Dora and Daniel Horst Gotthelf

The photo presumably depicts Dora and Daniel Horst Gotthelf. How do we know that?

The family name “Gotthelf” is noted on the glassine sleeve of the glass negative. They could be the children of a Jewish family.

Dora Gotthelf was born on December 20, 1923, in Leipzig; her brother Daniel Horst was born on December 30, 1921. Their parents were Herrmann Hersch and Paula Gotthelf (née Coleman). In the photo, both are approximately between 9 and 11 years old. Therefore, the photograph must have been taken in the early 1930s. In 1933, the family lived at 11 Elsterstraße.

The siblings appear on a deportation list from the Arolsen Archives dated May 10, 1942, bound for the Bełżyce ghetto in occupied Poland. It is highly probable that the family was murdered right here or deported to concentration and extermination camps.

At this point in time, no further information is known about the siblings and their parents, their circumstances, or their life stories.