Between March 1938 and December 1939, all of this bookâs protagonists managed to escape the country, by very different routes. These months were the most dangerous time of their lives. As we saw in the last section, they had lost their jobs and houses, they were abused by the Nazi authorities, mobs on the street, and even their neighbours and friends. All of them were deprived of most of their financial capital due to Nazi regulations, leaving them with only their cultural and social capital with which to affect their escape.
During their time in the Nazi state, the most pressing issue for this bookâs protagonists had become leaving the country. However, without significant financial means, achieving this goal had become very difficult. At the same time, finding a safe country willing to accept them became increasingly difficult, since the dramatic actions against hundreds of thousands of Jews in Nazi Germany that unfolded during the course of 1938 had triggered major waves of refugee migration and an increased pressure on host destinations. As a result, many countries that had offered at least limited protection to German refugees until March 1938 closed their borders, which led to an increased illegalization of refugee migration. Many of those who wanted to leave Austria had to do so without legal documents. Out of our sample group, a significant share of 27 percent had no choice but to leave the country undocumented and thus âillegally.â
Connections to people abroad and, more generally speaking, networks, and the refugeesâ social capital turned out to be crucial assets for survival during this time. This section highlights the questions of whether and how the bookâs protagonists used existing networks and their social capital to facilitate their escape. It also analyses how they built up new networks to get out of the country. In this context, it will also look at the quality of their networks, show the types that were used for their escapes, and clarify how they recalled the process of their escape. This includes the search for triggering experiences which could explain exactly why they finally left.
5.1
As the previous chapter revealed, life in National Socialist Austria had become unbearable for this bookâs protagonists. It was clear to all of them at a certain point between the Anschluss and the outbreak of the war that they had to leave their homeland. In the following pages, I would like to analyse the specific, individual reasons the members of this group recalled as triggering factors for their escape. This will give insights into the many different individual reactions to the Nazi oppression and can also help to explain why some left earlier and others later.
Out of this bookâs 26 protagonists, a majority of around 70 percent left Austria in 1938. Only one-third (eight people) left in 1939. Almost all of them stated their reasons for escape either in interviews or in their memoirs. Their motives ranged from experiences of violence and abuse they had personally suffered to feelings of insecurity that made their situation in Austria unbearable. Some described the violent assaults of the November pogroms as the ultimate trigger for their escape, others noted that the Nazis had forced them to leave, threatening them with death or incarceration.
Most of the members of the sample group fled because they had experienced violence in Austria. Charles Anton left in summer 1938. A friend of his later described the events that triggered his flight as follows: âCharles, and his family saw the writing on the wall when Hitler appeared to be unstoppable.â1 Another friend added: âWhen they had heard about former Jewish Austrian army officers who had been imprisoned in concentration camps and consequently âwere kicked to death,â emigration had become the only reasonable solution.â2
Eventually, we had to return [from a summer stay with relatives in Vorarlberg] with Ilse [her nanny], our cousin Georg and our grandmotherâs cook Anna. There, we spent our time doing some schoolwork at home, playing the piano and not venturing very far afield, because of attacks from the locals. [â¦] In the meantime, Ilse tried unsuccessfully to get us to England.5
The moment I got out [of a Nazi prison], the next Sunday the Nazis organized Jew-chasings. Everybody that they could get hold of was arrested and beaten. Anyway, I was dragged into the streets and then we had to march into a brewery, where they put us into cellars and bashed us up. They kept us there all day, at 5 oâclock they miraculously asked us to get out and to go home. On the way out one of the ss-men said to me: âDid you get hurt?â I said no, no, no. I did not get hurt. [â¦] My back was bruised
from top to bottom. Anyway, I was glad to get out and in this particular moment, I decided âI am not going to stay here a minute longer.â9
Nazis in uniforms appeared virtually everywhere. You saw black cars on the street, parking in front of houses, their inhabitants were taken away. One of those who âdisappearedâ was my grandmother. They brought her to Theresienstadt, where she later died. Sometimes people were forced to clean the streets with caustic soda that burned their skin. One of them was my mother. [â¦] I had a feeling of absolute helplessness. I knew we could not live under these conditions, but how could we get out?10
Union activity was considered dangerous by the Nazi State Police and after the Anschluss Grete knew she had to leave Austria immediately, but getting a passport was impossible. Passports could be issued to Jewish citizensâstamped with a âJâ of courseâbut no passports were allowed to non-Jews, and certainly not to people known to entertain left-wing ideas.11
Hanny Exiner left Austria in June 1938 for similar reasons.12 âOut of a need for security,â as she later explained, she dropped her medical studies in Vienna and followed a call from her mentor Gertrud Bodenwieser to tour through South
Felser was informed by the police in Vienna, where he had a business as a Public Accountant, immediately Austria was usurped by Germany that he would have to divorce his wife as she was non-Aryan, but before any further action was taken in this regard he made arrangements and got out of the country as soon as possible.18
My father was in the Catholic Action and a member of the Austrian League. In March 1938, we were invaded. The third day after the invasion, my father was arrested, and taken away to prison, where he remained until July. He came out almost a broken man. I was detained for two days with him, arrested by the Gestapo, and taken to the police court, where I was kept for several weeks, for about 35 days. Then my father and I had to sign that we were prepared to leave the country, and we had to leave everything behind. My mother would have been allowed to stay, but naturally she followed us and so we went out of Austria.20
Despite her advanced age of 60 years, Olga Agid was also driven to escape. Not much is known about the circumstances of her flight. Immigration records indicate that she arrived in Australia on May 1, 1939, and that âshe had to leave Austria immediatelyâ and âshe could not even bring any personal papers with her.â21 The same holds true for Irma Weiss, who arrived in Sydney in 1939, aged 52. Immigration records indicate that the Weiss familyâs company and their property was seized by the Nazis and that they were given only a short period of time to organize their escape and leave the country. These records, based on an interrogation of Irma Weiss and her husband, Hans, stated the circumstances of their flight as follows: âThey were in business in Austria, had been cruelly treated, their business and money on hand taken possession of and were driven from their place of business.â22 A friend of hers, who was interrogated by Australian police about the Weiss family, further stated of Hans Weiss: âAll of his property was confiscated by the Nazis, about 2,000 pounds in all and he was forced to flee his native country owing to his Jewish origin.â23
