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Julius Osiakowski * 1872

Carl-Petersen-Straße 5 (Hamburg-Mitte, Hamm)

1942 Theresienstadt
1942 Treblinka
ermordet

further stumbling stones in Carl-Petersen-Straße 5:
Eveline Osiakowski

Osiakowski, Eveline, née Selke, born 3.8.1872 in Hamburg, deported on 15.7.1942 to Theresienstadt, on 21.9.1942 further deported to Treblinka, murdered there
Osiakowski, Julius, born 10.2.1872 in Hamburg, deported on 15.7.1942 to Theresienstadt, on 21.9.1942 deported to Treblinka, murdered there

Carl-Petersen-Straße 5 (formerly: Mittelstraße 3)

Eveline Osiakowski-Selke was a very famos person in Hamburg-Hamm for almost 25 years. In 1909, she had registered a household store at Landwehr 75, which she initially ran alone and, after moving to Mittelstraße 32 (today: Carl-Petersen-Straße), with her husband Julius Osiakowski from 1920 to 1932. In doing so, she continued a family tradition.

Her father, the merchant Selke Elias Selke, in short S.E. Selke, born Febr. 16, 1833 in the then Danish town Glückstadt on the Lower Elbe, left his birthplace around 1850 like the majority of the Jews there and moved to Hamburg. After his naturalization on October 19, 1860, he married Sophie Behrens, born October 16, 1834, in Hamburg. On December 11, 1863, he applied for a concession for a manufactory goods store in St. Georg, then still the eastern suburb of Hamburg, at Neustraße 45. From 1868, he operated a second store for ribbon, Dutch and manufactory goods in Hamburg's Neustadt at the new Steinweg 98; in 1871, he gave up the first store.

We know of eight siblings of Eveline. When she was born, her oldest sister, Marie/Mary (born April 21, 1863) was ten years old. Her oldest brother Theodor (born Febr. 23, 1865) was eight. He was followed by Frieda in 1867. In 1869 Julius was born, who died at the age of only 19 and was buried in the newly opened Jewish Cemetery at Ilandkoppel in Ohlsdorf. All next of kin who died after him in Hamburg were also buried there.

Eveline, born on March 8, 1872, was born after moving to Neustadt, where she grew up on Neuer Steinweg with her siblings. She was followed by Ludwig (Nov. 9, 1874), Iwan (June 10, 1876), Olga (Febr. 6, 1878) and Rosa (Nov. 15, 1879). Occupation was common in this family. Marie became a merchant, Theodor a dental technician, Eveline a saleswoman, Ludwig a bank clerk, Iwan an exporter, and Olga a clerk.

H.E. Selke's family grew. Marie/Mary married Levi Lievendag on October 21, 1886, with whom she had nine children; only five of them reached adulthood.

Frieda and Theodor Selke emigrated to the United States in 1887 at the ages of 20 and 22, respectively, where Frieda died in New York as early as 1900 without ever seeing her family again. The youngest sister, Rosa, also emigrated to New York, where she died in 1947. The only trace of her is a package of clothes sent to her destitute eldest sister Marie/Mary in Hamburg in 1928.

For at first short, then longer periods of time, Eveline Selke left her parental home, only to return there again and again. As the eldest daughter, her help in the household as well as in the business might have been necessary, but there is no evidence for this.

Her first stays away from home in Elberfeld and Duisburg apparently served to gain professional experience. This was followed in 1894 by three months with the Schlesinger Nachf. company in Lübeck, eleven months with Neustadt & Co. in Mühlheim an der Ruhr, in 1897 three months with Eichholz in Bremen, from the end of 1901 two and a half years in Gelsenkirchen and Hamburg, Wandsbeker Chaussee 106 near Horneburg and finally three and a half years in Bremen and Darmstadt at private addresses.

H.E. Selke moved from Neustadt to St. Pauli and set up shop again permanently at Bartelsstraße 46. He adapted his range of goods to the new location by adding white goods and plaster articles.

Possessing United States citizenship, Theodor Selke returned home in January 1894 to marry Bertha Hertz (born Jan. 3, 1871). Eveline also resided with her parents again for the occasion. After that, Theodor Selke's trail was lost.

