Ansbacher Str. 51
Ansbacher Str. 51

The property at Ansbacher Straße 34 was owned by the families of Arthur Silber and his widowed sister-in-law Vally Goldschmidt, née Schlochauer, mariée Silber. Neither of them lived in the building. On April 29, 1941, the families were forced to sell the property to Emil Weiß, a Berlin engineer, for RM 90,000. Arthur Silber estimated its true value to be RM 223,844. Arthur Silber had been a government building officer and head of the City of Berlin’s electricity board before retiring. He had also fought on the front in the First World War and been promoted to the rank of Officer – he listed the military decorations he had received in the compulsory “declaration of assets” he submitted before his deportation. Vally Goldschmidt was deported on November 17, 1941, to Kovno (Fort IX), where she was murdered a few days later. Arthur Silber was deported with his wife Johanna on August 5, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where he died on October 22, 1942.
Where were the forced homes in the building at Ansbacher Straße 34?

Street-facing building, raised 1st floor
5 rooms

Street-facing building, raised 1st floor
6 rooms

Street-facing building, 2nd floor
3 rooms

Street-facing building, 2nd floor
2 rooms

Street-facing building, 3rd floor
3 rooms

Street-facing building, 3rd floor
2 rooms

Street-facing building, 4th floor
6 rooms

Side building, 1st floor
2 rooms

Side building, 1st floor
1 parlor und 1 small room

Side building, raised 1st floor
3 rooms

Side building, 3rd floor
3 rooms

13 forced homes

13
Apartments
Street-facing building, 1st floor
Apartment Schlabowsky
Husband-and-wife Georg and Lucie Schlabowsky lived in the first-floor apartment with their children Alfons, Edith, Ruth, and Eli. The family of six evidently shared one room and the kitchen. They were deported on October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, where they were murdered a few days later. The youngest of the children, Eli, was just five months old; the older children were five, six and eight.
Street-facing building, raised 1st floor

Apartment Behrendt
Charlotte Behrendt, née Cohn, was deported on October 29, 1943, to Auschwitz, where she was murdered at an unknown point in time. Theodor Behrendt was deported on September 5, 1944, to the Theresienstadt ghetto; his date of death is not known. According to information given by Theodor Behrendt and his mother-in-law Emma Cohn, née Bieber, the former lived with his wife Charlotte in Emma Cohn’s apartment (see Side building, raised 1st floor, right, Cohn). However, as the former residents gave partly conflicting information, it remains unclear who let and who occupied the apartment.
Street-facing building, raised first floor

Apartment Walther
Bertha and Doris Walther, who were likely mother and daughter, lived here with the Jewish subtenants Lutka Wallach and (probably) Lucie Grün, née Walther, and Siegfried Grün/Gruen. Lucie Grün and Siegfried Grün/Gruen were most likely married. Lutka Wallach was deported on April 2, 1942, to the Warsaw ghetto and murdered. Bertha Walther, Doris Walther, Lucie Grün and Siegfried Grün/Gruen were deported on August 15, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, where they were all murdered shortly after arriving.
Street-facing building, 2nd floor

Apartment Priebatsch
Husband-and-wife Dr. Walther and Rosa Julie Priebatsch, née Hassel, lived with their son Gerhard Heinz in a large 4-room apartment on the second floor of the street-facing building. Walter Priebatsch was a gynecologist. The Priebatschs sublet one room to Michael Liessberger for RM 20. Walter Priebatsch’s brother Hans (later John) also lived in the apartment for about one-and-a-half years before his escape to the United States in 1941.
An educated, upper-middle-class family, the Priebatschs had a relatively luxurious household: They owned a twelve-piece tea- and coffee-set, silverware, and valuable jewelry. After the war, Walter’s brother Hans (John) and sister-in-law Ida Priebatsch, née Braunsberger, made statements describing not only the apartment’s furnishings but also the Priebatsch family’s attempts to maintain their dignity and social standing. Around the years 1938/39, Walther and Rosa Priebatsch bought three bicycles and seem to have purposefully started acquiring traditional status symbols. They were evidently determined to resist being constrained and pushed to the social margins.
"My […] brother […] had [acquired] plenty of the best clothing of all kinds, furs, underwear and other personal accouterments for himself, his wife, and his young son."Affidavit by Dr. John (formerly Hans) Priebatsch, February 23, 1958, LAB, B Rep. 025-08 Nr. 3303/55
Walter and Rosa Priebatsch were deported on October 3, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto. Walter Priebatsch perished in the hostile conditions of the ghetto. Rosa Priebatsch was deported further on May 16, 1944, to Auschwitz, where she was murdered. Their son Gerhard Heinz was deported on March 6, 1943, to Auschwitz, where he was murdered at an unknown point in time. It is not clear when or whether their subtenant Michael Liessberger was deported, or what happened to him.
Six months after Walter and Rosa Priebatsch were deported, their non-Jewish neighbor on the same landing, Mary Gorodiski, purchased their double bed, their son’s bedroom furnishings, and their kitchen furnishings.
Street-facing building, 2nd floor

