Walter Süskind
German Jew who helped about 600 Jewish children escape the Holocaust
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Key Takeaways
- Walter Süskind (29 October 1906 – 28 February 1945) was a German Jew who helped about 600 Jewish children escape the Holocaust.
- Biography Süskind was born in Lüdenscheid in Germany as the first child of Hermann Süskind and Frieda Kessler.
- Süskind initially worked as a manager of a margarine factory in Germany.
- From 1942 until his deportation to Westerbork, he lived at Nieuwe Prinsengracht 51 in the center of Amsterdam with his wife Johanna Natt (1 November 1906 – 1944) and their daughter Yvonne Süskind.
- Süskind worked for the Dutch Jewish council.
Walter Süskind (29 October 1906 – 28 February 1945) was a German Jew who helped about 600 Jewish children escape the Holocaust. He was a member of the Jewish Council of Amsterdam (Joodsche Raad or Judenrat) during the Second World War.
Biography
Süskind was born in Lüdenscheid in Germany as the first child of Hermann Süskind and Frieda Kessler. He had two younger brothers, Karl Süskind (1908) and Alfred Süskind (1911).
Süskind initially worked as a manager of a margarine factory in Germany. In March 1938, he fled to the Netherlands with the intention of emigrating to the United States, because of the persecution of Jews by the Nazis. From 1942 until his deportation to Westerbork, he lived at Nieuwe Prinsengracht 51 in the center of Amsterdam with his wife Johanna Natt (1 November 1906 – 1944) and their daughter Yvonne Süskind. During the Second World War he became involved in helping children escape the Holocaust via the nursery on the Plantage Middenlaan in Amsterdam.
Süskind worked for the Dutch Jewish council. He was the manager of the Hollandsche Schouwburg (Dutch Theater), where the Jews of Amsterdam had to report prior to their deportation to the Westerbork transit camp. In that position he could manipulate the personal data of children in particular. His close relationship with the German authorities helped him in his activities to help children escape. He especially tried to get close to the SS officer Ferdinand aus der Fünten, who was then the second man of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Amsterdam.
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