Horst Weile

Horst Weile, born 11 June 1915 in Schönlanke, was the eldest son of Georg and Hedwig Weile, née Engel of Schönlanke; Horst's brothers were Rolf and Alfred.
Horst had fled from Berlin to the Netherlands, followed by his parents and younger brother Alfred in 1939. Although Horst had survived Nazi persecution in Holland for five years, his last known address in Amsterdam was Volkerakstraat 2, on 1 August he was arrested in the street by the Dutch Gestapo agents, moved to police HQ for further transport to the SD at the locally known Huis van Bewaring (‘House of Detention’), Weteringschans prison on Amstelveenseweg. Within days Horst was transferred to Westerbork and placed into strafbaraks (isolation cells). Horst's name subsequently appeared already on the prepared Gestapo transport lists of 8 August 1944. He was among the one thousand and nineteen men, women and children (that included Anne Frank with her sister and mother) on the third last freight train of out of Westerbork to Auschwitz on 3 September 1944. It could not yet be established whether Horst’s young life was spared during the ‘selection’ upon arrival in Auschwitz or whether he perished at some later date as slave labourer in Auschwitz or Bergen Belsen. Horst's brother Alfred and his parents survived in Holland; they were able to emigrate in 1948 to join their son Rolf who had been able to immigrate to New Zealand in 1939.