Berlin
Irene Hasenberg, affectionately known as Reni to her family and friends, was born in Berlin on December 11, 1930. She grew up there with her parents, her brother Werner, and her extended family. Following the Nazis’ rise to power in 1933, the family increasingly experienced antisemitism.
Escape from Nazi Germany
When the Nazis confiscated her parents’ family business, her father decided to bring the family to safety. He found a job and moved to Amsterdam in June 1937. His family followed him in January 1938. They were not alone. Other Jews had also fled Germany, including the Frank family, and sought refuge in the Netherlands, many of them in Amsterdam. Irene knew Anne Frank and later said of her: “Anne was two years older than I was, but we had mutual friends, and I knew her well enough to look up to her. She was very popular and mischievous.”
Bergen-Belsen
Following the German occupation in 1940, the rights and freedoms of Jewish people in the Netherlands were increasingly restricted. In 1943, the Hasenberg family was deported to the Westerbork transit camp and, in February 1944, to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Anne and her sister Margot also arrived there in November 1944. At Bergen-Belsen, the family was selected for a prisoner exchange. The day before their departure, Irene’s father, already weakened by the appalling conditions in the camp and forced labor, was severely beaten. He died during the train journey to Switzerland. Because her mother and brother needed to recover in a Swiss hospital, Irene had to make the journey overseas to South America alone. It was not until late 1945 that she was able to continue on to join family in the United States, where she was also reunited with her mother and brother.
After the War
Irene built a new life in the United States. She earned a Ph.D. in economics, became a professor, married, and had two children. For many years, she rarely spoke about her wartime experiences. Later, she decided to share her story, first with her daughter’s class and subsequently with many others, including countless schoolchildren. Irene believed that engagement was the only way to prevent history from repeating itself. “When people see things that are wrong and unjust, they have to speak up.” She believed in not standing on the sidelines. Only by speaking out and taking action could history perhaps be prevented from repeating itself.
In 2024, Irene was awarded the German Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz). In 2025, the Embassy of the Netherlands in the United States honored her with the Anne Frank Award, an award recognizing Americans who work to combat intolerance.
In 2023, Irene visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, where she shared her moving story with us. We will cherish our memories of Irene and extend our deepest condolences to her children, grandchildren, and all those who loved her.