ERIKA and KÄTE

Käte, born on August 18, 1938, was the older of the two. She was one year and five months older than her little sister Erika, born on January 18, 1940. They were both born in Masendorf in the district of Uelzen. Their parents were Karl, a farm worker, and his wife Martha Frieda.

The girls were admitted together to the Lüneburg »children’s ward« on February 15, 1944. For both of them—who were only four and five and a half years old at the time of their admission to Lüneburg—the Lüneburg institution was not their first placement. They had previously been housed at the Pestalozzi Foundation in Großburgwedel. Both were deemed unfit for education and training.

Willi Baumert assessed Käte as a calm, friendly child who was, in fact, developing at a rate appropriate for her age. She understood what was said to her, paid attention to her surroundings, knew how to occupy herself, and played a lot with other children. In addition, at five and a half years old, she could already count to twenty, correctly identify all colors, distinguish between left and right without difficulty, and explain things and events depicted in pictures. The only thing Baumert criticized about her was her tendency toward disorderliness.

On July 14, 1944—Käte and her sister Erika had been in his care for five months by then—Baumert recommended: »Suitable for school.« That saved her life. On August 2, 1944, Käte was transferred to the Eben-Ezer Foundation in Lemgo. She was one of a total of 16 children who left for Lemgo that day.

Käte and Erika were not separated. They remained together because Erika also received a favorable assessment from Baumert. Erika was—according to Baumert’s description—a completely healthy child whose only flaw was having a mother who, according to the administration’s file notes, had not taken sufficient care of her.

At four and a half years old, Erika was by far the youngest child to be transferred from Lüneburg to the Eben-Ezer Foundation. Since Erika was still far from being ready for school at the time of her transfer to Eben-Ezer, it seems obvious that Baumert’s decision to transfer her was also motivated by a desire not to separate the sisters. On the other hand, it is obvious that sending her home to her mother or to a foster family was not an option for him. Despite the lack of medical indication, Erika was not released from Lemgo to go home until August 6, 1951. Kate’s whereabouts remain unclear.