The Holocaust

1. Rabbi Taglicht forced to wear placard. Offenberger (2017) The Jews of Nazi Vienna 1938-1945 p36. This book contains a much fuller description of the Anschluss pogrom.

2. Dismissal of teachers. See Gymnasium Stubenbastei second wiki

3. See Hedi Levenback’s Holocaust Museum Houston (1999) and USC Shoah Foundation (1997) videos for description of school.

4. Emilie Adler died at home on Hollandstrasse 13 24 March 1938 aged 61. See Genteam. It may not have been suicide but as the timing and the fact there is no funeral notice is suspect.

5. Rudolf Adler either on 22 Dec 1938 (USHMM) or died 30 Aug 1939 (IKG cemetery)

6. Quote “Jewish friends spoke…” Eric Gedye (1939) Fallen Bastions : the Central European Tragedy

7. Alland Sanatorium. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanatorium_Wienerwald

8. Mathilde (“Thilde”) Bielitz died on 20 April 1938 aged 16. See grave

9. For details of Lily’s wish to be buried alongside Thilde see Hedi Levenback correspondence with Anne Wares and also the essay written by 13 year old Tamar Shamir (1994) “Vienna and Me” (see Anne Wares notes).

10. Photo of Bielitz cousins, Holocaust Museum Houston “Uprooted” exhibition 2013

11. Photo of Hedi and Grauperl see USC Shoah Foundation (1997) video

12. Dr. Theodor Fuchs born 10 May 1867 (FamilySearch) although he later gives his date of birth as 10 May 1870. Deported to Dachau 24 May 1938. Arolsen Archives. He was moved to Buchenwald on 24 Sept 1938. Arolsen Archives. His name appears on a list of writers whose writings were considered harmful to the Reich published 9 Aug 1941 Holocaust Memorial Museum.

13. Dr Theodor Fuchs and his wife Marianne emigrate to US via Italy and Canada in 1946. See US immigration. The file is incorrectly indexed 2 Feb 1948.

14. Frau Heinrich arrested. Susanne Heim (2011) The persecution and murder of the European Jews bu Nazi Germany 1933-1945 p244.

15. The Deutsch-Epsteins deported to Maly Trostinec 17 Aug 1942. lettertothestars.at

16. The David Family emigrated to Australia. Claims Restitution Tribunal claim 784679/AX

17. The Schlesingers emigrated to Australia. www.dunerastories.monash.edu

18. Rudolf qualified in Feb 1938. Barbara Sauer (2010) Advokaten 1938

19. Dr.Maritschek’s letter of recommendation and notarised translation in possession of Kate Flesch.

20. Dr. Maritschek emigrated to US 15 Aug 1940. See US immigration. Additional information provided in correspondence from Barbara Sauer.

21. For a comprehensive overview of what people needed to do to leave Austria see USHMM What did Refugees Need to Obtain a US Visa in the 1930s?

22. Dorothy Fisher’s sponsorship of Rudolf in possession of Kate Flesch.

23. Arthur Popper’s speculative letter to Isidor A Popper is held in the Leo Baeck Institute Archives. Available online archive.org

24. Annie & Walter US visas issued 1 Sept. See passenger manifest

25. On 16 Feb 1942 Walter Graf gives the address 29 West 64th St on his US draft form.

26. Rudolf issued with US visa on 13 Sept. See US immigration

27. On his immigration form Rudolf gives his mother’s address as Heinrichsgasse 4. This is the address of Friedrich and Lily Bielitz. He also states this as her address in a sworn affidavit dated 13 Dec 1938 in possession of Kate Flesch.

28. Trude and her mother depart for England on 9 Nov 1938. See Trudes’ recollections in Trude Basch collection at Leo Baeck Institute. Available online at archive.org. Trude’s UK ID card states she arrived in UK on 10 Nov 1938.

