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Lotte Katscher was born in Vienna on June 11, 1921, the daughter of Sigmund Katscher and Margarethe Singer. Her father Sigmund died before the start of the Second World War. In January 1939, Lotte illegally crossed the border between Germany and Belgium. She went to live in Antwerp while she waited for the visa to move to Brazil.
Lotte had made the journey alone and had no family in Belgium. Her sister Kitty was living in the United Kingdom at the time, from where she sent financial support to her sister in Belgium. Lotte married Rudolf Goldschmied op August 29,1939. He was a technician in the textile industry who, like Lotte, came from Vienna. Rudolf had fled to Belgium in November 1938, after Kristallnacht. He lived in Antwerp where he waited for his visa to move to Peru.
On May 10, 1940, the Nazis invaded Belgium. Lotte’s husband Rudolf was arrested by the Belgian authorities along with thousands of other refugees who had recently fled the Reich. They were suspected of collaborating with the German invasion forces. Among the prisoners were many Jews who had fled the country. Rudolf was helf captive in various camps and ended up in the hands of the Nazis. On August 28, 1942, he was put on Transport 25 in Drancy, headed to Auschwitz-Birkenau. He did not survive.
Lotte Katscher stayed in Antwerp. She complied with the increasingly stringent anti-Jewish regulations and registered herself in the Jewish register. In January 1942, she moved to Brussels, where she was arrested in the summer of that year. She was first held prisoner in the prison of Saint-Gilles and then transferred to the Dossin Barracks on July 27, 1942. The camp had just opened at that time. At the Dossin Barracks, she managed to convince the camp administration to appoint her as a nurse, even though she wasn’t medically trained. During her stay, Lotte helped other prisoners and also saved the life of Sara Eckman, by having her appointed as a nurse as well.
Lotte stayed in the Dossin Barracks for more than two years. She arrived on the opening day and did not leave the barracks until they were liberated by the British army on the night of September 3-4, 1944. A few weeks after the liberation, Lotte returned to Brussels, where she tried to rebuild her life. Her sister Kitty and mother Margarethe had also survived the war. Lotte remarried in 1950. Her husband was Bernard Blinbaum, a Jewish tailor and businessman. Like Lotte, Bernard was also held in the Dossin Barracks for a long time. He was arrested on December 4, 1942, because he was part of the resistance. He remained in the barracks until July 26, 1943. Lotte and Bernard moved to the United States in 1950, shortly after their wedding.
