PvH War Grave Gerstner, Jewish Cemetery Sneek

Justin Gerstner 1921-1944 (in hiding)

Justin Gerstner was born on Feb. 5, 1921, in Ebelsbach, Germany. Because of increasing hatred of Jews, he fled from Nazi Germany to Enschede in 1934. An uncle of his lived there. In Enschede, he first went to work as an office clerk. Later, Justin must have lived in Amsterdam. Then he went into hiding in Ymswâlde, a hamlet below Tsjerkwerd. There he stayed with Bauke Buwalda and Sijke Baarda.

During a raid on October 31, 1944, Justin, who had the pseudonym Lytse Douwe, ran into the country. There he hid under the planks of a jetty. When the Germans left, he emerged from his hiding place too quickly. He was arrested, interrogated, mistreated and then shot to death in the meadow at 10:30 am. It is believed that Justin refused to say what his hiding address was.

By order of the then mayor of the municipality of Wymbritseradeel, he was initially buried in the Reformed Cemetery in Wolsum. Later his reburial took place at the Jewish Cemetery in Sneek.