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'''Kraus Rescue Mission'''
'''Kraus Rescue Mission''' (see [[Holocaust Children Studies]])


== The children ==
* KEYWORDS : [[Holocaust Refugee Children, United States]] -- [[Holocaust Refugee Children]] -- [[Jewish Rescuers]]


Klara Lee / [[Klara Rattner]] was born in Vienna on August 16, 1930 but was officially stateless. Klara and her parents survived the Holocaust and emigrated to the United States. She married a British engineer, Roy Lee, becoming known as Kay Lee. The couple lived in northern California, first San Mateo, and then Atherton. They had three children. Kay Lee now lives in Noe Valley, San Francisco. (doc, 2013)
== Overview ==
 
In early 1939, a Jewish couple from Philadelphia, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, with support from the president of the Independent Order of Brith Sholom, Lewis Levine began developing a plan to rescue Jewish children inside Nazi Germany. They were able to obtain 50 U.S. visas and then travelled to Germany in April to select the children for rescue. Upon their arrival the Krauses were told by the Consular Chargé d'Affaires that there were over 200 eligible children in Vienna, and they immediately left for the Austrian capital. The ship left Hamburg for New York on May 23, 1939.
 
50 children arrived in the United States. Just days before they were to leave Vienna, one of the children, [[Heinrich Steinberger]] became ill; his place was taken by [[Alfred Berg]] (Steinberger later was killed in [[Sobibor]]). Another child [[Fransi Linhard]] (1926-1939) died of pneumonia shortly after her arrival in the United States.
 
 
[[File:Kraus Rescue Mission.jpg|750px]]
 
 
[[File:Kraus Mission2.jpg|395px]] [[File:Kraus Mission3.jpg|350px]]
 
== The children (alphabetical order) ==
 
[[Heinrich Steinberger (M / Austria, 1933-1942), Holocaust victim]]


-----
-----


* Robert and Johanna Braun. The Braun children lived with the Krauses until after the war, when they were reunited with their parents.
[[Kurt Admon (M / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013)


-----
[[Paul Beller (M / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Alfred Berg (M / Austria, 1924-2013), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Charlotte Berg (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Marianne Berg (F / Austria, 19??), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Erwin Berkowitz (M / Austria, 1927), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Robert Braun]] (M / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013) -- Robert and Johanna Braun. The Braun children lived with the Krauses until after the war, when they were reunited with their parents.
 
[[Johanna Braun]]
 
[[Relly Eisenberg (F / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Fred Freuthal (M / Austria, 1932), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Fritz Haber (M / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Gerda Halote Stein]], Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013)
 
[[Felix Heilpern (M / Austria, 1927), Holocaust survivor]] 
 
[[Kurt Herman (M / Austria, 1929-2014), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Robert Keller (M / Austria, 1926), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Klara Lee (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Fred Lifschutz (M / Austria, 19??), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Robert Lifschutz (M / Austria, 19??), , Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013)
 
[[Fransi Linhard (F / Austria, 1926-1939), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Peter Linhard (M / Austria, 1933-2005), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Klara Rattner Lee (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013)
 
[[Kurt Roth (M / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Bianca Siegmann (F / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor]]
 
[[Edith Sommer (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor]] 


[[Heinrich Steinberger (M / Austria, 1933-1942), Holocaust victim]] -- Just days before they were to leave Vienna, one of the children, Heinrich Steinberger became ill. Because he was too sick to travel, the Krauses chose another child, Alfred Berg, to take his place. According to archival records, Heinrich and his mother were sent to Izbica on June 14, 1942. From Izbica, their train was routed directly to the Sobibór camp, where they were most likely killed upon arrival.
[[Robert Spies (M / Austria, 1929), Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013)


-----
[[Ella Spiegler Goldstein (F / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor]]


