AHC interview with Leo Dortort.

March 3 and 4, 2018Interview Part 10:00:27-0:09:43, 0:23:53-0:26:05 Childhood and school years in Graz and how it was impacted by the “Anschluss”0:09:48-0:16:50, 0:26:13-0:34:45 Growing anti-Semitism from 1937 on, anti-Semitic laws forcing the family to move0:16:50-00:23:50 Parental home and parents’ stores0:34:51-0:37:16 Fear of revealing information about uncles Simon Josefsberg and Markus Körner0:39:54-0:46:44 November pogrom and arrest of father Franz Dortort0:46:47-0:49:33 Rabbi David Herzog0:49:35-0:53:24 Father’s return from Dachau0:53:30-1:01:12 Sending boxes with property to uncle Louis Dortort in France1:01:15-1:11:29 Escaping to Maribor and to Leskovac on March 12, 1939 with his parents and two uncles (Arnold and Isidor)1:11:34-1:24:22 Staying in Leskovac, Zagreb and Fužine, conditions for refugees in Yugoslavia1:24:23-1:44:07 Joining the Kladovo Transport, talking about the book “Gescheiterte Flucht” by Gabriele Anderl and Walter Manoschek1:44:12-1:52:47 Leaving the Kladovo Transport to Šabac, integration into the local community1:52:53-2:07:03 Opportunity and decision to go to Palestine in spring 1941, coming to Haifa via Sarajevo, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Aleppo and Beirut2:07:10-2:10:37 German bombings in Haifa2:11:16-2:16:15, 2:20:50-2:29:41 Schooling at the “Kinderheim Ahawah” in Kiryat Bialik2:17:06-2:20:50, 2:29:43-2:33:07, 2:34:35-2:38:33, 3:09:11-3:18:21 Training camp and service for the paramilitary police in Afula in 1946, Israeli war of independence, Zionism2:40:16-2:46:30 Contact with sister Blanka Dortort and other family members2:50:44-3:00:56 Parents Anna (née Körner) and Franz Dortort killed by the Nazis3:03:30-3:05:43 Partisans, Serbia’s politics during WW II3:05:43-3:09:09 Studying political science and other courses at university3:18:23-3:19:21 Aftermath of the Shoah and its impact on him3:19:24-3:26:05 News coverage during WW II, joint guilt of many countries3:26:08-3:33:25 Connection to Austria today, keeping in touch with his cousin Leo Josefsberg3:33:28-3:43:34 Decisions to go back to Graz and to emigrate to Canada3:43:36-3:54:33, 3:58:25-4:06:05, 4:15:24-4:17:26 Graz in the post-WW II-era, Austrian way of dealing with the Nazi-past3:54:33-3:58:23 Difficulties with residence status in Graz and Paris, Israeli citizenship4:06:05-4:07:47 “Anschluss” and marching in of German troops into Graz4:07:47-4:10:28 Maid Hermine4:10:31-4:15:22 Decision to emigrate to CanadaInterview Part 20:00:20-0:12:00, 0:13:03-0:15:33 Religious life in Graz and how it changed under the Nazi regime0:15:56-0:18:33, 0:20:25-0:21:24 Paternal and maternal family, parents (Anna Körner and Franz Dortort) moving from Budapest to Graz0:18:33-0:20:25 Languages spoken in the family0:23:08-0:25:19 Death of grandmother Fanny (née Rand) Körner0:28:15-0:33:56 Family’s attitude towards Zionism, Jewish and Austrian identity0:37:38-0:40:29 Family members in Berlin, great-grandfather David Schlomo Dortort0:40:32-0:45:45 Decision to go to Palestine, situation for refugees in Yugoslavia0:46:07-0:48:31 Thoughts on remembering and forgetting0:48:38-0:57:06 Arrival and first job in Canada0:57:06-1:05:24, 1:08:11-1:13:51 Emigrant community and Jewish life in Montréal, first places of residence1:05:26-1:07:46 Coming to Montréal from Bremerhaven via St. Jones (Brunswick)1:13:51-1:21:28, 1:33:51-1:37:43 Further career in Canada and the United States1:21:32-1:33:50, 1:37:47-1:44:01 Jewish Community, high society and film industry in Hollywood1:44:06-1:57:30 Moving back to Montréal, marriage and divorce with Aida Co, working for a food company’s industrial division1:57:34-2:14:29 Children (Francis Eytan Dortort and Ariel David Dortort) and their interest in Austrian background2:14:29-2:17:53 Visits to Graz and thoughts of going back2:17:59-2:34:12 Visits to Israel, Yad Vashem, Israeli politics2:34:11-2:38:13 School years in Kiryat Bialik and Graz, German language2:38:58-2:54:39, 2:55:26-2:56:10 Holocaust-commemoration and his personal involvement2:59:26-3:05:01 Austrian politics, refugee crisisLeo Dortort was born on September 18, 1928 in Graz, Austria, where he and his sister Blanka grew up with their parents Anna (née Körner) and Franz Dortort. The parents, who both had moved from Hungary to Graz after WW I, ran a haberdashery and a confectionary store. Leo went to the Jewish elementary school, and the family was highly active in the Jewish community. After the “Anschluss” their store was liquidated, and the family was forced to move to a group apartment for Jews. During the November pogrom of 1938 Leo’s father was arrested and sent to Dachau. After approximately two months he was released, signing that he will leave the country within the next three months.Together with his parents and two uncles (Arnold and Isidor Körner) Leo escaped to Yugoslavia on March 12, 1939. In 1940 the family joined the Kladovo Transport to Palestine. In spring 1941, as the transport was stuck in the port of Šabac, Leo seized the opportunity to go to Palestine by land. Both of his parents were murdered by the Nazis, who caught the transport.In Palestine, he reunited with his sister Blanka, who had already gone there on November 2, 1938. He stayed in Kiryat Bialik where he was schooled at the children’s home “Ahawah”. In 1946 he joined the paramilitary police in Afula and later became a Non Commission Officer for the Haganah, fighting in the Israeli war of Independence.In 1950 Leo Dortort went back to Graz for restitution matters and then emigrated to Canada in 1954. In Montréal, he started working as a travelling salesman for multiple optic companies and continued this job in the United States. He returned to Montréal in the early 1980s, where he started a new job and married Aida Co. After their divorce he became a single parent of his two sons Francis Eytan and Ariel David Dortort. He eventually settled in Côte-Saint-Luc, Quebec.Austrian Heritage Collectio

