Ensel Rosemarie (Schink)

Mauthner, Rosemaire (Schink) In 1932, Rosemarie Schink emigrated from her native Germany to Holland, where she met and married a Jewish man, Judah Ensel, and had a child. They filed for divorce in 1941 and Rosemarie subsequently began living with another Jewish man, Herbert Mauthner, whom she married after the war. During the war, Rosemarie hid 13 Jews in her home in Blaricum, North Holland, including her first husband, his first wife, their child, and Herbert Mauthner. Although Judah and his wife only remained with Rosemarie for eight months, their child lived with her for two years. Rosemarie’s home was always full of people hiding from the Nazis, both Jews and non-Jews involved in anti-German activities. The people were hidden so well behind closets and under the roof that even when the house was searched, no one was found. Those in hiding took turns acting as lookouts for approaching Germans. Feeding all the people in her house was also dangerous. Rosemarie arranged for false identity cards and food rations, often paying for them by selling paintings or personal possessions in addition to the help she received from the underground. She was also assisted by Kurt Kahle, a German soldier who would help her and the underground by going to Overijssel in his uniform to get food for people in hiding. Because of her outspoken anti-Nazi sentiments, Rosemaire was arrested and taken to an SS jail in Amsterdam where she was brutally interrogated. She was then sent to The Hague, where the police and SS sentenced her to internment in a concentration camp. However, Rosemarie was able to connect to a childhood friend who served as a court’s advisor and he managed to get the punishment deferred. Nevertheless, she suffered enormously from the tremendous strain and her health deteriorated. On January 17, 1982, Yad Vashem recognized Rosa Marie Mauthner-Schink as Righteous Among the Nations.