Rescued person Bertha Seifersfeld
Liselotte Flemming,
the wife of a Wehrmacht major, was stationed during the war in Riga, Latvia, as
the warden of a house of women staff-assistants (Stabshelferinnen) at the HKP
plant (a German firm for the production of military vehicles). There she met,
in 1943, a German-Jewish woman by the name of Bertha Seifersfeld, who was sent
to work by the SS. It later turned out that both women originated from the same
German town, Nuremberg. Flemming took pity on her Jewish compatriot, brought
her meals, and even shared her own rations with her. On hearing that Bertha’s
husband was also working at the HKP and that he was very
weak, she started providing for him as well. Flemming was caught by the SS and
faced a court-martial. However, just at that time, she received an emergency
call from Nuremberg that her house had been destroyed in an air raid. The
Wehrmacht stepped in and had her sent home. Flemming’s husband was less
fortunate. Denounced for giving food to prisoners, he committed suicide. After
the war, Flemming went to various Jewish organizations to find out whether the
Jewish woman whom she had helped nourish at such great risk to herself was
still alive. Bertha did survive the war, but her husband had later died of
starvation.
On February 16, 1984, Yad Vashem recognized Liselotte Flemming as Righteous Among the Nations.
On February 16, 1984, Yad Vashem recognized Liselotte Flemming as Righteous Among the Nations.
