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Erich Joseph Littmann * 1925

Karolinenstraße 5 (Hamburg-Mitte, St. Pauli)

1941 Riga
ermordet 21.2.45 KZ Natzweiler

further stumbling stones in Karolinenstraße 5:
Edith Gerechter, Hugo Gerechter, Sora Sonja Littmann, Lotte Littmann

Erich Littmann, born on 10 Dec. 1925 in Hamburg, deported on 6 Dec. 1941 to the Jungfernhof external camp of the Riga Ghetto, deported in 1944 to the Stutthof concentration camp, deported to the Natzweiler concentration camp, murdered there on 21 Feb. 1945
Lotte (Charlotte) Littmann, born on 4 Dec. 1920 in Hamburg, deported on 6 Dec. 1941 to the Jungfernhof external camp of the Riga Ghetto, deported on 9 Aug. 1944 to the Stutthof concentration camp
Sonja (Sora) Littmann, née Tschertaryski (Tschertoryjski), born on 15 Dec. 1894 in Kiev, deported on 6 Dec. 1941 to Riga

Karolinenstrasse 5 (Carolinenstrasse 5, building 1)

We managed to track the traces of the Littmann family back to 23 May 1887. On that day, Moritz Littmann, the subsequent husband of Sonja, was born. His place of birth is not known; according to the varying data he provided, he was either born in Russia, Hungary, or in Czechoslovakia.

Sonja was the daughter of Gedalja and Mascha Tschertoryjski. She had German citizenship and was married to the shoemaker Moritz Littmann at the age of 25.

From their apartment in today’s Wandsbeker Marktstrasse in Wandsbek, the family moved to Karolinenstrasse 5a in Hamburg after the birth of their two children Lotte and Erich, nearly ten years after the wedding. In Wandsbek, Sonja’s father operated his own shoe store – it was located next to his home at Hamburgerstrasse 27.

In Dec. 1936, Lotte Littmann moved out of her parents’ home to earn her own money as a domestic help with the Meier family at Lenhartzstrasse 11. However, the wages were so low that no information about it can be found in the Jewish religious tax (Kultussteuer) card file. She was employed there until the end of Jan. 1937 and then moved back to Karolinenstrasse. In Sept. 1939, she worked in the Israelite Hospital at Eckernförderstrasse 4, also in return for a very modest income. When the hospital on Eckernförderstrasse was forced to close and moved to Johnsallee, Lotte probably continued her work as a trainee nurse from Oct. 1939 onward. In June 1940, for the first time, she earned an income relevant for tax purposes, which – until her deportation in Dec. 1941 – was taxed by the Jewish Religious Organization (Jüdischer Religionsverband) with 2 RM (reichsmark) a month. Also since June 1940, she was forced to live in a "Jews’ house” ("Judenhaus”) at Beneckestrasse 6.

By then, her parents’ marriage was in trouble. In the divorce proceedings starting in 1939, Sonja Littmann stated that her husband had extramarital affairs with women. Still that same year, Moritz Littmann emigrated to Shanghai, which meant that the marriage ended in divorce only after his emigration in 1940.

Sonja continued to live with her son Erich on Karolinenstrasse. Without any occupational training and no regular income, she was supported by winter relief funds from the Jewish Community in order to be able to secure her survival. Erich attended the Talmud Tora School up to grade 8, obtaining his school-leaving certificate on 27 Mar. 1941.

On 6 Dec. 1941, Sonja, Lotte, and Erich Littmann were deported to Riga. Lotte had volunteered to be put on the deportation list, even though she was probably aware that her survival after the deportation was uncertain. Obviously, she did not want to separate from her family. None of the three survived National Socialism.

On 16 Jan. 1942 – i.e., a month and a half after the deportation – the household effects of the apartment in Karolinenstrasse were offered for sale and four days later, the entire possessions were stowed in three packing cases. Within three hours, the entire apartment was completely cleared out. In the files, the auction was described by the person in charge, a Mr. S., in the usual language as a "voluntary auction;” after all, the documentation about the apartment clearance stated that the family had "outmigrated.” The proceeds were transferred to the treasurer’s office with the Chief Finance Administrator (Oberfinanzkasse) in Hamburg. Of the auction proceeds from the household effects and furnishings, debts valued at approx. 1,400 RM were paid both to private persons and also to companies, such as the Hamburger Elektrizitätswerke (the Hamburg public utility company).


Translator: Erwin Fink
Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

Stand: March 2017
© Gianna Kühn/Lara Ludwig/Mona Dietrichkeit, S1 Gymnasium Marienthal

Quellen: 1; 2; 4; 5; 8; StaH 314-15 OFP, J4/402; StaH 332-8 Meldewesen A51/1, K 2463; K 2514; StaH 362-6/10 Talmud-Tora-Schule, TT 26; StaH 522-1 Jüd. Gemeinden, 992 e 1 Band 4; StaH 621-1/85 Walter Schüler, 181 Scheidungsakte.
Zur Nummerierung häufig genutzter Quellen siehe Link "Recherche und Quellen".
Hier abweichend:
(2) Bundesarchiv Berlin, R 1509 Reichssippenamt, Ergänzungskarten der Volkszählung vom 17. Mai 1939