The most significant part was to walk from the camp to the railway station. That was horribleâimagine I had over 40-degree fever. And suddenly I had to march im Gleichschritt [in lockstep]âone-twoâto the station. And of course, I made a few steps and then I started to collapse. And there was an ss-man with a bicycle and he followed us, and he said to the others: âTake him, help him so we get to the station.â When I was back in Vienna, I took the tram and went home. And when I came home, there was in front of the house the caretaker. He looked at me but he could not recognize me. Then I saw my mother walking and I called out âMuttiâ and she did not recognize me. And on the next day, we went to the Rothschild-Spital in Vienna. They had a special examination and they reserved a bed for me straight away. I stayed there over three months. Then the ss wanted me to leave the country. Every Jude [Jew] in a kz [concentration camp] became automatically ausgewiesenâmeaning that they forced me to leave the country. However, I got a certificate from the doctor that I am still in hospital so I canât move out. My name was on a list of an illegal transport out of the country.26
I was very apprehensive long before Hitler marched in, that one really should not speak. I felt very strongly that the conditions for architects in Austria were not very good anyhow and I mentioned a couple of times to Karl that it might be a good idea to go elsewhere where the opportunities are better, like America, for instance. But Karl just wouldnât hear of it. It was even difficult for me because, after all, we loved our country. I mean, we just loved Vienna and Karl was very rooted in Austria. It was just sort of talked of a little but not taken seriously. But before Hitler marched in, I became serious about it and Karl still did not believe it would happen.31
One thing became totally clear to me after the events around 10 November. If anybody in the future would develop the plan of killing Hitler or another high party leader, this would cause the most dreadful bloodshed much crueler than what happened on 10 November. Every Jew who was be found in the street would be immediately kicked to death, regardless of whether they were men, women, or children. [â¦] From this
moment on, I became very much interested in emigration. November 10 left no doubts that I had to leave under any circumstances.32
5.2 Social Capital and the Different Networks Used by Refugees to Get Out of the Country
We have just learnt why this bookâs protagonists decided to leave the country. However, the question of how they managed to get out remains. Social networks, ties, and relationships played an important role for this step and existing research shows that networks, as an important form of social capital, were crucial assets for refugees.33 Consequently, the study of networks as connecting elements between migrants and non-migrants has gained a prominent position within migrant studies. However, not much work has been done to describe historical networks. Studying these, therefore, presents significant challenges. Firstly, the broad range of networks existing in different locations and during different phases of the refugeesâ lives are difficult to capture. Secondly, most of the sources for a historical study are neither uniform nor equally available. Thus, when analysing historical networks, we need to âfind ways to demonstrate connections empirically, even when direct evidence is not there.â34
Social structure consists largely of expectations. They shape the ways in which people behave. The same holds true for the expectations people think others have of them. In this sense, this analysis takes a look at the different forms and qualities of networks, analysing the basis of networking processes, of individual expectations refugees had of their networks.35 This approach, as shown in an earlier work,36 forms our understanding of the nature and the uses of historical refugee networks and aids the comprehension of migration and integration not only as an individual decision but rather as a âsocial productâ and the outcome of the interaction of many factors.37
Different categories of ties that played a significant role in this bookâs protagonistsâ networks
This will also be the point when the bookâs perspective transgresses the Austrianâor at that time Germanâborder to take a look at what happened more generally on the world stage and specifically in Australia. Since the international community was reluctant to take in refugees, tens of thousands were
Within the first three weeks of the Anschluss, the Australian consulate in Vienna received an estimate of 10,000 visa applications.49 Urged by Jewish organizations, the Australian government gradually relaxed its strict immigration policies and allowed organizations, such as the Australian Jewish Welfare Society (ajws), to act as a guarantor for incoming refugees.50 Very soon, however, the ajws had exhausted its capacity as it received many desperate letters from refugees beseeching it to help secure them landing permits.51 In 1938, the organization acted as sponsor for about one-tenth of all incoming Jewish refugees. Like almost all of this bookâs protagonists, the majority of those who arrived before the war managed to obtain official landing permits without a sponsor by producing at least 200 pounds of so-called âlanding money.â52
International responses to the humanitarian catastrophe in Germany were fairly toothless. The League of Nations, for example, tried to formulate agreements to provide protection for refugees, however, its activities never exceeded the scope of ad hoc measures without a substantial impact. Moreover, the international community was not even capable of agreeing upon a term that would recognize the vulnerable situation of refugees. Consequently, during the 1930s, no general definition of refugee status, nor any standardized measure of international protection, existed.53 It would not be till July 1951, when the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees took place, that the United Nations principally governed international refugee law and clarified the term ârefugee.â54 In July 1938, Australian delegates participated in a conference in the French spa town of Ãvian-les-Bains to discuss an international response to the refugee crisis. The conference turned out to be a âdismal failure,â as historian Klaus Neumann put it.55 Australia, like most of the other participants, maintained its negative position on the liberalization of its immigration policy.56
[Jews are] highly intelligent as a class and usually make a success at whatever occupation or business they follow; but in view of their religious views and strict rules as regards marriage, they remain a separate race and this failure to become properly assimilated in the country of adoption appears to create difficulties in any country where they form a considerable proportion of the population.63
By and large, the general public mood was not in favour of the admission of large numbers of refugees, particularly if they were Jewish.64 Some key
In their particular situation, refugees had little choice in selecting their country of destination. Most of them had to go wherever they got a visa for. Therefore, few of this bookâs protagonists specifically intended to move to Australia. None of them had been there prior to their flight. âWe did not know much about the country. To hesitate and consider our options any longer was not wise,â Paul Hirsch later summarized the position of many of his âfellows in misery.â68 In many cases, members of their prewar network had suggested they go to Australia. These connections also helped ease the difficult transition phase after their arrival, which was particularly important since the refugees faced a tight labour market and increasing animosity toward enemy aliens after the outbreak of the war.
As mentioned above, the people studied in this book relied on different types of networks. Often, different categories of ties played together in the complex process of getting people out of the country. Just over a third of them managed to get out of the country due to ties based upon shared ethnic, national, or religious origin. The second largest groupâabout one-quarterâcame because of ties based on friendship. Another quarter of the escapes were facilitated through business ties. The remainder of the members of the sample group arrived in Australia due to the intervention of family members (11.5 percent) and as a result of the intervention of people who shared the same intellectual or cultural interests (7.7 percent).
