| First Name | Gretel |
|---|---|
| Family Name | Katzenstein |
| Date of Birth | 03/01/1911 |
| Birthplace/Place of Residence | Rhina |
| Residence in „Heim Isenburg“ | 06/17/1940 - 12/13/1940 |
| Departure to | Yugoslavia |
| Profession | Employee |
| Deportation/Escape | Fled over the Netherlands to Yugoslavia. Maybe deported to the concentration camp Sabac. |
| Date of Death/Place of Death | Shot near the Serbian village Zasavica |
Gretel Katzenstein was born on March 1, 1911, in Rhina in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district. Shortly before the Second World War, the then 28-year-old immigrated to the Netherlands. There she met her husband, of whom only the surname is known. His name was Wiener, and he was probably of Polish origin. The couple married according to the Jewish rite; a civil marriage was no longer possible for Jews after the invasion of the German Army in the Netherlands.
In 1940 Gretel was brought back to Germany at the request of the German occupation authorities. The reason is unclear, and perhaps Gretel Katzenstein was to be used for forced labor in Germany. But she was expecting a baby. In the 7th month of pregnancy, she came to the Home of the Jewish Women's Association in Neu-Isenburg in June 1940 where she had previously been, and what had caused her to lodge at the home is not known. In any case, she was under increasing surveillance of the Gestapo.
Gretel Katzenstein gave birth to a son in Frankfurt. Eleven days after birth, she returned with her child to Neu-Isenburg, where she served as an employee in the Home of the Jewish Women's Association and looked after her child. But Gretel was under threat of arrest by the Gestapo, so she finally fled to Zagreb with the support of the home. She had to leave her three-month-old child in Neu-Isenburg. Gretel barely escaped because the Gestapo came to the Home of the Jewish Women's Association to arrest the young woman just one day after she fled.
From Zagreb, Gretel Katzenstein kept in touch with the nurses of her child for a while. She sent letters, received photos, and reports from Neu-Isenburg on the development of the boy. However, with the takeover of the Axis powers in Croatia in the spring of 1941, the connection broke off.
Gretel Katzenstein did not survive the Shoah. She was murdered in a mass shooting in Serbia. During the exhumation of the bodies from a mass grave near the Serbian village of Zasavica, they found her personal documents. Possibly, Grete had been captured and taken into the nearby Šabac (Schabatz) concentration camp.
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