History of Sorts

In the 1920s, it was not uncommon in the Catholic south of the Netherlands for one or two children in a family to join a monastery or convent. However, having six out of eight children devote themselves to religious life was extraordinarily rare. What makes the Löb siblings’ story even more remarkable is that their parents were Jewish converts to Catholicism.

Three of the Löb brothers joined the Koningshoeven Abbey in Berkel-Enschot, while three sisters entered the nearby Koningsoord Trappist convent. The eldest son, George, entered the Cistercian Abbey of Koningshoeven in 1926, taking the name Father Ignatius. His brothers Robert and Ernst soon followed, taking the names Brother Linus and Father Nivardus.

The daughters soon followed suit. The eldest, Lina, entered the Trappistine monastery and became Mother Hedwig; she was later joined by her twin sisters, Dora (Mother Maria Theresia) and the frail, younger Louise (Sister Veronica), who joined in 1937. Only Hans and Paula, the two youngest children, remained at home. Both parents died before the Netherlands was occupied in World War II.

Initially, Catholic Jews like the Löb family did not appear to be in imminent danger from the German occupiers. However, in late July 1942, Dutch bishops ordered a protest letter against the deportation of Jews to be read aloud in churches across the nation. In retaliation, the Nazis arrested five of the Löb siblings on August 2, 1942.

Though urged by fellow monks and nuns to flee, the siblings refused. The brothers explained that the Nazis had threatened to execute ten priests if they did not surrender. The five siblings were transferred through the Amersfoort and Westerbork transit camps before being sent to Auschwitz. George and Ernst were murdered on August 19, 1942, and the remaining three were killed on September 30, 1942.

Louise had initially managed to evade deportation with the help of the Jewish Council and a monastery physician. However, owing to her frail health, she tragically succumbed to tuberculosis on August 1, 1944.

Hans, the youngest brother, was also arrested by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz, where he died in February 1945. Paula, the youngest child and the only one who was married, was hidden by a Catholic family during the Nazi persecution and survived the war.

On 2 August 1942, 245 Jewish Catholics were arrested alongside the Löb siblings. To the Nazi regime, conversion to Catholicism was irrelevant; under their racial laws, these individuals were still classified as Jewish.

 

Sources

The Jewish Family Löb and Their Seven Christian Martyrs 

https://sacredwindows.substack.com/p/seven-martyrs-from-the-heart-of-one

https://www.joodsmonument.nl/en/page/221595/theodora-l%C3%B6b