[[Paul Beller]] (M / Austria, 1931) he was born in Vienna on November 20, 1931 but was officially stateless. (doc, 2013)
Ella Spiegler Goldstein was born in Vienna, Austria on 29 September 1928, the daughter of Wilhelm and Clara (née Bromberger) Spiegler. Following the Nazi-led German annexation of Austria in 1938, the Spiegler family began making plans to emigrate. When the family heard about the efforts of an American couple, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, to sponsor fifty Jewish children from Vienna for immigration to the United States, they applied to have their daughter included, which she was. Ella left Europe in May 1939, with the other "50 children" selected by the Krauses, on the S.S. President Harding, which arrived in New York on 3 June 1939. She, with the other children, initially was sent to the Brith Sholomville childrens home, in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. While other children were soon reunited with their parents, Ella was not able to rejoin her parents, who had immigrated to England, and were not able to immigrate to the United States in 1948. In 1941, she moved to Newark, New Jersey, and after she finished her schooling, went to work in various clerical positions, at the RCA Corporation and later at a department store in Newark. In 1948 she met Benjamin Goldstein (born 21 April 1917), a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and the two were married the following year in Newark.


[[Relly Eisenberg]] (F / Austria, 1931) she was born in Vienna on March 2, 1931 but was officially stateless.
[[Henry Tamar (M / Austria, 1929-2014), Holocaust survivor]]


[[Fred Freuthal]] (June 9, 1932) He was born in Vienna on June 9, 1932.
[[Erika Tamar (F / Austria, 1934), Holocaust survivor]]


[[Robert Keller]] (M / Austria, 1926) Vienna August 8, 1926.
[[Ruth Taub Feldman (F / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor]]


[[Fransi Linhard]] (F / Austria, 1926) Vienna, January 13, 1926.
Ruth Taub emigrated as one of the "50 children" in the spring of 1939. Her parents, Markus and Jeanette, came from Vienna to the United States in March 1940.  


[[Peter Linhard]] (M / Austria, 1933) Vienna, April 18, 1933
Ruth Taub (now Ruth Feldman) was born on November 30, 1928, in Vienna, Austria as the only child of Markus and Jeanette Taub, who had both been born in Poland. Markus ran a grocery in Vienna and helped support members of his extended family, who had joined him in Austria. In 1938, the grocery was forcibly confiscated by the Nazis and Ruth was forced to leave public school for a Jewish school. In the spring of 1939, the Taubs sent Ruth to the United States as part of the "50 children" who immigrated with the assistance of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus of Philadelphia, PA. At the same time, Markus and Jeanette sought relatives in the United States who could write an affidavit for their support. Through distant cousins, they were connected with Leah and Harry Grubstein, who were not relatives but willing and able to sign an affidavit for Markus and Jeanette. Ruth arrived in the United States on the President Harding in early June 1939. After a summer at the Brith Sholom camp, she went to live with Leah and Harry Grubstein in New Jersey. Markus and Jeanette waited in Vienna for their quota numbers; in 1940, Markus was imprisoned in Buchenwald. Markus was released when their immigration paperwork was in order, and the couple arrived in the United States in March 1940. The Taubs moved with their distant cousins, the Schneidermans, and Markus began selling fruits and vegetables from a pushcart. He eventually opened a store. Most of their extended family perished in the Holocaust.


[[Kurt Roth]] (M / Austria, 1928) he was born in Vienna on November 12, 1928 but was officially stateless.
[[Erwin Tepper (M / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013)


[[Bianca Siegmann]] (F / Austria, 1931) she was born in Vienna on April 12, 1931 but was officially stateless.
[[Elfriede Toch (F / Austria, 1925), Holocaust survivor]]


[[Edith Sommer]] (F / Austria, 1930) She was born in Vienna on March 12, 1930.
Born Sept 30, 1925 in Vienna, Austria


[[Robert Spies]] (M / Austria, 1929) he was born in Vienna on February 21, 1929.
[[Julius Wald (M / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor]]


[[Heinz Tamar]] (M / Austria, 1929) / Sept 15, 1929) - Israel was not his real middle name, but on August 17, 1938 Nazi officials ordered that all Jewish men assume the middle name Israel, and all Jewish women take the middle name Sara
[[Henny Wenkart (F / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor]]


[[Erika Tamar]] (F / Austria, 1934) she was born in Vienna on June 10, 1934.
[[Inge Weiss Michaels (F / Austria, 1931-2002), Holocaust survivor]]


----
Inge Weiss Michaels (1931-2002) was born February 1, 1931 in Vienna, Austria to carpenter Leiser (Layzer, Leon) Weiss (1893-1908) and his wife Stella Weiss (née Zehngut, 1903-1963). Inge had one sister, Kitty (born August 7, 1933, Vienna). Leiser was the oldest child and supported his large Polish family after the death of his father. He was talented and intelligent, worked as a carpenter, and owned real estate. The family lived in a home on one of the inner ring streets in Vienna and also had a summer home. Stella was always able to buy a new hat for the holidays, which was an important status symbol at the time.