29. Erwin appears to have sold business to Adalbert Kiss. In a letter of recommendation dated 20 May 1939 Kiss says Trude ran the business until 9 Jan 1938. See Trude Basch collection at Leo Baeck Institute. Available online at archive.org

30. Trude met Adalbert Kis in Venice in 1963. See photo in Trude Basch collection at Leo Baeck Institute. Available online at archive.org

31. A unique and highly illuminating account of what it was like to be arrested on Kristallnacht and imprisoned in Dachau can be found in Ernst Geiduschek () Kristallnacht to Dachau : diary of Ernst Geiduschek. Translated by his daughter June. Still Novi Publishing.

32. Hedi informed the day after. See Hedi Levenback’s Holocaust Museum Houston (1999) and USC Shoah Foundation (1997) videos

33. In 1940 Erwin Basch appeared on a list of Jews released from Dachau and now in France. Jewish Telegraphic Agency 22 Jan 1940.

34. Smuggled jewellery. See Hedi Levenback’s USC Shoah Foundation (1997) video

35. Bielitz escape to Norway. See Hedi Levenback’s Holocaust Museum Houston (1999) and USC Shoah Foundation (1997) videos

36. Kindertransport. See Hedi Levenback’s Holocaust Museum Houston (1999) and USC Shoah Foundation (1997) videos

37. Quote “The station was crawling….” Josef Eisinger (2016) Flight and Refuge: Reminiscences of a Motley Youth

38. For an overview of the kindertransports from Vienna see Paul Weindling (2020) The Kindertransport from Vienna: the children who came and those left behind, Jewish Historical Studies 51(1) pp16-32

39. Edith Frisch was also on a kindertransport that left Vienna in February. Although the dates provided by Hedi and Edith differ by a day or so they must have been on the same train.

40. Photo of Hedi and her kindertransport forms. Holocaust Museum Houston

41. Photo of Hedi’s German-English dictionary and UK ID card see USC Shoah Foundation (1997) videos

42. See Hedi Levenback’s Holocaust Museum Houston (1999) and USC Shoah Foundation (1997) videos for her recollections of England.

43. Anni & Hanna Bergmann depart from Southampton on SS Harding on 3 March 1939 and arrived in New York in 13 March 1939. See passenger list.

44. Ludwig moves out of Dorotheergasse 10 on 10 May 1939 (residence form) and into Goldschlagstrasse 84 on 11 May 1939 (residence form).

45. Emil & Emma Schlesinger exempted from internment on 4 Dec 1939. Ancestry. They are living at 87 Fellows Rd Hampstead London NW3. Emil is interned in June 1940 but then released on 24 August 1940. Ancestry. They now lived at 10C St. Edmunds Terrace, Primrose Hill, London NW3.

46. Emil Schlesinger died in St. Pancras, London during the summer 1954. Ancestry. A precise date is not known.

47. Emma Schlesinger died 5 Feb 1984 at 10C St. Edmunds Terrace, Primrose Hill, London NW3. Probate list.

[Footnotes 48-64 removed]

65. Friedrich Landau was arrested on 13 July 1938. Last known address Kolingasse 20. DOEW.at

66. The trial is reported in Kleine Volks-Zeitung 9 April 1940

67. Fritz was deported to Maly Trostinec on 2 June 1942. DOEW.at

68. Rudolf Flesch’s sworn affidavit 13 Dec 1939 in support of his mother’s emigration is in the possession of Kate Flesch.

69. Helene Flesch’s US visa was issued in Bordeaux, France on 31 Oct 1939. See Passenger Manifest.

70. Helene departed from Southampton on SS Lancastria on 18 Dec 1939 and arrived in New York on 27 Dec 1939. See Passenger Manifest.

71. For details of Erwin’s burial and subsequent burial arrangements see a letter (in French) from the Cultuelle Israelite Bretagne in Nantes to Rabbi Stephen Berkowitz or the Hebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights, 531 Ft.Washington Avenue, NY. A copy of this is in the possession of Anne Wares and may have been obtained from Hedi Levenback. Trude paid for a grave in 1946 and renewed the plot in 1961. In 1983 payment lapsed.

