Aub Fritz & Hedwig

Aub, Fritz Aub, Hedwig Dr. Fritz Aub (b. 1890) was a medical doctor in Berlin with a large practice. His profession enabled him to assist many Jews who were living illegally by providing them with food and arranging overnight stays with the help of his patients. One of those whom he saved was Erna Segal, a social worker employed for many years with the Jewish community in Berlin. In February 1942, she was on her way to visit a needy person in her care. A soldier on the bus noticed Erna’s yellow badge, got off with her, and followed her into a side street. When he caught up with her, the soldier first asked Erna to cover the yellow badge, and then began telling her of the terrible fate that awaited those Jews being deported to the East. He urged her to inform foreign consulates and advised her to hide. Having confirmed the soldier’s story through a well-informed friend who had access to the Romanian consul, Erna resolved to evade the upcoming deportation. She called on a trusted Aryan friend who put her in contact with Dr. Fritz Aub and his wife Hedwig. Dr. Aub not only arranged a temporary shelter in a monastery for Erna and her family, but also provided them with other invaluable connections, obtained ration cards for them, and attended to their medical needs throughout the war. He never asked for any remuneration. In December 1944, Erna’s husband was severely wounded on the subway. Although his own house had been bombed the same day, Dr. Aub arrived at the scene, extricated the injured man, and transferred him to a hospital under a false name. The medical staff, which knew Dr. Aub, cooperated with him. While Erna Segal’s husband survived the Nazi regime, she lost her son, mother, sisters and brothers. They had all been deported to the extermination camps in Poland. After the war she visited the Aub family in Munich, and they received her warmly. On December 28, 1987, Yad Vashem recognized Dr. Fritz and Hedwig Aub as Righteous Among the Nations.