Apartment Peiser
Hedwig Peiser, née Prinz, seems to have lived with the subtenants Dan and Gerda Birnbach, née Peiser. Gerda was very likely Hedwig Peiser’s daughter. Hertha Silber, née Birnbach, probably Gerda Birnbach’s sister-in-law and Dan Birnbach’s aunt, seems to have lived in the apartment as well. She managed to flee to Bolivia in 1939. Hedwig Peiser was deported on October 3, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she died on February 17, 1943. Dan and Gerda Birnbach were deported on August 4, 1943, to Auschwitz, where they murdered at an unknown point in time.
Street-facing building, 3rd floor

Apartment Themal/Katz
Arthur and Ella Themal, née Lachmann (mariée Katz, from her first marriage), took over the lease on this 4-room apartment on May 1, 1940. They paid the same monthly rent as the Priebatsch family: RM 120. On September 1, 1941, Max and Else Loewenthal moved into one furnished room of the apartment as subtenants. They paid a monthly rent of RM 35. According to the information in their declaration of assets, by the time they were deported all they owned was five eiderdowns, four pillows, a mattress cover, three cooking pots, two neckties, a winter coat and a between-seasons coat, a business suit, and a few tools: a screwdriver, two pliers, and a hammer. Max and Else Loewenthal were deported on October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto and murdered there on October 22, 1942. Arthur and Ella Themal were deported to Auschwitz a few weeks later, where they were murdered.
Street-facing building, 3rd floor

Apartment Ascher
Johanna Ascher, née Loewenstein, lived with a subtenant, David Ballhoser, in her apartment. Johanna Ascher was deported on October 3, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto and on May 15, 1944, to Auschwitz. She was murdered there at an unknown point in time. It is not clear what happened to David Ballhoser.
Street-facing building, 4th floor

Apartment Saenger/Herrmann
The sisters Flora, Frieda and Selma Saenger shared an apartment with their subtenants Helmut and Margot Grabowski, née Loewenthal. The twins Flora and Frieda Saenger was deported on June 13, 1942, to Sobibor extermination camp, where she was murdered. Selma Saenger was deported on January 12, 1943, to Auschwitz and murdered there at an unknown point in time. The Grabowski couple was deported to Auschwitz on February 3, 1943. Margot Grabowski was murdered there in March 1943, Helmut Grabowski was further deported to Buchenwald concentration camp on January 26, 1945 and murdered on February 3, 1945.
Ilse Herrmann seems to have held the lease on the apartment. She moved in at some point in late 1942 or early 1943, sharing with the subtenants Lesser Hirschfeld and his wife Bertha, née Klar. The Hirschfelds were deported to Auschwitz on March 12, 1943, and murdered there at an unknown date. Two months later, on May 18, 1943, Ilse Herrmann was deported to Theresienstadt and on October 12, 1944, she was further deported to Auschwitz, where she was murdered.
Side building, 1st floor

Apartment May
Anna (Annemarie) May, née Fürster, and her husband Josef May lived in the first-floor apartment in the side building. Both were deported on July 15, 1942, to Theresienstadt. Josef May died there after three months on October 24, 1942. Anna May was further deported to Auschwitz on December 18, 1943, where she was murdered at an unknown date.
Side building, 1st floor

