A note to show all the children of Sabine (Sara) Kornmehl and Siegmund (Simche Isaac) Beder.
Sabine and Siegmund had 9 children who survived into adulthood. These were:
Moses (Max), b. 20.12.1898, Tarnow; Jochwet Feige (Jeanette), b. 30.01.1898, Tarnow, Mina, b. 19.06.1900, Tarnow; Josef Heinrich, b. 14.10.1901, Tarnow; Elie S (Elsa), b. 01.12.1902, Gorlice; Jacob (Jack), b. 05.05.1905; Golda Leah, b. 11.06.1908, Tarnow; Regina (Rosa), b. 05.01.1912, Tarnow; Celine (Cilly), b. 27.06.1913, Tarnow.
Sadly, two of Sabine and Siegmund’s children died in childhood. Here are their details:
Wigdor Beder, (b. 1906, Tarnow). He died aged two and a half in Tarnow in 1909
Baruch Beder, (b. 1910, Tarnow). He died aged 1 year in Tarnow, in 1911.
Sabine and Siegmund Beder and family. C 1917, the Netherlands.
Sabine was born with the name Sara Kornmehl, on 27th July 1971 in Tarnow, Poland. She was the eldest child of Elias Kornmehl and Esther ‘Dobe’ Schmerling (both from Tarnow). She married Siegmund Beder (birth name: Simche Isaac, born on 29th January 1870, in Nowy Sacz. Simche Isaac was the son of Josef Hirsch and Sara Beder, both from Nowy Sacz (also known as Neu Sandez, in German).
In 1913, the family moved from Tarnow to the Hague, in the Netherlands. It is noted that there were other Kornmehls there. Sabine and Siegmund may have moved from Poland, then under the Austrio-Hungarian Empire (prior to World War One), due to the imminent war and need for conscripted men.
In 1926 Siegmund moved to Dusseldorf, Germany, no doubt related to securing better employment (he was a teacher of Torah and Yiddish; both he and Sabine were religious). Sabine and their children joined him in Dusseldorf the following year. Jochwet (Jeanette), however, remained in the Netherlands as she was married.
The Nazis came to power in Germany in early 1933. Along with this, came anti Jewish legislation which progressively got worse over time.
Siegmund sadly died in Dusseldorf, on 25th January 1935; at least he escaped the holocaust. In 1936 his grave was consecrated. After this time, Sabine left for Palestine. She lived with her daughter Mina and her husband in Tel Aviv.
During the Second World War (which officially began when Germany invaded Poland on 1st September 1939) and the overlapping Nazi-led holocaust in Europe, tragically three of Sabine and Simche’s children were murdered, along with their families:
Jeanette and both of their children, Berta Louise and Eduard were murdered by gas at Auschwitz, 01 October 1942. Abraham Bloemendal, husband of Jeanette was murdered in an extermination camp (via Kamp Vught, Noordbrabant, the Netherlands) on 28th February 1944.
Before the holocaust began, Berta and Josef, and their 15 month old infant son had been expelled from Dusseldorf, Germany in October 1938 by the German, Nazi Government. They hated Jews, but they especially hated Polish Jews (and Poland). Jews of Polish origin, even if they had German citizenship, were stripped of that entitlement and forced to leave. Thousands were literally taken by forced and dumped in Polish border towns; without food, clothing, shelter, money. Berta, Josef and Siegfried ended up in Brenschen; the only town to record it’s new arrivals. They remained there for months. Josef (and likely baby Siegfried) left after 6 months, but Berta was imprisoned in an internment camp, released in June 1939. Both of them moved to Antwerp via Dusseldorf (a brief visit there, to search for family and gather what they needed). After the end of November, 1940 (by now, Belgium had been invaded by the Germans), they moved to Brussels, where their last family address is shown.
Josef Heinrich and his wife, Berta (née Lieblich) were both murdered. On 15th October 1942, Berta was transported to Caserne Dossin (Malines- Mechelen),Camp, Belgium, which was a (brutal) transit camp. On 24th October, 1942 Berta was transported to Auschwitz, arriving two days later (after a non stop horrendous journey; packed into the carriages). No record exists of either her tattoo number or date of death (many records had been destroyed by the Nazis toward the end of the war). It is assumed that she may have been used as slave labour within the camp. She may/may not have died on the ‘Death March’ at the end of the war, if indeed she survived her ordeal within the camp.