With the next move in 1897 to Hamburg-Eimsbüttel to Altonaer Straße 44, H.E. Selke once again adapted his business to the new surroundings and finally worked only on commission.

Ludwig Selke signed off for Odessa in Russia in September 1900, but then stayed in Hamburg again because of his marriage to Jenny Lewin, who was born in Warsaw on May 17, 1877. They moved to Odessa, where Ludwig had already settled as a bank clerk. There their five children were born. He came to Hamburg once again with the entire family on January 6, 1908, and stayed beyond the death of his parents. His mother Sophie Selke died on March 25, 1908, and his father Selke Elias Selke died six months later on September 23, 1908. He did not leave for Odessa again until 1910. His passport shows that he was short, had dark blond hair, brown eyes and an oval face. Nothing is known about his stay during the revolutionary and war years.

Iwan and Olga Selke lived with their parents at Altonaerstraße 44 until their death. Iwan initially remained living there; his export agency ran under its own company address.
After her parents' death, Eveline Selke moved in with her mother's relatives at Langenfelderstraße 138 in Ottensen. From there, she set up her own household business at Landwehr 75 in Hamburg-Hamm in 1909.

On February 12, 1911, Iwan Selke married the merchant's daughter Rebecca or Ekka Spanier, born April 12, 1881 in Burgdamm/Bremen, from Tegethoffstraße 9. Iwan and Rebecca remained in Eimsbüttel and moved permanently to Bismarckstraße 6.

In October 1912, Eveline Selke moved her business from Landwehr to Mittelstraße 26, where her sister Olga temporarily lived with her. Olga went on trips in 1913 and thereafter, presumably as a correspondent. If she was in Hamburg, she usually looked for an apartment near her sister.

Eveline Selke enlarged her store after the end of WWI and moved with it and the private apartment to Mittelstraße 32. This store had been created by merging two stores, each with an attached apartment, through an opening between the back rooms and had two display windows. The apartment was quite spacious with six rooms.

Now she joined the Jewish community. "Fräul. Eveline Selke has registered herself with the German-Israelite Community in Hamburg, is a native of Hamburg," was noted on her tax caes (Kultussteuerkarte) on September 13, 1918. She paid an annual contribution of RM 10 until her marriage on January 8, 1920.

After the WWI, Ludwig Selke stayed in Hamburg for another six weeks before he went to Danzig. The traces of his family lead to the USA.
At the age of almost 48, Eveline Selke entered into marriage with Julius Osiakowski (Feb. 10, 1872), a man of the same age. His father, Abraham Osiakowski, born Jan. 31, 1836 in Kalisch/Kalisz in the then Prussian province of southern Poland, was active in Hamburg as a lottery collector and had become a naturalized citizen in 1861. He married Emilie/Esther, née Heckscher, five years his senior, born Febr. 2, 1831 in Hamburg. Julius, born on Febr. 10, 1872, was the youngest of the three children known to us. The progenitor, Iwan, was eight years older (born May 6, 1863), the sister Bertha four years (born Jan. 3, 1868).

In 1874, Abraham Osiakowski was listed for the first time in the Hamburg address book as the owner of a lottery and fund company with the address Holstenstraße. He moved his business to Valentinskamp and after six years to ABC Street. His social advancement can be seen in the next address: Eppendorfer Weg.
Professionally, his eldest son Iwan followed him in the lottery business. He was naturalized at the age of 16. Julius Osiakowski became a watchmaker.

With his daughter Bertha, Abraham/Albert Osiakowski traveled to Russia to his birthplace Kalisch in the fall of 1887. In their passports they are described as of medium height with oval faces, distinguished by eye and hair color: the father with blue-green eyes and medium blond hair, the daughter with brown eyes and dark brown hair. There are no corresponding personal descriptions of Ivan and Julius. Julius never applied for a passport, Iwan only in 1920, when no personal characteristics were registered.

Julius Osiakowski completed his one-year military service in 1893/94 with the Hamburg Infantry Regiment 76. His professional activities could not be dated. He apparently lived with his parents until his marriage.
Bertha Osiakowski, at the age of 28, married Jacob Moszkowski-Peiser, a wine merchant 15 years her senior, in January 1894. They moved to 29 Tresckow St. Their marriage remained childless and lasted only 17 years, as Jacob Peiser died already on November 20, 1911, at the age of 58.