Depiction of the different types of relations that helped the members of the sample group to leave the country
I was highly interested in emigration after the occurrences on November 10 had convinced me that I had to leave this country under any circumstances. Mama had registered me very early with the Society of Friends (Quakers), Vienna 1, SingerstraÃe 16. I walked down there almost daily in January 1939 to ask for any news concerning my emigration. I was told that a farming scheme would be the most promising for me. I registered for that and was told to expect a message in February 1939.70
The offices were always crowded. There were people on the stairways, in the halls, in the waiting rooms, chatting, asking for advice and exchanging information, talking about passports, visas, forms that confirmed payment of taxes, immigration visas, consulates, embassies, currency exchange regulations, tax offices, police stations, etc. etc. Every single sentence I heard reminded me of my own plight and of the hours of waiting in front of different offices and all the horror and desperation I had experienced.71
Weeks and months passed by and after the Quakers always told us to wait for another fortnight and another one, I became desperate and came to the realization that the Society of Friends would not be able to help me. So, I wrote to other English organizations. None of them responded positively. I even wrote to a Catholic priest in Londonderry [â¦], but received neither answer nor help from him.72
My sister packed her bag and went to Paris three days before the Anschluss. So, there I was, left on my own. I just battled along, I was in my family flat and I tried to get somewhere to go. My motherâs oldest sister came and cooked in our place every day, she took good care after me. When I knew I had to leave I made connections to the Jewish welfare society to get a job in London, as a housemaid, and some Jewish people sent applications to help and so I got a permit to go to England. And on 13th of August 1938, I left for London via Paris. I was there for six weeks. I hated every second of it because I was 20 then and I had never done any housework like that.76
My boyfriend had managed to get to Belgium. [â¦] But he had nowhere to go, so we had to find something. There was a guy at the embassy who told me he could get a visa to Norwayâfor a certain amount of money. So, I gave him that and he put a false visa into it [her passport]. There was no such thing as a visa to NorwayâNorway did not want any Jews. So, he then gets a plane ticket. It was difficult. The flight went through Pragueâas soon as he got to Prague, he was arrested because of the false ticket. However, the police were very kind and allowed him to ring his cousin in Brno, who bailed him out and took him to Brno. He managed to get him another false visa to Uruguay and a ticket to Uruguay. With that ticket, he went to Antwerp. However, he was very weltfremdânaïveâand took a train from there to Brussels where he joined a refugee camp. He met another cousin who took him to a Jewish aid organization. I was sitting in London, I could not support him there. So, we decided I should ask my employer to let me go to Brussels for a week. But I stayed there of course and did not return. We made many friends there and everybody was the sameâeverybody was illegal. My husband was lucky, because he had the Red Cross helping him the get a short time visa to stay in Brussels. Then we met a Polish man who resided in Sydney. He said, âIf you need anything just let me know and I will try to do something to help you.â He offered a permit for my husband, my sister, and me. My brother-in-law rejected the offer because he only wanted to go to the United States. Heâthis guy Starâsaw an ad in the Sydney Morning Herald that described that there was a war coming and Australia would need doctors. And what he did was amazing. He took this little paper to Canberra to the department of immigration and a couple of weeks later he got a permit for Dr. Erich Ziegler and wife. And thatâs why we came to Australia. We got the permit in November 1938 and we arrived here in June 1939âbecause we had no money and we had to organize that first. My husband had a cousin, whom he wrote and asked him to lend him the money.77
The family left Austria with only a trunk full of belongings. Their fares were paid by American charity benefactors. They arrived in Singapore in April 1939 on the ss Conte Biancamano. Gustav was able to find work with the Singapore Improvement Trust after a chance meeting with someone he knew who was boarding the boat to meet a friend in Singapore.78
In time, we moved to Ybbs and stayed with the Weissenberg family since Ilse [the nanny] was busy winding up our affairs in Vienna. [â¦] We were well cared for and felt at home. One day in February 1939 we were told that we would leave with a Kindertransport to France to a Rothschild sponsored home. This had been arranged by the Wozaseks who knew someone in the Vienna Jewish Community Organization, âKultusgemeinde.â In addition, we probably had some element of priority because we were technically orphans. Grandmother Lore had us fitted out with the necessary clothes and I went to Vienna to try on dresses with big hems to allow for the fact that I was growing and we did not know when we would see each other again. My cousin Georg Wozasek was to leave with us, and finally the day came in March when we went to the railway station in
Vienna and left our relatives and home to start a new life. Ilse came with us to the border where she had to leave us and we would not meet again until 1960.80
My parents arranged it, but how I do not know. I remembered the last time my mother kissed me goodbye and that was it. They brought me to the plane. I arrived in London on the 16th of December. A Mr. Meier picked me up, looked for me, took my hat off. He took something out of the hat. I remember that quite good, but I do not know what it was. He took me to his home and I stayed there for two or three nights, then he threw me out. He told me that I read too late and that needed too much electricity and he canât afford to keep me. I did not speak any English and I went into the city. I was at Piccadilly and I was picked up by the police at midnight because I played at the slot machines. And the next thing I found myself in the hands of the Quakers. I had nothing with meâall I had was a suit and a case. I was brought to a farm in Buckinghamshire, where I found myself with some 20 German boys all doing farmwork. They came on the auspices of the Quaker movement. Lady Wedgewood had the plan to send Jewish boys to Australia to do farmwork.82
There were about a hundred people in the camp. Hechaluz had organized transports from Vienna to Palestine via Bratislava and Rumania. I arrived in a camp in Bratislava in an old factory (gw Petronka). There was just a little bit of hay on the ground. The camp was supervised by the Hlinka guards. They looked like the Nazis (black uniforms). There was a reception office and two guards. We were not free. It was a closed camp. If you want to go out into the city you had to get an approval. We waited for the boats that should bring us to Romania and from then on to Palestine. I stayed there nearly a yearâfrom October 1939 to summer 1940. This was done with the knowledge of the Nazis. We waited for Hitler to send boats down the Danube to bring home the Auslandsdeutschen (ethnic Germans from the Balkans). Than we could use the empty boats [on their way down the Danube]. During that year, we had no occupation and no money. [He received some support from members of the Jewish community in Bratislava]. I went because it was the only way out of Austria. Three ships from the Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft brought us to Romania.83
When we got into Lörrach, we thought we must find some people that could help us here. We found somebody who referred us to the rabbi. He was a very progressive, understanding man. The first thing he asked us is: Where do you sleep? We told him that we had booked into a hotel. He told us: I donât want you to be in any hotel because there are police rallies every day and night. I want you to get out of it and stay with us. Then he told us about the best ways to cross the border. The best way would be to jump off a train. When we went on the train, Alice was the first one to jump. She walked out on the gangway and she wanted to jump, she walked right into a German ss man. She went back and acted as if nothing had happened. We went back to Lörrach, and found another train that was a very slow train. As soon as we got into Riehen, Alice jumped on one side and I jumped from the other side. Luckily nobody saw us and we met in front of the Badische Bahnhof [train station in Basel].85
