Letter to family by Esthella Leviet-Batavier
Object numberM2016/020:011
TitleLetter to family by Esthella Leviet-Batavier
DescriptionFour page typed letter written by Esthella Leviet-Batavier to her uncle, aunt and Henny Koert and "hopefully other family", dated 10 May 1945.
Written upon arrival in Malmo, Sweden, she thanks them for providing packages to her in Westerbork where worked as a nurse. She shares her experiences in Westerbork, Bergen Belsen, Hamburg and at liberation.
She finishes her letter with hopeful news of her family writing; "I feel awfully alone and even worse is, that I will have to get used to that, because it will be the same in the future, for after my own experiences one could not have hope for the others, or maybe father. And I am full of hope of the lists that are published. It's too hard to write about our thoughts of other loved ones! The writing wearies me out a little and I wrote this while lying down."
Part of a collection of photographs, documents and memorabilia donated by Carla Moore (nee Caroline Elisabeth Kogel), relating to her mother, Esthella's Holocaust and post-Holocaust experience, including her recuperation after the war to Sweden together with other Dutch survivors.
Esthella Kogel (nee Batavier) was born 18 September 1922 in Amsterdam to Abraham Batavier and Sarah Batavier-Carwalho. Her brother, Frederik-Jack Batavier, was born in 1929. In July 1942, Esthella married Abraham Leviet (born 1920 in Leeuwarden). On 16 October 1942 he was arrested and deported to Westerbork via a jail in Amsterdam, and eventually deported to Sobibor where he was murdered on 30 April 1943.
Esthella's parents and brother were arrested on 11 February 1943 and sent to Vught. Her mother and brother were murdered in Sobibor on 11 June 1943 and her father was deported via Westerbork to Auschwitz where he was murdered on 26 March 1944. In February 1943, Esthella was forced to live in the Jewish Ghetto in Ingogostraat, Amsterdam, until September when she was taken to Westerbork (on 29 September 1943) and then Bergen-Belsen (on 1 February 1944). In December 1944, she was transported to a camp in Germany to work as a forced labourer.
Esthella was liberated in May 1945; the Red Cross took her and many others to Malmo, Sweden, to recuperate. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis, pleurisy and weighed 40 kilos. In November 1945 she was repatriated to Holland. In September 1947, Esthella married Max Kogel (born 25 January 1916 in Amsterdam). They had three children, Robert, Caroline and Jacqueline. The Kogel family immigrated to Australia in 1957.
Written upon arrival in Malmo, Sweden, she thanks them for providing packages to her in Westerbork where worked as a nurse. She shares her experiences in Westerbork, Bergen Belsen, Hamburg and at liberation.
She finishes her letter with hopeful news of her family writing; "I feel awfully alone and even worse is, that I will have to get used to that, because it will be the same in the future, for after my own experiences one could not have hope for the others, or maybe father. And I am full of hope of the lists that are published. It's too hard to write about our thoughts of other loved ones! The writing wearies me out a little and I wrote this while lying down."
Part of a collection of photographs, documents and memorabilia donated by Carla Moore (nee Caroline Elisabeth Kogel), relating to her mother, Esthella's Holocaust and post-Holocaust experience, including her recuperation after the war to Sweden together with other Dutch survivors.
Esthella Kogel (nee Batavier) was born 18 September 1922 in Amsterdam to Abraham Batavier and Sarah Batavier-Carwalho. Her brother, Frederik-Jack Batavier, was born in 1929. In July 1942, Esthella married Abraham Leviet (born 1920 in Leeuwarden). On 16 October 1942 he was arrested and deported to Westerbork via a jail in Amsterdam, and eventually deported to Sobibor where he was murdered on 30 April 1943.
Esthella's parents and brother were arrested on 11 February 1943 and sent to Vught. Her mother and brother were murdered in Sobibor on 11 June 1943 and her father was deported via Westerbork to Auschwitz where he was murdered on 26 March 1944. In February 1943, Esthella was forced to live in the Jewish Ghetto in Ingogostraat, Amsterdam, until September when she was taken to Westerbork (on 29 September 1943) and then Bergen-Belsen (on 1 February 1944). In December 1944, she was transported to a camp in Germany to work as a forced labourer.
Esthella was liberated in May 1945; the Red Cross took her and many others to Malmo, Sweden, to recuperate. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis, pleurisy and weighed 40 kilos. In November 1945 she was repatriated to Holland. In September 1947, Esthella married Max Kogel (born 25 January 1916 in Amsterdam). They had three children, Robert, Caroline and Jacqueline. The Kogel family immigrated to Australia in 1957.
Production placeSweden
Production date 1945-05-10
Subjectpost World War II, Holocaust, concentration camp experiences, personal accounts, loved ones' contact, signs of life, testimonies
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 215.00 mm
height: 274.00 mm
Language
- Dutch
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Ms Carla Moore