Levie Hirschel was a son of Saul Hirschel and Schoontje Mesrits. He was born in Amsterdam on 24 August 1895. Levie was a religious teacher, curator of the Rosenthaliana library and assistent rabbi with the Dutch Israëlitic Main Synagogue (N.I.H.S.).
On 15 April 1931, 35-year old Levie Hirschel married in Amsterdam to 26-year old Louis Duitz. She was born on 30 May 1904 in Den Haag as a daughter of the religious teacher and schoolmaster Salomon Duitz and Elisabeth Duizend. Louise was the 3rd of the 9 children in the Duitz family.
Levie Hirschel’s father Saul passed away on 22 February 1922 and his mother Schoontje ten years later on 11 March 1931. Both were interred in the Jewish Cemetery at Muiderberg. After the passing of his father, his mother moved to Plantage Muidergracht 57 and the still unmarried Levie went living in with her.
After the death of his mother on 11 March 1931, Levie moved a little later, on 20 March 1931 into a house in the Johan Keplerstraat 3 2nd floor, located in the Amsterdam district of Watergraafsmeer. And after the marriage of Levie and Louise was concluded on 14 April 1931, Louise moved in with Levie. There their four children were born, viz. Saul on 7 March 1932, Suzanna Elisabeth on 4 April 1933, Josephine on 1 October 1934 and on 7 Aprill 1937, Elisabeth was born.
At the time of the mandatory registration of all Jews in the Netherlands, Levie Hirschel has been “gesperrt because of function”, meaning provisionally exempted from deportation until further notice. He was an assistent Rabbi since 1922 with the N.I.H.S at Houtmarkt 10. And because of that, his wife Louise and their four children were exempted from deportation too (bis auf weiteres).
Notes on the registration card of Levie Hirschel's Jewish Council show - after the Germans had conducted a large and secretly prepared raid on 20 June 1943, in which more than 5500 Jews were rounded up - that he had obtained Palestine Certificates for him and his family on 22 June 1943 as requested, but on 26 June his card stated “that those involved had not yet arrived in Westerbork. The statement/certificate is kept in the portfolio under number 51.”
In order to stay out of the hands of the Germans, Levie Hirschel has found another opportunity for his family; he then obtained the so-called “Ausnahme Bescheinigung”, the very last exemption from deportation for his family. With the previous Sperres for his family, they received stamps in their identity card/sperre numbers 80328 and 80329, between 80 and 100,000, the actual Jewish Council stamps. These high numbers may have contributed to obtaining the so-called Ausnahme Bescheinigung.
However, Amsterdam was on its way becoming "Judenrein" and during the last roundup of 29 September 1943 in Amsterdam, the last Jews, including all members of the still operating Jewish Council, were rounded up and deported to Westerbork, a total of 5000 people, including also Levie Hirschel and his family.
On 16 November 1943 they were deported to Auschwitz, where Louise Hirschel-Duitz and her children Saul, Suzanne Elisabeth, Josephine and Elisabeth were murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau immediately after arrival on 19 September 1943.
On the other hand, after being kept in “quarantine” for four week, Levie Hirschel was put to work, probably in the coal mines of Janina or Fürstengrube, but some men were also put to work in Auschwitz-Birkenau itself. It turned out however that it was not possible to determine who was employed, where and when.
The conclusion from the post-war investigation by the Red Cross regarding the transport of 16 November 1943, as far as the women and children are concerned, was, unless individually it appears otherwise, that they were delivered to Auschwitz on or about the day after their arrival, i.e. 19 November 1943, were killed by gassing.
The conclusion from the post-war investigation by the Red Cross regarding the transport of 16 November 1943, as far as the women and children are concerned, was, unless individually it appears otherwise, that they have been killed by gassing on or about the day after their arrival in Auschwitz, i.e. on 19 November 1943.
After the war, the Ministery of Justice commissioned the municipality of Amsterdam to draw up death certificates for Louise Hirschel-Duitz and for Saul, Suzanna Elisabeth, Josephine and Elisabeth Duitz, in which is recorded that they died in or in the vicinity of Auschwitz on 19 November 1943.
As far as the men are concerned, the conclusion was that all men belonging to the transport of 16 November 1943, who had reached the age of 16 on the day after their arrival at Auschwitz (i.e. on 19 November 1943), but were not yet 51 years old, unless individually known otherwise, are considered to have died in or in the vicinity of Auschwitz/Birkenau, or in the mine area of Janina and Fürstengrube, no earlier than 7 December 1943 and no later than 31 March 1944.
The Dutch Authorities adopted this conclusion after the war too and the Ministry of Justice subsequently instructed the municipality of Amsterdam to draw up a death certificate for Levie Hirschel, stating that he died in Poland on 31 March 1944.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Saul Hirschel and Levie Hirschel; archive cards of Levie Hirschel, Louise Duitz, Saul Hirschel, Suzanna Elisabeth Hirschel, Josephine Hirschel and Elisabeth Hirschel; Amsterdam residence card/Plantage Muidergracht 57; Publication “Vermoedelijk op transport” by Raymund Schütz, paragraph 3.3.2 Emigratiion, the Palestine Certificate and the Albersheim declaration, page 44 and 45; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Levie Hirschel, Louise Duitz, Saul Hirschel, Suzanna Elisabeth Hirschel, Josephine Hirschel and Elisabeth Hirschel; The “Ausnahme Bescheinigung” as described in “Vermoedelijk op Transport” by Raymund Schütz, par.3.3.8 and the book “De Oorlog die Hitler won”, edited 1947 by the Amsterdamse Boek-en Courant Mij. N.V., page 250 e.o; the database Joods Biografisch Woordenboek/Jews in Nederland in de 20th century/Sluzker, Edwin and the death certificates A67-81, A86-19v, A86-31 en A86-31v made out in Amsterdam.