Ulrich A. Boschwitz

„And afterwards … well“

Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz was born in Berlin on April 19, 1915. His Jewish father Sally, born on August 15, 1882 in Filehne (today Greater Poland Voivodeship), had converted to Christianity and lived as a factory owner in Berlin[1] Stolperstein biography Martha Ella Boschwitz, retrieved Feb 25, 2025.. Ulrich’s mother Martha Ella Wolgast was born on November 22, 1886 in Langenfelde in the Pinneberg district as the fourth child in a Protestant family of doctors; her mother came from the Plitt family of merchants in Lübeck. Martha studied painting and art history in Berlin and Munich.

Sally and Martha[2] Marriage entry, registry offica Berlin no. 32 fron January 12, 1911, via ancestry.de. were married in Berlin on January 12, 1911. Their first child was Clarissa[3] Stolperstein biography Clarissa Boschwitz, retrieved Feb 25, 2025., born on September 25, 1911. Sally died[4] Registry office Berlin, entry no. 1037 from May 8, 1915, via ancestry.de. of a brain tumor on 7 May 1915 at the age of 32. Ulrich grew up without a father. His mother Martha not only took on the duties of head of the family.

In the Berlin telephone directory of 1918, she was listed as a “factory owner” with an address in the eastern suburb of Karow, Spinolastraße 2[5] White pages Berlin 1918, page 139, via ancestry.de.. This was apparently a private address. The company Boschwitz & Co.[6] „Adreßbuch der Chemisch-technischen, Pharmazeutischen und Kosmetischen Industrie 1921“, page 11, via ancestry.de. was listed in a business directory from 1921. “Inh. Mrs. Martha Boschwitz” traded in “1. carbolineum, 2. heating oil, 3. tar products”. The address, Potsdamer Strasse 134b[7] See Wikipedia about the Berlin postal districts from 1862 to 1920 (German), retrieved March 25, 2025. Poet an novelist Theodor Fontane lived in the neighboring house 134c from 1872 until his death in 1898. The houses at no. 134 were renumbered to no. 15 in 1938. The buildings were destroyed during the war; retrieved March 26, 2025., Berlin W9, located the company in the center of the capital, in the immediate vicinity of today’s Potsdamer Platz area.

It is not known when Martha and the children moved into Hohenzollerndamm No. 81[8] Stolpersteine Berlin Hohenzollerndamm 81, retrieved Feb 25, 2025. in the Wilmersdorf district. The house in the then upper middle-class area of West Berlin belonged to Sally’s brother Eli, who also lived there with his wife Luci.

Christian education

According to the reports of her mother Clarissa[9] Ibid., her granddaughter Reuella described Martha as a dominant personality with a deeply rooted social streak. Martha, a Protestant, raised Clarissa and Ulrich in the same way. She awakened the siblings’ interest in both artistic pursuits and social responsibility. Martha set a good example: she took unmarried pregnant women out of the socially marginalized world of illegitimate motherhood and provided them with an income as domestic help. In the company, she paid the wages to the women or mothers. She wanted to ensure that the money reached the family instead of being spent on alcohol in the nearest pub.

 The children found out about their deceased father’s Jewish faith[10] Speech of Reuella Shachaf nee Boschwitz on the occasion of the laying of the Stolpersteine on July  13, 2019, presented by her daughter Esther Shachaf-Friedman, retrieved Feb 20, 2025. behind their mother’s back through a domestic servant. In accordance with the Nazis’ anti-Semitic policies, Clarissa and Ulrich were therefore considered “half-Jews” or “half-breeds of the first degree” because of two Jewish grandfathers on their father’s side. They therefore had to reckon with racial persecution by the Nazis.

Clarissa had already fled in 1933. Ulrich was to be drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1935. This and the Nazi murder of Martha’s older brother Alexander[11] Stolpersteine Berlin Hohenzollerndamm 81, loc.cit. were the immediate triggers for Martha and Ulrich to flee. Dr. Alexander Wolgast[12] Cf. Kirchenbuch Pampow, Mecklenburg and phonebook entries Essen for Dr. Alexander Wolgast from 1913 to 1939, via ancestry.de, retrieved Feb 27, 2025. (*11 April 1876), a lawyer in Essen, described the racist “Nuremberg Laws[13] Wikipedia about the Nuremberg laws, retrieved 25 March, 2025.” passed on 1 April 1935 as ineffective, with which the Nazis condemned Jewish and other people they considered undesirable to the sidelines of society. In response, he was murdered in the street, the family reports.

