Szprycer, Helmuth

Helmuth Szprycer was born in Hamburg on August 8, 1929, the son of Julius Eliejzer Szprycer, a business traveler, and his wife Rosa, née Littmann. He had two older sisters: Giesa and Lotte. His parents had separated before his birth, so the siblings grew up with their mother's parents, Fanny and Joseph Littmann, in Berlin. They first lived at Landsberger Strasse 85 in Friedrichshain, then from 1934 in Schöneberg, Barbarossastrasse 8, in a four-room apartment. In 1938 his mother Rosa emigrated to England, and in 1940 his sister Lotte died of tuberculosis. Helmuth was very musical and could whistle well, which would later save his life in the concentration camp. On February 14, 1943, with the help of his grandmother, he had to fill out the declaration of assets, the preparation for deportation. His sister Giesa was picked up on February 19, 1943 and deported to Auschwitz. Helmuth was deported to Theresienstadt with his grandparents Fanny and Joseph Littmann on March 17, 1943.