72. See Trude Basch collection at Leo Baeck Institute for details of her life in the UK and US. Available online at archive.org

73. Trude Basch married Carl Lowenthal in Manhattan, NYC in 1954. Ancestry.

74. Trude Lowenthal (nee Basch) died 12 Dec 2007 in Flushing, NYC aged 94. Ancestry

75. Julie Flesch died 15 Feb 1940 at Goldschlagstrasse 84 aged 91. See JewGen and Ancestry. NOTE: She is mis-indexed as “Julia” Flesch in IKG cemetery database.

76. Ludwig Basch died 25 Oct 1940 at Goldschlagstrasse 84 aged 88. Death certificate.

77. Sophie Schlesinger died 2 Dec 1940 at Zwerngasse 45A. JewGen and Ancestry.

78. Julius Bauer died 11 June 1941 at Porzellangasse 13. Occupation : writer. Ancestry.

79. Julie Flesch (Hugo’s cousin) was deported to Kowno, Poland on 23 Nov 1941. USHMM Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database. For details of the train see DOEW.at.

80. Paula Schlesinger died 2 Dec 1941. See annotation on birth certificate. Ancestry. It is a year to the day that her mother Sophie Schlesinger died. Ancestry.

81. Lily Marie Bittermannova (Lily Bittermann) (Arolsen Archives) and her daughters Lucy Ren Bittermannova (Arolsen Archives) and Marie Inge Bittermannova (Marie Inge Bittermann) (Arolsen Archives) deported from Prague VIII to Lodz on 31 Oct 1941.

82. A document listing their address in Lodz listing their ages and occupations is available on request from the USHMM.

83. Franz Bittermann renounces Jewish faith on 13 May 1936. See JewGen. Lily had also renounced her faith on 5 May 1936. See JewGen.

84. Franz Bittermann deported from France to Drancy / Sobibor / Majdanek in Poland on transport 50 on 4 March 1943. See USHMM and DOEW.

85. Valerie Landau and her son Fritz Landau transported from Vienna to Maly Trostinec on transport 24 (MAL). Last address Kolingasse 20. See DOEW and http://www.waltraud-barton.at/immer/de/geschichte.html for more information about Maly Trostinec.

86. Richard & Ernestine Golwig lived as Kreuzwiesengasse 2 since 1914.

87. Alice Elisabeth Golwig renounces Jewish faith on 17 Oct 1938 (see Genteam. Misindexed as “Galwig”) and married Zvonimir Karl Wilhelm Hrvatov on 6 April 1939 in civil ceremony (see Genteam). Zvonimir was born 19 Feb 1881.

88. Zvonimir does not appear in 1939 address book but is living with the Golwigs at Kreuzwiesengasse 2 in 1941 (Zvonimir Kratov). See Lehmann’s 1941.

89. Richard & Ernestine Golwig (Arolsen Archives, Holocaust.cz) and Regine Kohn (Arolsen Archives) were all transported from Vienna to Theresienstadt on transport 28 on 20 June 1942. Regine’s last address was given as Kreuzwiesengasse 2, i.e. the Golwig’s house.

90. Richard Golwig died 7 July 1942. Holocaust.cz

91. Ernestine Golwig died 30 July 1942. Holocaust.cz

92. Regine Kohn died 26 Nov 1942. Holocaust.cz

93. Richard and Ernestine property expropriated. Völkischer Beobachter 19 Nov 1942

94. Zvonimir claims for restitution Wiener Zeitung 11 Oct 1946

95. Zvonimir Hrvatov sells off Golwig furniture from Kreuzwiesengasse 2. Wiener Kurier 30 March 1948

Footnotes 96-101 removed

102. The IKG Old Age People’s Home at Goldschlagstrasse 84 was closed down on 22 July 1942. Fanni would have been moved to the last remaining IKG Old Age People’s home on Seegasse 9. See http://www.topographie-der-shoah.at/altersheime.html

103. Fanni died on 11 Feb 1942 and buried on 16 Feb 1942. See Ancestry, IKG Cemetery indexed under “Fanny Basch” and grave.

