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The Holocaust
(1938 - 1945)
These seven years were the worst time in the
history of the Jewish people. Rather than reporting what is by now well known, I would
like to show how the events of this time touched the lives of our family.
The following members of our immediate
family perished during these horrible years. We know that they were deported to the East,
but no details are known of the fate which awaited them there. None were ever heard from
again. They all met a premature death through murder.
Rudolph Natt, my father's brother, age 61
Rosie Natt, wife of Rudolf Natt, age 60
Willi Natt, son of Rudolf Natt, age 28
Rosa Natt, my father's stepmother, age 65
Nellie Fuchs, my father's stepsister, age 45
Leo Natt, my father's cousin, age 61
Lillie Brueck, my father's cousin, age 48
Lottie Brueck, Lillie Brueck's daughter, age 20
Bernard Schuster, my mother's cousin, age 52
Roeschen Schuster, Bernhard Schuster's wife, age 39
and their two young sons, ages 4 and 6
Steffie Schuster, my mother's cousin, age 50
and her two children, ages 8 and 10
My brother Bernard, who went through all
phases of these horrible events, for the longest time would not speak of them and only a
few years ago was able to put all that happened to him on paper. His report follows on this page
Some of the letters we received during these
years represent eyewitness descriptions of the events and I mostly limit myself to
verbatim translations of these letters who speak for themselves.
Up to November 1938, the Nazi campaign against the Jews was
carried out largely by administrative and legislative means. Overt actions were rare. The
violent, open persecution of the Jews started in November 1938 after the assassination of
a German consular employee in Paris by a Jewish youngster. It started with the
"Crystal Night" on November 11, 1938.
Personal Accounts:
[ Bernard Natt ] [ Relly Natt ] [ Judith Natt ] [ Roeschen Schuester ] [ Grossmama Natt ]