Apartment Weissenstein
Fritz Weissenstein shared this apartment with a non-Jewish subtenant, Auguste Band. Auguste Band’s Jewish husband had died in February 1943. Fritz Weissenstein was deported on September 28, 1943, to Auschwitz and murdered there at an unknown point in time.
Side building, raised 1st floor

Apartment Cohn
This 4.5-room apartment let to Emma Cohn, née Bieber, was occupied by the subtenants Theodor Behrendt and Charlotte Behrendt, née Cohn. They had two children, Denny Cohn (born 1941) and Tana Cohn (born 1940), who seem to have lived somewhere else. Toni Faller occupied another partly furnished room in the apartment. The 66-year-old was the first to be deported from the apartment to Theresienstadt on July 10, 1942. Two months later she was deported from there to Treblinka and murdered. Emma Cohn and Charlotte Behrendt were deported to Auschwitz on October 29, 1943, and both were murdered at an unknown date. Theodor Behrendt was not deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto until almost a year later, on September 5, 1944. His date of death is also unknown. The two infants Denny and Tana Cohn were already deported to Theresienstadt on May 17, 1943, and from there on October 19, 1944, to Auschwitz, where they were murdered on the day of their arrival.
Side building, 2nd floor
Apartment Schmidt
Ilse Schmidt apparently lived alone in this small apartment. She was deported on February 26, 1943 to Auschwitz, where she was murdered at an unknown point in time.
Side building, 2nd floor
Apartment Gordon
Ida Gordon shared her apartment with two married couples: Josef and Alma Kaczer, née Daniel, and Alfred and Hilde Nelson, née Lenschner. Ida Gordon was deported on July 15, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she died on March 4, 1943. Alfred and Hilde Nelson were deported on December 9, 1942, to Auschwitz, Josef and Alma Kaczer on February 3, 1943. They were all murdered; their dates of death are not known.
Side building, 3rd floor

