Family Johannes and Erna Körner

From 1933 Johannes Körner had a job at the employment office in Nordhorn (then at Lingener Straße 1). For this purpose, they moved from Lingen to the house of the Jewish family Schaap, Lingener Straße 51. Soon they demanded of him (who had been honored with the Iron Cross for his service in the World War) to separate from his Jewish wife - otherwise he would lose the job. However, he refused - and in fact he was dismissed and had to work in road construction. There he injured himself, got blood poisoning and died in 1935, on his 39th birthday. The funeral could only take place under almost conspiratorial circumstances in Lingen, because in Nordhorn they had no grave for this "jewish versippten" person.

The mother, urgently warned by the further tribulations against Jews, tried at all costs to bring her son to safety. Eventually, she succeeded in obtaining a place for the 12-year-old on a Kindertransport to Great Britain. From Hamburg, the transport reached England via Bentheim and Hoek van Holland, where Theodor was taken in by a Scottish pastor couple.

Erna Körner also still managed to escape to England, to London, in 1939, where she was initially interned in a camp as an "enemy alien."

Not until 1950 did mother and son meet again in London. Erna Körner died in 1973, Theodor in 1999.