United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Ester Abel (1902-1988), originally of a small village in Lithuania referred to as Stojaziski, met August Moller (1899-1935), a Protestant who grew up in Bochum, Germany, through the socialist movement in Bochum. They married in 1926, and had two sons, Levi Willi (1927-2006) and Ruben Horst (1929-). The family lived in Bochum where August worked as an insurance broker. August died in 1935, and the family struggled financially. In December 1941, the brothers, with their mother, Ester, were deported to the Riga ghetto, where they lived from January 1942 until July 1943. They were then transferred, first to the Kaiserwald concentration camp, and then to work at Dünawerke. In May 1944, they were transferred to a work camp in Panevėžys, Lithuania and the Siauliai ghetto before going in June 1944 to the Stutthof concentration camp, where they were separated from their mother. In July 1944, the brothers were transferred again to a work commando operating out of the Kaufering concentration camp, where they worked until their final transfer to the Litoměřice subcamp of Flossenbürg. Upon returning to Bochum after liberation, they reunited with their mother. Ester and Ruben immigrated to the United States in 1948. Levi immigrated first to Israel, and later to the United States in 1957.
folder 1
The collection consists of one manuscript, 56 pages, entitled"A Brief History of the Moller Family During the Nazi Era, 1933-1945, and Beyond" written in 2006 by brothers Ruben H. Moller and Levi W. Moller. The manuscript details their childhood in Bochum, Germany, the death of their father August Moller in 1935, their and experiences on Kristallnacht. It also details their Holocaust experiences including their deportation to the Riga ghetto in December 1941, their transfer to Kaiserwald concentration camp in 1943, and subsequent transfers to Dünawerke, a work camp in Panevėžys, Lithuania, the Siauliai ghetto, the Stutthof concentration camp, the Kaufering concentration camp, and Litoměřice subcamp of Flossenbürg. The manuscript also discusses their post-war lives, including their immigration to the United States. Additionally, it includes copies of photographs and maps detailing their experiences.
"A Brief History of the Moller Family During the Nazi Era, 1933-1945, and Beyon"