In April 1901, Iwan Osiakowski married the eldest daughter of the Swiss watch manufacturer Callmann Lewie, Florine Berthe, born Jan. 8, 1870 in La Chaux de Fonds. The marriage took place in Hamburg. After the death of her husband Callmann, Rachel Lewie, a native of Altona, Isaacs, had moved to Hamburg with her children and settled in the Grindelviertel. She died in 1915 at the age of 69. Her grave is also located in the Jewish Cemetery in Ohlsdorf.

On November 15, 1902, Paula Osiakowski was born at Tresckowstraße 43 in Eimsbüttel. She remained the only child of Berthe and Iwan Osiakowski.
Her mother Emilie/Esther died at the age of almost 83 on January 30, 1914, and her father Abraham/Albert died on January 12, 1920 at the age of 84 in the Israelite Hospital, four days after the marriage of his son Julius. They too found their eternal rest in the Jewish Cemetery in Ohlsdorf.

At the time of their marriage, Eveline lived at Mittelstraße 32 behind her store, Julius was still registered at Eppendorfer Weg 54 and moved in with her. The business changed to his name. For the household, there was a housemaid who lived with them, and for the business, an female apprentice. The maid had come to them in 1922 through the mediation of policeman Horneburg, with whose family Eveline had lived for some time. However, there were problems: The young woman accused her landlord and incited the apprentice to make corresponding accusations of having deliberately touched her indecently on several occasions. The jury court met without public to discuss this case, since the two were only 16 years old, and acquitted Julius Osiakowski. The young women changed their positions.

The couple made a living until 1925, but generated taxable income for the last time in 1927. During the Great Depression, their rent arrears and other debts accumulated, leading to an eviction suit in 1932. The proceeds from the auction of the inventory did not even cover the claims.

Since Julius and Eveline Selke received neither assets nor pension entitlements nor ongoing support from relatives and were no longer fully able to work due to old age, they turned to the welfare service, which took them in on February 15, 1932.

Their siblings shared their fate: Marie/Mary Burwitz had fallen on hard times because her husband had separated from her in 1910 and could not be found, and her sons, for their part, could only support their own families with difficulty. The same had happened to Bertha Peiser, née Osiakowski after the death of her husband, and Olga Selke had already been unemployed since 1929.

Iwan Osiakowski and Iwan Selke were the only members of the generation who still earned any income at all, the former thanks to the lottery at Tresckowstraße 43, the latter thanks to his export agency at Bismarckstraße 6. Olga Selke received a monthly pension of RM 47 as of 1938, Paula received pocket money of a few Reichsmarks as a house help. No help came from relatives abroad.

It is clear from the reports of the welfare staff after their home visits that, impressed that the miserable rooms were well cared for, they worked to secure shelter, health and clothing without cutting corners. Official medical reports decided on the ability to work and necessary remedies, which were usually granted. The welfare provided small ongoing maintenance payments and benefits in kind in the form of heating materials, the occasional new piece of clothing and shoe repairs, and issued dental vouchers when needed. From the Jewish Community, they received minor support, if any.

Without mutual aid, the siblings would not have been able to make a living. The mutual help included short-term loans, but also the joint activity of Julius Osiakowski and his sister Bertha Peiser. However, they tried in vain to earn enough on a commission basis at the Peter Hansen paper trading company to become independent of welfare again. The competition was too great, and Bertha Peiser was now too weak for this strenuous activity.

In order to reduce rental costs, Julius and Eveline Osiakowski initially moved to Hamm-Unten (downtown) at Hammer Landstraße 34, in a double sense to the shady side of Hamm. They planned to reestablish a business. Their new apartment, with 4 ½ rooms instead of 6, cost half as much as the apartment in Oben-Hamm (uptown) and allowed them to rent out two rooms. If the subtenants paid on time, that covered their own rent. When the venture failed, they moved back to Oben-Hamm at Mittelstraße 3.

The economic difficulties of the members of the Selke and Osiakowski families existed before the Great Depression and were exacerbated by it. When the National Socialists took power in 1933, this affected them little in that they were not politically active and the welfare benefits did not change at first. The self-employed among them continued to work in the same way.

