Deportation of the jewish inhabitants of Kaisersesch

Already weeks before the deportation the 16 remaining jews from Kaisersesch were accomodated with the four members of the family Hessel from Hambuch, two members of the family David from Düngenheim and about 15 jews from Binningen in the house of Moritz Siegler in the Hambucher Straße. The 15 jews from Binningen could have been the families Haas,Schmitz and Marx, who are named in the commemorative book of the federal government as jews deportated from Binningen.

That it was not pleasant to live in one house with about 35 persons can be imagined by everyone and this shows the disregard of the Nazis against the jews. A guard was placed in front of the house, which was only allowed to be left for shopping with a grant from the SA. After their return they were principly examined for forbidden objects. In the night courageous neighbours brought additional food to the jews through the garden behind the house. On the 29th of April 1942, one day before the deportation, they got the last chance to go shopping. On that day they also visited the saddlery of my grandfather Jakob Wagener, who had to add straps to their sacks, so it was easier to carry them. They told him, that they got a letter, which said, that they had to walk to the dairy at 10.00 p.m. for the purpose of eradication.

On the next day the SA had no problems to guide the perhaps 35 jews to the dairy, where a cattle-van was waiting for them. Nobody protested, because everybody knew from the experience of the last months, that protest and revolt were purposeless, or could even be deadly. So they walked down the Cochemer Weg with dragging steps, escorted by the SA at the front and at the back. Because no big suitcases were allowed, but small luggage, they wore many articles of clothing under their bloated overcoats, on which the yellow star was shining. On a heap of straw, which was lying on the cattle-van, Frieda Wolf was laid down, who was disabled and bedridden for a long time.

This was told by eye-witnesses, who watched the scenery behind drawn curtains frightend and not having the courage to help the jews. Nevertheless, as told earlier, the jews experienced a humane gesture, when Hannes Mayer dismissed his friends personaly with a handshake. Also the SA could not stop him from his intention. When all had taken place in the cattle-van, the flaps were turned over and so you could only see the hats and the hair of the people standing out over the flaps.

The van started moving and took the jewish fellow-inhabitants of Kaisersesch into their ruin.