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Arthur Krebs * 1893

Schmuckstraße 6 ggü. Nr. 5 (Hamburg-Mitte, St. Pauli)

HIER WOHNTE
ARTHUR KREBS
JG. 1893
VERHAFTET 1938
SACHSENHAUSEN
DEPORTIERT 1941
LODZ
ERMORDET

further stumbling stones in Schmuckstraße 6 ggü. Nr. 5:
Albert Plessner

Arthur Krebs, born 20 June 1893 in Gleiwitz (Gliwice), Upper Silesia, imprisoned from 23 June 1938 until 25 Mar. 1939 at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, deported 25 Oct. 1941 to Lodz, died there 11 Feb. 1942

Schmuckstraße across from building number 5 (Schmuckstraße 6)

Arthur Krebs was born on 20 June 1893 in Gleiwitz as the second-youngest of four sons to the couple Hugo and Friederike (Frieda) Krebs, née Rothe. Around 1910 the family moved to Hamburg where they settled at Brahmsallee 18. His father was a businessman and ran the insurance company "Krebs & David Versicherungen" with Albert David, located on Mönckebergstraße. The 1928 address book showed Arthur’s oldest brother Erich as an additional owner. The contracts appear to have run well, for both Hugo and Erich had to pay considerable taxes. In 1934 his father died and his mother moved to Berlin two years later, probably to her youngest son Emil who had lived there since 1930.

Arthur Krebs lived with his parents at Brahmsallee 18 until 1932. After that he moved to Hansastraße 55 where the insurance company of his father and brother had moved in the meantime. From 1936 he frequently changed addresses in St. Pauli, generally subletting, his last address at Schmuckstraße 6. The tax card of the Jewish Community contains details regarding his professional work. He had been a member since 1920. His tax card first noted Arthur Krebs as a "commercial clerk", later as a "representative". His income, however, must have been so low that he was largely exempted from paying the estimated community contribution. At the start of the 1930s and from 1940 he was unemployed or had to muddle his way through on small jobs like "warehouse clerk", as was noted on the deportation list.

A decisive break in Arthur Krebs’ life happened on 23 June 1938 when he was sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp within the framework of the operation "Work-shy Reich" (Arbeitsscheu Reich) as an "anti-social person". Approximately 800 Jews in total were registered at Sachsenhausen concentration camp alone in June 1938 as "anti-social detainees", roughly half of whom were released by Nov. 1938 under the condition that they emigrate. Why Arthur Krebs was not among this group is not known. He remained in detention until 25 Mar. 1939. After he returned to Hamburg, he applied for emigration and was issued a clearance certificate for that purpose on 24 Apr. 1939. As a consequence, the following note was made on his tax card: "withdrew due to: May 39 Shanghai".

Arthur Krebs never emigrated to Shanghai, instead he was deported to the Lodz Ghetto on 25 Oct. Presumably he must have had to drop his emigration plans at the last minute because he was unable to come up with the funds for his passage due to his financial situation. He only lived a mere four months in the completely overcrowded ghetto and died on 11 Feb. 1942, just a few weeks before approximately 10,000 people were taken to the Chelmno extermination camp in a mass resettlement operation and killed. When Arthur Krebs died in Feb. 1942, there were 1,875 deaths at the "Lodz" (Litzmannstadt) Ghetto in that month alone.

Arthur Krebs’ oldest brother Erich lived from Oct. 1939 until his death in Aug. 1957 in the USA. His second-oldest brother Friedrich had already immigrated to Columbia in Jan. 1939 where he died in Sept. of the same year. Nothing more is known about the fate of his 12-year-younger brother Emil.

Translator: Suzanne von Engelhardt

Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

Stand: October 2016
© Gunhild Ohl-Hinz

Quellen: 1; 8; StaH 351-11 AfW, Abl. 2008/1, 180591 Krebs, Friedrich; StaH 351-11 AfW, Abl. 2008/1, 190590 Krebs, Erich; StaH 522-1 Jüd. Gemeinden, 992 e 1 Band 1; ITS/ARCH/Ghetto Lodz Ordner 3a, S. 27; ITS/ARCH/Konzentrationslager Sachsenhausen, Ordner 106, Seite 129; ITS/ARCH/Konzentrationslager Sachsenhausen, Ordner 99, Seite 97; AB 1913, 1928, 1932; Bajohr, "Arisierung", 1997, S. 267; Feuchert/ Leibfried/Riecke (Hrsg.), Chronik, 1942, 2007, S. 51.

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