Josef Prager

born 13 October 1909 in Kattowitz (Polish: Katowice)
died 1943 (?) in Auschwitz-Birkenau
historical former address Wallnertheaterstraße 28, Berlin
Stumbling stone Eisenbahnstraße 147, Fürstenwalde
Date of stone-laying 6 September 2017

Josef Prager was born into a Jewish family in Kattowitz (Polish: Katowice) on 13 October 1909. Together with his parents Eugen and Marie and his three older sisters, he moved around 1923 to Berlin, where the family ran a small restaurant on Holzmarktstraße near Alexander­platz in the district of Mitte.

After the death of Josef’s father in 1929, his mother supported the family on her own and continued to run the restaurant until it was forcibly expropriated by the authorities. “Jossel”, as Josef Prager was called by his family, helped out in the family business while training to become a mechanic. He was very musical and, even as a child, could play the violin very well.

In December 1938, he married Eva Storch from Fürstenwalde. The wedding was celebrated at the family restaurant. The young couple lived with Josef’s mother at Wallnertheaterstraße 28 in Berlin-Mitte. They regularly visited Eva’s parents in Fürstenwalde.

In June 1940, Josef was sent to do forced labour at Siemens-Schuckertwerke AG in Berlin-Siemensstadt. On 3 February 1943, Josef and his wife Eva were both deported on Transport No. 28 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, where they were murdered.

Family members:
Hilde Ruth Hurst née Storch (formerly Hirsch)
Werner Hurst (formerly Hirsch)
Eva Flora Prager née Storch
Heimann Storch
Rosa Storch née Behrendt