Apartment Naumann
Margarete and Siegfried Naumann lived in this apartment with their daughters Hannelore and Ursula. Margarete, Hannelore, and Ursula Naumann were deported on January 29, 1943, to the Theresienstadt ghetto. Their dates of death are not known. Siegfried Naumann was deported over a year-and-a-half later, on September 29, 1944, to Auschwitz, where he was murdered.
Unknown location
Herta Dambitsch
Herta Dambitsch moved into the building at Ansbacher Straße 5 at some point before April 30, 1940, probably as a subtenant. It is not clear which apartment she occupied. She survived after going into hiding for “approximately three years because of the deportation offensive”. Herta Dambitsch emigrated on March 23, 1948, from Bremerhaven to the United States.
Source: „Neue Berliner Liste“, in „Aufbau“, Jg. 11, No. 46, 16. November 1945, p. 26-27. Archival holdings: World Jewish Congress Collection (USHMM Archives Accession Number 1997.A.0235)
Neighborhood
In spring 1941, the property was acquired by Emil Weiß, a non-Jew, for RM 90,000. The Berlin authorities imposed a surtax of RM 9,000 on the purchase which Weiß tried to evade by getting the house price lowered. For this purpose, he hired the Berlin architect Hans Olias to evaluate the property. Olias spent several days inspecting the building from top to bottom, making records of all the supply closets, cellar compartments, and the two air-raid shelters – one for Jews and one for non-Jews – as well as every room in every apartment. The result was an almost 120-page, highly antisemitic survey, dated November 6, 1941 – soon after the deportations from Berlin had begun. Hans Olias asserted that the Jewish-occupied apartments were dirty, worn, and infested with vermin, and that the property was “sick” and needed to be “inoculated”. He recommended having many of the Jewish apartments “disinfested” with large amounts of whitewash and by tearing out and replacing the wooden floors. This would cost almost RM 35,000 – over a third of the purchase price. He concluded that any apartment in the property that becomes vacant, “in which predominantly Jewish tenants live with much [sic] subtenants”, will need to be “thoroughly renovated from the ground up”.
Source: Survey by Hans Olias, November 6, 1941, LAB, Pr Br Rep. 57, Nr. 454
In 1955, some 15 years later, Emil Weiß stated in a letter to the Berlin regional court’s compensation tribunal that the non-Jewish tenants had noticed an alarming, moldy smell in the building. Believing it to be getting stronger, they had complained to the municipal building inspection department. Between January and October 1942, the building was extensively renovated. It is interesting to note that the non-Jewish occupants voiced their complaints just as the deportations from Berlin began.
Author
Carolin Lange
Martha Arndt
Born July 16, 1880
Escaped 1935 to the United States
Survived
Johanna Ascher, née Loewenstein
Born March 24, 1886, in Leipzig
Deported October 3, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, May 15, 1944, to Auschwitz, murdered
David Ballhoser
Later whereabouts unknown
Charlotte Behrendt
Born July 21, 1902, in Wittenberge
Deported October 29, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Theodor Behrendt
Born July 24, 1878
Deported September 5, 1944, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, date of death unclear
Dan Birnbach
Born October 14, 1938, in Berlin
Deported August 4, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Gerda Birnbach
Born April 9, 1906, in Berlin
Deported August 4, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Denny Cohn
Deported May 17, 1943, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, October 19, 1944, to Auschwitz, died October 20, 1944
Emma Cohn, née Bieber
Born April 3, 1876, in Eisleben
Deported October 29, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Tana Cohn
Born February 29, 1940, in Berlin
Deported May 17, 1943, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, October 19, 1944, to Auschwitz, murdered October 20, 1944
Herta Dambitsch
Born February 24, 1895, in Berlin
Survived in hiding, emigrated to the USA in 1948
Charlotte Ehrlich, Rosenthal
Born January 13, 1888, in Berlin
Deported January 29, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Leopold Falk
Born January 27, 1877, in Northeim (near Hanover)
Deported March 28, 1942, to the Piaski ghetto, murdered
Marianne Falk, née Altmann
Born August 1, 1880, in Schildberg (Ostrzeszów)
Deported March 28, 1942, to the Piaski ghetto, murdered
Max Falk
Born November 7, 1881, in Lauenburg (Pomerania)
Imprisoned June 27, 1940, in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, September 8, 1940, in Dachau concentration camp, murdered November 18, 1941
Toni Faller
Born June 16, 1876, in Krakau (Kraków)
Deported July 10, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, September 19, 1942, to Treblinka extermination camp, murdered
Ida Gordon
Born January 7, 1873, in Ratibor (Racibórz)
Deported July 15, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, died March 4, 1943
Helmut Grabowski
Born May 13, 1921, in Berlin
Deported February 3, 1943, to Auschwitz, January 26, 1945, to Buchenwald concentration camp, murdered February 3, 1945
Margot Grabowski, née Loewenthal
Born July 16, 1924, in Prenzlau
Deported February 3, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered March 1943
Lucie Grün, née Walther
Born February 12, 1896, in Leipzig
Deported August 15, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered August 18, 1942
Siegfried Grün/Gruen
Born June 26, 1891, in Berlin