The Zinger parents survived.
One of Leon’s apprentices was a member of the Hitler Youth and warned Leon of trouble. One day he let Leon know that the Nazis were coming, so the family hid at home with the lights out and were safe. Leon had previously received an affidavit from his mother and younger brother living in the U.S., who told him to immigrate first and then send for his family, but Leon secured a visa for Stella as well. Stella convinced Leon to send Inge and Kitty to America in June 1939 as part of the “50 children” rescued by Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus and the Brith Sholom organization. Stella and Leon sent jewelry ahead to his mother and brother, but his brother turned out to be a gambler and squandered their assets. Stella and Leon Weiss immigrated in August 1939 and were reunited with Inge and Kitty. They first lived with Leon’s mother and brother, then in another apartment, and later bought a house with a porch in the Bronx. Leon was initially angry about purchasing the house in a Catholic neighborhood until he realized what a good deal they had made. He rented a place near the Grand Concourse for his carpentry shop, and Stella was a homemaker.


[[Fritzi Nozik]] / [[Fritzi Zinger]] (F / Austria, 1930) she was born in Vienna on May 15, 1930. Fritzi Zinger, originally of Vienna, was one of the "50 children" who immigrated from Austria to the United States in May 1939 sponsored by Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, of Philadelphia.
Inge and Kitty attended public schools in New York. Inge was initially placed in a lower grade at school while she learned English, but within a year she joined her own grade. After high school, Inge’s mother wanted her to learn a trade and become a seamstress instead of attending college. Kitty attended college, studied music and arts, and became an art teacher and artist. She married a man with the last name Penner and had two sons, Charlie and Jonathon. Charlie Penner lives in Ann Arbor and has two daughters, Julie and Leah. Jonathon Penner lives in LA and has two children, Cooper and Ava.


[[Elizabeth Davis]] / [[Elisabeth Zinger]] (F / Austria, 1933) She was born in Vienna on February 27, 1933. Elizabeth Zinger, originally of Vienna, was one of the "50 children" who immigrated from Austria to the United States in May 1939 sponsored by Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, of Philadelphia.
Inge wanted to be independent from her family and got married young to Bernard Wagman. He was dishonorably discharged from the military, but Inge thought their marriage would survive because he was from a well-to-do Jewish family. His parents bought them a house on Long Island and a liquor store for Bernie to run, and their daughter Tina was born in 1950. Unfortunately, Bernie was a gambler, and when Inge learned he was spending the cash from the store to fund his gambling debts, she left him. She and Tina moved in with her parents, and Inge worked as a film editor and held another job to supplement her income.


[[Ernest Haar]] (M / Austria, 1931-2020) (May 4, 1931) Vienna (was adopted by the Zingers)
Inge married Charles Michaels, who had two children from his first marriage. In 1957 they moved to a town outside Pittsburgh where Charlie worked as a salesman and Inge worked for Alcoa. After a year, they moved to Florida where Charlie had family. Inge initially found it difficult to find a job, but eventually became a secretary in a real estate office and later obtained her sales and broker’s licenses. Her parents also moved to Florida in 1958, selling the New York apartments they had invested in and purchasing property in Coral Gables. Charlie also went into real estate, encouraged and tutored by Inge in the business. They established Michael’s Real Estate around 1960.


