Bram
Asscher
Abraham
“Bram” Asscher was born on August 28, 1924 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
He
was the Son of Eliazer Asscher (1878-1935) and Stephanie Fischer
(1895-unknown).
He
had an older Brother, Isaäc Jacques Asscher (1916), and a younger one, Jacob
(Jeannot, Jean) Asscher (1925).
His
Father was a Diamond Merchant and a Brother of Abraham Asscher (1880-1950), one
of the two Presidents of the German-Appointed Jewish Council (Dutch: Joodse
Raad and German: Judenrat) during the German Occupation of the Netherlands.
Bram’s
Father died in 1945 in Paris, France.
The
Germans invaded and occupied the Netherlands on May 10,1940.
The
Germans forced all Jewish Children to leave Dutch Schools and were only allowed
to attend a Jewish School.
Bram
went to the Jewish Lyceum in Amsterdam for the 1941-1942 School Year.
It
was in Class 4B2 that Bram met Margot Frank (the older Sister of Anne Frank.)
Margot
had been a Student at the Jeker School in Amsterdam, but the Anti-Jewish Laws
created by the Germans in the Netherlands forced her to the Jewish Lyceum.
In
March 1941 Bram’s Mother married Dirk Leendert Tollenaar, a Gentile (ie.
Non-Jewish.)
According
to the German Anti-Jewish Laws she was now in a Mixed Marriage and had an
Exemption from Deportation.
Her
Children, however, were considered to be Full Jews since both their Parents were
Jewish,
Bram’s
Oldest Brother Jacques fled German-Occupied the Netherlands in April 1941.
He
traveled by Train to Brussels, Belgium, Paris, France, then to Spain (which was
Neutral during World War 2) and to Portugal (which was Neutral during World War
2) where he went to the United States (which was Neutral during World War 2 from
September 1, 1939-December 8, 1941) to Canada and then arrived in Scotland, the
United Kingdom in 1942 in order to fight with the Free Dutch Military against
the Germans.
Together
with his Brother Jacob, Bram was transported to the Westerbork Transit Camp in
northern German-Occupied the Netherlands on September 29, 1943.
Bram
was in the “Free’ Section of Westerbork, but met up with Margot (who was in the
Punishment Section of Westerbork because she had been found in Hiding.)
Bram
was allowed to write 1 Letter to his Mother every 14 days.
On
August 25, 1944 Bram wrote his Mother that Margot, Anne and their Parents (who
Bram’s Mother also knew) were in the Punishment Section of Westerbork.
In
the Letter he wrote:
'Mama,
do you know that Margot is here? That friend of Trees. You remember her, don't
you? She's in the S with her Parents and Sister. Very sad!'”
Bram’s
Letter is one of the few Personal Sources that refer to the Frank Family at
Westerbork.
Also
in his letters from Westerbork, Bram often wrote about his Fiancée Trees Lek,
who was held at the Camp Vught together with her two Sisters, and her Parents,
who were with him in Westerbork.
On
September 3, 1944 Margot and her Family were deported on the last Cattle Car
Train from Westerbork to the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland.
On
September 13, 1944 Bram and his Brother Jacob were deported from Westerbork to
the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany.
On
April 9, 1945 (9 days before Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British) Bram and
his Brother (along with 2,500 other Prisoners) were forced out of the Camp and
made to walk 6 miles to the Train Station in Celle, Germany where they were put
on a Train headed to the Theresienstadt Ghetto in German-Occupied
Czechoslovakia.
On
April 13, 1945 the Train stopped near Magdeburg, Germany and was liberated by
the Allies.
After
the War, he returned to the Netherlands.
Margot
and Anne Frank and their Parents arrived at the Auschwitz Death Camp 3 days
after their left Westerbork.
Of
the 1,019 Passengers, 549—including all Children younger than 15—were sent
directly to the Gas Chambers and murdered.
The Men were separated from the Women. It was
the last time Margot and Anne saw their Father.
Margot
was forced to haul rocks and dig rolls of sod by day; by night, they were
crammed into overcrowded barracks. Being outside all day she regularly saw
People walking to their deaths in the Gas Chambers.
In
October 1944 their Group was selected to leave Auschwitz and go to the Leibau
Labor Camp, but Anne had contacted Scabies and so went to the Camp’s Hospital
instead.
Margot and their Mother volunteered to stay in
Auschwitz to care for Anne.
On
October 28, 1944, after recovering from Scabies, Anne, Margot and Mrs. Van Pels
left Auschwitz and went to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany.
Around
March 1945, Anne died from Typhus at 15 years old a few days after her Sister,
Margot who was 18 years old.
They
were both buried in an unknown Mass Grave.