The three probably traveled on to England together; Martha had distant relatives there. Helene Schain’s entry was documented for May 15, 1938; the same source notes Martha’s registration[19] Entries Helene Schain loc.cit and Martha Boschwitz, dention list Camp Rushen, Isle of Man Museum, retrieved March 15, 2025. in England on August 15, 1938. It was there that she received the news of the pogroms in Germany on November 9 and 10, 1938.

Ulrich Boschwitz continued working on “The Passenger” in London. He put his feelings on paper: the despair that racism had prevailed and how it had done so, the horror at the social indifference shown to the Jews, the betrayal of friends, the loss of home. And: being on the road without really understanding why and certainly not knowing where the journey will lead. Boschwitz was able to publish the book, again as John Grane, in English under the title “The Passenger”.

In September 1939, Martha, Helene and Ulrich were living at 17 Primrose Hill Road[20] Census survey of Sep 29, 1939, via ancestry.de. in the London district of Hampstead. Martha and Helene gave their occupation as painter. Helene was also listed in the Home Office register as a secretary and Martha Boschwitz as her employer.

An “inspiring” children’s book

Ulrich wrote the story for children “Winter Tail[21] Speech by Reuella Shachaf, loc. cit.”, which Martha illustrated. An article in the British newspaper “The Guardian” claims that this work was created on the Isle of Man under the title “Winter’s Birthday: A Fairy Tale”. This seems unlikely, as Ulrich and Martha were housed in different camps. It can hardly be assumed that they had the “outlet” required for such a collaboration. In addition, Ulrich’s detention there was certainly too short for such a task: his release from internment dates from June 21, 1940, and his arrest was certainly not immediate. Ulrich Boschwitz left England on board the Dunera as early as July 10. The transportation time from London to the Isle of Man and from there to Liverpool must be deducted from this period.

“The Guardian[22] Jonathan Freedland, „King Winter’s Birthday“ illustrated by Emily Sutton, published by Pushkin Press, 2024. The author had been „inspired by a story from Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, the author of The Passenger", advertised the publisher. Retrieved April 8, 2025.” advertised the children’s book “King Winter’s Birthday”. Its author Jonathan Freedland wrote about his reading of Boschwitz’s text, among other things: “The original handwritten manuscript, complete with graphics added by Ulrich’s mother, had lain undisturbed in a New York archive for eight long decades.” Freedland[23] Jonathan Freedland, „How I brought a Jewish wartime refugee’s lost fairytale back to life“, in „The Guardian“ online, Nov 30, 2024, retrieved March 15, 2025. explained why reading Ulrich’s work was unsuitable for today’s children. However, it had “inspired[24] Advertising by the publisher aao.” him to write his book, which was sold in the Guardian store and elsewhere.

Internment and deportation

On October 12, 1939, the British tribunal classified Ulrich in category “C”[25] Home Office, file card Ulrich Boschwitz, via ancestrya.de. and thus freed him from internment and restrictions. The fear of foreigners stirred up by the British fascists and the fear of invasion prompted Winston Churchill’s government to decide to imprison all “enemy aliens”. This was done regardless of whether they were in category “A” as Nazis, in ‘B’ as suspected of Nazi sympathies or in “C” as refugees persecuted on racial or political grounds. When the decision was changed on June 21, 1940, Ulrich and thousands of emigrants were declared enemies of Britain.

Martha[26] Detention list Camp Rushen loc.cit. and her friend Helene[27] Detention list Camp Rushen loc.cit. were interned in the Rushen Camp for women and children on the southern tip of the island, the personal property of the royal family, from May 30 and July 18, 1940 respectively. Helene, who was classified as a Nazi by the tribunal under “A”, was imprisoned there until May 2, 1945. No exact date is given for Martha’s release in 1945.

Ulrich Boschwitz was initially taken to one of the hastily set up camps for men on the Isle of Man. On July 10, 1940, he was brought to HMT Dunera with around 2,500 German and Austrian refugees as well as Italians and prisoners of war and was first frisked as a welcome measure.