He was born in Vienna, Austria in 1931 and fled with his parents Helen and Jonas to escape Hitler. They moved many times, beginning when he was 7, ultimately climbing the alps from Italy into France where his family hid for 2 years before being captured by the Nazis. Ernest's parents were murdered in Auschwitz and Ernest was hidden on a French farm until the end of the war. At age 15, he was sent to live with and be adopted by his aunt and uncle, Ben and Rose Zinger. Ernest was deeply loved by his adopted parents and was very close to his sisters [[Fritzi Nozik]] and [[Elizabeth Davis]] throughout their lives. The Zingers also were refugees from Austria. Fritzi and Elizabeth were among the "50 children" who immigrated from Austria to the United States in May 1939 thanks to the [[Kraus Rescue Mission]].
Inge and Charlie were strict parents. Inge wanted Tina to become a teacher. Tina attended the University of Florida in Gainesville for one year, but her parents made her return home and attend to the University of Miami. In 1971, Tina married physician Michael Coverman. They lived in Seattle for four years while he was a resident and then two years in Nebraska while he served in the Air Force and she obtained her MA in Business Administration. They then moved to Texas and raised two daughters, Anya and Tess.


Ernest went onto serve in the US Army Reserve for many years and was called up twice to active duty for 2-year deployments. He ultimately became a social worker treating veterans who had drug and alcohol problems.
[[Kitty Weiss Penner (F / Austria, 1933), Holocaust survivor]]


-----
Kitty Weiss, born August 7, 1933 in Vienna, Austria, describes her family; her older sister Inge Weiss (born in 1931); her father Layzer Weiss, who was originally from Galicia; her mother Stella, who was from Vienna; her father’s work as a carpenter, which served him well in the Austrian Army in World War I; her father’s move to the United States; her mother seeing an ad about the Children’s Transport to the US run by the Krauses and a Jewish organization and enrolling both of her daughters; Kristallnacht in Austria on November 10, 1938; her mother securing visas for her and her husband and for her in-laws through American relatives; going with her sister on a Kindertransport to the US in June 1939; going with 50 children by train through Berlin and taking a ship to the US; arriving in New York City; being placed in a summer camp near Philadelphia, PA; her parents’ arrival in August 1939; living in an apartment in Brooklyn; moving to the Bronx when she was in the third grade; her father opening a workshop; attending a special high school of music and art; attending Brooklyn College and transferring to Barnard; getting married; having two children; becoming a US citizen; being an atheist; her cousins who went by Kindertransport to England; visiting many places in Europe including Warsaw, Sobibor, and Auschwitz to learn about her relatives; her social life; and writing a memoir for her children and grandchildren. (After the interview, Kitty shows photos of her and her relatives.)


* [[Charlotte Berg]]  
[[Helga Weisz Milberg (F / Austria, 1930-2012), Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013)


* [[Alfred Berg]]. Alfred Berg (1924-2013) was born in Vienna, Austria, to Julius and Frieda Berg. Frieda was born in Poland, and immigrated to Vienna as a young girl with her family. Alfred’s father was born in Narajow, Germany (now Porajów, Poland) and was an orphan with no immediate family. He fought for Germany during World War I and afterward he moved to Vienna where he met his future wife. Alfred had a sister, Charlotte, who was six years younger than him. Their father worked as a tailor, Alfred and Charlotte went on picnics and swam in the Danube, the family had a nice, comfortable life.
[[Fritzi Zinger Nozik (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor]]


On March 13, 1938, Austria was annexed into Germany in what became known as the Anschluss. German authorities quickly created new legislation that restricted Jewish life. Jews were arrested, required to report their assets, and segregated in public places. After the Anschluss, Alfred was attacked by other boys for being a Jew. During Kristallnacht, Alfred’s father was arrested and taken to the police precinct where his head was shaved, he was only released because he was the commanding officer’s tailor. After Kristallnacht the Bergs began looking for ways to escape Austria. In preparation for immigration to Palestine, Alfred began to learn how to farm.
[[Elizabeth Zinger Davis (F / Austria, 1933), Holocaust survivor]]


In early 1939, a Jewish couple from Philadelphia, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, with support from the president of the Independent Order of Brith Sholom, Lewis Levine began developing a plan to rescue Jewish children inside Nazi Germany. They were able to obtain 50 U.S. visas and then travelled to Germany in April to select the children for rescue. Upon their arrival the Krauses were told by the Consular Chargé d'Affaires that there were over 200 eligible children in Vienna, and they immediately left for the Austrian capital. In May, Alfred’s sister Charlotte was selected for rescue. Just days before they were to leave Vienna, one of the children, Heinrich Steinberger became ill. Because he was too sick to travel, the Krauses chose Alfred to take his place. Charlotte and Alfred boarded a train to Berlin with the rest of the children on May 21. They arrived in Berlin later that day and were scheduled for physical examinations and final processing the following day. From Berlin they went to Hamburg, Germany, and boarded the SS President Harding and left for New York on May 23. They arrived on June 3 and were taken to the Brith Sholom retreat in Pennsylvania. While there they took courses in civics and US history, as well as English-language training.
[[Hugo Zulawski (M / Austria, 1926-2003), Holocaust survivor]]


