Else Hirsch
Else Hirsch (born July 29, 1889 in Bützow , Schwerin ; † around 1943 in the Riga Ghetto ) was a Jewish teacher in Bochum who helped organize child transports abroad during the Nazi era .
Life
Else Hirsch came to Bochum from Berlin in 1927 to take on a teaching position at the Jewish school in Bochum. She also worked in the Jewish Women's Association and gave Hebrew lessons to girls.
In October 1937 she took part in an English training course at the Reich Representation of German Jews in Berlin in order to be able to teach English to potential emigrants in Bochum . In June 1938 she also traveled to Palestine , presumably to get in touch with the child and youth alijah .
After the Reichspogromnacht in November 1938, during which the synagogue in Bochum was also the victim of the arson, the Jewish elementary school became compulsory for all Jewish pupils. In consultation with the Jewish Reich Representation, Else Hirsch began arranging transports for children and young people. Between December 1938 and August 1939 she organized ten Kindertransporte to the Netherlands and England .
She herself remained as the only Jewish teacher with the remaining students until the school was closed in September 1941. At the end of January 1942, Else Hirsch was deported to the Riga ghetto together with some of her students . According to a surviving student in a building in the ghetto, Else Hirsch is said to have given short-term lessons for children and organized meals for old and weak people. She died in the Holocaust .
It is thanks to her that many Jewish youth from Bochum survived the Holocaust. A street in Bochum and a school in 2019 were named after Else Hirsch.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hirsch, Else |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Jewish teacher who organized child transports during the Nazi era |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 29, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bützow , Schwerin |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1943 |
| Place of death | Riga ghetto |