On the HMT Dunera

The internees were systematically robbed and tortured by the guards under the supervision of the officers. Important documents, including visas for third countries, were destroyed. Everything but a jacket and a cigarette case was taken from him, Boschwitz later complained. Above all, a novel manuscript was stolen from him during the crossing. He demanded compensation of 700 pounds from the British government for lost royalties. “16 individual claims for manuscripts[28] Julian Layton to Dominions Office, London. Secret telegram from May 8, 1941. National Archives of Australia, NAA_ItemNumber216013, page 116, Retrieved March 15, 2025., patents etc. total 5,750 pounds,” Julian Layton[29] Wikipedia on Julian David Layton (19041989), born as Loewenstein. He was commissioned by the British government to wind down the Australian internment camps, retrieved March 15, 2025. reported to England. 1,600 Dunera internees had demanded a total of 32,500 pounds in compensation. The British bureaucracy spent months discussing how these expenses could be reduced. Claims up to 10 pounds were generously paid out in full; for higher claims, 10 pounds plus 2/3 of the claims exceeding this amount were paid. “It is not desirable for this formula to be communicated”, the London austerity bureaucrats remarked.

It took two months of torturous transportation by ship before the Dunera finally reached its destination in Sydney. The internees were taken by train to the final destination of Hay in the north-west of the state of New South Wales. He was housed in Camp 7, Hut 36[30] Files of the Official Visitor Sir Frederick Jordan, October 1940, page 36, NAA_ItemNumber390299.. Months later, the internees were transferred to Tatura in the state of Victoria. In both places, they were locked up in hut camps behind three rows of barbed wire like prisoners of war.

The sinking of the Arandora Star alone brought Churchill’s migrant campaign under critical crossfire, including in Parliament. The political line was already changed in the summer of 1940, while the Dunera was still at sea. But Australia refused – also for racist reasons – to grant internees permanent residence after their release. Australia had insisted that all internees had to be brought to England before they could be released. This did not only apply to the volunteers who enlisted in British pioneer troops from the spring of 1941. The internees who had papers to travel to third countries were also sent to England via the endangered transportation routes. For example, Sigmund Berger was allowed to meet his daughter briefly in New York during a stopover of his transport; however, despite his visa, he was not allowed to leave the Waroonga[31] Waroonga torppedoed on her way from New York via Cuba to England an sunk. Berger was one of the victims..

Death on the Abosso

Ulrich Boschwitz was one of a group of 36 Germans and Austrians and seven Italians who were sent on the Westernland[32] Westernland hat a German Jewish history. in August 1942 with the destination “United Kingdom”. Why they had to disembark in Cape Town remains unknown. Their journey did not continue until October 10 on the MV Abosso. Due to the low cruising speed of a maximum of only 15 knots, the ship should actually have sailed in a convoy for safety reasons. The British refusal was fatal for 361 people.

On October 29, 1942, the Abosso, with 392 people on board, was attacked with four torpedoes by the German submarine U-575 about 1,100 kilometers northwest of the Azores Islands. The ship was hit and sank after being shot. 36 hours later, 31 people were rescued, including one of the Italian internees. Ulrich Boschwitz also remained at sea. The British Home Office prohibited public announcements[33] Secret telegram from Dec 8, 1942. NAA loc.cit, page 159. about the sinking.

„The Passenger“ on stage

The great interest shown by the theater scene in “The Passenger” is as gratifying as it is surprising. The first performances took place at the end of 2019. Some productions will still be shown in 2025.

The first adaptation of “The Passenger”, directed by Manon Pfrunder and starring Klaus Brömmelmeier, Vera Flück, Matthias Neukirch and Nicolas Batthyany, was shown at Schauspielhaus Zürich in 2019. Press photo: Raphael Hadad / Schauspielhaus Zürich.

Kathrin Mädler’s production premiered at the Staatstheater Schwaben in November 2019. The actors Klaus Philipp, Agnes Decker, David Lau, Tobias Loth, Franziska Roth and André Stuchlik also made guest appearances at Theater Gütersloh. Press photo: Monika Forster / Staatstheater Schwaben.

An immersive audio installation by the artist collective Auricle (Berlin/London) was presented in Berlin in 2023, with the audience taking their seats in an improvised scene. Press photo Koen Jacobs, CC BY-ND 2.0.

Manuel Krstanovic plays Silbermann at tri-Bühne Stuttgart. The adaption premiered June 2024, but is played in 2025. Press photo: Laura Kifferle.

Schauspiel Essen premiered „The Passenger“ September 2024 at Grillo-Theater. The adaptation and production by Hakan Savas Mican will be shown again on June 15, 2025. Mathias Znidarec plays Otto Silbermann. Press photo: Birgit Hupfeld.

