- Description
- The collection documents the experiences of Gerald Rosenstein, originally of Bensheim, Germany, who was a survivor of Gleiwitz III subcamp of Auschwitz II (Auschwitz-Birkenau). The collection also documents his parents Max and Sophie Rosenstein, and his brothers Hans and Ernst Rosenstein. Included are photographs, postwar identification cards, naturalization certificates, correspondence, clippings, and restitution papers. There is significant material regarding Ernst’s death in Albania in 1944 while serving in the Royal Army Service Corps, including documents about his pension, the location of his body, and memorialization. Other material includes postwar family correspondence with family members including Sophie’s brother Arthur Bendheim; prewar, wartime, and postwar family photographs; and genealogy and family trees related to the Bendheim family.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1845-2009
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Lisa Danzig
- Collection Creator
- Gerald B. Rosenstein
- Biography
-
Gerald Rosenstein (1927-2016) was born Gerhard Rosenstein on May 21, 1927 in Bensheim, Germany to Max Rosenstein (1893-1959) and Sophie Rosenstein (1898-1986, née Bendheim). He had two brothers: Ernst Rosenstein (1922-1944) and Hans Rosenstein (1925-1943). His father owned a furniture manufacturing business in Bensheim. The family briefly lived in Darmstadt, Germany in 1935 before moving to Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 1936 where Max transitioned to a medical supply business.
In 1938, Gerald’s brother Ernst immigrated to Palestine. During World War II, he served with the Royal Army Service Corps and was killed in action in Albania in 1944. His brother Hans was deported to Auschwitz II (Auschwitz-Birkenau) in October 1942. He was killed in the camp in 1943.
Gerald was deported to Westerbork in March 1943 as a forced-laborer. He was transferred to Theresienstadt in January 1944, and Auschwitz II (Auschwitz-Birkenau) in August 1944. He was then sent to the Gleiwitz III subcamp. As the Soviet Red Army advanced on Auschwitz in early January 1945, he was sent on a death march to Blechhammer where he was liberated by the Soviets.
After the war, Gerald was reunited with his parents in France. Max and Sophie had both been deported to Theresienstadt, and Max was also a survivor of Auschwitz. The family immigrated to the United States in 1946.
