Itzkowic-Goldberg family. Collection

Salomon Fischel Itzkowic was born on March 1st, 1901, in Wietrzychowice (then Austro-Hungarian empire, today Poland) as the son of Alter Bresler and Cyrel Itzkowic. Salomon had five elder siblings, one of whom passed away before he was born, and two younger siblings. Their mother Cyrel died when Salomon was only eight years old, after which one of his older sisters took care of him. In 1922 Salomon Itzkowic settled in Berlin, probably in the company of his brother Szyja. Together they managed a chain of menswear shops. In 1928 Salomon religiously married Esther Goldberg who was born on October 26, 1903, in Czychow, Poland. Their two eldest sons were both born in Berlin: Achim on January 22, 1929, and Berthold Siegmund on January 23, 1932. On November 16, 1937 Salomon Itzkowic and Esther Goldberg officially wed at the city hall in the German capital. The Itzkowic-Goldberg family still lived in Berlin when the Nazis rose to power. Threatened with interment in a concentration camp, Salomon fled to Belgium on August 16, 1938, where he requested asylum in preparation of his emigration to the United States. He was granted a temporary residence permit for Belgium and Salomon settled at Jacob Jordaensstraat 90 in Antwerp. On December 28, 1938 his wife Esther and children Achim and Berthold Siegmund joined Salomon in the Belgian port city. They relocated to Lange Herentalsestraat 40. Esther was heavily pregnant at the time and a third son named Arthur was born on February 27, 1939. By the end of that year the family lived at Kerkstraat 36 in Antwerp. Their temporary residence permit was prolonged a few times and although Salomon was registered as a textile merchant, he was not allowed to work in Belgium. The boys went to school and at least Berthold Siegmund took classes at the Jesode Hatora religious school in Antwerp. On May 10, 1940, Nazi-Germany invaded Belgium. In the days that followed the Belgian authorities arrested thousands of so-called ‘suspects’ who they feared would help the invading army. Among the arrested men were also German and Austrian refugees who recently arrived in Belgium, many of who were Jewish. Salomon Itzkowic was amongst the men arrested and was deported by the Belgian state to southern France. He was detained at several internment camps, including Saint-Cyprien and Argelès-sur-Mer. While detained there he received several letters from his wife and children in Antwerp. In August 1942 Salomon escaped. He crossed the Pyrenees Mountains on foot with the assistance of a smuggler, and reached Spain, where he was first housed at a refugee camp in Miranda de Ebro. In February 1943 Salomon left for Madrid, and in April 1943 he made his way to Portugal. He was able to reach England, via Gibraltar, on May 6, 1943, where he earned a living as a kitchen porter and later as a waiter. In Belgium, Esther struggled to take care of their three sons. On May 30, 1940, she applied for welfare to support her family. She obeyed the anti-Jewish decrees and registered herself and her children in the municipal Jewish Register, which was obligatory as of October 28, 1940. On January 11, 1941, Esther and the boys were relocated to the province of Limburg. Between December 1940 and February 1941 the German authorities in Antwerp forced over 3000 foreigners, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to resettle to this eastern part of Belgium for reasons still unknown. Esther, Achim, Berthold Siegmund and Arthur were sent to the municipality of Opglabbeek, today Oudsbergen, where they were housed at Weg op Bree 2. The family was allowed to return to Antwerp on May 6, 1941, after which Esther and the children settled at Provinciestraat 211, only to move to Wipstraat 42 a few weeks later. As of the end of May 1942 Esther and her oldest sons Achim and Berthold Siegmund had to wear the yellow star of David on their clothes. On August 21, 1942, Esther was sent to the Sint-Erasmus hospital in Antwerp, where she would remain for treatment until September 27, 1942. During her absence Achim and Berthold Siegmund were temporarily housed at the Jewish orphanage located at Lange Leemstraat 313 (Rothschild home) in Antwerp. It is unknown who took care of youngest son Arthur at the time. Esther, Achim, Berthold Siegmund and Arthur were arrested under unknown circumstances on October 9, 1942. Their arrest might be related to the raid at the Jewish orphanage at Lange Leemstraat that same day. Twenty children were arrested at the institute and sent to the Dossin barracks where they were registered on the deportation list of transport XIII. After the war, the home’s director drafted a list with the names of the twenty arrested children. Although the Itzkowic children were not on this post-war list, Arthur Itzkowic’s name was registered on the deportation list of transport XIII under the number 659, amongst the names of the children arrested during the raid at the orphanage. Additionally, directly underneath the names of the children taken from the orphanage on the deportation list are the names of Esther and her two eldest sons (numbers 678 to 680). So it is plausible that Esther and her sons were arrested in relation to the raid at the Jewish orphanage too. The complete group, including Esther and her three sons, was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau on October 10, 1942. All were murdered. Salomon Itzkowic would be the sole survivor of his family. He looked for his wife and children after Liberation, but only received news that they had been deported and murdered. On June 2, 1946, he married Antonia, known as Anny, Pressburger (born on April 18, 1921, in Vienna, Austria). The couple ran the North Country Hotel in London as of 1947. Their son David Itzkowic was born in the British capital, but the family later emigrated to Australia. Salomon Itzkowic passed away on January 31, 1981. Only after his passing his son David discovered that Salomon had been married before and he started researching his father’s story. David is still looking for photos of his half-brothers.

David Itzkowic, son of Salomon Itzkowic and his second wife Anny Pressburger, found the documents in this collection after his father Salomon passed away. The original letters were entrusted to the Sydney Jewish Museum, and were part of the ‘Signs of Life – letters of the Holocaust’ exhibition at the Australian museum in 2014. The photo was entrusted to David by genealogist Sophie Caplan, the daughter of the only woman in the picture. David Itzkowic kindly provided Kazerne Dossin with digital copies of the documents and photo in 2022.

David Itzkowic, son of Salomon Itzkowic and his second wife Anny Pressburger, 2022