Diary resurfaces, revealing German’s rescue of Jews in Japan
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Renate Quastler’s recently discovered diary revealed new details about her father, Ernst Quastler, and how German industrialist Willy Rudolf Foerster helped the family escape Nazi Germany for Japan in 1940.
Foerster, who ran a manufacturing business in Tokyo, employed Jewish refugees, secured their entry permissions, and even covered their travel costs with the help of the Tokyo Jewish Refugee Committee. Documents compiled by biographer Dr.
Clemens Jochem show Foerster actively opposed National Socialism and provided key positions within his company to those fleeing persecution. Foerster’s actions extended to assisting engineer Hugo Stern, a Jewish employee whose children were trapped in Vienna. Newly uncovered records from the Japanese Foreign Ministry document Foerster’s months-long effort to secure visas and bring Stern’s children to safety in Japan.
Despite evidence of his courage, Foerster was falsely classified as a Nazi by Allied occupation authorities after WWII, and his assets were confiscated. While some survivors testified on Foerster’s behalf, he received only minimal reparations. His granddaughter, Jesse Foerster, and Julie Quastler, Renate’s niece, are now working to have Foerster officially recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, aided by the resurfacing of Renate’s diary and further documentation of his actions.