104. Last remaining residents of IKG Old Age People’s Home deported on 25 May 1943 via Nordbahnhof. See Michaela Raggam-Blesch & Dieter J. Hecht (2019) Deportations from Nordbahnhof 1943-1945, p36. Available online: http://bloodmountain.org

105. Margit Banfi (nee Lowinger)’s unauthorised Salvadoran citizenship certificate issued by George Mandel-Mantello, First Secretary of the Salvadoran Consulate in Switzerland and sent to her residence in Szeged available USHMM.org

106. Susanne (Susi) Banfi unauthorised Salvadoran citizenship certificate issued to Susanne Banfi (b. September 3, 1914 in Budapest) by George Mandel-Mantello, First Secretary of the Salvadoran Consulate in Switzerland and sent to her residence in Budapest. Available USHMM.org

107. For more about George Mandel-Mantello’s rescue operation see David Kranzler (2000) The Man Who Stopped The Trains To Auschwitz: George Mantello. Syracuse University Press.

108. Susanna Banfi (born 2 Oct 1914; daughter of Margarete Lowinger) and Margarete Banfi (born 7 Dec 1890; daughter of Rosa Duschek) both living at Teleki Pal utca 22, Budapest are also listed as recipients of a Swedish passport on the JewGen Wallenberg Passport list

109. Fore more about Raoul Wallenberg’s rescue operation see Kati Marton (2011) Wallenberg: The Incredible True Story of the Man Who Saved the Jews of Budapest. Arcade Publishing.

110. Susi / Susanna and Magrit Banfi both made five claims for restitution after the war. See JewGen Hungarian Claims Conference database

111. Susi Banfi married Jack Kessler in Kensington, London in Spring 1951. Ancestry

112. Susi & Jack lived at 108 Brondesbury Park, Willesden 1952-56, London. Ancestry

113. Jack Kessler was born 23 Nov 1906 in Swindon, UK. For biography see Geni

114. Jack Kessler died 8 Aug 1986. Vancouver Sun 11 Aug 1986

115. For more about the Kessler Academy see www.kessleracademy.com and David Gordon Duke (2018) Classical music: Kessler Academy delivers innovation, quality and commitment, Vancouver Sun 15 Aug 2018

116. Susi worked as a travel agent for Strand Cruises at 503 Duchess Ave, Vancouver during the 1970s. See electoral register and adverts in the Vancouver Sun.

117. Quote “To me, Susan represents…” Friends of Chamber Music (2014) Happy 100th Birthday Susan Kessler

118. Ferenc Sandor Banfi becomes naturalised UK citizen on 15 Nov 1946 and changes his name to Frank Alexander Bayne. He is a cost accountant and lived at 60 Kensington Park Rd, London. London Gazette 17 Jan 1947

119. Frank married Maya Strauss in Ealing, London in the summer of 1949. Ancestry

120. Ian T Bayne born 17 Sept 1950. Ancestry.

121. Helen P Bayne born 3 Nov 1954. Ancestry.

122. Cornelia Bayne born 27 Sept 1956. Ancestry.

123. Frank A Bayne died 18 April 2004. Ancestry

124. Vorlaufstrasse 4. See Vienna wiki

125. Photo of bombed out Vorlaufstrasse 4 can be found in Hans Riemer (1946) Perle Wien : ein bilderbuch aus Wiens schlimmsten tagen. Verlag fur jugend und volk GMBH. Vienna. p89. Available online ulis-buecherecke.ch

126. Rudolf, Annie and Walter lived at 40-35 Hampton St., Elmhurst, NYC. This is the address that Helene Flesch gave as Rudolf’s address when she arrived in the US (18 Dec 1939). Walter, Annie, Helene and Rudolf are all living together in Elmhurst - presumably this address - on 13 April 1940 when they complete the 1940 US Census (Ancestry). Rudolf also states it as his address on his marriage registration on 6 Sept 1941 (Ancestry).