AHC interview with Lotte Bailyn.

January 16, 20180:00:16-0:11:33 Biographical overview0:11:35-0:15:54 Paternal grandparents; grandmother Sofie Lazarsfeld0:15:56-0:18:40 Maternal family0:18:41-0:19:42 Role of music in the family; Hitler at a family member’s chamber music event0:20:13-0:22:59 Parental home0:23:03-0:23:58 Popularity of parents0:23:58-0:25:47, 1:07:51-1:08:54, 1:10:58-1:14:41 Connection to and thoughts on Austria0:26:22-0:27:58 Childhood / memories of political events0:29:55-0:34:01, 1:06:48-1:07:50 Role of religion and experiences of anti-Semitism0:34:01-0:36:12 Other family members’ emigration0:37:51-0:42:35 Emigration and arriving in the United States0:42:36-0:44:18 New York0:44:19-0:48:49 Relationship with father and step-mother0:50:57-0:52:34 Awareness of war-events0:52:46-0:59:07 Contact with family members0:59:07-1:01:09 Organizing the funeral of Marie Deutsch-Kramer, née Herzmansky in Vienna1:01:38-1:04:40 McCarthy era1:04:55-1:06:42 Attitude towards Zionism1:08:59-1:10:58 Restitution1:14:43-1:18:00 Thoughts on current political situation / refugee crisis1:18:07-1:21:18 Children’s and grandchildren’s interest in Austrian backgroundLotte Bailyn, née Lazarsfeld was born on July 17, 1930 in Vienna, Austria, the only child of Marie Jahoda and Paul F. Lazarsfeld, who were well-known social scientists and social democrats; the couple divorced in 1934. Lotte Bailyn mainly grew up with her mother and maternal grandmother Betty Jahoda, née Probst; her father lived in the United States since 1933. Lotte went to the first grade of Montessori school in Vienna. When her mother was arrested in 1936 due to her socialist activities, Lotte was taken care of by her grandmother. When her mother was released from prison, they had to emigrate. While Marie Jahoda went to England, Lotte was picked up by her father and went with him to New York via Calais, to live there with him and her stepmother, Herta Herzog. Lotte went to school in New York until she went to Swarthmore College where she majored in mathematics. Then she studied social sciences at Harvard graduate school and earned her PhD in 1956. After working on a project at Sloan school of management at MIT, she taught management there since 1971, moving ahead as an associate professor without tenure, a full professor and finally Professor Emerita. - She married the historian Bernard Bailyn and the couple had two children.Austrian Heritage Collectio

AHC interview Erich L. Lilian.