Deported August 15, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered August 18, 1942
Ilse Herrmann
Born April 6, 1897, in Berlin
Deported May 18, 1943, to the Theresienstadt ghetto; October 12, 1944, to Auschwitz, murdered
Bertha Hirschfeld, née Klar
Born August 5, 1887, in Lichtenhain
Deported March 12, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Lesser Hirschfeld
Born July 1, 1885, in Bromberg (Bydgoszcz)
Deported March 12, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Alma Kaczer, née Daniel
Born June 14, 1898, in Schwarzenau
Deported February 3, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Josef Kaczer
Born August 25, 1888, in Berbestie (Brusnyzja)
Deported February 3, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Michael Liessberger
Born March 19, 1881, in Geilingen
Later whereabouts unknown
Else Loewenthal, née Jacobi
Born April 20, 1879, in Posen (Poznań)
Deported October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered October 22, 1942
Max Loewenthal
Born June 24, 1878, in Posen (Poznań)
Deported October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered October 22, 1942
Anna (Annemarie) May, née Fürster
Born September 5, 1874, in Budapest
Deported July 15, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto; December 18, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Josef May
Born May 2, 1869, in Ungvár
Deported July 15, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, died October 24, 1942
Hannelore Naumann
Born April 1, 1927, in Berlin
Deported January 29, 1943, to the Theresienstadt ghetto
Survived
Margarete Naumann, née Stankowski
Born February 28, 1903, in Stettin (Szczecin)
Deported January 29, 1943, to the Theresienstadt ghetto
Survived
Siegfried Naumann
Born November 6, 1889, in Deutsch Krone (Wałcz)
Deported September 29, 1944, to Auschwitz, murdered
Ursula Naumann
Born December 16, 1925, in Berlin
Deported January 29, 1943, to the Theresienstadt ghetto
Survived
Alfred Nelson
Born February 4, 1896, in Xions (Książ)
Deported December 9, 1942, to Auschwitz, murdered
Hilde Nelson, née Lenschner
Born September 24, 1911, in Berlin
Deported December 9, 1942, to Auschwitz, murdered
Hedwig Preiser, née Prinz
Born September 2, 1867, in Marienwerder (Kwidzyn)
Deported October 3, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, died February 17, 1943
Amalie Pordes
Born March 5, 1882, in Lemberg (Lwów)
Deported October 26, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered October 29, 1942
Gerhard Priebatsch
Born December 9, 1922, in Berlin
Deported March 6, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Dr. Hans (John) Priebatsch
Born July 30, 1887, in Hirschberg in the Giant Mounatins (Powiat Jeleniogórski)
Escaped October 20, 1941, via Cuba to the United States
Survived, died 1979
Rosa Julie Priebatsch
Born December 21, 1888, in Hamburg
Deported October 3, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto; May 16, 1944, to Auschwitz, murdered
Dr. Walter Edgar Priebatsch
Born August 18, 1876, in Hirschberg in the Giant Mountains (Powiat Jeleniogórski)
Deported October 3, 1942, to the Theresienstadt ghetto, died January 2, 1943
Max Reich
Married to a non-Jew, possibly survived.
Pepi Sack
Born June 18, 1887, in Koszmalsz
Deported January 13, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered
Flora Saenger/Sänger
Born December 12, 1884, in Kischewo (Kiszewo)
Deported June 13, 1942, to Sobibor extermination camp, murdered
Frieda Saenger/Sänger
Born December 12, 1884, in Kischewo (Kiszewo)
Deported June 13, 1942, to Sobibor extermination camp, murdered
Selma Saenger
Born March 24, 1890, in Kischewo (Kiszewo)
Deported January 12, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Ilse Schmidt
Born February 27, 1909, in Breslau (Wrocław)
Deported February 26, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered
Alfons Schlabowsky
Born July 12, 1937, in Berlin
Deported October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered October 22, 1942
Edith Schlabowsky
Born September 21, 1934, in Berlin
Deported October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered October 22, 1942
Eli Schlabowsky
Born May 7, 1942, in Berlin
Deported October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered October 22, 1942
Georg Schlabowsky
Born April 12, 1898, in Königsberg
Deported October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered
Lucia/Lucie Schlabowsky, née Geisler
Born July 17, 1900, in Berlin
Deported October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered October 22, 1942
Ruth Schlabowsky
Born December 13, 1935, in Berlin
Deported October 19, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered October 22, 1942
Hertha Silber, née Birnbach
Emigrated to Bolivia in 1939
Survived
Bertha Steinhardt
Born February 19, 1922, in Eberswalde
Deported April 14, 1942, to the Warsaw ghetto, did not survive
Arthur Themal
Born June 23, 1875, in Posen (Poznań)
Deported probably December 9, 1942, to Auschwitz, murdered
Ella Themal, née Lachmann, formerly mariée Katz
Born June 2, 1891, in Braunschweig
Deported probably December 9, 1942, to Auschwitz, murdered
Lutka Wallach, née Rauch
Born August 10, 1876, in Kolo (Koło)
Deported April 2, 1942, to the Warsaw ghetto, murdered
Bertha Walther, née Liebenthal
Born November 4, 1866, in Unsleben/Neustadt a. d. Saale
Deported August 15, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered August 18, 1942
Doris Walther
Born April 15, 1896, in Leipzig
Deported August 15, 1942, to the Riga ghetto, murdered August 18, 1942
Fritz Weissenstein
Born November 27, 1892, in Teplitz-Schönau (Teplice-Sanov)
Deported September 28, 1943, to Auschwitz, murdered