Bertie Goslinski (later Levkowitz) was born on May 26, 1942 in Groningen, Netherlands, to Herman and Hetty Goslinski. Herman Goslinski (later Goslins, 1911-2007) was born July 27, 1911 in Groningen, Netherlands, to Mozes Heiman Goslinski and Katharina (Käthe) van der Hak. He married Henriette Magnus (Hetty, 1916-2015) in July 1940. Hetty was born August 16, 1916 in Assen, Netherlands, to Noach Magnus and Rosa (Roosje) Jakobs. She had one sister Sary (b. 1928) and one brother Ibertus (Bert, born 1917). Hetty and Herman were married in July 1940. Hetty’s brother Bert was arrested in November 1941, deported in 1942, and killed at Buchenwald on March 25, 1942. Bertie Levkowitz was named after him. Shortly after Bertie’s birth, Herman was sent to a work camp in Balderhaar, and Hetty and Bertie went to live with Hetty’s parents. Herman and Hetty found a hiding place at the home of Egbert Star, the headmaster of a Christian school, who also sheltered Hetty’s parents and sister, Noach, Rosa, and Sary Magnus. As a crying baby would have betrayed their presence, they had to find a separate hiding place for Bertie. With the help of a Dutch resistance worker called Mrs. Emmelkamp, Bertie was delivered to Carl and Jane Gnirrep in a basket with a note providing a false name and false story. Bertie lived in multiple locations during the remainder of the war under the supervision of Carl and Jane Gnirrep, whom Bertie called Opa and Oma Schattepoes, and who returned her to her own parents at the end of the war. Yad Vashem recognized Carl and Jane Gnirrep as Righteous Among the Nations in 1997 and Egbert Star in 1999. After liberation, Herman and Henriette had two more daughters, Rosecarrie (Brooks, born in Assen on July 16, 1946) and Miriam (born in Assen on April 15, 1949). The family immigrated to the United States aboard the SS Noordam on March 16, 1953 and changed their last name to Goslins. Bertie married Jack Levkowitz (1933-1998) in Los Angeles in August 1964.
Goslinski family papers
The Goslinski family papers consist of biographical materials and photographs documenting the Goslinski family of Groningen, Netherlands, their survival in hiding during the Holocaust, their postwar lives in the Netherlands, and their immigration to the United States. Biographical materials feature the note accompanying Bertie Goslinski when she was left in a basket at the home of a member of the Dutch resistance. The note provides her false name, claims she has been abandoned by her mother, and asks that she be cared for. This series also include membership cards, bicycle confiscation notice, move permission, business card, swim diploma, ship postcard, and false identification card. Photographs document the Goslinski family and their Magnus, Jacobs, van Oosten, and Levie relatives, primarily in the Netherlands (Groningen, Arnhem, Assen, Emmen, and Norg). Prewar photographs heavily feature Hetty's siblings Sari and Ibertus Magnus and their parents Roza and Noach Magnus. Wartime pictures show Herman and Hetty’s wedding, Herman at the Balderhaar work camp, and Bertie in hiding. Postwar photographs depict the reunited Herman, Hetty, and Bertie with Bertie’s younger sisters Rosecarrie and Miriam. They show Bertie in school; the family at beaches in Knokke, Zandvoort, and Noordwiyk; and the family’s immigration to the United States. Additional photographs depict Bertie’s rescuer Jane Gnirrep (whom she called Oma Schattepoes) and the Goslinski family’s immigration sponsors Hyman and Fanny Goslinski. The collection also includes the transcript of an interview with Joseph Kertesz, two Holocaust narratives titled Observations and findings of the Sobu-women and We Lack a Good Address, and a compiled List of Family Members Taken by the Nazis.
The Goslinski family papers are arranged as three series: Series 1: Biographical materials, 1940-2008 (bulk 1940-1953) Series 2: Photographs, circa 1900-2013 (bulk circa 1910-1953) Series 3: Writings, 1993-2016
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
box 1