May 8, 20180:00:16-0:08:32 Childhood and anti-Semitism in Klagenfurt, moving to Vienna in 19380:08:35-0:13:34 Vienna 1938-1939, Uncle Max Glaser0:13:43-0:16:30 Arrest of father Sigmund Lilian and uncles Max and Joseph Glaser; decision to emigrate0:16:32-0:18:58 Help from the wife of his uncle Heinrich Glaser0:19:07-0:25:09 Klagenfurt0:25:13-0:30:30 Situation for Jews before the “Anschluss”, rise of Nazism and politics after the “Anschluss”0:30:21-0:35:12 Escaping to Cologne and further to Antwerp0:35:12-0:40:48 Going to England with his mother, living with the Oster-family in London; “Blitz”0:41:15-0:44:36 Staying in contact with the Oster-family after WW II0:44:36-0:59:50 Isle of Man, Internment in London during the “Blitz”0:59:50-1:02:18 Story of father Sigmund Lilian1:02:18-1:11:47 Preparing for the emigration to the United States1:13:23-1:20:10 First impressions of New York and Philadelphia, school in Philadelphia1:20:14-1:24:27 Reunion with father Sigmund Lilian, moving to Washington DC1:24:24-1:29:45 Teacher’s college at Temple University, start of his professional career1:29:45-1:36:02, 1:46:05-1:49:55 First wife Judy, children Michael and Randy1:36:02-1:37:57 Maternal grandparents; Theresienstadt1:39:47-1:45:56 Deportation of family members; the Holocaust in the family’s memory1:50:04-1:59:49 Law School, becoming a judge at the municipal court in Philadelphia2:02:39-2:07:21 Daughter Randy’s and wife Marlene’s perspective on his life2:10:51-2:16:46 Paternal grandparents; paternal family in Israel2:16:48-2:17:47 Maternal family2:17:47-2:22:30 Memories of his parents and Klagenfurt2:22:30-2:25:03 Jewish community in Klagenfurt, religion2:28:22-2:35:30 Family’s attitude on politics and Zionism, anti-Semitism and political event before the “Anschluss”2:40:04-2:43:05 Contact with his father during the time of their separation2:43:56-2:46:56, 2:49:22-2:54:31 News coverage in the United States on events during WW II2:47:02-2:49:17 Father’s career in the United States2:54:33-2:56:33 Dealing with Nazi-past in Austria, restitution payments2:56:34-3:05:10 Political situation in Austria today, visiting Austria in 19853:05:12-3:08:30 Speaking German, Austrian citizenship3:08:46-3:10:43 Israel3:10:46-3:13:18 Religion3:13:19-3:16:56, 3:17:54-3:20:15 Current political situation in the United States, liberalismErich L. Lilian was born on June 20, 1930 in Klagenfurt, Austria, where he grew up as the only child of Gisela (née Glaser) and Sigmund Lilian, who owned a dry good store. Due to rising anti-Semitism, the family left for Vienna after the “Anschluss”, where they stayed with his maternal grandparents. At the end of 1938 they escaped to Antwerp in Belgium. In 1939 he went to England with his mother, who was able to get a job as a housekeeper for a middle-class family in London. During the “Blitz” they were evacuated to Bognor Regis and shortly after that, Erich and his mother were interned at the Isle of Man. After their release, the “Blitz” was still going on, and they were interned again in London. In 1940 they emigrated to the United States on the ship ‘Coronia’ that was part of a convoy from Liverpool to New York, where his mother was trained to work in a textile factory. Afterwards they moved to Philadelphia, where she started working and Erich went to school. His father reunited with them after the war, and the family moved to Washington DC. Back in Philadelphia Erich started to study in 1948 at the teacher’s college at Temple University. He founded a family and worked as a teacher for a several years. In 1959 he started to study law at the same university and eventually became a judge at the municipal court in Philadelphia. He has two children - Michael and Randy – and settled in Rydal, Pa. with his second wife Marlene.Austrian Heritage Collectio

AHC interview with Edith Lowy.

