Category:Fort Ontario (subject)

Fort Ontario Refugee Center (see Holocaust Children Studies)

Overview

See YouTube

On June 12, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his plan to create a free port at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York. Under this plan, 982 refugees from eighteen different countries were transported from Italy to an emergency shelter at Fort Ontario. They left from Naples, Italy, in late July 1944. On Aug. 3, 1944 the Henry Gibbins arrived at Pier 84 in the Hudson River.

Roosevelt circumvented the rigid immigration quotas by identifying these refugees as his “guests,” but that status gave them no legal standing and required their return to Europe once conditions permitted their repatriation.

Because of their undefined immigrant status, the refugees were not permitted to leave Fort Ontario, even to work or to visit family members already settled in the United States. They struggled to create a community within the camp, but the close quarters and their uncertain futures made for tense relations.

Advocates for the refugees continually lobbied Congress and the President to allow them to stay in America. Finally, after eighteen months in the camp, President Truman permitted their legal entry into the country. The shelter closed a short time later in February 1946.

Among the refugees were 187 children, aged 16 or younger.

The largest family group were the Dresdner (from Romania).

USHMM

On June 12, 1944, President Roosevelt sent a message to Congress announcing that he was establishing an Emergency Refugee Shelter at Fort Ontario, a US Army camp in Oswego, NY. Relief and rescue organizations, as well as interested members of the public, had been suggesting bringing refugees under the threat of Nazi persecution to the United States for a number of months. At the beginning of March 1944, the War Refugee Board prepared a memo proposing the opening of safe havens (also called free ports) in the United States for refugees, where they would be admitted outside of American immigration quotas and repatriated to Europe at the end of the war. The project was presented to Roosevelt in May 1944. He was supportive of it, but feared his critics in Congress would attack the idea. So, the President asked the WRB to find an emergency situation which the removal of refugees would ameliorate. At the time, the WRB was receiving reports that refugee camps in Italy were almost full and the American military had issued a directive discouraging refugees fleeing to Italy from Yugoslavia. The WRB’s director, John Pehle, presented the situation to President Roosevelt, who issued instructions that the movement of refugees to Italy should not be discouraged, and used the situation to formally approve the establishment of a refugee shelter. In early June 1944, the camp of Fort Ontario was selected to house the refugees. WRB representative Leonard Ackermann traveled to Italy and interviewed interested refugees. In total, 982 refugees were selected for the Fort Ontario project. Seventy-five per cent of the group came from transit camps in southern Italy, including Bari, Ferramonti, Santa Maria di Bagni and Compagna, and twenty-five per cent from Rome, where most had been living in hiding until the recent withdrawal of the Germans. Approximately 165 of the refugees were children below the age of seventeen. In order to avoid complaints, officials recruited non-Jews as well as Jews. Still, Jewish refugees constituted 918 of the 982 members of the group, representing fourteen nationalities. The group was assembled in Aversa, Italy and set sail aboard the Henry Gibbins, a US Army transport vessel. The ship arrived in New York on August 5, and the refugees were taken to Fort Ontario near the town of Oswego in upstate New York. Their eighteen month sojourn at the shelter was a frustrating experience for the refugees. At first their freedom was severely restricted. They were not permitted to work or serve in the army. Their contact with the outside world was extremely limited. Requests to live with or visit relatives in the US were denied. Though rudimentary cultural, political and social organizations eventually came into being, they were plagued by divisiveness among their members. Following V-E Day, pressure from Jewish groups, relief agencies, Congressmen and members of Truman's cabinet, led to the Truman Directive of December 1945, which permitted the immigration to the United States of displaced persons in America's zones of occupation and removed restrictions on war refugees already in the US.

Picture (USHMM)

Jewish youth living at the Fort Ontario refugee shelter sing songs accompanied by an accordionist. Those pictured include Elfi Strauber, Liesel Bader, Ruth Hendel, Walter Arnstein, Ernest Spitzer, Leo Levic, Wilko Kremer, David Hendel, Henny Notowitz, Adam Munz, Fortunee Levic, Paul Bokros, Ivo Lederer, Paul Arnstein, Neli Bokros, Herman Kremer, and Joseph Bernard Hirt, standing on the far left next to the American flag. The pen and ink drawing on the wall was drawn by Adam Munz. (USHMM)

Children and leaders of a Fort Ontario cub scout troop. Pictured in the front row (left to right) are Jakov Kampos, Wilhelm Wittenberg, Milan Poljokan, Silvestro Wachsmann, and Mika Finci (Miko Finzi). Pictured in the second row are Walter Grunberg, Nikola Marinkovic, Miroslav Lang, Mr. Lawrence, Ferdinand Kaska, Heinz Grun, Josef Hazan, and Erik Levy. Pictured in the third row are Branko Hochwald, Michael Hirt; Julius Krauthamer; possibly Jakov Levi, Walter Cohen, Pietri Albrecht, and two unidentified boys. (USHMM)

