What We Know:
Family name: Lewin
Given name: Heinrich
Date/place of birth: 26. September. 1876. Gnesen, Poznan
Date/place of death: Exact date of death unknown
Age:  66 years old at deportation

Heinrich Lewin was born 26 September 1876 in Gnesen, Poznan. His father was Michaelis Lewin (1844) and his mother was Minna geb.Spritz. Michaelis and Minna had five sons. Their first son Siegfried born in 1874 died shortly before his first birthday. A year after their first son they had Hugo (1875), then Heinrich (1876), Paul (1879), and Max (1880).

Michaelis died on 25 December 1918 at 74 years old.  He was buried in Neue Halle. The exact date of death for Minna is unknown, however as per Michaelis’ obituary she was still alive when he died. Minna died before the Holocaust, she is not mentioned in any data base or archives.

Heinrich worked as a business man.  Perhaps through his profession he ended up in Berlin, there he met Else geb. Bach (08.06.1890). Else was previously married to Max Marcus and had a son, Rudi Marcus (08.05.1913) born in Berlin. Max Marcus was killed during World War I leaving Else a widow to raise her young son born only one year before the start of WWI.

Heinrich married Else on 26 August 1920. They were married in Berlin.

Soon after their marriage, Heinrich, Else and Rudi settled in Gotha. In 1922 they welcomed a new member of their family, Alfred Lewin born 2 April 1922 in Gotha.

Just one year before the Nazi’s took power in Germany, Rudi graduated with his high school diploma from the Ernestinum- Gymnasium in Gotha. In the same year,  Heinrich’s older brother Hugo was the chair of the synagogue committee in Gotha.

 

In 1933 the number of Jewish residents hit its peak, at 494 people. Shortly afterwards the number began to decline due to the beginning of the Nazi era and the escalation of targeted discrimination and violence against Jews in Gotha and all over Germany.

Members of the Lewin family fled Germany to escape the Nazi regime. Right after his graduation in 1932 Rudi Marcus acquired a passport and managed to emigrate to Palestine in 1934. His date of entrance into Palestine was 30.04.1934. Rudi emigrated with his wife Ursula geb. Löwenstein (27.05.1917).

Four years after his brother, Alfred Micha Lewin emigrated to Palestine. His first entry into Palestine is recorded as 19 September 1938 at the age of 17.

Max Lewin, Heinrich’s youngest brother lived in Hannover in the 1930’s. After receiving his passport on 11 November 1935 in Hannover, he was able to immigrate to Brazil where was granted permanent residency on the 24 February 1939.

Although both Rudi, Alfred, and Heinrich’s brother Max were able to successfully flee Germany to Palestine, Heinrich and Else did not manage to leave Germany. Whether or not they applied to emigrate is unknown as there is no emigration index card available.

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On Kristallnacht in 1938 the Synagogue in Gotha was burnt down. A reported 52 Jewish men were arrested in Gotha, 28 of which were transferred to Buchenwald.  Whether or not any of the men from the Lewin family were deported in the events of  November 1938 is unknown.  In 1939, only 80 Jewish residents were still living in Gotha, 414 less than in 1933.

On 10 May 1942 Heinrich and Else were deported from Gotha to Belzyce Ghetto. There is no further documentation on their location or fate past the 10 May 1942 deportation list.

Heinrich’s brother Hugo, although only one year older than Heinrich, was deemed too old for the Belzyce Ghetto deportation, and was instead deported to Theresienstadt Ghetto. On 9 September 1942, Hugo was forced to sign a contract with the Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (RV)(The National Association of German Jews) whereby he assigned all remaining assets to the RV.  The contract was called a Heimeinkaufvertrag, or “Home Purchase Contract” and was supposed to provide Hugo and his wife Anna Lewin geb. Rosenberg  with room & board, medical attention, and other care in Theresienstadt Ghetto. Instead, the money paid to the RV went directly into Nazi coffers, and Hugo and Anna did not receive any of the promised care. Hugo and Anna were deported 20 September 1942 from Leipzig to Theresienstradt. They were both murdered in the Theresienstadt Ghetto.

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Rudi and Ursula’s certificates of naturalization for Palestine were accepted on 16 May 1941. Rudi and Ursula had three children. Rudi’s last known residence was in Kibbutz Dahlia, where he died 5 September 1992.

On 14 December 1942 Alfred received his certificate of naturalization from the government of Palestine. He later immigrated to Rio de Janeiro Brazil from Israel on 2 November 1954. He worked as a agriculturalist.

Heinrich’s brother Max lived the rest of his life in Brazil, and died in São Paulo on 19 February 1969. He was married and had a son.

The fate of Heinrichs younger brother Paul Lewin (born 1879) is unknown.

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Heinrich and Else were murdered in the Holocaust. Stolperstein have been laid for them in Gotha at Waltershäuser Str. 36.