Part 1:0:00:19 - 0:05:05; 1:08:18-1:09:09 Growing up in Vienna before the "Anschluss"0:04:54-0:07:01; 1:17:17-1:19:07; 1:21:30-1:23:56; 2:08:32-2:10:29 Impacts of antisemitism after the "Anschluss"0:07:01-0:15:57; 1:28:42-1:29:27 Memories of her father and his deportation to Nisko in 19390:15:59-0:21:08; 1:29:30-1:31:34 Deportation to the concentration camp Theresienstadt in October 1942, arrival and conditions there0:21:10-0:22:40; 1:35:25-1:37:09 Deportation to the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in May 1944 and further to the concentration camp Stutthof0:22:44-0:27:27 Forced labor on a farm for harvest0:27:23-0:29:45 Getting back to Stutthof in winter 1945, forced to dig trenches0:29:46-0:34:34; 1:44:40-1:49:48 Death march in January 1945 and being sent to the Danzig-Burggraben concentration camp0:34:35-0:39:51 Memories of the Russians and the liberation0:39:52-0:46:03; 1:53:48-1:56:06; 2:07:16-2:08:31 Going back to Vienna and then to the DP camp in Deggendorf after the war0:46:07 -0:48:15; 2:11:20-2:19:01 Emigration process to the USA in May 19460:48:28-0:06:18; 0:59:43-1:02:26 Professional life of herself and her husband Louis Lowy in the USA0:56:19-0:59:43 Visits to Vienna1:02:43-1:06:30; 1:31:35-1:35:22 Memories of her grandparents Emanuel Jedlinsky (paternal grandfather) and Jeanette Rosalie Kempler (maternal grandmother), who survived Theresienstadt1:06:38-1:08:11 Father's and mother's professional life1:09:15-1:16:06 Role of religion1:19:32-1:21:29 Leo Baeck in Theresienstadt1:24:20-1:26:01 Kristallnacht and aftermath: a "gradual descent into hell"1:26:02-1:27:51; 1:37:11-1:38:28 Reflections on the way of coping with her own history1:38:33-1:43:56 Memories of her mother and the importance of staying together with her during the Holocaust1:49:52-1:51:58 Awareness of the Shoah1:55:05-2:03:12 Memories of her husband, Louis Lowy2:03:13-2:07:08 Visit to Theresienstadt2:19:01-2:21:35 Arriving in Boston2:21:39-2:25:50 First impressions of the United States2:25:51-2:32:35 Adjustment to the USA, citizenship and Austrian organizations2:32:46-2:34:06 Thoughts on Israel2:34:08-2:41:46 Connections to and thoughts about Austria2:41:51-2:43:45 Thoughts on memorial projects2:44:08-2:45:11 Thoughts on Donald Trump’s presidency---Follow-up interview with Anna Jungmayr:0:00:35-0:05:41 Performing 'Maria Stuart' by Friedrich Schiller in Theresienstadt0:05:41-0:11:59, 0:28:25-0:30:14 “Jugendheim” / illegal teaching0:13:41-0:17:11, 0:25:36-0:27:55 Myth of Theresienstadt0:17:07-0:20:44 Conditions in Theresienstadt0:20:47-0:25:36 Immediate post-war situation / displaced persons0:31:47-0:32:54 Edith Lowy’s drawings from Theresienstadt0:33:15-0:42:05 Working at the Window Shop in Cambridge, MAOctober 25, 2017 and January 16, 2018A book about Edith Lowy’s husband by Lorrie Greenhouse Gardella, The life and thought of Louis Lowy : social work through the Holocaust / Syracuse, N.Y. : Syracuse University Press, 2011, is available in the YIVO Library, call number 000132073.Edith, née Jedlinsky Lowy was born on February 9th, 1926 in Vienna, Austria, where she grew up in the 9th district in an apartment together with her father Joseph Jedlinsky, her mother Hilda, née Kempler and her maternal grandmother Jeanette Rosalie Kempler. Her mother was a master dress maker who had learned her trade at the Wiener Werkstaette. Edith Lowy went to a Montessori Kindergarten, to elementary school and to gymnasium (high school) until 1938, when she had to change to a Jewish school. Her father was deported from Vienna with the first transport to the Nisko “reservation” on October 20th, 1939. After their apartment was confiscated, Edith Lowy, her mother and her grandmother moved to her mother’s sister’s place, also in the 9th district.After being forced to move one more time to another place in Vienna, the four of them were deported in October 1942 to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. There, Edith Lowy stayed in a section for young people and met her future husband, Louis Lowy. He secretly taught English to the young detainees in the building’s attic and acted out the Schiller-drama “Maria Stuart” with them. In May 1944 Edith and her mother were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and in August 1944 to Stutthof. From there they were sent to a farm, forced to work for the harvest. Her mother eventually had to sew for the owner of the farm. After being sent back to Stutthof, where the two of them had to dig trenches, they were sent on a death march in January 1945. When they were not able to walk further they were sent to the Danzig-Burggraben concentration camp, where they both got typhoid. Soon after that, the camp was liberated by the Russians. Edith Lowy and her mother were taken to Danzig on the 21st of March where they stayed until the war was over, on May 8th 1945.After the end of the war, Edith and her mother came back to Vienna via Bratislava, but left again soon to the DP camp in Deggendorf, which was directed by Louis Lowy, whom Edith married there in December 1945. He managed to get papers for many inmates to emigrate to Palestine and the USA. Edith Lowy immigrated with him in May 1946 via Hamburg to New York on a liberty ship. Her mother had already gone there, one ship ahead. Soon after their arrival they went to Boston to live with her mother’s sister in law. Edith Lowy got a job in a factory and then worked for a few stores in Boston, including “The Window Shop”. Later, she got a degree in social work. Her husband graduated from Harvard School of social work, and due to his work they travelled several times to Europe, visiting also Vienna and the former concentration camp Theresienstadt. They had two children. Louis Lowy died in 1991, Edith Lowy stayed in Boston after his death.Austrian Heritage Collectio

