Hitler's political views. Adolph was also engaged to my great aunt Ilse for 5 years (from 1936 to 1941). Ilse was 20 years old and Adolph was 40 years old when they started their relationship.
Adolph Koch's bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Koch
Max Schrader was a Nazi officer that warned people of arrest warrants. He had warned my grandfather Hans but Hans didn't believe he would be caught when he left his hiding place. He was picked up right away on the streets of Berlin and was taken to the train station. My grandmother Ursula and father Uri were both at the train station when my grandfather was loaded onto the train. As he sat on the train Hans wrote a note to Ursula and it was delivered to her by the wife of a Nazi soldier.
Lotti Mader was a member of the Nazi Party and played a huge role in protecting my great grandparents, Max and Frieda Hanauer. Lotti had a small cabin in Grunau, just outside of Berlin, this is where Max and Frieda were hidden for over a year. Lotti made sure there was heat in the cabin.
Thanks to these amazing people for giving my family the chance to survive!

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