EN

Hermann van Pels

Hermann van Pels was an employee of Pectacon and was one of the people hiding in the Secret Annex.

Person

Fotograaf onbekend. Fotocollectie Anne Frank Stichting Amsterdam
  • Hermann van Pels
  • Born on: March 31, 1898
  • Born in: Gehrde, Duitsland
  • Died on: Oct. 3, 1944
  • Died in: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Polen

Achter: Esther Troeder, Herman van Pels, Miep Gies. Voor: Bep Voskuijl, Prinsengracht 263, Amsterdam, mei 1941

Fotograaf onbekend. Fotocollectie Anne Frank Stichting Amsterdam

Status onduidelijk

Hermann van Pels was born in Gehrde on 31 March 1898.[1] Gehrde is a place between Osnabrück and Oldenburg. The personal and family card of Hermann van Pels incorrectly states 31 March 1890.[2] This is an administrative error that has taken on a life of its own. Hermann was a son of Aäron van Pels and Lina Vorsänger. He was the fourth of six children. His brother and sisters were: David Max, Henny, Ida Henriëtte, Clara and Meta.

Nothing is known about Hermann van Pels' childhood and schooling. From statements by his sister Ida we know of an apprenticeship with the firm Alsberg and of a job with Karstadt in Kiel. It is certain that he lived in Kiel from March to August 1917 and moved from there to Hamburg. In December 1925 he married Auguste Röttgen in Elberfeld. Their son Peter was born in 1926.

Hermann van Pels and his family lived in Osnabrück for years. When life became increasingly difficult for Jews under Nazi rule, he left for the Netherlands in 1937 and settled in Amsterdam-Zuid. Over the years he lived at many addresses, including with his parents-in-law. His arrival in the Netherlands did not cause any particular problems, because Van Pels had Dutch nationality. Because he was a Dutchman, he was subject to conscription. What practical consequences this had for him is not clear. In early 1939 he was arrested as a deserter, but the matter ended quietly. Around the same time, the American consulate put him on the waiting list for emigration 'under the German quota'.[3]

Together with his brother-in-law Max Goldschmidt, Van Pels had a trade in textile goods. He left this business in early 1939 and went to work for Otto Frank's company Pectacon. In July 1942, Hermann van Pels and his family went into hiding in the Secret Annex. What is known about Van Pels during this period comes from Anne's diary, with some additions and corrections by Otto and Miep.

Van Pels ended up in Westerbork after the arrest. From there he was transported to Auschwitz on 3 September 1944. In the men's camp he did heavy work, seriously hurting his thumb. He asked for Stubendienst but thus became a victim of an interim selection and it is almost certain that he was killed in the gas chamber. Hermann van Pels was 46 years old at the time.[4]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Standesamt Gehrde, Geboorteregister 6 juli 1948 (afschrift); Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Nederlands Beheersinstituut (NBI): Beheersdossiers, nummer toegang 2.09.16, inv. nr. 141144.
  2. ^ Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Dienst Bevolkingsregister, Archiefkaarten (toegangsnummer 30238): Archiefkaart H. van Pels; Gezinskaarten, Gezinskaart H. van Pels
  3. ^ Anne Frank Stichting, Anne Frank Collectie, reg. code  A_vPels_I_001: Amerikaanse Consul aan H. van Pels, 25 april 1939.
  4. ^ Literature: Menno Metselaar, 'An egotistical father, a vain mother and a shy boy. The van Pels family: also in hiding in the Secret Annexe', in: Anne Frank Magazine 1998, p. 8-13;Aukje Vergeest, Anne Frank in the Secret Annexe: who was who?, Amsterdam: Anne Frank House, 2015.