When Ivan Osiakowski died on April 28, 1938, the siblings lost their only private lender. His widow Berthe and their daughter Paula were also left penniless.
There is no evidence of emigration plans by Julius and Eveline Osiakowski. They left Hamm and moved to Hamburg-Eimsbüttel to Kleiner Schäferkamp 21. After the care for Jews was transferred from the city to the Jewish Community, they were given accommodation at Bundesstraße 43, the Warburg-Stift, which was declared a "Judenhaus" in 1941.

Even before the beginning of the autumn deportations in 1941, Eveline Osiakowski's oldest sister Marie/Mary Burwitz, divorced Lievendag, died of natural causes at the age of 78.
Her sister Olga took her own life in her apartment at 37 Innocentiastraße on December 5, 1941, the eve of the fourth deportation, which was to Riga. Both were buried in the Jewish Cemetery at Ihlandkoppel.

Rebecca/Ekka Selke's younger sister, Bella, was called up for the first deportation on October 25, 1941 of Hamburg Jews, ostensibly for "reconstruction in the East," which had the Litzmannstadt/Lodz ghetto as its destination. (See www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de) The unmarried teacher was not yet 60 years old.

The age limit set by the Reich Security Main Office for the 1941 deportations of 60 or 65 years was not strictly adhered to, especially when relatives were involved, as was evident in the transport to Riga on December 6, 1941: Rebecca and Iwan Selke, 60 and 65 years old, from Bismarckstraße 6 (see www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de), and Berthe Osiakowski with her daughter Paula from Tresckowstraße 43, 71 and 39 years old, were deported to Riga with this transport. They, like most of those deported in the fall of 1941, received their order to "evacuate" while still at their longtime home addresses.

After the mass deportations in the fall of 1941, the next large transport of 926 people went to the so-called Old Age Ghetto Theresienstadt on July 15, 1942. Together with their sister or sister-in-law Bertha Peiser, who lived in average 1, Eveline and Julius Osiakowski were "evacuated" there. The assembly point before the deportation was not the Freimaurer-Looge at Moorweide as in the fall, but the Volksschule Schanzenstraße/Altonaer Straße in Eimsbüttel. Those ordered there were taken to the railroad by truck.

Persons who still possessed assets were required to sign a home purchase contract (Heimeinkaufsvertrag) beforehand for their stay in Theresienstadt and to contribute them in return. Destitute as this family was, this was out of the question for them. They were maintained by the "Reich Association of Jews in Germany" from the collected assets of the deportees. In the area of the Hamburg Jewish Religious Association alone, as the Jewish community was now called, this sum amounted to approximately 4 million Reichsmarks for the two transports to Theresienstadt in July 1942.

From the overcrowded Theresienstadt ghetto, Eveline and Julius Osiakowski and his sister Bertha Peiser were transported on to the Treblinka extermination camp after only two months, where they were murdered.

Eveline and Julius Osiakowski lived to be about 70 years old, Bertha Peiser 74 years old.

On December 30, 1950, Julius and Eveline Osiakowski were declared dead by the District Court in Hamburg as of May 8, 1945.

Translation by Beate Meyer
Stand: February 2022
© Hildegard Thevs

Quellen: 1; 3; 4; 5; 7; 8; 9; Hamburger Adressbücher; StaHH Bürgerregister; 213-11_L 166/1923; 213-13, 15803, 16892, 17054; 335-2, Personenstandsbücher; 351-14, Fürsorge, 1029, 1651, 1677, 1835; 376-2, Gewerbeanmeldung, VIII C 77 Nr. 6770; 411-1, XXXV III 4132; 522-1, Jüdische Gemeinden, Abl. 1993, Ordner 10; https://www.jüdische-gemeinden.de/index.php/gemeinden/k-l/1021-kalisch-suedpreussen; http://www.igdj-hh.de/friedhofsdatenbank.html; https://www.jüdische-gemeinden.de/index.php/gemeinden/e-g/737-glueckstadt-schleswig-holstein.
Zur Nummerierung häufig genutzter Quellen siehe Link www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de/Recherche und Quellen.