Karl Weisz, born 25 February 1906 in Schoten and Johannes Weisz, born 8 February 1914 in Heerenveen, were natural sons of the unmarried mother Johanna Helena Weiss, a daughter of Karl Weis and an unknown mother. Johanna was born ±1880 in Klein Osterhausen in Germany and died at the age of 49 at 2 April 1929 in Middelburg.
Johanna Helena Weiss belonged to the Sinti and Roma and according to the registration from 1927 of the City Archive of Rotterdam, she and her children professed the Roman Catholic faith. Johanna was a vendor woman and the travelled through the Netherlands and abroad. Her children were were all born in different municipalities and they too were registered as vendor and vendor women.
Johnanna Helena’s children were Karl, born in the Dutch municipality of Schoten on 25 February 1906; Jacob, born 25 January 1910 in Putten; Christina, born 30 March 1911 in Meppel; Emilia, born 25 March 1912 in Schaerbeek Belgium; Johannes, born 8 February 1914 in Heerenveen; Dolfien, born 27 November 1915 in Zutphen and Augusta Josephina, born 21 June 1919 in Schagen. Only Karl and Johannes were killed during the Holocaust; all other children, with or without their families, might have survived the war as far as known.
The Rotterdam Peoples Registry showed that Johanna Helena Weiss and her seven children have arrived on 11 August 1927 from Amersfoort in the City of Rotterdam. They lived in the “Roermond 132” caravan and they had a standing place at the caravan camp at the Nieuw Terbregscheweg in Rotterdam. After the passing of Johanna Helena Weiss in 1929 in Middelburg, all children have left Rotterdam independently: Karl left 1 July 1930 for Dordtmund in Germany; Emilia left 9 September 1929 for Haarlem, where she came living in the De Witstraat 37 and all others left together on 2 November 1929 for Den Haag, where they found space at the caravan camp there at Slachthuiskade.
Karl Weisz, the first born son of Johanna Helena Weiss, who was born 25 February 1906 in Schoten, has been registered there on 26 February by the family Emil Weisz and Helena Weisz as their lawful child. The 26-year old Emil Weisz was a musician and the domicile ot Emil and his wife Helena was Wittnau in Canton of Aargau in Switzerland. However, in 1906 they stayed in Schoten, where Karl was born in District A, nr. 13.
Karl was married to Frederica Rose. She was born 12 March 1906 in the town of Mees and she was the second of the eight children of Erdman Rose and Sophia Weisz. On 20 March 1939 Karl and Frederica had their first child: Emil, born in Naaldwijk.
Presumably, Karl, Federica and Emil belonged to the group of 245 Sinti and Roma, who have been deported 19 May 1944 to Auschwitz with the so-called “gipsy transport”. This transport followed after a great number of round-ups which were held 16 May 1944 in the Netherlands. Arrested people were taken the same day to Westerbork where they were put in the penal part of the camp. Three days later, 245 Sinti and Roma were put on transport from this transit-camp in the province of Drenthe to Auschwitz.
Karl Weisz would have been lost his life on 1 November 1944 at an unknown place. Of his wife Frederica Rose is nothing known regarding when and where she lost her life and of their son Emil is only known that he was killed in Auschwitz in 1944.
Johannes Weisz was the fifth child of Johanna Helena Weiss. He was born in Heerenveen on 8 February 1914 and was married to the two years younger Johanna Gerarda Vos from Nijmegen. Johannes was a travelling vendor; together with Johanna Gerarda Vos he had four children, all born in different municipalities. One child has survived the war. The other three children, namely Augusta Josephina Theresia born 20 May 1939 in Helmond, Johanna Helena born 23 January 1941 in Veenendaal and Emile, born 7 June 1943 in Zutphen, have been killed during the Holocaust, most likely in Auschwitz.
Johannes’ spouse, Johanna Gerarda Vos was also killed during the Holocaust but it is not known were and when she lost her life. It is not unlikely that also this family belonged to the group of 245 Sinti and Roma, who were deported to Auschwitz with the so-called “gipsy transport” of 19 May 1943.
Johannes Weisz eventually has been deployed as forced labourer in the former nazi concentration camp Mittelbau-Dora. This camp was a so-called satellite camp of Buchenwald, close to Nordhausen and the more east located Sangerhausen, but since summer 1944, Mittelbau-Dora became an independent concentration camp with about fourty “Aussenlager”(satellite camps). Johannes Weisz eventually lost his life there on 13 November 1944.
Sources include the Rotterdam City Archive, Peoples Registration and family registration cards of Johanna Helena Weiss, Johannes Weisz, Karl Weisz, Jacob Weis, Christina Weis, Emila Weis and Augusta Josephina Weis; the Municipality Archive of Den Haag, family registration cards of Dolfien Weis and of Erdman Rose (1870): Birth certificate 44 for Karl Weisz of 26 February 1906 made out in the municipality of Schoten; death certificate 1929-94 from Rotterdam for Johanna Helena Weiss; death certificate 280 of 8 December 1948 made out in Zutphen for Johannes Weisz and various website about gipsy transports, the concentration camp Mittelbau-Dora and about the Municipality of Schoten.