CFHS code : HT234
Parish : Holy Trinity
Inscription : In very dear MO our beloved eldest daughter and sister DOROTHEA LOEWENSTEIN b 28 May 1922 d 12 Apr 1941
Monument : Headstone
Above information from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Monument
The headstone is partially hidden under a bush but the inscription is still legible.
Inscription
In very dear memory of our beloved eldest daughter and sister
DOROTHEA LOEWENSTEIN born 28th May 1922 died 12th April 1941
Dorothea (Thea) Loewenstein (1922-1941)
Thea was born in Berlin, the eldest daughter of Ernst and Henrietta Loewenstein. Her father was a doctor and the family were Jewish, which was problematic once Hilter rose to power. Eventually Ernst managed to get Thea to England via the very first Kindertransport train and she arrived in Harwich on 2 December 1938. She stayed in a holding camp near Harwich for a few weeks before being sent via train to live with a Quaker woman in the North of England. On the train she met an elderly professor of Theology from Cambridge University named Professor Carnegie Simpson. With her school girl english, Thea spoke to the Professor of her worries for her family and he said to contact her if he could be of help. She took him up on his offer, once her father had been knocked down in the street by the Nazi ‘brown shirts’ and he offered to sponsor Ernst.
Eventually the rest of th family were able to move to England, but it was not until the late summer of 1939 that the whole family were able to reunite in Cambridge. Just a few weeks later on 1 September 1939, World War 2 broke out. Thea died aged 19 years old, of a weakened heart, caused by rheumatic heart disease from rheumatic fever/strep throat she had had aged 9 years.
Sources:
Ancestry
Parish burial records transcribed by CFHS
by Claire Martinsen
We are particularly grateful and thankful to Pastor Mark Lewis, nephew of Thea Loewenstein for his work in paying tribute to Thea. The story of her life is one of the most fascinating within the Cemetery, and was covered in a Newsletter Special FMRC Spring-summer 2024_newsletter_final (1). Please have a read to learn more of a truly extraordinary story of bravery.
[If you have any information about this person, please contact us at Friendsofmillroadcemetery@gmail.com]