Ernst and Clara Weyl
On an unknown date, during the Second World War, the Jewish married couple, Ernst and Clara Weyl moved into Kampstrasse 20. They came from Duesseldorf and probably chose Minden as a place of refuge because Clara’s brother and sister-in-law, Max and Elisabeth Leeser, lived in the neighbourhood at Kampstrasse 27.
Ernst Weyl was born 23rd June, 1873, and grew up in Bocholt and his future wife, Clara Meyer, was born 21st August, 1882, in Muenster. Ernst trained as a Merchant in the Bocholt firm of Weyl & Cohen. When the firm was sold to the Karstadt AG he became Assistant Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Ernst and Clara married on 3rd September, 1904. The marriage produced two children, Werner,
born 1906 and in 1911, a daughter, Gertrud Bernhardina. Both children left Germany in time to survive the Holocaust.
On 5th November, 1938, the couple moved from Bocholt to Duesseldorf. From there they came to Minden and lived here for a short time in the later demolished house at Kampstrasse 12, until their deportation in the year 1942.
The Weyls subsequent destiny is the subject of conflicting information. One source says that they were deported to Warsaw on 31st March, 1942, and later to Minsk, lost, presumed dead. Proven information from two other sources shows that the couple were deported through Bielefeld to Theresienstadt on 1st August, 1942. From there they were transported to the extermination camp, Treblinka where they were murdered.