Berl Bernhard Schattner

Berl (Bernhard) Schattner was born on November 16, 1901 in Zablatow in what was then Galicia. He was the son of Chaim Schattner, born in Kuty (Poland) in 1867, and his wife Ester, née Scheiner, born in 1872. Berl had five siblings, the four brothers Yitzhak, Nuchim, Jacob and Meschulim, and the younger sister Jente. All children were born in Zablatow. At that time the place belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, later it became Polish (Zabłotów), after the German invasion it became part of the so-called General Government. Today it belongs to Ukraine (Sabolotiv). For Chaim and Jente Schattner, information can be found under the Stolpersteine section in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Stolpersteine ​​were laid for Chaim and Jente Schattner in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. There are stumbling blocks in the Berlin-Moabit district for other family members.

All members of the Schattner family, with the exception of Yitzhak, who presumably stayed in Zablotow and about whom there is no reliable information, moved to Vienna during or after the First World War, where other relatives of this large family lived. The Schattners worked there in the real estate business and in the area of ​​property management.

Starting in 1925, they moved their business to Berlin; Berl moved there in 1925, followed in 1928 by Jacob and Meschulim, their parents Chaim and Ester, and their sister Jente. The family moved into a large 6-room apartment in what was then Augsburger Strasse 62, today's Fuggerstrasse 31. From there they managed their prosperous property management business for around sixty apartment buildings. They themselves bought five apartment buildings and participated in house financing.

After the Nazis came to power, the family's life became increasingly difficult, however, they were able to maintain their business model for a while. A special feature is that Jacob Schattner was still in the Berlin telephone directory in 1943 as the owner of Wrangelstrasse 58.

During a business trip to Vienna, Jacob was arrested on March 12, 1938, the day of the annexation to Nazi Germany, and remained there until the end of June 1938, after which he returned to Berlin.

Brother Nuchim (Nathan) was able to emigrate from Poland to New York with his wife Mina and two children in October 1938. On the morning of October 28, 1938, the brothers Berl, Jacob and Meschulim Schattner were forcibly taken from their apartment as part of the so-called Polish action and deported to Poland. Since they were officially considered Poles, the public prosecutor's office prohibited them from staying in Germany.

Almost two weeks later, the apartment in which the parents and sister still lived, as well as the office space in what was then Augsburger Strasse 62, was completely destroyed and looted during the “Reichskristallnacht” on November 9th and 10th. Thereupon they moved to Bamberger Straße 3 and then had to move to Marburger Straße 1 as a subtenant.

The brothers managed to get new passports in Cracow, and then fled to Antwerp. When German troops invaded Belgium in May 1940, they fled to Marseille, where they remained for over two years, and then crossed into Switzerland illegally, on October 4, 1942. They lived there under poor conditions for five years in various refugee camps.

The parents Chaim and Ester Schattner still lived in Berlin with their daughter, Jente. Ester Schattner, born in 1872, died on August 31, 1942 in Berlin. She was buried in the Weissensee Jewish cemetery. Chaim Schattner was deported with Jente to Theresienstadt on September 22, 1942, where he died on December 20, 1943. Jente Schattner was deported to Auschwitz on May 16, 1944 and murdered there.

It was not until 1947 that the three brothers Meschulim, Jacob and Berl Schattner were able to emigrate to the USA via Genoa and Southampton, with the help of their brother Nuchim (Nathan), where they later founded their own families in New York City. According to the Association of Swiss Jewish Refugee Aid, Meschulim left Zurich on August 16, 1947, Berl and Jacob followed on October 26, 1947.

A years-long struggle for compensation broke out and lasted until 1964. The authorities of the FRG as the successor state of the German Reich were not very cooperative. They tried to keep the compensation payments as low as possible.

Meschulim (Max) and Jacob received a comparatively small amount as compensation in relation to their claims.

Berl (Bernhard), who was mentally and physically unable to work because of the trauma he experienced, received his compensation as a monthly pension.