Transport from Westerbork, Camp, The Netherlands to Ravensbrück, Camp, Germany on 23/06/1944

On June 21, 1944, Zöpf cabled the commander of Ravensbrück advising him that on June 23 a transport to this concentration camp would be setting out from Westerbork. The transport, which left during the mass deportations from Hungary to Auschwitz, comprised two Jewish women who held Hungarian citizenship: Jolante Arato (b. 1914 in Matolcs, Hungary), and Gertrud Weisz (b. 1914 in Munich). In the cable, Zöpf added that subsequent to the repatriation operation of Hungarian Jewish nationals in the Netherlands, they could be deported to Ravensbrück. Both should have reached the camp on the afternoon of June 24. However, the cable included a comment by Gertrud Slottke, Zöpf’s right-hand, on June 25, to the effect that “the Jewess Weisz” had leaped from the passenger train in Utrecht as it was delivering her from Ravensbrück to The Hague and that she had gone into hiding. In a post war interview, Gertrud Weisz, who changed her family name to Raaschou after the war, stated that she had gone into hiding with non-Jews, was arrested after having been betrayed, and had spent three months in prison. A girl who had hidden with her was also arrested but deported to Westerbork. Raaschou hypothesized that, she had been detained due to her Hungarian citizenship as the Nazis did not know what to do with her. Nonetheless, later, she too was sent to Westerbork. The girl was deported to Auschwitz. On June 23, 1944 Raaschou was deported with another Jewish woman. The train headed for Amsterdam and the deportees were forced to change trains in Utrecht. Weisz took advantage of having only one guard and managed to elude him while aboard the train. She went underground and survived until the Netherlands were liberated. Jolante was deported onward to Ravensbrück and survived the war.