Anyways we finally got together, and I knew of course the Jewish welfare society, I knew the people there very well, because every time during the past I came to Basel, I went to the welfare society. We went all into a tram; I knew exactly where to go. One thing I must tell you, the rabbi warned us not to take any money with us. So, we donated all our money to the synagogue. If you would have been caught with money than it would have been terrible, because you would have become a smugglerâon top of itâyou would be Jewish, an illegal refugee and a smuggler. [â¦] So, we settled with the Jewish welfare society. We started out of gratitude we asked them if we could do any work. We got something to do: Alice started in the kitchen and I was cleaning. At that time there were quite a lot of refugees in Basel and the Jewish Welfare Society rented a whole house to house the people. Later on, it became so big that they had to rent a whole theater. People were very friendly to us. We were invited every week at a certain family, we had Friday night dinners and so.86
On the 21st of June 1938 we were rung early in the morning. The lawyer who hated Jews morning, noon, and night, nevertheless attended to their affairs when it suited and paid him. Friends had offered and lent us money, we had no longer access to our own. This lawyer offered us our passports if we could and would leave that noon. Because we had geared ourselves for the last few weeks toward escape, we had two suitcases, hand luggage packed at Tante Lisaâs in the Mayeredersgasse. We also had letters from our English friends guaranteeing us their financial support. Ernest knew the consul. The consulate was closed on Saturday morning. He was able to enter through the front door, given the visa. The plane from Budapest was able to accept our booking. There were no farewells, only rush. We met in town, I locked the flat, went out with nothing, as if I went to town. Frau Zezulack who still owned the house had sharp eyes. We went upstairs to Tante Lisa, she was the only one who knew we were leaving. We came down in the lift, one at a time, not together. We walked round the corner to a taxi stand. We drove to the airport. We got onto the plane. We eventually took off. We flew over the city, we held our breath, we did not cry. We did not speak.88 [â¦] We were immensely busy during that time [in London]. Our letters to Australia still from Vienna yielded results, Dr. Bill Wishart
and his wife Olive obtained entrance permits for us. This information we received the same day on which Ernest was offered a job in a cotton mill in Lancashire with an employer whose son was not interested in the mill and Ernest seemed to answer all the requirements. Ernest was also able to obtain a work permit. To decide to come to Australia, so far away, so comparatively unknown to us, was a horrendous decision. Although we had been offered an affidavit to the United States by Ernst and Illse Toch, related to us through my grandmother [â¦] neither of us have ever felt drawn to the States. An English country seemed good to us, a country that was said to have a good climate, space, a language we knew and that was far away from the imminent threat of war. Many of our friends and acquaintances tried to persuade us from so drastic a departure. I can only ascribe our decision to brave such a step to our youth and optimism for a future we might have.89
Some [of our friends] went ahead. There was one friend actually who helped us get there. He was a barrister and he went to Sydney. He helped us very much getting the entry permit. Thatâs sort of a long story. Thatâs a separate tape. Itâs a long story. We didn't come directly to Australia. It was very dangerous for Karl to leave because he was of military age, you know, and when we left there was just that danger looming with Sudeten Germany [Czechoslovakia]. You know about that, donât you, where Hitler was marching into Sudeten Germany? It could have been war if the Allies [â¦] at the time they could have stopped Hitler if the Allies had been clever enough to honor the obligations of Czechoslovakia and all that, you see. The danger was very great and Karl did not get a normal passport at all when we left. We went to Greece first. We had a chance to go to Greece and Karl under some quite incredibly clever pretext got a visa to Greece for both of us and pretended that heâs going to Greece for some commission, some architectural job. They swallowed that and we fled to Athens with hardly any money in the pocket, no money at all really. We had [â¦] that was funny because the Germans couldnât have
been too thorough. Before we left we had all our belongings, furniture, silver, carpets, very precious things, all packed. My husbandâs father looked after the whole thing and when we arrived in Australia [â¦] in fact the war was coming. We wrote him to send it immediately and it just arrived two months before the war broke out actually, or we would have lost it. It was packed in two vans but, when we left of course, we just went with our suitcases and nothing. We just took Greece as the place from where we arranged our Australian affairs because it was too dangerous to do it from Vienna. He was not supposed to leave, you see, so we arranged all that once we were in Athens.90
For a few days I came back from Vienna where I studied at the National Library for my scientific investigations. I am professor of oriental philology and lived in the house of my Viennese friend, where I made knowledge with the family Tandler. They asked me to write to you from Holland, because from Vienna yet it is impossible to explain the real situation. All the letters are opened and nobody can describe what the Austrian Jews have to suffer now. [â¦] In a few days Mr. Tandler will send to you a request for emigration into Australia. The meaning of this my letter is that you will insist upon the Australian government to give the permission for emigration. Mr. Richard Tandler asked me to write that he does not expect any financial support but only your moral support to make it possible that he can get the permission. You can be sure that this is the only demand. Mr. Tandler is young and talented enough to find his own way once arrived in Australia. I implore you therefore to make all efforts, that Mr. Tandler, his wife and two children can emigrate.91
Applicant arrived in Australia in 1938. Permit has been issued in respect of Erwin Starkl and Erhard Starkl in 1939 but have since lapsed. Nominees are friends of the applicant. [â¦] No security objection would be raised to the grant of landing permits but it is thought that priority should be given to relatives of persons already residing in Australia.93
Since your departure from Vienna much has changed and you can see from my letter to where fate has driven me. I had to endure much to arrive there. I left Vienna immediately before the Czech ultimatum when everyone believed war to be imminent. Unfortunately, I had the bad luck to be caught at the border which resulted in a monthâs jail. And now I am living
here [Paris, France] illegally and see no prospect of getting away from here. You canât imagine what it is like living as an emigrant and yet it is better than being in Vienna. I lived through a terrible time during which I had no letter from my folks for 10 days. Thank God nothing happened to my relations and I am happy to be getting good news from them so far. However, my current situation is not tenable. Dear Kurt, I would like to recall our last discussion and ask you to write me at once whether you can do anything for me. Please inquire, whether any business, no matter in what area, could organize my immigration, i.e. get the necessary permit. So, Kurt, show whether you are a real friend. I know that you wonât have the necessary contact yourself. Ask your cousin, who is known in the city, perhaps she could undertake something.95
Since lucky you doesnât have to think about such things anymore and you are my only friend in the wide world, donât be annoyed that I am troubling you. I believe that our friendship and the time we spent together in our childhood gives me the right. My dear Kurt, I beg you, do your utmost to get a permit for me. Perhaps you can find someone who would sponsor me. If necessary, I would in the meantime come alone. You know, I can turn my hand to anything and am not afraid of hard work. Please investigate possibilities as your time and circumstances permit. If you do hear of anything write me and I will send you a detailed application or cv if you require it. I beg you to consider the matter as most urgent!96
Perhaps you could find an opening for my son. He is 18½ years old, an outstanding orthopedic shoemaker, having spent 3½ years working mornings as apprentice and attending the Knöffl school in the afternoons [â¦]. He is also a first-rate violinist but due to our circumstances could only perform as an amateur. My daughter is 15½, very strong. She has done
courses in cooking, patisserie, belt and artificial flower making. I would be most grateful if you could enable her to come to Australiaâher fare would be paid for by the committee, the 50 pounds landing money surely, I would provide.97