Actress Almut Zilcher presented a reading of „The Passenger“ at the Deutsches Theater Berlin. Press photo: Teresa Mundlová / Deutsches Theater.

Mirko Böttcher wrote an directs the version for Kleines Theater Berlin, which premiered April and May 2025. Press photo: Jörn Hartmann.

Martha

Ulrich’s mother Martha was only released from internment on the Isle of Man at the end of the war. She remained in England and worked as a painter. One episode is documented: in 1948, she dedicated the poem “The Lily” to Princess Elizabeth on the occasion of the birth of her son Charles[37] Charles was born an Nov 14, 1948. Since May 6, 2023 he is King Charles III.. She apparently signed it with her maiden name Wolgast. Because she did not dare to do so herself, Martha’s old friend Paula Helene Schain sent the poem to the royal family. They informed her that Elisabeth would accept it. A report by the news agency Reuters about the episode made headlines as far away as Australia[38] Cf. The Kalgoorlie Miner on Dec 27, 1948 page 5 and The Westaustralian on Dec 23, 1948 page 18 via National Library of Australia, newspapager archives, Australiens, retrieved Feb 25, 2025..

As the family reported, Martha Boschwitz lived alone in London after her release from the Isle of Man, “heartbroken and always sickly as a result of her son’s tragic fate”. She “buried herself completely in her grief for Ulrich Alexander. She painted a portrait of him and sent it to her daughter Clarissa in Israel. It still hangs there today in the living room of Martha’s granddaughter Reuella and reminds her descendants of an uncle and great-uncle whom she was never able to meet in person, but who is nevertheless a very important and very present member of the family[39] Speech by Reuella Shachaf loc. cit..”

Martha Boschwitz[40] Stolperstein biography Martha Ella Boschwitz loc.cit. died in London on July 18, 1959.

Clarissa

Thanks to her mother Martha’s upbringing, Clarissa[41] Cf. Speech of Reuella Shachaf loc.cit. was both artistically and socially engaged. She often played the organ for church services at the Kreuzkirche on Hohenzollerndamm diagonally opposite the apartment. In her profession as a social worker, she taught children in an orphanage whose families suffered from syphilis.

The circumstances under which the Nazis publicly elevated the blonde-haired beauty to the status of a “typical Aryan” young woman in 1933 remain unknown. What is clear, however, is that Clarissa had the courage not to allow herself to be taken in and to acknowledge the Jewish part of her family. As a result, she lived illegally in Berlin for a while so as not to endanger the family.

She probably escaped Nazi persecution to Palestine in 1933. There she converted to the Jewish faith and got married. The marriage, which produced their daughter Esther, ended in divorce in 1940. Clarissa now worked as a teacher in her kibbutz. In 1942, she married her colleague Itzchak Salzberg. Their daughter Reuella was born in 1943 and their son Doron in 1948.

Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz died at sea at the age of just 27. His novels “Menschen neben dem Leben” and “Der Reisende”, written while on the run from the Nazis and in the hope of finding a “safe haven”, were only published in German in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Several publishers had refused to publish them long beforehand, although none other than Literature Nobel Prize winner German writer Heinrich Böll[43] Peter Graf, epilogue to „Der Reisende“, published by Klett-Cotta 2018, ISBN 978-3-608-98154-4. had campaigned for them.

Boschwitz’s discoverer and publisher Peter Graf sees “Menschen neben dem Leben” as a literary counterpart[44] Peter Graf, epilogue to „Menschen neben dem Leben“, published by Klett-Cotta 2019, ISBN 978-3-608-98473-6. to Walter Ruttmann’s long documentary film “Menschen am Sonntag” (1927). He emphasizes the autobiographical and family biographical features of “The Passenger”. “Ulrich Boschwitz, it seems, must write against powerlessness and bear literary witness to the crimes that are taking place in Germany and Austria and to which the world community is so frighteningly indifferent or at least passive.”

A poem[45] Peter Graf, epilogue to „Der Reisende“ loc.cit. Word-oriented translation from Germa by Peter Dehn. that Peter Graf found in his estate shows that Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz retained his optimism despite all the horrors he described in his two novels and which he himself had to endure:

Only those who hope can go on living,

because those who see nothing ahead of them,

have already given up the spirit

before he moves on.