Josef and their son, Siegfried went into hiding after Berta’s arrest and deportation. Josef handed their son, born in Dusseldorf on 01.05.1937, to a convent in or near Brussels, for shelter. A sister of Berta, Rifka Lieblich had also survived. She was living in Brussels at the time, and no doubt helped Josef with placing their son. Rifka must have been hiding in the area and after the war, she fetched Siegfried and cared for him for a month before placing him in a refugee Children’s Home in Brussels. From there, he was adopted by Mina (née Beder) and husband Itk’e Kaner. He moved to Israel with his new family, and his name changed to Shimon Kaner. (Mina and Itk’e had no other children). Siegfried, who was religious, had grown up, become a lawyer, married and had two children.
Josef, tragically had the most horrendous and drawn-out holocaust ordeal. On 12th May 1944, he was captured and transported to Caserne Dossin (Malines- Mechelen),Camp, Belgium. On 19th May 1944 he was transported to Auschwitz, packed into the cattle trucks with no food, water, sanitation or breaks and barely any air. He arrived into Auschwitz on 21st May 1944. The recorded dates since his arrival at Auschwitz are few and far between. His tattoo number is was 2569 NR. Josef was likely used as slave / forced labour from here onwards. Firstly he was within Auschwitz. From Auschwitz he was sent to the notorious Gross Rosen concentration camp in Germany. As Allies were nearing the camp, prisoners were moved to other concentration camps. Josef was then deported to the hell of Flossenburg, which had been set up to work inmates to death (there are photographs of skeletal people standing in rows for the daily morning role call; many could barely stand, those who fell were shot). On 13th February, 1945, on Josef’s concentration camp record are written just two chilling words (in German): Declared dead.
Celine (Beder) Ringer, and her husband Max were deported to Westerbork transit camp, the Netherlands on 8th January 1943. Celine was heavily pregnant at the time. She gave birth within the brutal Westerbork camp, to a baby girl, they named Irene.
On 20th July 1943, all three; Celine, Max and new born, Irene were packed into cattle truck carriages and deported by train to Sobibor; probably the furthest-away death camp on the Nazi map. After 3 days, non-stop (72 hours), no food, no water, no toilet facilities, barely enough air (just one or two tiny vents at the top of the carriage), they arrived at Sobibor. Immediately upon arrival they were murdered by gas (23rd July 1943).
Sabine and Simche (Siegmund)’s other children, survived:
Max, from the Netherlands, moved to Palestine/Israel between 1937-9.
Mina had moved to Palestine from Dusseldorf at the start of the Hitler Nazi regime, April 1933.
Jack returned to the Netherlands and then hid in the house in Velp, with his wife Stella (née Schmerling, daughter of Sabine’s brother Ferdinand; in those days, this was acceptable). They had a baby daughter, born in 1943; Evelyn. She was handed to a local Catholic family to shelter during the war, and was given a new name: Maria Gemma. After the war, she was given back to her parents. Jack and Stella, and later daughter Jenny all lived in the Netherlands (Schevingahm? Spelling) for the rest of their lives. Daughter Evelyn moved to Tel Aviv, Israel and married a man who was originally from Argentina; Zvi Schon. Neither daughter had children.
The parents of Stella, Ferdinand and Nina Schmerling, were also hiding in the same house in Velp and survived.
Leyni returned to the Netherlands and then hid in the house in Velp, Her son, Simi was handed to a local Catholic family and survived, moved to Israel after the war with his mother (who re-married, to Bernard/Baruch Marcus and had another son, Isaac). Tragically, Leyni’s first husband, and Simi’s father, Izrael Loebl was murdered in Auschwitz on 12th October 1944. (It is so tragic that there was not enough room in the house in Velp for any more people; it is incredible that they could take in so many as it was. Likely Izrael was hiding separately, perhaps also in Velp).
Rosa (also had returned to the Netherlands) and her husband, David Santcroos hid in the house in Velp. David’s father knew the van den Berg family though his ‘travelling salesman’ job and regularly did business with them. When Elsa approached David for a place to hide, he asked his father (his name may have been Jacob?) and he suggested the van den Bergs. After the war, Rosa and David remained in the Netherlands, and had two sons. The first son was named after Rosa’s brother, Josef Heinrich. Tragically, he died aged 7. They had another son, Jacques (Jacki). When David died, Rosa and Jacki moved to Israel, where Jacki worked as a baker. Rosa did not remarry. Jacki married and had a family.
Elsa had returned to the Netherlads with her daughter Edith. They hid in the house in Velp. Elsa’s husband, Emil Obstfeld had left for Argentina in approximately 1934. He had asked his wife to go with him, but she said she would join him later (perhaps she wished to remain with her parents a little longer?). After the war, Elsa searched for her husband, but discovered that he was married with a family. She then secured a divorce, returned to Israel and later married Teva Ofer, son of Knesset member, Mordechai Ofer.
All the siblings (and Sabine, until her death in February 1948) lived close to each other, in Tel Aviv.