After the retreat, Charlotte lived with distant relatives in Brooklyn, NY and Alfred stayed with a foster family in Jersey City, NJ. Charlotte was distraught; she missed her mother and was not eating. Alfred visited his younger sister every weekend until their parents emigrated in December, 1939. Reunited, the family settled in Brooklyn where Alfred’s father worked for 3G, making suits. On June 11, 1943, Alfred was drafted. He joined the Navy Seabees (Construction Battalion) as a private and was sent to Okinawa, Japan. However, before he arrived in Okinawa, the war ended. While in the navy Alfred was picked on by the other sailors because of his Jewish heritage.
== External links ==


After his service ended, Albert returned to New York where he met Marianne Salomon, a fellow Holocaust survivor. Marianne emigrated from Germany to Iowa with her parents in 1938. They lived in Iowa for five years and then moved to New York. In 1953 Alfred and Marianne married. Alfred became a stock broker and Marianne worked as a legal secretary. The couple had two children and three grandchildren and lived in New Jersey.
* [https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-rescue-mission-of-gilbert-and-eleanor-kraus USHMM (The Rescue Mission of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus)]

Latest revision as of 09:51, 20 July 2021

Kraus Rescue Mission (see Holocaust Children Studies)

Overview

In early 1939, a Jewish couple from Philadelphia, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, with support from the president of the Independent Order of Brith Sholom, Lewis Levine began developing a plan to rescue Jewish children inside Nazi Germany. They were able to obtain 50 U.S. visas and then travelled to Germany in April to select the children for rescue. Upon their arrival the Krauses were told by the Consular Chargé d'Affaires that there were over 200 eligible children in Vienna, and they immediately left for the Austrian capital. The ship left Hamburg for New York on May 23, 1939.

50 children arrived in the United States. Just days before they were to leave Vienna, one of the children, Heinrich Steinberger became ill; his place was taken by Alfred Berg (Steinberger later was killed in Sobibor). Another child Fransi Linhard (1926-1939) died of pneumonia shortly after her arrival in the United States.


Kraus Rescue Mission.jpg


Kraus Mission2.jpg Kraus Mission3.jpg

The children (alphabetical order)

Heinrich Steinberger (M / Austria, 1933-1942), Holocaust victim

Kurt Admon (M / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor (doc, 2013)

Paul Beller (M / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor

Alfred Berg (M / Austria, 1924-2013), Holocaust survivor

Charlotte Berg (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor

Marianne Berg (F / Austria, 19??), Holocaust survivor

Erwin Berkowitz (M / Austria, 1927), Holocaust survivor

Robert Braun (M / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013) -- Robert and Johanna Braun. The Braun children lived with the Krauses until after the war, when they were reunited with their parents.

Johanna Braun

Relly Eisenberg (F / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor

Fred Freuthal (M / Austria, 1932), Holocaust survivor

Fritz Haber (M / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor

Gerda Halote Stein, Holocaust survivor]] (doc, 2013)

Felix Heilpern (M / Austria, 1927), Holocaust survivor

Kurt Herman (M / Austria, 1929-2014), Holocaust survivor

Robert Keller (M / Austria, 1926), Holocaust survivor

Klara Lee (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor

Fred Lifschutz (M / Austria, 19??), Holocaust survivor

Robert Lifschutz (M / Austria, 19??), , Holocaust survivor (doc, 2013)

Fransi Linhard (F / Austria, 1926-1939), Holocaust survivor

Peter Linhard (M / Austria, 1933-2005), Holocaust survivor

Klara Rattner Lee (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor (doc, 2013)

Kurt Roth (M / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor

Bianca Siegmann (F / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor

Edith Sommer (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor

Robert Spies (M / Austria, 1929), Holocaust survivor (doc, 2013)