AHC interview with Walter Fischer.

May 2, 20180:00:16-0:04:31, 0:36:28-0:43:03 Escape from Vienna, emigration to Montréal0:04:37-0:05:30, 0:58:36-1:03:28 First years in Montréal, founding a family in Montréal0:05:38-0:12:17 Parents Baruch Fischer and Johanna Lorenz0:12:18-0:15:01 Parental home0:16:47-0:18:42, 1:03:34-1:06:05 Languages, adjustments and integration in Canada0:18:42-0:21:45, 0:43:07-0:45:24 Education and work in Vienna, Switzerland and Canada0:21:45-0:25:15 Family life and his relationship to his mother Johanna Lorenz0:25:17-0:30:43 Religious life0:31:18-0:35:57 “Anschluss” and its impact0:48:24-0:53:13 Arrival in Canada and going from Halifax to Montréal0:53:15-0:58:31 Nazi-sympathizers on the ship from Southampton to Halifax1:06:05-1:09:03 Political opinions, anti-Semitism1:11:29-1:13:54 Awareness of the “Final Solution”1:13:57-1:17:31 Mixed and segregated neighborhoods, differences between Israel and Montréal1:17:22-1:19:55, 1:25:24-1:28:17 Judaism, education and anti-Semitism1:19:56-1:25:07 Israel1:28:18-1:37:39 Visiting Austria1:37:43-1:40:34 Austrian news1:42:19-1:47:09 Holocaust memorials and commemoration1:48:16-1:51:30 Vienna and Viennese cuisine1:51:31-1:54:44 Discussing family documents and pictures1:54:44-2:10:22 Anita Fischer’s family history and her thoughts on religionWalter Fischer was born on June 29, 1930 in Vienna, Austria, where he grew up in the city’s first district. His parents, Baruch Brum, recte Fischer, a tailor, and Johanna née Lorenz, a seamstress divorced in 1932. Walter stayed with his mother, who was not Jewish. Immediately after the “Anschluss”, he and his Jewish father left for France, accompanied by an apprentice at his father’s tailor shop. On the way to Marseille, Walter’s father got sick, and the apprentice took Walter to the internment camp in Gurs. Baruch (Brum) Fischer died on his way to Marseille. When the Germans occupied southern France in 1942, Walter left Gurs and made his way to Switzerland. There, he worked on farms during the summer months and went to school in winter for several years. In 1947 he left for Southampton in England and further emigrated to Canada in 1948. Walter settled in Montréal and became an accountant. He met his wife Anita at the Combined Jewish Appeal in Montréal; they had three children.Austrian Heritage Collectio

AHC interview with Marion Halper.

October 18, 20170:24- 2:04 Memories of growing up in Vienna2:05- 3:20; 19:33-20:34; 21:10-21:25; 41:02-42:40 Father’s store sold via Postsparkasse3:23- 3:50 Emigration to England in 19383:51- 7:14 Parent’s occupation while living in England7:14- 7:54 English uncle and aunt7:56 – 8:35 Leaving Vienna in April 19388:36- 9:35 Going to School in the UK9:36- 12:53 Life and career in New York12:56- 13:40 Grandparents14:12- 16:45 Kindergarten in Vienna and English governess16:57- 19:31; 33:18-34:10 Religion22:14-23:02 Speaking German23:02-24:49; 34:36-36:53 Going back to Austria and visiting former store and apartment39:26-40:30 During the “Blitz” in EnglandMarion Halper née Klausner was born on April 27, 1933 in Vienna, Austria. She grew up as an only child with her parents and a maid in a large apartment in Schottenfeldgasse 25 in Vienna’s seventh district. She attended kindergarten in Vienna for a short time and then had an English governess. Her father co-owned a clothing store called Kleiderhaus Klausner & Liner in Reindorfgasse 34, in Vienna’s 14th district that he was forced to sell in 1938. The price for his business was determined by an Austrian buyer. Together with the grandparents on both sides, the family decided to go to England in April 1938, as Marion’s uncle (her father’s brother) and aunt, Assia and Joe Klausner, were British citizens living there. They lived in London through most of the bombing and decided to go to the US for better job opportunities as soon as the war was over. They came to New York in November 1945. Marion went to school, worked for the radio station WOV and then in an advertising agency and eventually became a realtor.Austrian Heritage Collectio

AHC interview with Sophie Freud.