Paul Hirsch and his wife were lucky enough to have had the support of his sister-in-law, who had migrated to Australia early in 1938 and built a life there, in Melbourne. Hirsch described his feelings of resignation after having to live in National Socialist Vienna for 14 months. He recalled the loss of his âfamiliar languageâ and mentioned that it was most important ânot to be recognized in the public.â98 He further noted that he ceased all of his networking activities, isolated himself, and tried âto accept his fate.â99 His wifeâs family network, however, gave him the opportunity to leave Nazi-ruled Austria a few months before the outbreak of the war, when visas to safe countries were very hard to obtain. His sister-in-law offered him and his wife a place to live and organized their journey to Australia.100 Hirsch managed to bring the considerable sum of 2,000 pounds with him and thus was not required to have a sponsor.101 He subsequently recalled his relief at the prospect of being able to leave: âWe were all tired of Europe,â he later wrote.102
At that time [summer 1938], my sister was in Italy with a dance group and it became clear to my mother that it was way too dangerous for us to stay in Vienna for any longer. That was why my mother spent countless hours in front of different public offices to get a visa to another country. Finally, we received information that people in England were searching for domestic servants andâovernightâmy mother became a cook and
I became a servant. We packed everything together in a large suitcase and went to England two months after the Anschluss.103
I will never forget how it felt to be on the other side of the border. I was alive, I was safe. I have never forgotten how incredibly important it is to be alive. My mother and myself, we worked in a large English house in the countryside [Maidstone, Kent]. I had to wear a uniform with a black dress, a white apron, and a white hairband. Our employers belonged to a different social class, but they were friendly to us.104
Suddenly we were servants: we saw another way of life. It was interesting to be a fly on the wall and watch the family. Quite apart from the fact that we felt this wonderful relief at being alive, it was difficult. Once you lose a language you lose any form of communication. She [her mother] was sure that this was only a very temporary stage. We received no news about what happened in Austria, we were cut off from information [they did not speak English and could not read any newspapers].105
In later interviews, Winkler further described the uncertainty that plagued her during this time: âdo I really want to marry Kurt? I know him only so little.â107 She also described how, since she and her mother did not have enough money to pay for the fares, she was able to get her costs covered by the Quakers (Society of Friends), who had also supported some other members of our sample group.108
Another important type of tie that helped people get out of Nazi Austria was relationships based upon business activities. Five protagonists, or about one-fifth of the overall group, used their business ties to facilitate their escape. Grete Vanry was among the first who left Austria, only a few days after the Anschluss. She had multiple reasons to leave, as she was a member of the Communist Party and a labour union representative, and she also worked for a Jewish businesswoman who was forced to shut down her company and had emigrated to Australia. As her husband later described: âTogether with Hermann [her then boyfriend], she came to Paris via different detours. After a few months, her former Viennese boss invited her to Sydney and organized a permit for her.â109 Her former boyfriend described the circumstances of her escape: âGrete and I had to hand over our passports to the Austrian authorities after a conviction in 1937. In March 1938, we therefore crossed the border to Switzerland illegally.â110 After their escape, her boyfriend Hermann Langbein enlisted in the International Brigades to fight Francisco Francoâs fascist regime in the Spanish Civil War, while Vanry found temporary shelter and employment in a French socialist labour union home. Some of the letters from that
Charles Anton, who left in August, had very early begun to use his business ties to get to Australia. In March 1938, he âsaw the writing on the wall,â as one of his friends recalled.113 He secured a job with a Sydney-based insurance broker company only one month after the Nazi takeover. This suggests that he maintained close contact with members of his companyâs business network. Having found an employer before applying for a visa smoothed and accelerated the process of obtaining an entrance permit. As his family had managed to transfer some of their financial assets to a Swiss bank account before the Anschluss, he had no problems raising the required landing money; as early as August 1938, Anton was allowed to enter the country.114
Marie Bergel also used her business contacts to get her family out of Austria. A few days after the Anschluss, she closed her bank accounts.115 She realized her precarious situation and began to use her networks to organize her familyâs escape. She succeeded simultaneously in getting support from two different networks. âI sent a long telegram to Frank Scholl [a business partner] in London and asked him to come to Vienna,â she later stated.116 She explained that she could not run her trade agency in Vienna any longer and that she had to leave the country as soon as possible. Knowing of the demand for podiatrists in Australia, he suggested she should go to London and offered her podiatric training in his companyâs foot clinic with the subsequent prospect of opening
Very rapidly, one country after another foresaw the likely flood of refugees about to descend on them and made entry more and more difficult. Then days after the Nazi-takeover, Mama wrote her first letter to Sir James Morton [a business partner of the family in England], asking in rather general terms, whether he might be prepared to help me to get to England. [â¦] An agreement was reached that Henry Bachrach, with uncle Hansâ help would make available 250 pounds and the same sum was to be deposited by Sir James, for my use. The British consulate in Vienna was notified with a request to provide a visa. [â¦] At the same time things were progressing painfully slowly in trying to get my English visa. There had been a good deal of further correspondence between my mother and the Mortons. [â¦] On 6 October, he received a letter of acceptanceâa twelve monthsâ visa for study purposes was issued. [â¦] The last couple of weeks passed in an atmosphere of almost disbelief. I finally left on the
evening of the 3rd of November. Six days later Reichskristallnacht took place.124
I put an ad in the Sydney Morning Herald, for my husband and myself. We were desperate. We did not know where to go because nobody wanted us. I said nothing particular, of course that my husband was a doctor and that we were married [â¦] and I got one answer. We got a letter from a man who said he was a doctor, a dentist. He can send us a permit. We said it was fantastic.125
Her immigration records also indicate that the Roberts family received support from the Maccabi Section of the Jewish National World Organization in Vienna. Additionally, an Austrian, who had emigrated earlier had also acted as a guarantor for them.126
I came to Australia because I wanted to get to a country where it was possible for me to join the Forces, and to work at liberty; and secondly to a country, where I was permitted to stay. In Jugo Slovia [sic], I was not permitted to stay forever, as the Aliens Control does not permit a continued permanent stay. You have to go to the police every fortnight. The best place would have been France, and I got in touch with the French
authorities in Jugo Slovia [sic], but France was full of political refugees, hundreds of thousands of them, they did not want any more and I did not get permission. The next best place would have been England. It was just as impossible to go to England so I had to come here. [â¦] In January 1939, I received a letter from Mr. Dawe in Adelaide. He said he made an application for me to get a permit to come here. As I knew it may have success, I decided to take the chance. [â¦] I did not have any intentions for a certain [professional] position, but it was understood from the letters of Mr. Dawe that he was going to bring me into some farm business. [â¦] [but] I came with the intention to make immediately after my arrival an application to join up.128
In a letter from 1940, the guarantor described his relationship with Herzfeld: âI first became interested in this case in my official position as Head Quarters Commissioner for Scouts in South Australia, on the representation of the International Scout Commissioner in Budapest.â129 This also shows how contacts were communicated and exchanged on a global level within the Boy Scout network.
