Jeannette Langsomer

Jeanette Langsommer was born in Berlin in 1930. Her mother Toni Langsommer, nee Balsam was born in Berlin in 1894.  Jeannette’s father was Joel Langsommer. Joel Langsommer died in Berlin at age 36 of an illness. Jeannette had a stepsister from Toni’s first marriage to Mr. Heinrich Klug. Her name was Margot Klug de Stern. Margot was fortunate to escape Germany’s Nazi persecution and annihilation of the Jews of Europe by emigrating to Ecuador and soon after settling in Santiago de Chile. Margot married and enjoyed a prosperous, long life with a loving family.  After the war, Margot searched European records for years in hope of finding her sister Jeannette and mother Toni still alive.  She finally was forced to accept the fact of their murders by the Nazis.  Jeanette unfortunately was trapped in Berlin with her mother Toni and had no avenue of escape possible. Although her mother tried to arrange an escape to Shanghai, the funds were not available and the details of the passage were too intricate to navigate, thus stranding mother and daughter in hostile Berlin.  Jeanette was an excellent student and always received the best marks in the class. She enjoyed a wonderful life although a tragically short life, within a close-knit family of mother, father, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  Jeanette enjoyed summers at the beaches of Berlin and winters in the snow at Zakopane with her mother. In March 1943 she was arrested with her mother and dragged across the continent of Europe to Poland where she was murdered on arrival in Auschwitz.  Only because she was born into the Jewish faith Jeannette Langsommer was killed at 12 years old.

The readers of this biography should live and preach lives of tolerance and respect for all peoples, and say, “Never again.”