January 17, 20170:00:14-0:03:41, 1:13:17-1:17:18 - Childhood, school years and parental home in Vienna0:03:42-0:11:28 - Paris and French school system0:11:29-0:19:14 - Armistice agreement and German invasion of France / escape to Nice0:19:15-0:21:51 - Maternal grandmother Ida (née Schramek) Drucker0:21:54-0:32:10, 2:04:55-2:10:43 – Nice and Casablanca / graduating0:32:12-0:35:09 – Immigration to America0:35:10-0:39:06 – Bernays family and Sigmund Freud’s murdered sisters0:39:11-0:46:29 – Studying and working in Cambridge (Radcliffe College) / marriage0:46:32-0:54:52 – Family life, professional career, earning a PhD at Brandeis University0:54:54-0:58:48 – Children0:58:51-1:07:14 – Sabbaticals in England, Canada and Austria1:07:16-1:08:08 – Divorce1:08:22-1:13:04 – Teaching at Simmons College and Brandeis Lifelong Learning1:17:47-1:20:16 – Religious education, Schwarzwaldschule1:20:22-1:22:34 – Role of religion in the family1:22:38-1:24:57 – Parents: Martin and Ernestine (née Drucker) Freud1:24:59-1:30:38 – Amalia Schober (‘Fräulein’)1:30:41-1:37:55 – Family life / grandfather Sigmund Freud1:38:01-1:41:03 – Maternal family / mother Ernestine (née Drucker) Freud1:41:44-1:44:08 – Role of politics in the family1:44:57-1:50:22 – “Anschluss” and aftermath1:55:35-1:57:55 – Contact with family members after having left Vienna2:00:18-2:04:00 – Relationship with mother Ernestine (née Drucker) Freud2:14:57-2:18:16 – New York and Cambridge2:18:50-2:21:10 – Criticizing Sigmund Freud’s theories2:21:14-2:23:05 – Effect of Sigmund Freud’s popularity on Sophie Freud’s life2:23:08-2:26:28 – End of the war / deportations from Nice2:26:34-2:36:04 – Visits to and thoughts on Austria2:36:08-2:40:09 – Brother Walter Freud2:40:13-2:43:21 – Father Martin Freud2:43:26-2:52:27 – Working on a book about her mother, “Living in the shadow of the Freud family”2:54:35-2:56:32 – Political situation in the United States and in Austria today.Sophie Freud was born on August 6, 1924 in Vienna, Austria. Her father Martin Freud (the oldest son of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud) was a lawyer, her mother Ernestine (née Drucker) Freud was a speech therapist. Sophie grew up in Vienna’s First District with her parents, her brother Walter, a cook and the maid Amalia Schober, whom she called “Fräulein”. Her maternal grandparents Ida (née Schramek) and Leopold Drucker lived in the same building. The home of Sigmund Freud and his wife Martha Freud was very close, and Sophie went there each Sunday for a short visit with her maid. Sophie was educated at the Schwarzwald-school.Shortly after the “Anschluss”, Sophie and her mother emigrated to Paris, to be with her mother’s two sisters, Lily (née Drucker) Boyko and Janne (née Drucker) Zittau. Sophie’s father and brother emigrated to England, like the majority of Sophie’s paternal family, and thus her family split up. In Paris Sophie went to Lycée Jean de La Fontaine until she and her mother had to escape on bicycles to Nice due to the German occupation of Paris in June 1940. They arrived in Nice in September 1940 and Sophie continued high school there before she and her mother left for Casablanca in January 1942, where she graduated from high school. In October of 1942 they went via Tangiers to Lisbon and eventually took a ship to Baltimore in November 1942.After living in New York for a few months, Sophie went to Cambridge, MA to study Psychology at Harvard’s Radcliffe College. Subsequently she earned a master’s degree from Simmons School of Social work and eventually a PhD from Brandeis University. She worked as a social worker, married Paul Löwenstein (whom she divorced in the mid-1980s) and had three children. She took two sabbaticals, one of them in Vienna, Austria in 1988 and became professor of social work at Simmons College after her return. In 2018 she continued teaching at the Institute for Lifelong Learning at Brandeis University

AHC interview with Elizabeth Simons.

