Schell von Helene

Schell, Helene von At the end of the 1920’s, Hamburg-born Helene von Schell, had moved to the Moabit neighborhood of Berlin, where she lived on her own. There, she met a Jewish businessman called Hans Foss, born in 1893. Schell, who in August 1942 worked as a clerk, continued to maintain friendly ties with Hans Foss and his family, even when all contact with Jews was banned. Hence she happened to be visiting the family on November 30, 1942 when they were notified that they would be deported the next day. She is reported to have burst out, “You’re not going along with that. I’m going to take you with me to my place”. The first members of the family to go into hiding in Schell’s apartment were Hans Foss and his 14-year-old son Werner. A few days later, they were followed by the mother, Margot, b.1899, and the younger son, Harry, b.1933, who in the meanwhile had been hidden in another apartment. Schell’s rented one-room apartment, where the family lived “illegally” for more than two years, was on the third floor of the building at 6 Waldstrasse. The four members of the family were crammed into the living room, while their hostess made do with the kitchen. This was complicated by the fact that on the same corridor lived a Nazi official, Max Seeliger, who fortunately was somewhat hard of hearing and did not notice anything. His wife, Bertha Seeliger, who knew about the situation, felt for the family that had gone underground and did not give them away. Since the Foss family had no papers – not even forged ones – they were not entitled to food ration stamps. Schell’s own frugal rations did not stretch to feeding five people. As time went by, Hans and Margot Foss ventured outside in order to earn some money. Mrs. Seeliger also helped from time to time. Despite the danger and the material hardships, Helene von Schell kept the four refugees in her home from early December 1942 until Berlin was liberated by the Allies. On February 13, 2000, Yad Vashem recognized Helenevon Schell as Righteous Among the Nations.