Ella Spiegler Goldstein (F / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor

Ella Spiegler Goldstein was born in Vienna, Austria on 29 September 1928, the daughter of Wilhelm and Clara (née Bromberger) Spiegler. Following the Nazi-led German annexation of Austria in 1938, the Spiegler family began making plans to emigrate. When the family heard about the efforts of an American couple, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, to sponsor fifty Jewish children from Vienna for immigration to the United States, they applied to have their daughter included, which she was. Ella left Europe in May 1939, with the other "50 children" selected by the Krauses, on the S.S. President Harding, which arrived in New York on 3 June 1939. She, with the other children, initially was sent to the Brith Sholomville childrens home, in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. While other children were soon reunited with their parents, Ella was not able to rejoin her parents, who had immigrated to England, and were not able to immigrate to the United States in 1948. In 1941, she moved to Newark, New Jersey, and after she finished her schooling, went to work in various clerical positions, at the RCA Corporation and later at a department store in Newark. In 1948 she met Benjamin Goldstein (born 21 April 1917), a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and the two were married the following year in Newark.

Henry Tamar (M / Austria, 1929-2014), Holocaust survivor

Erika Tamar (F / Austria, 1934), Holocaust survivor

Ruth Taub Feldman (F / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor

Ruth Taub emigrated as one of the "50 children" in the spring of 1939. Her parents, Markus and Jeanette, came from Vienna to the United States in March 1940.

Ruth Taub (now Ruth Feldman) was born on November 30, 1928, in Vienna, Austria as the only child of Markus and Jeanette Taub, who had both been born in Poland. Markus ran a grocery in Vienna and helped support members of his extended family, who had joined him in Austria. In 1938, the grocery was forcibly confiscated by the Nazis and Ruth was forced to leave public school for a Jewish school. In the spring of 1939, the Taubs sent Ruth to the United States as part of the "50 children" who immigrated with the assistance of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus of Philadelphia, PA. At the same time, Markus and Jeanette sought relatives in the United States who could write an affidavit for their support. Through distant cousins, they were connected with Leah and Harry Grubstein, who were not relatives but willing and able to sign an affidavit for Markus and Jeanette. Ruth arrived in the United States on the President Harding in early June 1939. After a summer at the Brith Sholom camp, she went to live with Leah and Harry Grubstein in New Jersey. Markus and Jeanette waited in Vienna for their quota numbers; in 1940, Markus was imprisoned in Buchenwald. Markus was released when their immigration paperwork was in order, and the couple arrived in the United States in March 1940. The Taubs moved with their distant cousins, the Schneidermans, and Markus began selling fruits and vegetables from a pushcart. He eventually opened a store. Most of their extended family perished in the Holocaust.

Erwin Tepper (M / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor (doc, 2013)

Elfriede Toch (F / Austria, 1925), Holocaust survivor

Born Sept 30, 1925 in Vienna, Austria

Julius Wald (M / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor

Henny Wenkart (F / Austria, 1928), Holocaust survivor

Inge Weiss Michaels (F / Austria, 1931-2002), Holocaust survivor

Inge Weiss Michaels (1931-2002) was born February 1, 1931 in Vienna, Austria to carpenter Leiser (Layzer, Leon) Weiss (1893-1908) and his wife Stella Weiss (née Zehngut, 1903-1963). Inge had one sister, Kitty (born August 7, 1933, Vienna). Leiser was the oldest child and supported his large Polish family after the death of his father. He was talented and intelligent, worked as a carpenter, and owned real estate. The family lived in a home on one of the inner ring streets in Vienna and also had a summer home. Stella was always able to buy a new hat for the holidays, which was an important status symbol at the time.

One of Leon’s apprentices was a member of the Hitler Youth and warned Leon of trouble. One day he let Leon know that the Nazis were coming, so the family hid at home with the lights out and were safe. Leon had previously received an affidavit from his mother and younger brother living in the U.S., who told him to immigrate first and then send for his family, but Leon secured a visa for Stella as well. Stella convinced Leon to send Inge and Kitty to America in June 1939 as part of the “50 children” rescued by Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus and the Brith Sholom organization. Stella and Leon sent jewelry ahead to his mother and brother, but his brother turned out to be a gambler and squandered their assets. Stella and Leon Weiss immigrated in August 1939 and were reunited with Inge and Kitty. They first lived with Leon’s mother and brother, then in another apartment, and later bought a house with a porch in the Bronx. Leon was initially angry about purchasing the house in a Catholic neighborhood until he realized what a good deal they had made. He rented a place near the Grand Concourse for his carpentry shop, and Stella was a homemaker.