January 18, 20180:00:13-0:04:06, 1:41:33-1:44:50 - Childhood in Hietzing0:04:07-0:10:11 - Impacts of the “Anschluss”0:10:13-0:12:43 - Escape to France0:12:46-0:16:19 - Beginning of the war / split of the family0:16:20-0:19:37 - Fred Engle’s escape from the internment camp in Brittany0:19:37-0:26:00 - Escape to and conditions in Nice0:26:01-0:30:53, 2:12:35-2:13:57 - Crossing the Pyrenees and going to Portugal0:30:53-0:33:27, 2:18:22-2:20:59 - Emigration and arrival in the USA0:33:30-0:40:20 - School years in the USA0:40:27-0:47:26 - Pratt Institute at Cooper Union0:47:28-0:49:49, 2:31:33-2:40:35 - Difficulties for women in science0:49:50-0:53:43 - Further education at Yale’s chemical department0:53:51-1:03:39 - Start of her professional career1:03:54-1:09:58 - Working at Harvard Medical School and settling down1:10:01-1:18:37 - Boston University School of Medicine1:18:38-1:27:14 - Retirement and further activities1:28:40-1:31:02, 2:14:30-2:17:48 - Family history1:33:13-1:36:25 - Relationship to maternal grandparents1:36:27-1:38:30 - Escapes and deportations of family members1:44:50-1:46:50 - Mother Erna Engle-Weisselberg1:44:50-1:48:53 - Languages spoken and travelling1:48:53-2:02:29 - Visits to and attitude towards Austria; failed restitution2:02:30-2:05:10 - Anti-Semitism in the United States2:05:16-2:10:01 - Religion2:21:01-2:28:31 - Relationship to her sister Ruth Cordero2:28:32-2:31:29 - Political events during and after WW II2:41:19-2:45:23 - IsraelElizabeth Simons, née Reiman was born in 1929 and raised in Vienna’s district of Hietzing, where she lived together with her mother Erna Engle-Weisselberg (born 1901), her stepfather Fred Engle (born in 1906), her older sister Ruth (married Cordero) and her maternal grandparents Betti (née Munz) and Bernard Weisselberg, who owned a lumber business. They also had a maid called “Annerl”. Elizabeth’s biological father, William Reiman had died in 1930.Elizabeth’s mother was a pianist and studied chemistry at the University of Vienna. Her stepfather was working for an antifascist newspaper in Vienna: he left the city in the night of the “Anschluss”, skiing to Switzerland. Elizabeth and her sister were taken out of school and transfered to a Jewish school. In June of 1938 they left Vienna together with their mother and went to France via Luxemburg, Holland and Belgium. They reunited with Fred Engle and stayed in Chelles, a town in the wider area of Paris, where Elizabeth went to school. Her stepfather was sent to a French internment camp in Brittany shortly after the war had started on September 1, 1939. After the German occupation of Paris in June 1940, the family left for Nice where they reunited again with Elizabeth’s stepfather who had managed to escape from the internment camp, which made it impossible for him to leave France legally. At the beginning of 1941 the family left to Perpignan (France), from where they crossed the Pyrenees to Spain and went further to Lisbon (Portugal). On May, 31, 1941 they left on a ship to Norfolk, VA, where they arrived on June 15. The family settled in Elmhurst, Queens (New York), where Elizabeth went to school. In 1946 she went to the Pratt Institute of Cooper Union and then to graduate school at Yale’s chemical department from where she graduated in 1953 with a PhD. She had several positions in teaching and researching on physical chemistry and later on biochemistry at the Boston University School of Medicine from where she retired in 2012. She married Harold Lee Simons and they had two children and five grandchildren. Elizabeth Simons settled in Massachusetts.Austrian Heritage Collectio

AHC interview with Eric Ungar.

