Museum Blindenwerkstatt
“We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
One of the many museums that show the humanity shown by so many people towards the persecuted during the Second World War. This small museum portrays the story of Otto Weidt, who employed mainly blind and deaf Jews to help him in his workshop between 1940-1945. Here, they helped make brushes and brooms.
Since 1933, the Jews began losing their civil rights. Business and shops owned by Jews were boycotted, marriages between Jews and non-Jews were no longer permitted and at the end of 1938, Jewish men started being deported to concentration camps, where many of them lost their lives.
In 1936, Otto Weidt opened his factory after going almost blind himself. In 1940 he moves it to the place that is now the museum.
As you step into the entrance you see photos of his workers. Most are smiling. You make your way along the rooms and see tables still set out, ready to be used to make brushes. Letters and poems are kept behind glass boxes, a stark reminder of people who were about to be killed.
At the end of the museum, you reach a room with an entrance that was covered by a children’s cupboard. This room is where Jews would be hidden. It was small and dark, no windows, no toilet. During one Gestapo raid the family Horn were found hiding there and then deported to Auschwitz, never to be seen again.
The artefacts are stark reminders of war. A letter written by a couple once employed at the factory send a letter of thanks for packages Otto Weidt sent to them in the Ghetto. It is the last sign of life of the two people before they too are sent to Auschwitz.
However, not all the stories have a sad ending. Otto Weidt helped many Jews by connecting them with people who could hide them, even for a short time. He helped them with food and gave them useful advice.
One heart-warming story that brought tears to my eyes was of Alice Licht (1916-1987). In 1933, along with all other Jews, her dreams of being a doctor are taken away. Instead she trains as a secretary and is then forced to work in a parachute silk factory. After getting a job at the Blindenwerkstatt from Otto Weidt, he helps to hide her entire family. Unfortunately they are betrayed and sent to Auschwitz. When Otto Weidt hears of this terrible news, he travels to find her. He visits Auschwitz but hears she has been moved to another concentration camp. He follows here and manages to send her a message that he has left clothes, medicine and money for her nearby. When her camp is disbanded, she manages to flee back to Otto Weidt’s apartment and it is here that she witnesses the end of the war.
In 1943 and 1944, Otto Weidt and his friends send over 100 food parcels to his employees and their relatives and friends in camps. People imprisoned there often died of hunger and sickness. When they received packages, they would be allowed to write receipt cards in return. One of these was addressed to “Otto Weidt, Potato Wholesaler”, possibly requesting potatoes in the next package.
It is not known how many people Otto Weidt managed to help and save during the war. His story is similar to others who tried so hard to save and help Jews during the war. This is definitely a museum that will make you sad, but seeing first-hand the kindness shown to those in need will also warm your heart.
WHAT: Museum Blindenwerkstatt
WHERE: Rosenthaler Straße 39 – 10178 Berlin
HOW MUCH: Free entry
WEBSITE: http://www.museum-blindenwerkstatt.de/en/first-of-all/
**Open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.every day, tour on Sundays at 3pm **