Else Behrend-Rosenfeld (1891–1970) was a German

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor, known for her published diary and letters, ''Living in Two Worlds''.

Early life

Rosenfeld was born in 1891 to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

father and a non-Jewish mother. She grew up in Berlin. Rosenfeld was part of generation of women allowed to study, receiving her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

in 1919. Rosenfeld worked as a teacher and social worker. Rosenfeld married Dr. Siegfried Rosenfeld a year after receiving her doctorate, who was Jewish. Rosenfeld would later have three children with her husband. Her husband worked as a

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

member of the Prussian state parliament and ministerial official in the Prussian Ministry of Justice from 1920 to 1932. Being removed and moving to

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

after the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s took power. The family was in Isar Valley from 1934 to 1937. After the events of

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

, the family moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Holocaust

After pressure by the Nazis to

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

, Siegfried Rosenfeld and two of their children went to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, with their eldest daughter emigrating to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Accounts disagree on whether Else escaped

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

, or if she failed to emigrate. Rosenfeld became a welfare worker in Munich's Jewish Community, and worked with the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

, Gertrud Luckner, and Annemarie Cohen to organize parcel campaigns to Jewish people deported to Piaski. In June 1941, Rosenfeld was sent to the work camp, Flachsröste Lohhof. Before being appointed economic manager of the internment camp, Heimanlage für Juden Berg am Laim a month later. Rosenfeld escaped a year later to Berlin, then to

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. On April 20 1944, Rosenfeld escaped across the Switzerland-German border in the night with nothing but a backpack.

Life after the Holocaust

In 1945, Rosenfeld published her diary ''Verfemt und verfolgt'' (''Outlawed and Persecuted''), which details the reactions of people to the Jewish Star to the people of Munich, and names perpetrators and acts of the Holocaust. The book also describes the support and help given to the Jewish community and other persecuted people. In 1963, the

British Broadcasting Company The British Broadcasting Company Limited (BBC) was a short-lived British commercial broadcasting company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom. Licensed by the British Gener ...

conducted an interview with Rosenfeld as a series of 23 broadcasts called ''An Old Lady Remembers.''

Bibliography

* ''I Was Not Alone'' * ''The Four lives of Elsbeth Rosenfeld'' * ''Outlawed and Persecuted''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenfeld, Else Holocaust survivors 1891 births People from Berlin 1970 deaths University of Jena alumni