Teske Wilhelm & Luise

Teske, Wilhelm Teske, Luise Wilhelm Teske, a shoemaker, owned a small shop in the Schoeneberg quarter of Berlin. He lived with his wife Luise and their only daughter in an apartment above the shop. The Teskes were active in the Bruederbewegung in Deutschland, a Protestant movement that was partially outlawed by the Nazis in 1937 but continued to exist, eventually joining forces with the German Baptists in 1942. The Bruederbewegung's core beliefs were Christian-Jewish dialogue and extending help to the needy. Peter Witting and his parents had managed to flee Germany in May 1939. They spent the war years in Shanghai, and immigrated to Australia after the war. However, Witting’s grandparents, Margarethe and Louis Wilhelm, lived in the same building as the Teskes, and their German neighbors took care of them as the elderly couple began to be subjected to forceful discrimination. When Louis Wilhelm died in 1941, Wilhelm Teske prayed with him on his deathbed. He then continued to offer help to his widow, Margarethe, and supported her financially. When she was to be deported, Margarethe decided to go into hiding together with her sister Elisabeth Schwarz, aided by the Teskes. Sadly, Margarethe found it impossible to stand the pressure of an illegal existence, and committed suicide in 1943. Her sister was caught and deported in February 1943. The Teskes also hid Lilli Katzenellenbogen, who sought shelter at their home on many occasions during 1943. She had been introduced to the Teskes through one of their clients, and they agreed to take her in even though a number of Jews were already hiding in their workshop. In 1993, a memorial plaque was affixed to the Teskes' former home at 5 Rosenheimer Street, in memory of the brave couple and their wartime deeds. In 1998, a high school in Schoeneberg was renamed after the Teskes. On November 25, 2009, Yad Vashem recognized Luise and Wilhelm Teske as Righteous Among the Nations.