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In Memoriam: Jettie Fischler

 



       The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as Shoah, is the most tragic period of Jewish Diaspora history and indeed of modern mankind as a whole. Twelve years of Nazi-German anti-Jewish Aktion (1933-1945) constitute an uninterrupted progression toward a continued increasing radicalization of objectives and barbarization of methods in constantly expanding territories under direct Nazi control or under decisive Nazi influence to the accompaniment of vicious, sometimes obscene anti-Jewish propaganda. Consequences of the Holocaust are of decisive significance for the Jewish present and future: those consequences are still evident now and will be experienced for generations to come.

Encyclopedia Judaica, Bk. 8, page 831

 

Jettie Fischler

       Next-door to the van Oosten family lived the Fischler family. They had two children. A boy and a girl. Everyone knew the shy little girl as Jettie. After the war I learned that her real name was Harriette Mia Fischler. The following anecdote from a former classmate will give you a wonderful insight into the sensitive nature of this child. Jettie was born on 28 August 1928. I did not know her as well as I knew Iwan. On the other hand I knew her Mom, Mrs. Nathalie Esterina Fischler-Blok, very well. Of course not by name, but I knew her as the nice lady who sold candy and licorice in her candy store. I do not remember ever meeting Jettie's father, Isak Szymon Fischler, nor do I remember what he did for a living. All school kids knew Mrs. Fischler because of the candy store. The small candy store was next door to the larger furniture and bedding store belonging to Iwan's father.

       Some candy could still be bought in the first year of the war. However, her supplies dwindled steadily and with that her income. Her store drew the attention of most school children. We would buy sweets worth half a cent before going to school or Sunday school. It was obvious to the town people that the Fischler family was not as well off as were their neighbors, the van Oosten family. Because her supply of candies gradually ran out it was more difficult for Jettie's mother to properly dress her children. Perhaps that was the reason why Jettie's clothing appeared more ragged than that of other kids. But believe me, Mrs. Fischler did her utmost to always have Jettie and her younger brother Leo Salomon look decent and clean.

       My friend, Piet Tielrooy, and I went to the train station the day the Jews of Assen and surrounding area were first sent by train to Westerbork in anticipation of further 'relocation' to the East. There we observed the hustle and bustle of scores of local Jewish people trying to secure a place of privacy in one of the waiting cattle cars. Families tried to maintain some sort of semblance of togetherness in an otherwise chaotic situation. Thinking back I wonder where the Nazi guards were or if there were SSers at all. We saw marechaussee - local constables, but I do not remember seeing Nazi soldiers. Were they out of sight or were they just hiding? Perhaps their departure, supervised by Dutch constables, went so smooth that the Nazis felt no need for a stricter guarding policy on the side rail platform of our local railroad-station. Whatever the reason, no one appeared to object to us being around.

       I recognized several families as they noisily milled around. I really was not surprised to see these sad scenes of mistrust and anxiety. Fear radiated from some of the faces, while others displayed apathy. In particular I remember watching Jettie Fischler. Huddling in the left corner of the platform, she and her younger brother Leo pressed closely to their mother. Jettie's eyes mirrored fear. It was the last time I saw them. Together with all the others Jettie and her brother also were torn from our midst forever. Her father Isak perished somewhere in Poland on 6 October 1942, perhaps during the trip while riding in the same cattle car as his family. Mrs. Fishler and her two children were exterminated in Birkenau on arrival, two days later. Their lives were taken on 8 October 1942.