0:00:25-0:03:22 School years in Vienna0:03:24-0:05:09, 0:41:16-0:45:27 Consequences of the “Anschluss” for the family0:05:34-0:08:09 Getting documents for the emigration and leaving Vienna0:08:14-0:10:45 Emigration from Vienna to St. Louis and arrival there0:10:48-0:12:17 Education in St. Louis0:12:17-0:15:34 Time in the military0:15:35-0:17:45 Career0:17:37-0:21:47 Paternal and maternal grandparents0:22:25-0:26:12 Parents’ professional life0:26:15-0:29:15 Parental home in Vienna and in the USA0:30:43-0:33:43 Role of religion0:39:00-0:41:13 Anti-Semitism after the “Anschluss”0:47:22-0:48:31, 0:53:55-0:55:18 Contact with family members after the emigration 0:48:40-0:49:50 Anti-Semitism in the American army0:49:56-0:53:34 Sentiments towards the German population during his time in the army0:55:46-0:56:28 Attitude towards the State of Israel0:57:07-1:00:13 Connections to Austria today1:00:19-1:02:27 Austria’s way of dealing with its past1:02:33-1:03:22 Political situation in America today1:03:26-1:06:44 Children’s and grandchildren’s relation to their Austrian heritageOctober 26, 2017Eric Ungar was born on November 12, 1926 in Vienna, Austria, where he grew up in the second district. He lived with his parents (Sabina née Schlesinger and Isidor Ungar), his younger brother Fritz Carl Ungar (born on April 3, 1931) and a maid in an apartment on Novaragasse 38. He went to elementary school and high school in Vienna until the “Anschluss” when he had to change to a middle school and eventually quit going to school. Shortly before their emigration, the family moved to an apartment on Fleischmarkt in the 1st district, close to Isidor Ungar’s department store, because he believed it to be safer in an area with fewer Jews.The family got an affidavit from a stranger, whom Hilde Feuerstein (Eric Ungar’s maternal aunt) in the United States had met at the synagogue. The family managed to go to Holland by train, just shortly before they would have had to show up at an “Umschlagplatz”. On October 23, 1939 they went to New York on the ship "Westernland", from the Holland-America line, and they arrived on November 5, 1939. From New York they took a train to St. Louis, Missouri.Eric Ungar continued his education in St. Louis and got a scholarship for the Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied for one year before he voluntarily joined the military when he was 18 years old. During his time in the army he was stationed in Belgium and Germany for about three years and worked on the repatriation of American soldiers. After he graduated from Washington University and married in 1951, he worked and continued his studies in Albuquerque until 1953 before he got his doctorate from New York University in 1958. He then settled in Newton, MA.Austrian Heritage Collectio

AHC interview with Gerda Lieselott Garbatzky.

September 28, 2017,0:00:32-0:02:26 - Anschluss, Hitler's speech at Heldenplatz0:02:26-0:02:56 - Education in England0:02:58-0:04:22 - The "Blitz"0:04:24-0:04:53 - Coming to the US0:05:36-0:06:14 - Persecution by the Nazis0:06:14-0:06:45 - Memories of Vienna0:06:46-00:09:27 - Family history and the effect of Nazism00:09:05-00:10:08 - Father's soap factory / restitution00:10:09-00:13:00 - Memories of her family, friends and her husband, David Garbatzky00:13:45-00:14:40 - Emigration route / "Kindertransport"00:14:38-00:15:03 - Memories of the "Blitz"00:15:32-00:17:18 - "Kindertransport"00:17:49- 00:20:52 - Education and life in Birmingham00:21:55-00:24:02 - Christadelphian religion00:24:12-00:25:10 - Anti-Semitism / discrimination experienced in Birmingham00:25:41-00:29:44 - Anti-Semitism in Vienna and the Shoah00:30:05-00:33:39 - Arrival and social life in Birmingham0:33:43-0:39:37 - Immigration and settling down in New York0:39:40-0:43:06 - Parental home in Vienna and Czechoslovakia, memories of her mother0:43:12-0:49:00 - Adjustments in Great Britain and the United States, differences to Austria, Café Vienna0:49:06-0:56:32 - Recollections of her husband, David Garbatzky, US citizenship and family life0:56:34-0:59:10 - Memories of and relationship to Vienna / Austria today1:00:01-1:00:55 - German language, memories of her mother1:03:43-1:05:10 - Effect of the "Blitz"1:05:11-1:07:01 - Memories of her social life in New YorkGerda Lieselott Garbatzky, née Brahmer was born on November 11, 1929 in Vienna, Austria. She grew up, in Strohgasse 7, in Vienna’s 3rd District, living mostly with her father Richard Brahmer and her grandmother; her mother Olga Brahmer died of breast cancer, when Gerda was a little child. Her father was a co-owner of a soap factory. In June 1939 she left Austria with a "Kindertransport" via the Netherlands to Great Britain, where she stayed in Birmingham with a family of Christadelphian faith and had to experience the "Blitz" during the war. In March 1947 she immigrated to New York to stay with her aunt and uncle, Helene and Moritz Lackenbacher, the only ones of her relatives, who had survived the Nazis. Gerda Garbatzky made a living in New York and settled down to family life.Austrian Heritage Collectio