127. By 16 Feb 1942 Walter & Annie had moved out and were living at 29 West 64th St., Manhattan, when Walter completes his US draft card (Ancestry).

128. By 21 Feb 1946 Helene had moved out and was living at 42-15 Hampton St, Elmhurst. This is the address Hedi Levenback gives for Helene Flesch when she arrived. FamilySearch.

129. They declared their income as part of the census in April 1940 (Ancestry).

130. A detailed and seemingly accurate biography of Rudolf’s life in the early 1940s can be found in DeGruyter p305. A good summary of his work at this time is also summed up in “1848 - the Flesch Formulas” in William H. DuBay (2007) The Classic Readability Studies. Impact Information. p.96-98- Available online: files.eric.ed.gov

131. Rudolf attests that his name is Rudolf Franz Flesch (not Frank) for Columbia University records is dated 18 May 1943. A copy of this is in the possession of Anne Wares.

132. Rudolf worked for Dr. Lyndon Bryson as a Research Assistant from 1940.

133. Quote “Perhaps Byron’s greatest contribution….” William H. DuBay (2007) The Classic Readability Studies. Impact Information. Available online: files.eric.ed.gov

134. Anne Sutherland Flesch born 30 July 1943

135. Hugo Walter Flesch born 16 April 1945 in Washington DC

136. Gillian Ruth Flesch born 16 June 1949 in Dobbs Ferry

137. Katrina Woodburn Flesch born 23 July 1951 in Dobbs Ferry

138. Abigail Allan Flesch born 7 March 1957 in Dobbs Ferry

139. Janet Amalia Flesch born 31 Oct 1959 in Dobbs Ferry

140. Walter Terpenning provided sponsorship letter. See Anne Wares notes

141. Hedi obtained US visa on 10 Nov 1945. See FamilySearch.

142. Hedi arrived on Pan American Airways on 21 Feb 1946. London Heathrow airport did not open until later that year and so she would have flown from Bournemouth airport which is no longer used for trans-Atlantic flights.

143. Snowstorm. See Hedi Levenback’s USC Shoah Foundation (1997) video. Hedi gave Helene’s address on her immigration forms. See FamilySearch.

144. Hedi visits Washington DC. See Anne Wares notes.

145. Hedi spends Thanksgiving with Annie and Walter. See Hedi Levenback’s USC Shoah Foundation (1997) video.

146. Lily Bielitz emigrated to New York in summer of 1946. See Hedi Levenback’s USC Shoah Foundation (1997) video.

147. Aunt Joan (Johanna Bielitz)’s first husband Robert Frankenbasch died in Shanghai on 7 May 1945. See Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims. She remarried Bernhardt Taglicht on 3 March 1949 in New York (Ancestry) and they changed their names to Toggit. Joan Toggit died June 1984 in New York (Ancestry).

148. Helene obtained US citizenship on 20 Feb 1945.

149. Helene died on 7 Nov 1967 in New York.

150. The documents pertaining to Rudolf and Annie’s restitution claim are held in the US National Archives (see PC/V/III/105 Rudolf Flesch Fold3.com). The file includes correspondence between Rudolf and the US Military Government that was governing Vienna at the time, the Grundbuch for the property (stamped 26 July 1946), and a letter from the US Vice Consul to the US Army the Reparation, Deliveries and Restitution Division that contains an excerpt from a letter written by Rudolf dated 26 Jan 1946 in which Rudolf sets out their claim to the property (Fold3.com).

151. Rudolf's Berziechnis uber das Vermogen von Juden (Jewish Property Assets) s12 July 1938, Reichsfluchtsteuerbescheid (Flight Tax) demand dated 15 Feb 1940 (and due 20 Sept 1938) and related correspondence are held in the Austrian State Archives. Copies are held by Chris Wares.

152. Quote “When Kieren…” is a transcription from Hedi Levenback’s USC Shoah Foundation (1997) video in which she was asked if she had any final thoughts to record. I think they are fitting words to end this project with. I feel they are apt to end this project with.