A heroic German businessman has been honoured in Berlin for risking torture and execution to save the lives of persecuted Jews in Nazi Germany.
Karl Steineke was posthumously recognised for his courageous and selfless actions during the dark days of Hitler’s regime.
Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, presented Steineke’s descendants from Germany and Brazil with a medal and certificate from the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.
Born in 1901, Steineke (right) ran an office machines business in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia.
In 1944, he decided to risk his own life by hiding several persecuted Jews in his home.
Among those he sheltered were Jenny Bosch (born Süsskind), Emma Blumenthal and her husband Karl Sandner, alongside their adopted daughter Henriette Allertz, and Margot Körner. All survived the war. Steineke died in a car accident in 1954.
Karl Steineke (2)
Karl Steineke's certificate of honour (Photo: Archive)
In 2014, the State of Israel awarded him the title of Righteous Among the Nations, and a plaque bearing his name was unveiled in the Garden of the Just at Yad Vashem.
As part of a special project entitled “Israel — get to know differently”, Prosor spoke in praise of a largely unsung man at a ceremony in the Berlin House of Representatives.
The project aims to inspire young minds by offering workshops that delve into different facets of Israel and Judaism, fostering a deeper appreciation for Israel’s culture and heritage.
In the same week, Hilde Schramm, daughter of Albert Speer, Hitler’s architect and Minister of Armaments, received Germany’s highest award, the Federal Cross of Merit.
The 87-year-old former politician, who became a renowned educator and was vice president of the Berlin Parliament, was presented with the award by
Berlin’s mayor, Kai Wegner, who commended her ongoing commitment to confronting Germany’s Nazi past.
In 1994, Schramm founded the “Return” Foundation, using funds from restituted properties to support Jewish artists and scientists. Later, she joined forces with an initiative focusing on forgotten victims of the Nazis.
