Charlotta Kaletta was a German lady most known for her association with Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist who hid with Anne Frank and her family during the Holocaust. Their link has received attention chiefly because of Fritz’s participation in the renowned “Secret Annex” where Anne Frank penned her diary, as well as the intricate social dynamics among the group of persons in hiding.
Early Life and Background
Charlotta Kaletta was born in Ilmenau, Germany, on October 19, 1910, and grew up in central Germany. She saw a turbulent time in European history, from the emergence of the Nazi government to the Second World War. Kaletta was not Jewish, therefore she was spared the immediate risks of Nazi takeover that her lover, Fritz Pfeffer, faced. Unlike Pfeffer, who fled to the Netherlands following the Nazi rise to power and then went into hiding, Kaletta remained in Berlin until the war made it impossible for her to remain safe in Germany.
Charlotta Kaletta’s Spouse: Fritz Pfeffer
Fritz Pfeffer, born on April 30, 1889, in Giessen, Germany, was a Jewish dentist who rose to prominence as one of the eight people sheltering in the Secret Annex during World War II, alongside Anne Frank. He married Charlotta Kaletta in 1937, but their union was cruelly cut short by the Holocaust. Fritz was previously married to Vera Bythiner, but their marriage terminated in 1933. As the Nazi regime’s persecution of Jews escalated, Fritz Pfeffer, like many others, sought safety in the Netherlands. He was compelled to hide with the Frank and Van Pels families, among others, and shared a tiny room with Anne Frank. In her journal, Anne referred to him as “Albert Dussel,” a term that indicated her displeasure with his frequently critical and worried conduct.
Fritz Pfeffer’s wife, Charlotta Kaletta, was profoundly impacted by the sad events of their life during the war. Although Charlotta did not accompany Fritz to the Secret Annex, she was a member of the greater Jewish diaspora that fled Nazi persecution. Fritz Pfeffer’s period in hiding ended tragically when he was captured in August 1944 and taken to many death camps, including Auschwitz, where he perished on December 20, 1944, in the Neuengamme prison camp. Charlotta Kaletta’s post-war fate is less well recorded, however she is believed to have lived. Fritz and Charlotta’s relationship was shaped by the harsh reality of wartime separation, and their love story, like so many others throughout the Holocaust, ended in sadness and tragedy.
Relationship With Fritz Pfeffer
Charlotta Kaletta first encountered Fritz Pfeffer in 1936, when she went to his Berlin office for dental work. Despite their substantial age gap (Kaletta was 26 and Pfeffer was 46 at the time), the two had a love connection. By 1937, the pair had grown closer and joined into a common-law marriage. However, the war and their eventual separation due to Nazi persecution would have a significant impact on their relationship.
Pfeffer, a Jew, escaped Germany during the tragic Kristallnacht in 1938 and sought asylum in the Netherlands. Kaletta, as a non-Jew, was allowed to stay in Berlin for some time. She did, however, confront her own obstacles as the war continued to disturb life throughout Europe. Kaletta would subsequently visit Fritz in the Netherlands and communicate with him via middlemen such as Miep Gies, one of the volunteers who assisted individuals in hiding.
Fritz Pfeffer’s Time In Hiding
Fritz Pfeffer went into hiding with Anne Frank, her family, and the Van Pels in 1942. He sought safety in the “Secret Annex,” a hidden attic location in Amsterdam, and quickly became an important member of the gang. The difficulties amongst those in hiding, especially Anne Frank and Pfeffer, have been widely chronicled. Anne Frank famously referred to him as “Albert Dussel” in her diary, a moniker she picked to reflect his irritable and often critical character.
Despite the challenges of living in such close quarters with so many people, Pfeffer maintained contact with Charlotta Kaletta during his time in hiding. He was able to send her letters with the assistance of Miep Gies, who accepted significant personal danger to deliver these communications. Others in the annex, however, were frustrated by this constant interaction, believing that continuing connection with someone outside their inner circle put them in risk.
Kaletta’s Visits and Continuous Support
Kaletta’s excursions to the Netherlands in the early years of the war exacerbate her importance in Pfeffer’s life. She initially paid him a visit in December 1938 and returned in March 1939. Her stay in the Netherlands was brief, but it allowed her to keep communication with Fritz. She also traveled to Brussels in mid-1939 to continue her support for him amidst a war raging across Europe.
Fritz and Charlotta were separated in 1940, as the war intensified and the situation became increasingly perilous for individuals with Jewish connections. Fritz was finally caught and transferred to Neuengamme detention camp, where he died in December 1944. Kaletta was left to grieve her partner’s untimely death. Despite the war’s separation, their relationship endured until his death.
Postwar Life and Marriage
Following the war, Kaletta’s life took a new turn. In the postwar years, she was confronted with the hard reality of a Europe recuperating from the destruction caused by the Holocaust. She finally married Fritz Pfeffer posthumously, when the war ended and the ban on marriages between Germans and Jews was abolished. They had no children together, although Kaletta had a son from a prior relationship, Werner Peter Pfeffer, who eventually immigrated to the United States during the war.
Kaletta stayed in Amsterdam following the war and died there on June 13, 1985, at the age of 74. Her life was defined by Fritz Pfeffer’s agonizing death and the larger tragedies of the Holocaust, but she also held the memories of a love tested by war’s atrocities.
Conclusion
Charlotta Kaletta’s life and connection with Fritz Pfeffer provide a unique perspective on the interconnected human histories that make up the greater Holocaust story. While Kaletta’s role in the history of Anne Frank and her family is not as well known as others in the “Secret Annex,” her love and support for Fritz Pfeffer, as well as her enduring connection to him, add an important dimension to the story of those who lived and died during this dark period in history.
