Armin's youngest sister
Irma Laura Kassel née Gerechter
Groß Räschen, 10 July 1904 – Auschwitz, 25 January 1943
aged 38
Irma Laura Gerechter was born in Groß Räschen on 10 July 1904, the last of Wilhelm and Cäcilie's eleven children.
She married Bruno Kassel in Berlin in 1934. Three years later they divorced. In November 1939 she fled to the Netherlands.
In 1942 she was admitted as a patient to the Jewish psychiatric hospital at Apeldoorn. In January 1943 the hospital was emptied and its patients deported. Irma was murdered in Auschwitz on 25 January 1943. She was thirty-eight.
“Here lived Irma Laura Kassel. Born 1904. Fled to Holland. Deported. Auschwitz. Murdered 25.1.1943.”
The Stolperstein in the pavement opposite Freienhufener Straße 2, Großräschen, laid on 22 March 2011. All nine stones
1933 – 1938
Irma lived in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Her marriage to Bruno Kassel lasted from 1934 to 1937.
1938 – 1945
In May 1939 she was living with her eldest brother Erich at Fritschestraße 78 in Charlottenburg. Erich left for Palestine that September. In November Irma left Berlin for Rotterdam.
By March 1941 she was living in Sittard, in the far south of the Netherlands, at Bergstraat 15. The Jewish Council's card for her gives no occupation and records her as divorced.
On 6 June 1942 she was admitted to Het Apeldoornsche Bosch, the Jewish psychiatric hospital at Apeldoorn. On 22 January 1943 the hospital was cleared and the patients were deported to Auschwitz. Irma was murdered there three days later.
After
In 2011 a Stolperstein was laid for her in Großräschen, with her brothers and sisters: "fled to Holland, deported, Auschwitz, murdered 25.1.1943".
Close family
- FatherWilhelm Gerechter 1860 – 1926
- MotherCäcilie Gerechter, née Schiller 1862 – 1918
- BrotherDr. Erich Gerechter 1885 – 1949
- SisterMargarete Lewinsky, née Gerechter 1887 – 1943
- SisterElse Meyer, née Gerechter 1888 – 1941/42
- BrotherGeorg Gerechter 1892 – 1915
- SisterHedwig Gerechter b. 1894
- BrotherRobert Gerechter 1896 – 1936
- SisterFrida Gutmann, née Gerechter 1898 – 1943
- BrotherArmin Josef Gerechter 1899 – 1955
- SisterEdith Bernhard, née Gerechter 1901 – 1943
In Armin's films
- Film 5, überlebt in Kanada25 January 1943. His youngest sister, Irma, is murdered in Auschwitz.
In Erich's films
- Film 3, Hier wohnte17 May 1939. Census day. His sister Irma is living with him at Fritschestraße 78.
- Film 4, Schicksal unbekanntHis youngest sister Irma fled to the Netherlands. She is deported from there, and murdered in Auschwitz on 25 January 1943.
What we don't know
We don't know why she was admitted to the hospital at Apeldoorn, or what her life in Sittard was like. We don't know what became of Bruno Kassel.
The recordsthe archive's notes, dates and sources
Life events
| Date | Place | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1934-1937 | Berlin | Married to Bruno Kassel JM |
| 1930s | Berlin-Charlottenburg | Lived there GB |
| 17 May 1939 | Berlin-Charlottenburg, Fritschestr. 78 | Census address, in her brother Erich's household MTL |
| Nov 1939 | Berlin → Rotterdam | Fled to the Netherlands JM |
| Mar 1941 | Sittard, Bergstraat 3 (JM) / Bergstr. 15 (JR card) | Settled in Sittard. Jewish Council card: "Kassel geb. Gerechter, Irma L.S., Bergstr. 15, Sittard", no occupation, divorced JM, JR |
| 6 Jun 1942 | Apeldoorn | Admitted to Het Apeldoornsche Bosch ("A.B. ... opgen. 6.6.1942"), the Jewish psychiatric hospital, as a patient JR |
| 22 Jan 1943 | Apeldoorn → Auschwitz | Deported with the patients when the Apeldoornsche Bosch was cleared (arrived 24 Jan) JM, JR |
| 25 Jan 1943 | Auschwitz | Murdered GB, JM |
| 22 Mar 2011 | Großräschen | Stolperstein: "Flucht Holland, deportiert, Auschwitz, ermordet 25.1.1943" STOL |
Sources
- Gedenkbuch de1086886
- Joods Monument 123089 (and user contribution 405426)
- Mapping the Lives
- BLHA Rep. 36A F 501 (Armin's file mentions her)
- Two Joodsche Raad Cartotheek cards (images via Oorlogsbronnen, from Arolsen), both marked "doss. 187.929": one filed under Kassel (Sittard), one under Gerechter (Apeldoornsche Bosch). Both carry a third initial "S." (probably the compulsory "Sara")
- Nationaal Archief 2.19.255.01 (Oorlogsgravenstichting personal files) no. 75439A, and 2.09.16.05 (Nederlands Beheersinstituut) file 79835 ("I. Gerechter, Sittard") OA
The small letters after an entry name its source: GB the German Memorial Book, JM the Joods Monument, AROL the Arolsen Archives, GENI the family tree on Geni, STOL the stones.