Eduard and Alexander Hornemann
Eduard and Alexander Hornemann, two brothers from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, were known as Edo and Lexje.
Edo was born on January 1, 1933, and Lexje on May 31, 1936.
Edo was twelve years old, and his younger brother, Lexje, was only eight, when the SS Obersturmfuhrer Strippel had them hanged in the Bullenhuser Damm’s cellar.
Their father, Philip Hornemann, worked as a buyer at Philips and was known as Flip.
After the Wehrmacht invaded the Netherlands, he was forced to work in the SOBU (Special Development department) that Philips had set up for Jews. Many Jews believed they were safe from deportation there.
However, on August 18, 1943, German troops surrounded the SOBU in Eindhoven. 3000 Jews were deported to the Vught concentration camp near 's-Hertogenbosch, where a separate Philips factory was established to manufacture measuring devices for the Wehrmacht.
Wives and children were to follow voluntarily, with Philips guaranteeing their safety.
Although many people urged Elisabeth Hornemann, the mother of Edo and Lexje, to stay in hiding, she wrote a note to her sister Ans:
'The Philips people have talked me into it. Apparently, I'm the only one who doesn't want to go. So, I will now be strong and go. But I'll come back.'
Elisabeth never came back.
On June 3, 1944, the Hornemann family was deported to Auschwitz, where Elisabeth died of typhoid. Her husband, Philip, froze to death on February 21, 1945, in an open freight wagon near Sachsenhausen.
Elisabeth Hornemann's siblings, Jo Doctors and Ans van Staveren, survived.
Ans remained in hiding until the Netherlands were liberated.
For a long time, Ans held onto the hope that her two nephews, Eduard and Alexander, would one day return.
In Eindhoven, there is now Hornemann Brothers Park, a monument to Edo and Lexje, as well as a museum.
In Hamburg-Burgwedel, a street has been named Brüder-Hornemann-Straße in their honor.