The Jewish Voss family from Würselen

The Voss family was part of the small Jewish community in the town of Würselen and ran a butcher's shop. Father Jakob served as a soldier in the First World War for four years. In 1938, the family was forced to close the business due to political pressure from the National Socialists. The Fabry family acquired the house and shop, and the new owner recalled: ‘I was an employee at the Voss butcher's shop. When the house and shop were to be Aryanised, I bought both at the low official price. I secretly paid the family the real value.’ This story was confirmed by contacting the Voss sons in the United States.

At first, the Voss couple believed that, as good Germans, nothing would happen to them under the new regime. However, in 1941 they were deported to the Haarener Hergelsmühle camp, then to Theresienstadt via the forced accommodation in Eschweiler, and finally to Auschwitz, where they were murdered. Their deaths are dated to after 15 October 1944. During an official visit to Auschwitz in 2013, Martin Schulz, then President of the European Parliament, dedicated his entry in the guest book to the murdered people of his hometown, and in particular to the Voss couple.

The youngest son, Ernst Voss, was a talented footballer and played for Rhenania Würselen until 1933, when Jewish athletes were forced to leave German sports clubs. He fled on a ship from Hamburg to Colombia in 1937 and from there made his way to the United States in 1940. As a German speaker, he was of great use to the US Army and was employed in the intelligence service. After the liberation of the city, he returned to his hometown of Würselen. A contemporary witness describes the first encounter: ‘Tanks drove into the market square in front of St. Sebastian's. Among the first Americans on the market square was a young captain. He said he knew us, that he was from Würselen, the youngest son of the butcher Voss from Wilhelmstraße around the corner. He recognised us all.’

All three sons of the family, Rudolf, Friedrich and Ernst, survived the Shoah and later reunited in the USA. The tragic story of the Voss family is documented in detail in the book ‘Far Away from Würselen’ (2013) by Iris Gedig and Stefan Kahlen.