Dr. med. Fritz Spanier

Fritz Spanier was a doctor at the Virchow hospital in Berlin and also active as doctor in the Wedding working class district. In 1939, he attempted to emigrate with his wife Babette and twin daughters on the St Louis, which left him stranded in the Netherlands. He belonged among the veteran inmates of the Westerbork camp (erected by the Dutch government in 1939 asa refugee camp) and eventually became the head doctor of the camp when it was taken over by the Germans and ran as transit camp to the annihilation sites in the East (from 20.8.1940 to 12.4.1945). He survived the war and went on to practice medicine in West Germany.

Fritz Spanier is NOT a brother of Elly Spanier (married to Ernst Lilienfeld). Elly was a sister of Friedrich Nathan Spanier, born on 18. July 1898 in Kalkar, a totally different person. Their parents were Abraham Albert Spanier (Kalkar 1868- Amsterdam1938) and Helene Steinberg (Maxsain 1870-Kalkar 1934).