The young professional dancer Hanny Exiner was part of a different network. When she was forced to leave because of her Jewish heritage, she had not only finished two years of medical studies but also completed a four-year diploma from the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts (Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst) with her mentor, the world-famous professor of modern dance Gertrud Bodenwieser. She was also teaching dance at the Bodenwieser Academie and the Viennese Volkshochschule. After the Nazis marched into Austria, Bodenwieser lost her job because of her Jewish heritage, and she fled to France.130 Mediated by a diplomat friend, she was invited to organize a group of her former Viennese students and colleagues to perform at the Centennial Festival of Bogotá, Colombia.131 Knowing of Exinerâs uncertain future in the Nazi state, Bodenwieser invited her to join the dance troupe. Out of a âneed for security,â as Exiner later noted, she dropped her medical studies and went to South America with the Bodenwieser Ballet.132
5.3
Networks, as an important form of the refugeesâ social capital, played a pivotal role in their survival. Without their manifold transnational ties to people outside of the German Reich, it is unlikely that this bookâs 26 protagonists would have been able to escape from Nazi persecution. This section of the book highlighted those memories they had of the circumstances of their flight and thus provided us with insights into different types of networks used by refugees from Nazi Germany. It has also been shown, once more, how important the non-financial forms of human capital (cultural and social capital) wereâparticularly in exceptional situations such as forced migration.
As the above analysis shows, this bookâs protagonists remembered having taken advantage of the activities of five very different types of networks. Ties based on shared ethnic, religious, and national origins turned out to be of the utmost importance during those exceptional times. This does not come as a surprise, as most destination countries did not acknowledge refugee status during 1938 and 1939, and refugees were treated as migrants. They had to prove that they could provide for themselves, that they would not become a burden to the country of refuge, and they, of course, had to pay for their fares as well asâin some states, such as Australiaâhaving to produce a certain amount of financial capital, the so-called landing money, as a security deposit. Given the refugeesâ tight financial situation after being robbed of most of their wealth by the Nazi state, aid organizations, which were mainly based on ethnic or religious ties, were the main point of contact for many of those desperate people, even if the levels of their self-identification with the Jewish, Protestant, or Catholic faith were low.
Most of this bookâs protagonists came from families with either personal or business ties to people and companies abroad. As we saw in Chapter 3, England, France, and Czechoslovakia were states where this bookâs protagonists had particularly many contacts. These ties became crucial for almost half of the group when the Nazis marched in; a quarter of them could mobilize friendship ties to help them get out of the country and another quarter drew on members of their business networks to facilitate their escapes. Many refugees received help from family members abroad. In the case of our sample group, the comparatively low figure of only 11.5 percent of refugees who made it out to Australia because of the help of family members does not come as a surprise: until 1938 Australia was not on the radar of many migrants from Austria, or Central Europe generally. The country was simply too far away and too unknown to trigger larger waves of immigration from Central Europe. Thus, not many members of our sample group had relatives who had gone to
This analysis was also interested in the experiences that triggered this bookâs protagonistsâ decision to leave the country. Altogether, their memories of these days produced a rather consistent picture. Most of them described how they had suffered physical abuse, or at least knew people who had been abused. Others were even imprisoned and tortured. Some recalled a terrible lack of security and stated that the extreme restrictions under the Nazi government and the loss of their livelihood had triggered their decision to leave the country. Those who had not fled the country prior to November 1938 almost unanimously described the Nazi pogroms of 9/10 November 1938 and the subsequent increasing circle of violence against Jews as the final trigger for their decision to escape.
Sponar, Snow in Australia, 24.
Leon Smith (friend of Anton and his successor as president of the aac) in discussion with the author (sound recording), Sydney, March 2016.
Eleanor Hart (Selbyâs daughter), in discussion with the author (sound recording), Melbourne, February 2016.
Gerda Hofreiter, Allein in die Fremde: Kindertransporte von Ãsterreich nach Frankreich, GroÃbritannien und in die USA 1938â1941 (Innsbruck: Studienverlag, 2010).
Cherny, Who is Sylvia?, 15.
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
sjm, au006, title: Liesel Ziegler Oral History Interview (audio recording).
Interview with John Hearst, n.d., (sound recording) (in the possession of Gary Hearst).
Winkler, âAugenblickâ; ushmm, usc Shoah Foundation Institute testimony of Viola Winkler, Oral History, vha Interview Code: 5134 (audio recording).
Bittmann, Strauss to Matilda, 266.
naa, A434, Miss Johanna KolmâAdmission of relatives.
nla, 513110, Hanny Exiner interviewed by Michelle Potter, 1994 (audio recording).
Dymia Schulze (Bowenâs daughter), in discussion with the author (sound recording), Vienna, March 2017.
Paul Hatvani, âZwei Prosastücke,â 71â72.
Paul Hatvani, âDamals: Besinnung auf die Zeit,â 19â20.
naa, A1209, Professor Gerhard FelserâHonour.
naa, A12508, felser Gerhard R born 24 March 1910; Ema Maria aged 29; nationality German; travelled per niagara arriving in Sydney on 24 September 1938.
Private letter (written documents), 1938 (in the possession of Sue Copolov).
naa, mp529/3/0, Tribunal 2/Herzfeld.
naa, A435, Olga Agid.
naa, A12217, Weiss Hans.
naa, A12508, Hans and Irma Weiss.
Jarolim, âDetention of Jews.â
sjm, C007, title: Bruno Bush Oral history interview (audio recording).
sjm, C007, title: Bruno Bush Oral history interview (audio recording).
ushmm, Oral history interview with Hans Eisler, Accession Number: 2009.214.61 | rg Number: rg-50.617.0061 (audio recording).
ushmm, Oral history interview with Hans Eisler, Accession Number: 2009.214.61 | rg Number: rg-50.617.0061 (audio recording).
Bittmann, Strauss to Matilda, 153.
Bittmann, Strauss to Matilda, 153.
nla, Gertrude Langer Interviewed by Barbara Blackman [sound recording], Oral trc 1171 (transcript), 32.