Group portrait of Jewish youth dressed in Purim costumes at the Fort Ontario refugee shelter. One of them is dressed as Adolf Hitler. Left to right (front row) Ivo Svencenski, Jacob Broner, unknown, unknown and Leo Levic. Second row: Liesel Bader, Henny Notovitz, Edward Levic, Neva Svecenski, Edith Broner and Elfi Strauber. Third row: Herman Kremer, Manci Broner, unknown, Lillian Danon, Ralf Kuznitzki, and Ivo Lederer in the Hitler costume. Back row: Dorit Reisner, Ginette Cygelman, Adam Munz, Silvio Levy, Neli Bokros, Paul Bokros, and Paul Arnstein. (USHMM)

Group portrait of children dressed in Purim costumes in the Fort Ontario refugee center. Those pictured include Ray Harding, John Hirshler, Ruth Hendel, Walter Grunberg, and Willie Kramer. (USHMM)

Jakov & Luna Kampos (MF / Croatia, 1936, 1938), Holocaust survivors -- Children of Josef and Sol

Paul & Wilhelm Wittenberg (MM / Czechia, 1933, 1934), Holocaust survivors

Milan Poljokan (M / Yugoslavia, 1936) July 14, 1936. AL campo con l amadre Sarafina.

Silvestro Wachsmann (Waksman) Poland

Samuel Waksman (Oct 20, 1935) & Andre Waksman (Jun 12, 1943) -- No Italian records.

Mika & Sonja Finzi (MF / Yugoslavia, 1935, 1938), Holocaust survivors Jun 24, 1935 & Aug 25, 1938

Walter Grunberg (OK)

Katica, Vicko & Nikola Marinkovic ( Children of Simun and Vinka Katica (Jun 5, 1927), Feb 15, 1929; May 25, 1935. [no Italian records]

Vladimir Lang (Osijek, Jul 26, 1932) & Miroslav Lang (Zagreb, Nov 26, 1936) [Italian records]. Children of Geza Lang and Garabela Wischnik. Refugees from Croatia. They were in Ferramonti from 30.04.1942 to the Liberation in Sept 1943.

Heinz Grun (M / Austria, Apr 30, 1936) (CDEC Yes!) Son of Leopold Grun and Franziska Offenberg. . They were sent to Sepino (near Campobasso). Moved to ROme in hiding. In July 1944 the family sailed form Naples to Fort Ontario

Josef Hazan (M / Croatia, 1934), Holocaust survivor. (Sarajevo, Dec 1, 1934) Yugoslavia. Son of Hajim and Rika Kajon. (Giuseppe) His younger brother Jack was born at Fort Ontarioon Jun 1, 1945. In 1941 they were sent to Tarzo (near Treviso). After Sept 1943 they were in hiding. In July 1944 the family sailed from Naples to Fort Ontario (CDED!)

Silvio Levy (May 8, 1928) and Erik Levy (Mar 27, 1931). Children of Leon Levy and Irene. They wished to return to Yugoslavia.

Branko Hochwald (M / Polje, Croatia, Jan 31, 1935) Yugoslavia. Son of Mane Hochwald and Jelika Stern. They were in Castelnuovo Don Bosco (AT) in 13.12.1941 and then in Ferramonti, from 27 February 1943 from until liberation in Sept 1943. (CDEC!)

Joseph Hirt (July 10, 1930) and Michael Hirt (M / Feb 19, 1934). Poland. Children of Artur and Amalia. In Jan 1943 they were sent to Rapino (Chieti). They were in hiding after Nov 1943. In July 1944 the family sailed from Naples to Fort Ontario [CDEC!]

Simon Krauthamer (M / Poland, Aug 6, 1932) Julius Krauthamer (M / Poland Oct 21, 1933) Susanna Krauthamer (F / France, May 22, 1939). Children of Naftali and Resel. [CDEC ??}

Jakov Levi (JaKov Zika Levi; Mar 11, 1935) no Father, mother Stella (???)

Walter Cohen

Pietri Albrecht (???)

Interviews to Boy Scouts

Alfred, Heinrich & Edith Rosenthal (MMF / Yugoslavia, 1932, 1934, 1936) (American records but no Italian record?)

Their father was a German prisoner (?). They were at the camp with their mother (Lida). Alfred (Jan 18, 1932), Heinrich (Apr 28, 1934( and Edith (Nov 7, 1936). They spent 3 months in an unspecified concentration camp.