Inge and Kitty attended public schools in New York. Inge was initially placed in a lower grade at school while she learned English, but within a year she joined her own grade. After high school, Inge’s mother wanted her to learn a trade and become a seamstress instead of attending college. Kitty attended college, studied music and arts, and became an art teacher and artist. She married a man with the last name Penner and had two sons, Charlie and Jonathon. Charlie Penner lives in Ann Arbor and has two daughters, Julie and Leah. Jonathon Penner lives in LA and has two children, Cooper and Ava.

Inge wanted to be independent from her family and got married young to Bernard Wagman. He was dishonorably discharged from the military, but Inge thought their marriage would survive because he was from a well-to-do Jewish family. His parents bought them a house on Long Island and a liquor store for Bernie to run, and their daughter Tina was born in 1950. Unfortunately, Bernie was a gambler, and when Inge learned he was spending the cash from the store to fund his gambling debts, she left him. She and Tina moved in with her parents, and Inge worked as a film editor and held another job to supplement her income.

Inge married Charles Michaels, who had two children from his first marriage. In 1957 they moved to a town outside Pittsburgh where Charlie worked as a salesman and Inge worked for Alcoa. After a year, they moved to Florida where Charlie had family. Inge initially found it difficult to find a job, but eventually became a secretary in a real estate office and later obtained her sales and broker’s licenses. Her parents also moved to Florida in 1958, selling the New York apartments they had invested in and purchasing property in Coral Gables. Charlie also went into real estate, encouraged and tutored by Inge in the business. They established Michael’s Real Estate around 1960.

Inge and Charlie were strict parents. Inge wanted Tina to become a teacher. Tina attended the University of Florida in Gainesville for one year, but her parents made her return home and attend to the University of Miami. In 1971, Tina married physician Michael Coverman. They lived in Seattle for four years while he was a resident and then two years in Nebraska while he served in the Air Force and she obtained her MA in Business Administration. They then moved to Texas and raised two daughters, Anya and Tess.

Kitty Weiss Penner (F / Austria, 1933), Holocaust survivor

Kitty Weiss, born August 7, 1933 in Vienna, Austria, describes her family; her older sister Inge Weiss (born in 1931); her father Layzer Weiss, who was originally from Galicia; her mother Stella, who was from Vienna; her father’s work as a carpenter, which served him well in the Austrian Army in World War I; her father’s move to the United States; her mother seeing an ad about the Children’s Transport to the US run by the Krauses and a Jewish organization and enrolling both of her daughters; Kristallnacht in Austria on November 10, 1938; her mother securing visas for her and her husband and for her in-laws through American relatives; going with her sister on a Kindertransport to the US in June 1939; going with 50 children by train through Berlin and taking a ship to the US; arriving in New York City; being placed in a summer camp near Philadelphia, PA; her parents’ arrival in August 1939; living in an apartment in Brooklyn; moving to the Bronx when she was in the third grade; her father opening a workshop; attending a special high school of music and art; attending Brooklyn College and transferring to Barnard; getting married; having two children; becoming a US citizen; being an atheist; her cousins who went by Kindertransport to England; visiting many places in Europe including Warsaw, Sobibor, and Auschwitz to learn about her relatives; her social life; and writing a memoir for her children and grandchildren. (After the interview, Kitty shows photos of her and her relatives.)

Helga Weisz Milberg (F / Austria, 1930-2012), Holocaust survivor (doc, 2013)

Fritzi Zinger Nozik (F / Austria, 1930), Holocaust survivor

Elizabeth Zinger Davis (F / Austria, 1933), Holocaust survivor

Hugo Zulawski (M / Austria, 1926-2003), Holocaust survivor

External links

Pages in category "Kraus Rescue Mission (subject)"

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