Remembering the victims: A moving evening in the Jewish retirement home

Remembering the victims: A moving evening in the Jewish retirement home

On October 11, 2025, a moving memorial event for the victims of the Jewish old people's home at Mahlsdorfer Straße 94 took place in Berlin-Köpenick. This home was severely affected during the Nazi era from 1941 to 1943. In total, at least 93 residents and caregivers were deported, with only two of them surviving World War II. The survivors were liberated in the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1945, while many others were murdered in locations such as Treblinka, Auschwitz, Minsk and Riga. Two of the residents committed suicide in Berlin, illustrating the extent of the trauma left by Nazi rule.

The memorial event, organized by the Treptow-Köpenick Museum in cooperation with the Merian School and Volkssolidarität, offered a space for remembrance. District Mayor Oliver Igel (SPD) and City Councilor for Culture Marco Brauchmann (CDU) were among those present. Particularly touching was the moment when the granddaughter of one of the victims, Susanne Sommer from Sacramento, California, read out the names of her grandparents Rosa and Hans Saloshin. During the Nazi era they had to give up their apartment in Prenzlauer Berg to move into the Jewish old people's home.

Common remembrance

The names of the victims were read out in the Merian School auditorium while cantor Yoed Sorek sang Hebrew and Yiddish and said Kaddish in front of the seniors' home. A rose was placed for each victim, symbolizing the concern and respect among those present. Signs and memorial plaques hung on the facade of the house and on the fence to commemorate the tragic fates.

The Jewish old people's home, which was originally built in 1915 as an educational institution for young women, was inaugurated as a Jewish old people's home in 1932. At the beginning it had 64 beds, but by 1935 twice as many seniors were living there. The Berliner Volkssolidarität now runs a senior citizens' residential complex in the premises of the former old people's home.

Honoring the victims

This memorial event is part of a broader effort to preserve the memory of the persecution and murder of Jews in the German Reich. The memorial book “Victims of the Persecution of Jews under the National Socialist Tyranny in Germany 1933-1945” provides a comprehensive overview of the fates of those affected. According to information from the Federal Archives The memorial book documents the deportations and the names of 176,475 Jews who did not survive the Shoah. It is an important resource that enables targeted people searches and keeps the memory of this time alive.

The event in Köpenick makes it clear how important it is to give the victims a voice and to preserve their memory. Only through remembrance can we ensure that such atrocities never happen again.