In September I went to see Otto Weidt's workshop for the blind which has now been turned into a museum. Otto Weidt helped rescue and shelter countless Jews and Social Democrats who were persecuted by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945. One of the people he employed and helped was Inge Deutschkron, a Jewish Berliner School girl during the war. I had the pleasure of reading some of her amazing memoir before I went to the museum.
Here you can see the tables where many of the blind workers made brushes and a view from the window of the workshop. I'm sure it looks very different now then it did back then with street art and a hipster bar down below.
All Jews were forced to work in very harsh conditions during this time, but since these men and women were blind, they would have almost definitely been sent to the death camps. Instead Otto Weidt ensured that they could find work and protection in his shop and also bribed the SS to keep them from deporting the blind Jewish workers here. He helped network with Social Democrats and Nazi resistors to help as many people as possible. This network was very important for brining people into hiding and forging documents, immigration papers and work permits.
Here you can see the tables where many of the blind workers made brushes and a view from the window of the workshop. I'm sure it looks very different now then it did back then with street art and a hipster bar down below.
All Jews were forced to work in very harsh conditions during this time, but since these men and women were blind, they would have almost definitely been sent to the death camps. Instead Otto Weidt ensured that they could find work and protection in his shop and also bribed the SS to keep them from deporting the blind Jewish workers here. He helped network with Social Democrats and Nazi resistors to help as many people as possible. This network was very important for brining people into hiding and forging documents, immigration papers and work permits.
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