Walter Oettingen, born on 23 May 1905 in Hamburg, came to the Netherlands in the Summer of 1939. At the age of 17, he was hit by polio and was therefore handicapped. He went to live with his cousin Johann Oettinger, who lived at the Stadionkade in Amsterdam. Johann Oettinger ran the N.V. Oriëntaalse Tabakshandel, established at the Oudezijds Voorburgwal. Johann and his wife took their own lives on 16 May 1940.
Walter Oettinger found a hiding place in the Beethovenstraat 146 in Amsterdam during the war. After five days in his shelter, his host, the later film maker Louis van Gasteren, shattered his skull. The body was dumped in a crate in a ditch.
Louis van Gasteren was located and condemned in June 1944 for manslaughter. After the war, he claimed it had been a resistance act: Walter Oettinger had threatened to betray the business, which posed a danger for the resistance. In consultation with resistance activists, it had been decided to eliminate Walter Oettinger.
Early 1990, the reporter Bart Middelburg wrote a few articles on this subject in Het Parool. In his view, it could not have been a resistance act, but rather a simple robbery with murder. A legal trial ensued, which was won by Van Gasteren. Het Parool was forced to pay him compensation.
In 2003, it was the subject of another trial due to a publication by Pamela Hemelrijk. According to the court there was no convincing proof that it had been a resistance act "while various circumstances may point in a different direction, or are at least difficult to reconcile therewith". Because the available evidence did not univocally point at a resistance act, Hemelrijk could not be denied the right to express her doubts.
M. van der Valk, 'Wordt vervolgd', in: Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad, 1 August 2003
See for more information on this case: E. Slot, De dood van een onderduiker : Louis van Gasteren en de waarheid (Amsterdam 2006).
Walter Oettinger had two sisters and a brother.
Addition of a visitor of the website
Walter Oettinger worked for the Jewish Council during the war.
Stadsarchief Amsterdam, archiefkaart Walter Oettinger