Cottbus, Germany

Benjamin and Racjela Schindler lived at Calauer Strasse 65. They had three children: Alfred (b. 1928), Max (b. 1929) and Cäcilie (b. 1930). Both Benjamin and Racjela had been born in Poland and did not have German citizenship.

“As the fall months wear on in 1937, Dad says the situation for Jews in Germany is changing steadily. It seems that Hitler is gaining popularity and his power is increasing. He is circulating propaganda in the newspapers, on the radio and in the movies to make people hate Jews.

Dad is concerned about Fred and me because there is growing aggression toward Jews in public. We reassure Dad that we are not suffering at school, which makes him feel a little better …

The next day, Dad informs us that the Germans came to his liquor store and took all its contents. He was ordered not to return. Fred and I jump up yelling, ‘They can’t do that!’

He orders us to sit down and listen. He continues, saying that throughout the ordeal people were throwing rocks and calling him a dirty Jew. He had no choice but to walk away.” – Max Schindler

Benjamin Schindler tried to emigrate to the United States, where he had relatives but the paperwork failed to come through before disaster struck.

Expulsion The family were deported from Cottbus in October 1938 in what was known as the ‘Poleaktion’, in which Polish born Jewish residents of Germany who did not have German citizenship were expelled from the Reich. The Schindler family were among over 17,000 Polish Jews who were sent to Poland within the space of just two days.

The Polenaktion (‘Polish Action’ in German) was the first forced expulsion of Jews from Germany and Austria. The expulsion led directly to Kristallnacht. Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old living in Paris, shot a German diplomat after receiving the news that his family had been deported from Hanover. 

The Schindlers made their way to their parents’ homes eventually settling in Brzesko.

^{Stolperstiene for the Schindler family}

Holocaust When the war broke out they fled from their maternal grandmother’s house in Wytrzyszczka. The managed to avoid being forced into a ghetto but were eventually taken to a labour camp.

Benjamin and his two sons endured several concentration camps. Benjamin Schindler died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto just before the liberation after enduring a death march.

Racjela and her daughter Cäcilie died in the Stutthof concentration camp. 

To find out more about Alfred Schindler click here and to read about the life of Max Schindler click here.