Krist, Reinhold Eckfeld, 49, 52.
Strobl, âSocial Networksâ; Bourdieu, âThe Forms,â 47.
Susie J. Pak, âWriting Biography as a History of Networks: Why the Story of J. P. Morgan Needs Jacob H. Schiff,â Bulletin of the German Historical Institute 55 (2014): 69â75, 73.
The term âmental realitiesâ has been used in sociology and philosophy to describe perceptions and expectations; Charles Tilly described it as âthe meaning people assign to their actions,â see Tilly, Identities, Boundaries, 3; John Rogers Searle defined it as âthe reality of consciousness and intentionality,â see: Searle, âMeaning, Mind and Reality,â 178; Fuhse, âThe Meaning,â 53; Strobl, âSocial Networks,â 53â79.
Strobl, âSocial Networks,â 53â79.
Boyd, âFamily networks,â 642.
For an overview about the early development of the concept, see J. Clyde Mitchell, âSocial Networks,â Annual Review of Anthropology 3 (1974): 279â299.
Christian Rollinger et al., âEditorsâ Introduction,â Journal of Historical Network Research 1 (2017): iâvii, iv.
White, Identity and Control, 31.
Fuhse, âThe Meaning,â 51.
Fuhse, âTheorizing Social Networks,â 19.
Fuhse, âThe Meaning,â 52.
Douglas Gurak and Fe Caces, âMigration Networks and the Shaping of Migration Systems,â in International Migration Systems: A Global Approach, ed. Mary M. Kritz, Lin Lean Lim, and Hania Zlotnik (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), 150â176, 152.
Tilly, Identities, Boundaries, 7.
Jan Fuhse and Gondal Neha, âNetworks and Meaning,â International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioural Sciences 16 (2015): 561â565, 564.
Gurak and Caces, âMigrant Networks,â 150; Fuhse, âThe Meaning,â 53.
Marko Valenta, âFamily Ties, Female Dependence, and Networking in Exile,â Dve Domovini/Two Homelands 30 (2009): 7â28, 9.
Blakeney, Jewish Refugees, 90.
Rutland, Jews in Australia, 57.
Neumann, Across the Seas, 36.
Lang, Fahrt ins Blaue, 41.
John Vrachnas, Kim Boyd, Mirko Bagaric, and Penny Dimopoulos, Migration and Refugee Law: Principles and Practice in Australia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 173.
Comp. Andreas Zimmermann, The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol: A Commentary, Oxford Commentaries on International Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).
Neumann, Across the Seas, 36.
Rutland, Australia, 57.
Comp. Paul Bartrop, Australia and the Holocaust 1933â45 (Kew: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 1994), 115ff.
Klaus Neumann, Refuge Australia: Australiaâs Humanitarian Record (Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2004), 23.
Strobl, âAustrian-Jewish Refugees,â 260.
Neumann, Across the Seas, 32.
Comp. Strobl, âExperiences of Encounter.â
Neumann, Refuge Australia, 25.
As cited in Markus, âJewish Migration to Australia 1938â49,â 20.
Neumann, Across the Seas, 57.
OâBrien, âCitizenship, Rights and Emergency Powers.â
Richards, Destination Australia, 138.
Strobl, Ambivalent Experiences of Encounter; Neumann, Across the Seas, 52â53.
Paul Hatvani, âNicht da nicht dort Australien,â Akzente 6 (1973): 564â571, 564.
Dokumentationsarchiv des Ãsterreichischen Widerstandes, ed., Ãsterreicher im Exil: GroÃbritannien 1938â1945: Eine Dokumentation (Vienna: n.p., 1992), 8â9.
Krist, Reinhold Eckfeld, 52, original text: âFür Auswanderung begann ich mich von dem Moment an heftigst zu interessieren, als der 10.November bei mir keinen Zweifel übrig gelassen hatte, daà ich gehen müÃte, unter allen Umständen. Mama hatte mich und uns alle schon recht früh bei der Society of Friends (Quäker), Wien I., SingerstraÃe 16, angemeldet. Im Jänner 39 ging ich öfters nachfragen hin, ob sich nicht irgendwo eine neue Chance für mich zeigen könnte. Man hielt ein Farmingscheme für aussichtsreich und ich registrierte dafür, man versprach Anfang oder Mitte Februar Nachricht für mich zu haben.â
Krist, Reinhold Eckfeld, 52â53, original text: âDer Parteienverkehr ist ständig sehr stark, Leute eilen die Treppe auf und ab, stehen in den Gängen und Warteräumen, sprechen miteinander, fragen um Rat, tauschen Erfahrungen und Erlebnisse aus, sprechen über Pass, Steuerunbedenklichkeit, Visa, Einreisebewilligung, Konsulate, Devisenbestimmungen, Reichsfluchtsteuer, Rathaus, Finanzamt, Polizeikommissariat, etc. etc. Jeder einzelne dieser Sätze ruft in einem die Gedanken an die eigenen Wege, Laufereien, Stunden des Anstellens, der Verzweiflung, des Hoffens wach.â
Krist, Reinhold Eckfeld, 61; original text: âdoch wie Wochen und Monate vergehen und ich immer wieder auf noch 14 Tage, noch drei Wochen abwarten, etc. vertröstet werde, beginne ich langsam aber sicher verzweifelt zu werden und komme zu der Ãberzeugung, daà die Society of Friends nicht imstande sein wird, mir ein Visum zu verschaffen. Ich versuche nun, an verschiedene andere englische Committees zu schreiben, erhalte jedoch überall abschlägige Bescheide. [â¦] Ich schreibe an einen katholischen Pfarrer in Londonderry: Rev. McLaughlin, St. Patricks Church, Londonderry, erhalte aber von ihm weder Antwort noch Hilfe.â
Reinhold Eckfeld, in discussion with the author, Melbourne, January 2017.
Krist, Reinhold Eckfeld, 82; original text: âMama erzählt mir noch etwas auÃer Atem vor Eile, daà mit der Morgenpost ein Brief von der israelischen Kultusgemeinde, I, Seitenstettengasse, eingetroffen sei, in dem Mama aufgefordert wird, eine dort eingelangte Permitkarte lautend auf Mamas, Waldis und meinen Namen abzuholen. Wir wissen noch immer kaum unser Glück zu fassen, und es sind diese Stunden sicher die Glücklichsten, die wir seit vielen Monaten erlebt haben.â
Rachel Pistol, âRefugees from National Socialism Arriving in Great Britain 1933â1945,â Refugees, Relief and Resettlement: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2020, accessed December 2, 2021,
sjm, au006, title: Liesel Ziegler Oral History Interview (audio recording).
sjm, au006, title: Liesel Ziegler Oral History Interview (audio recording).
