Family Sander-Dominitz

The Sander-Dominitz family arrived in Belgium in the course of 1923 and 1924: father Saul Hersz Sander false Lauer, born on 14 August 1891 in Lobowo in Poland, was the first to arrive on 30 December 1923. He works as a merchant and settles in Antwerp at Kievitstraat 189. In 1924 Saul applied for two visas, one to stay in Belgium and another to visit his family in Germany. Mother Ides Dominitz, born 24 August 1891 in Radymna, Poland, arrived in Belgium on 9 March 1924 together with her daughters Klara, born 26 September 1919 in Hannover, Anna, born 5 August 1921 in Hannover and Frieda, born 7 November 1922 in Hannover. After the family had been reunited they lived at 32 Van Diepenbeeckstraat. Saul’s professions appear to change frequently, for instance he quits his initial profession as a merchant and starts working as a bag dealer in February 1924. This change caused him to return to his original profession, as he had been active as a bag dealer in Germany since 1904. Still later, he started working as a factory worker and grocer.

In 1938 Saul applied to have his mother Niche, born on 30 October 1867 in Neu-Sandez, move from Frankfurt to Antwerp. Until recently, his sister lived with the mother, but she moved to the United States due to the prevailing unrest in Germany. At the time of his application, Saul and his wife were running a grocery shop in Antwerp, which provided him with sufficient means to support his mother. On 4 September Niche finally moves to Belgium, where she moves in with the family on Consciencestraat in Antwerp.

When Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940, an anti-Jewish policy was implemented soon afterwards. Part of this anti-Jewish policy was the obligation for all Jews living in Belgium to register in the Jewish Register of Antwerp. From 1941 onwards, Saul was registered as a grocer, permitted to sell bread and biscuits. On 6 April 1942, the Sander family registered with the local Jewish association. This document shows that father Saul worked as a grocer, Klara and Frieda as office clerks and Anna as a diamond cutter.

Klara was arrested during the razzia of 22 July 1942 in the station of Antwerp and taken from Breendonk to Samellager Mecheln. Here she was selected to keep the index cards and files of Jews whose origin had to be checked, in other words to work as a shorthand typist. In December 1942, her parents and grandmother were arrested and taken to Dossin. Her grandmother, Niche, was deported with transport XVIII to Auschwitz-Birkenau on 15 January 1943 at the age of 75. Klara was able to ensure that her parents could stay in Mechelen. When the camp commander discovered that the Jewish doctor Fritz Basch was embezzling money, Basch and everyone suspected of collaboration were put on the list for transport XXIIA. Including Klara and her parents. No one survives. It is not known if and how Klara’s sisters survived the war.

Source: Laurence Schram, Dossin: wachtkamer van Auschwitz, Lannoo, 2018, 122-123.