Little is known about Bertha Becker’s life. Born in East Prussia, she lived in Berlin-Wedding. After her half-sister’s death, she inherited a house in Lindow, outside Neuruppin. The family ran an inn there with a grocery store.
Bertha Becker was related to the Jewish child Susanne Manasse. After the girl’s mother died and her father fled to Shanghai, Bertha Becker took over her care. In 1942 she was no longer officially allowed to foster Susanne Manasse, since she herself was not Jewish. However, she went on caring for her. From 1943 she hid Susanne Manasse in her shop for months. This brought her into contact with Susanne’s other helpers. Between 1943 and 1944, she also took in seven-year-old Susanne Collm for six months; she and her parents were living in hiding.
After the war, Bertha Becker remained in Lindow. All trace of her disappears from 1949.
Bertha Becker with Susanne Collm (left) and Susanne Manasse (right) outside her grocery store in Lindow near Neuruppin, 1943. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