Jarolim, âDetention of Jews.â
Pistol, âRefugees from National Socialism.â
slv, me 1453, Sylvia Cherny untitled (manuscript).
Pistol, âRefugees from National Socialism.â
ushmm, Oral history interview with Hans Eisler, Accession Number: 2009.214.61 | rg Number: rg-50.617.0061 (audio recording).
sjm, C007, title: Bruno Bush oral history interview (audio recording).
Interview with John Hearst, n.d. (sound recording) (in the possession of Gary Hearst).
Interview with John Hearst, n.d. (sound recording) (in the possession of Gary Hearst).
Interview with John Hearst, n.d. (sound recording) (in the possession of Gary Hearst).
Interview with John Hearst, n.d. (sound recording) (in the possession of Gary Hearst).
slv, Annemarie Mutton, papers, ca. 1930â1987. [manuscript], ms box 2685/9â10.
slv, Annemarie Mutton, papers, ca. 1930â1987. [manuscript], ms box 2685/9â10.
nla, Gertrude Langer Interviewed by Barbara Blackman [sound recording], Oral trc 1171 (transcript), 35f.
Private letter, 1938 (in possession of Sue Copolov).
naa: A261, 1938/161 Applicant Behrend Felix; Nominee Tandler Richard.
naa, A6119, Felser, Gerhard Richard.
Eleanor Hart (Selbyâs daughter), in discussion with the author (sound recording), Melbourne, February 2016; naa, A261, 1939/1044, Selby Kurt.
Private letter to Selby, 1938 (in the possession of Eleanor Hart).
Private letters to Selby, 1939 (in the possession of Eleanor Hart).
Private letters to Selby, 1938 (in the possession of Eleanor Hart).
Hatvani, âZwei Prosastücke,â 71â72.
Hatvani, âDamals: Besinnung auf die Zeit,â 19â20.
Frank Pam (Hirschâs nephew), in discussion with the author (audio recording), Melbourne, October 2016.
naa, A435, 1945/4/500, Hirsch Paulâborn 16 August 1892âStateless.
Hatvani, âAustralien,â 568.
Winkler, âAugenblickâ; original text: âmeine Schwester war gerade mit einer Tanzgruppe in Italien, aber es stand fest, dass es für meine Mutter und mich viel zu gefährlich war, noch längere Zeit in Wien zu wohnen. Deshalb verbrachte meine Mutter unzählige Stunden vor sämtlichen Ãmtern, um eine Einwanderungserlaubnis in ein anderes Land zu bekommen. Endlich erhielten wir die Information, dass in England Hausdiener gesucht werden und über Nacht wurde meine Mutter zur Köchin und ich zu einem Dienstmädchen. Wir packten alles, was wir mitnehmen konnten, in einen groÃen Koffer und wanderten zwei Monate nach der Nazi-Ankunft in Wien nach England aus.â
Winkler, âAugenblickâ; original text: âIch werde nie vergessen, wie es sich angefühlt hat, auf der anderen Seite der Grenze zu sein. Ich war am Leben, ich war sicher. Ich habe nie vergessen, wie wertvoll es ist, am Leben zu sein. Meine Mutter und ich arbeiteten in einem groÃen englischen Haus am Land. Ich musste eine Uniform tragen mit schwarzem Kleid, weiÃer Schürze und weiÃem Haarband. Unsere Arbeitgeber gehörten einer ganz anderen Gesellschaftsschicht an als wir, aber sie waren immer freundlich zu uns.â
ushmm, usc Shoah Foundation Institute testimony of Viola Winkler, Oral History, vha Interview Code: 5134 (audio recording).
Winkler, âAugenblick,â original text: âNach sechs Monaten kam ein Brief von ihm, dass es die Möglichkeit für mich gäbe, zu ihm nach Australien zu gehen, wir müssten allerdings innerhalb der ersten drei Monate heiraten.â
Winkler, âAugenblick.â
ushmm, usc Shoah Foundation Institute testimony of Viola Winkler, Oral History, vha Interview Code: 5134 (audio recording).
Frank Vanry, Der Zaungast (Vienna: Europaverlag, 1983), 271; original text: âMit Hermann kam sie auf Umwegen nach Paris und nach Monaten, von ihrer Wiener Chefin angefordert und mit einem permit versorgt nach Sidney [sic].â
Hermann Langbein, Pasaremos: Briefe aus dem spanischen Bürgerkrieg (Cologne: Bund-Verlag, 1982), 49; original text: âSowohl Grete als auch mir waren nach einer Verurteilung im Jahr 1937 von der österreichischen Polizei die Pässe abgenommen wurden. Im März 1938 sind wir deshalb illegal über die Grenze.â
Langbein, Pasaremos, 49; original text: âHier wirst du dichâfürcht ichâentscheiden müssen, ob du dein Leben lieber für Dich, oder mit mir leben willst. Ich weiÃ, dass dir diese Entscheidung schwerfallen wird. MuÃt dich aber doch durchringen, falls sich Stella inzwischen nicht zu etwas Gescheiterem durchgerungen hat.â
Langbein, Pasaremos, 57, 59; original text: âdas Fehlen der beruflichen Arbeit, das kann ich dir wirklich nachfühlen. [â¦] Nach meinen Umrechnungen wirst du ja einen Haufen verdienen. Wie teuer ist es unten? Und was kostet die Ãberfahrt? Musst halt fest sparen unten für alle Fälle.â
Sponar, Snow in Australia, 24.
naa, A435, 1944/4/1110, Anton Charles William.
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
Rutland, Australia, 57.
Interview with Marie Bergel, n.d. (sound recording), n.d. (in the possession of Joan Lynn).
Pistol, âRefugees from National Socialism.â
Teltscher, The Glückspilz, 49ff.
sjm, au022, Helen Roberts Oral History Interview (audio recording).
naa, C123, 2994, Roberts or Raubitschek Richard.
Comp. Philipp Lehar, âPfadfindergruppen in österreichischen und deutschen dp-Lagern nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Selbstermächtigung und Anschluss an ein globales Netzwerk,â Zeitgeschichte 2 (2020): 231â256.
naa, mp529/3/0 Tribunal 2/Herzfeld.
naa, mp529/3/0 Tribunal 2/Herzfeld.
Bond, âHonoring Hanny Exiner,â 100.
Emmy Steininger, âThe Emigration of Gertrud Bodenwieser and her Dancers,â in Gertrud Bodenwieser and Viennaâs Contribution to Ausdruckstanz, ed. Bettina Vernon-Warren and Charles Warren (London: Routledge, 1995), 101â104.
nla, 513110, Hanny Exiner interviewed by Michelle Potter, 1994.