Schlesinger, Kurt

Kurt Schlesinger was born in the German city of Schmalkalden on December 17, 1902. He worked as a mechanic in his hometown until 1939. In 1937, he married Thea Francis Klein. After Kristallnacht, the couple attempted to escape to Amsterdam on January 12, 1939. According to the plan, after the Netherlands, the couple wanted to flee to Chile . However, on the border between Germany and the Netherlands, they were detained by the Dutch police.

On March 6, 1940, the couple was forcibly relocated to the Westerbork Central Jewish Refugee Camp. In February 1942, he was appointed head of the Jewish Security Service. He was engaged in the registration of prisoners and the compilation of deportation lists for sending them to Auschwitz, Sobibor and Terezin. He took bribes with money, jewelry and sexual services in exchange for protection against deportation or for sending prisoners to Terezin instead of Auschwitz. Organized a black market in the camp. According to former prisoners, Schlesinger was often on the platform with SS officers while sending the trains.

On April 12, 1945, the Westerbork camp was liberated by the Canadian army and Schlesinger and the rest were arrested. However, the trial was suspended. After the war, Schlesinger remained in the Netherlands for several more years. He offers testimony in court against his commandant and defense attorney Gemmeker . By the end of 1949, after the completion of the Gemmeker trial, he left the Netherlands and was hidden from view. It is possible that he did this because he learned about plans to open a case against him about cooperation with the Nazis. Gemecker was sentenced to 10 years.

In 1973, the second trial of Gemecker begins and the detectives uncovered the tracks of Schlesinger in the United States. However, according to his wife, Schlesinger died in 1964.

• Holocaust in the Netherlands