David Hajon (M / Yugoslavia, 1931). Father died, Mother Rosa. Dec 14, 1931 (No CDEC)

Raymond, Silven & Claude Boni (MMM / France, 1928, 1931, 1933), Holocaust survivors. France, originally from Bulgaria. Father died, mother (Bellina). Raymond (Dec 2, 1928), Sylvain [Silven] (Nov 12, 1931) & Claude (May 15, 1933). [No Italian records] . MEMOIRS 2012: Imperfect memory : how we survived the Holocaust [Oswego, NY] : Mitchell's Speedway Press, 2014. ©2012

< [[Mirko Fussbaum (M / Yugoslavia) Father died. Mother (no CDEC record) >

< Erik Levy (M / Croatia) Both parents alive (no CDEC record) >

< [[Vlado Arnstein (M / Croatia) 00 Mother & Father brothers & sisters. Wants to go to Palestine. (no CDEC record) >

!! Slavko Schwarzenberg (M / Riga, Latvia, Apr 11, 1932). Son of Sigmund "Ziga" Schwarzenberg and Anna Blunger. Both are alive. They were at Posina (near Vicenza), then in hiding. In July 1944 the family sailed from Naples to Fort Ontario [FO! & CDEC!]

Irena Danon (June 6, 1929) Ika Danon (M / Yugoslavia, Mar 8 , 1933) Mika Danon (M / Apr. 1 1944. Children of Sima and Rasela. Father & mother alive.

Walter Grunberg (M / Italy, 1933)

List of children

See List of refugees

La partenza della nave avviene da Napoli nel luglio 1944

AA

The Adanja Family (Mother, 2 Children)

+ Mika Adanja (M / Yugoslavia, 1936), Holocaust survivor Mother only -- + Marela Adanja (F / Yugoslavia, 1939), Holocaust survivor -- Mika Adanja (Jan 2, 1936) and Marela Adanja (May 18, 1939) were born in Yugoslavia, to Sofja Adanja. They arrived at Fort Ontario with their mother only.

The Alaluf Family (Father, Mother, 2 Children)

= Moric Alaluf (M / Yugoslavia, 1929), Holocaust survivor

-- = Benko Alaluf (M / Yugoslavia, 1941), Holocaust survivor -- Moric (Moritz) Alaluf (Aug 9, 1929) and Benko (Branko) Alaluf (Apr 15, 1941) were born in Yugoslavia (?), to Alfred Alaluf and Dudun. They arrived at Fort Ontario with their parents.

The Albrecht Family (Father, Mother, 2 Children)

Peter Albrecht (Sep 5, 1934) and Renata Albrecht (Jul 7, 1939) were born in Austria (?), to Herbert and Beatrice Albrecht. They arrived at Fort Ontario with their parents. -- + Peter Albrecht (M / Austria, 1934), Holocaust survivor -- + Renata Albrecht (F / Austria, 1939), Holocaust survivor

The Altarac Family (Mother, Child, Uncle)

Hana Altarac (F / Yugoslavia, 1937), Holocaust survivor

The Altarac Family (Father, Mother, 2 Children)

Belja (Deya) Altarac (Oct 27, 1932) and Dora Altarac (Oct 13, 1936) were born in Sarayevo, Bosnia, to Leone Altarac and Estera Papo. They were in Asti, Italy in December 1941. Deported to Ferramonti in May 1943, until Liberation (Sep 10, 1943). They arrived at Fort Ontario with their mother.

-- = Belja Altarac (F / Bosnia, 1932), Holocaust survivor -- = Dora Altarac (F / Bosnia, 1936), Holocaust survivor

The Altarac Family

= Laura Altarac (F / Bosnia / Italy, 1942), Holocaust survivor

The Arnstein Family (Father, Mother, 3 Children)

Pavle Arnstein (Nov 20, 1928), Vlado Arnstein (Feb 25, 1932), and Eva Arnstein (Jul 14, 1935) were born in Yugoslavia, to Laroslav and Jelka Arnstein. They arrived at Fort Ontario with their parents.

-- + Pavle Arnstein / Paul Arnstein (M / Yugoslavia, 1928), Holocaust survivor -- + Vlado Arnstein / Walter Arnstein (M / Yugoslavia, 1932), Holocaust survivor -- + Eva Arnstein (F / Yugoslavia, 1935), Holocaust survivor

The Autias Family (Mother, Child)

Laura Autias (F / Yugoslavia, 1937), Holocaust survivor -- Laura Autias was born Oct 6, 1937, to Flora (Atias). She arrived at Fort Ontario with her mother.

BB

1. = Liesl Bader (F / Austria, 1931), Holocaust survivor -

2. Vera Baeder (F / Yugoslavia, 1932), Holocaust survivor -

3. - Jenny Baruch (M / Serbia, 1926), Holocaust survivor

Branko Bjelic was born June 8, 1928 in Yugoslavia. He arrived at Fort Ontario with his parents.

7. + Branko Bjelic (M / Yugoslavia, 1928), Holocaust survivor

8. + Susanna Blaustein (F / Yugoslavia, 1933), Holocaust survivor

The Blumenkranz Family (Mother, Father, 2 Children)

Derritt (Apr 25, 1938) and Ruth (nov 13, 1943) were the children of Efraim and Bertha Goldstein. They lived in Genoa in 1940. Interned in Guardiagrele (Chieti) from Sep 1940 to Sep 1943. Survived in hiding. Arrived at Fort Ontario with their parents.

The Bokros Family (Mother, Father, 3 Children)