Ella Helena Dzialoszynski was born on 28 August 1888 in Kempen, Germany, as a daughter of Ludwig Louis Loebel Dzialoszynski and Bertha Kroner. She married Alexander Wagenaar, a son of Lion Wagenaar and Helene Wormser, in Frankfurt am Main on 6 December 1918, who had married in Amsterdam on 15 December 1882. Alexander was the youngest of their five children and was born in Amsterdam on 14 October 1893 and he earned his living as a traveler selling cleaning supplies.
Ella and Alexander had three children, all born in Frankfurt am Main; Lion Mordechai was born on 3 March 1920, followed by Berta Helena on 3 September 1921 and finally Abraham on 3 November 1924. More than 1 ½ years after Abraham's birth, the Wagenaar family decided to return from Frankfurt to Amsterdam, where they lived from August 1926 to February 1931 at Blasiusstraat 32, 1st floor.
But on 30 December 1930, Alexander Wagenaar died at the age of 37. He was interred in the Jewisch Cemetery at Muiderberg, the next day, 1 January 1931. A few weeks later, the now widowed Ella Helena Dzialoszynski moved with her 3 children to Hemonylaan 45 1st floor.
Shortly afterwards, on 10 March 1931, she placed her sons Lion Mordechai and Abraham, aged 11 and 6 respectively, in the Dutch Israeli Boys' Orphanage Megadlé Jethomiem. The two boys spent their young years and youth there until they were 18.
Lion Mordechai came back to live with his mother and sister Berta in 1938, who had been living at Zomerdijkstraat 25, 1st floor, since August 1938. Abraham was registered by the Jewish Council in 1941 at the address Amstel 21, but in 1942, after he too left the Jewish Boy’s Orphanage, this was changed to Zomerdijkstraat 25 1st floor and he also came to live “at home” again.
Her daughter Berta Helena was given a position at the Jewish Council on 17 July 1942 as a youth leader in the after-school youth care department at Plantage Parklaan 9. Officially Berta was not “gesperrt” (exempted) but did have a Jewish Council identification number with number 2354-youth leader.
It is not certain whether her daughter's position as a member of the Wagenaar family influenced the postponement of deportations. In any case, it was true for Abraham that he got an exemption of deportation by the Jewish Council on 20 July 1942 and was not summoned for the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz” in July or August. In this regard, nothing is mentioned too on mother Ella Helena's registration cards.
Ultimately, Ella Helena Wagenaar-Dzialoszynski was arrested together with her son Abraham on 20 June 1943 during the major raid secretly prepared by the Germans, and deported to Westerbork. Ella Helena ended up in barrack 65 and Abraham in 62. Ella then made frantic efforts to be exempt from deportation and, together with her son Abraham, tried to be placed on the Palestinian list. These attempts resulted only in endless correspondence between 22 June and 13 September 1943 that ultimately led to nothing
It then turned out that Ella Helena Dzialoszynski, together with her son Abraham, were sent to the Vught concentration camp on 10 July, from where they were both deported to Auschwitz in a direct transport from Vught on 15 November 1943. After arriving there, a 6-week “quarantine” followed, during which many died of typhoid, dysentery and other diseases. Men who were deemed suitable were selected for the Janina, Jawischowitz and Fürstengrube coal mines.
For transports during this period, the general rule applies that young children (up to 15 years), mothers with children, pregnant women, as well as weak, sick and elderly persons (generally over ±50 years), either immediately upon arrival or after a stay of several weeks in so-called "quarantine", were killed by gassing. And in January 1944, again selections followed, during which some women were subsequently still put to work in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Concerning the fate of the men, women and children, conclusions were ultimately drawn from post-war investigations by the Red Cross, which were adopted by the Dutch Authorities and on which the municipalities had to draw up death certificates on the instructions of the Ministry of Justice.
For women and children, the conclusion was that all women and children belonging to the transport of 15 November 1943, unless individually known otherwise, are considered to have died in Auschwitz-Birkenau no earlier than 1 January 1944 and no later than 31 January 1944.
And for men who were not sent to the coal mines a conclusion was: All other men belonging to the transport of 15 November 1943, unless individually known otherwise, are considered to have died at Auschwitz-Birkenau, not earlier than 1 January 1944 and no later than 31 January 1944.
See also: More about the transport of 15 November from Vught to Auschwitz.
Based on the above, the Municipality of Amsterdam drew up a death certificate, in which it was established that Ella Helena Wagenaar-Dzialosinsky died on 31 January 1944 in the vicinity of Auschwitz.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Alexander Wagenaar; archive card of Ella Helena Dzialoszynski; website genealogie online.nl; the file cabinet of the Jewisch Council, registration cards of Ella Helena Wagenaar-Dzialoszynski; website joodsamsterdam.nl/Megadlé Jethomiem; Amsterdam residence cards with Wagenaar/Hemonystraat 45, Meerhuizenplein 14 and Zomerdijkstraat 25; archives of the Red Cross/Publication Auschwitz IV edited October 1953/deportation transports in 1943/transport of 15 November 1943; website Jodentransporten vanuit Nederland.nl and the certificate of death no. 233 from the A-register 84-folio 40 dated 24 Augustus 1951, made out in Amsterdam for Ella Helena Dzialoszynski.