History of Sorts

One of the sources I use for my blog, concerning the Holocaust, is JoodsMonument.nl (Jewish Monument). I often see the name Tröblitz mentioned as the place of death. When I looked into it I noticed that the majority of people who died there, did so after April 23, 1945, shortly before the end of the war in Europe, There were also a big number who died after the end of the war. This made me wonder why that was.

Between 6-10 April 1945, days before the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, three trains were sent from the camp with some 7,000 Jews on board, bound for the Terezin ghetto. The first train was liberated by the Allies. The second train reached Terezin on 21 April, and the third, later known as “The Lost Train”, never reached its destination. After a journey of approximately two weeks, the train was stopped on a destroyed bridge on the Elster River. On 23 April, it was liberated by the Red Army on the outskirts of the German village of Tröbitz. The train carried over 2,500 Jewish prisoners, including men, women, and children, mostly from Hungary, Poland, and the Netherlands.

The train meandered through Germany for nearly two weeks. It was a harrowing journey; many prisoners died due to the horrendous conditions, lack of food and water, and disease. On April 23, 1945, the train finally halted near the village of Tröbitz in Brandenburg.

The Soviet Red Army discovered the train , having overrun the area and liberated the surviving prisoners. They found a horrific scene with many dead and dying prisoners. The survivors were severely malnourished and suffering from typhus, which had spread rapidly among the weakened prisoners.

The suffering continued for the survivors of the transport even after the liberation. The seriously ill stayed for the time being in the train, which was moved again on April 24, 1945, to the block post of the Hansa mine at track kilometer 108.9. From here the shortest route led to the Nordfeld in Tröbitz where an inadequate field hospital had been set up. Another 26 people who had since died were buried here near the railway embankment. The mining community of Tröbitz, which had about 700 inhabitants at the time, was suddenly confronted with about 2,000 starving, critically ill people who had to be helped quickly. Many residents helped and members of the Red Army took measures to alleviate the people’s distress and prevent the typhus epidemic that had broken out on the train from spreading. The Russian occupation forces opened their temporary headquarters in a building on the main street of Tröbitz for this purpose. But the Russians also evicted the German residents of Tröblitz from their homes to make room.

The survivors of the transport who were still strong enough formed a committee. This arranged the distribution of the food brought by the Red Army, accommodation in the Nordfeld (a former barracks camp for forced laborers), and burials in various cemeteries. The field hospital was run by Soviet doctors. Jewish doctors, until then prisoners themselves, helped in the care and treatment of the sick. Some of them became ill themselves and died, as the plaques with names at the Jewish cemetery in Tröbitz show. Girls and women from the village were employed as nurses. One of the women who survived said the following about the makeshift hospital.

“The ‘hospital’ was incredibly dirty and neglected. The weakened people lay on the floor in a large room and no one knew where to get mattresses or beds.”

It took eight weeks for the typhoid epidemic to be brought under control. During that period, 320 more men, women and children died. They died not only from typhus but also from the suddenly available food. Their bodies were no longer able to withstand this after months of famine. The deceased also included 26 residents of Tröbitz who had been infected by typhoid fever, including the mayor.

Following are the stories of some of the victims.

Ruth Lichtenstädter
Born in Berlin, 23 September 1922-Died in Tröbitz, 11 May 1945. Reached the age of 22 years.

Ruth Lichtenstädter was one of those who died of typhus.
She was buried in the Jewish cemetery, next to the general cemetery in the village of Tröbitz. The graves, with their heads turned away from the wall of the general cemetery, were numbered in three rows.
Ruth Lichtenstädter is buried in the first row, grave no. 35.

Andries Bloch was born in Amsterdam, on 28 July 1895. Died in Tröbitz, on 24 April 1945, reaching the age of 49.

André Felix Blok studied medicine in Amsterdam and sat for his medical finals on 5 July 1922. He practiced as a General Physician and lived with his family at Sarphatistraat 88-huis in Amsterdam. He also had his practice here. Before the family was deported, the doctor managed to hide numerous photos, letters, drawings, documents, his patient administration, a painting, and several objects behind a fireplace in his home. Apparently, in a great hurry, Andries Bloch hid his personal belongings behind the mantelpiece in 1943 before his departure for Westerbork. They would lie there unnoticed for more than sixty years.

In Memory of the Lost Transport

Through forest shadows and fields they rode,
On tracks of steel, their heavy load,
In twilight’s grip, where hope seemed far,
They journeyed ‘neath a dying star.

Cries of anguish, whispers of pain,
Lives entwined in sorrow’s chain,
Children’s laughter, silenced cries,
Echoed beneath indifferent skies.

The train, a ghost, through night it crept,
With dreams of freedom harshly swept,
Upon the winds of war’s cruel breath,
It carried souls to the edge of death.

Yet in the darkness, sparks of light,
The will to live, the strength to fight,
Though bodies weakened, spirits high,
They reached for stars in the blackened sky.

When dawn broke through with crimson hue,
The end of torment came in view,
By Tröbitz village, they found rest,
The weary, the lost, the hopeful blessed.

In fields where wildflowers now bloom,
Their memories dispel the gloom,
A silent testament to grace,
In every petal, every trace.

We honor you, with hearts sincere,
Your courage, pain, we hold dear,
In our remembrance, you live on,
Your legacy, a steadfast dawn.

For those who suffered, those who passed,
In solemn memory, we stand steadfast,
Your journey’s end, a sacred part,
Forever etched within our heart.

Sources

https://www.joodsmonument.nl/en/page/171972/andries-bloch

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn504863

https://verlorenertransport.de/256.html

https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Holocaust/0170_lost_train.html

https://www.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/last-deportees/bergen-belsen-trobitz.html

https://kampwesterbork.nl/plan-je-bezoek/18-geschiedenis/43-na-de-oorlog

https://www.gemeinde-troebitz.de/seite/230544/het-verloren-transport.html

https://www.joodsmonument.nl/nl/page/135240/ruth-lichtenst%C3%A4dter

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