#52 Ancestors - #27 - Independence

Did you miss me? Or at least my weekly posts? I returned last week from our fabulous Grand Circle “Great Rivers of Europe” trip cruising from Amsterdam to Vienna, Austria. If you follow me on Facebook, you were able to keep up with our daily activities. If not, and you’re interested, I’m on Facebook as Deborah Samuel Holman.

There was some wireless connection onboard but it was so spotty between ports it made no sense to try and blog. As a result, I am four weeks behind on Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blog challenge. I haven’t missed a week in 26 weeks (a record for me!) so I don’t want to give up now.

A reminder: I am dedicating this year’s blogs to stories about my generation. Maybe not as “historically interesting” as my ancestors, but just as important. Remember: YOUR stories will be the stories your descendants tell, so WRITE THEM DOWN!!

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

The lives of my mother and her family were changed forever one day in March 1938. On that day, the Nazis appropriated my great-grandfather's business. As he (Sigmund Lichtenthal) explained in a letter written years later, 

"The firm, Lital, came to a natural end when Austria was occupied by the Nazis in March 1938, since I am Jewish and, as such, subject to the Germans' exceptional legislation for Jews. No sooner had the Anschluss been closed than three "gentlemen" appeared in my office, bearing a letter from the district leadership of the NDAP, stating that Lital had been taken over by the party in the interest of its 60 employees and would in the future be led by the party."

Two months later, my grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal, was imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp. From Dachau, he was sent to Buchenwald, where he remained until his release was secured in May 1939.

Letters written by my grandfather while in Dachau and Buchenwald.

Our family was luckier than many. Although my grandfather lost his livelihood and his good health, the lives of his immediate family were spared and they were able to forge a new life in the United States.  One of the most important projects on my to-do list is to write the story of my great-grandfather's business and his life-long effort to obtain reparations for the wrongs inflicted upon him and millions of other Jews. 

For today, "We Remember."

52 Ancestors: #6 -In recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day and to honor the memory of my maternal grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal.

In May of 1938, my family changed forever. I realize that we were blessed that no one in my mother’s immediate family was murdered. We fared so much better than millions of others. I get that. While ours is not a story of horrifying proportions, it still is worthy of being told. It should never have happened. It should never be forgotten.

Paul - probably early 1901

My grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal, was born on December 1, 1900 to hard-working people. His father, Sigmund Lichtenthal was a hat-maker who had come from Tarnopol, Poland to Vienna, Austria. His mother, the former Rosa Berger was from Budapest, Hungary. His younger sister Valerie was born in 1902.

The family business, Lital grew to include 5 men’s hat stores, 3 shoe stores, and a small men’s hat factory.

  

Paul trained as a hat-maker himself and worked in the family business. On August 12, 1930 he married Rose Spiegel. His parents weren't fond of Rose and her family, feeling they were “elitists” and not of the working class. On March 5, 1932, Paul and Rose had their only child, a daughter (my mother) Doris.

 

Undated - Paul is standing in the doorway to the right

Sigmund Lichtenthal - Expert

 Sigmund Lichtenthal was my maternal great-grandfather. While I don't remember him at all, I have definitely formed an impression of his personality. My mom used to tell me that Sigmund's business card identified him as an "expert" - no mention of what he was an "expert in, however. 

I figured she was exaggerating. After all, who would have had such a high opinion of himself that he would print up cards purporting to be an expert?

Then....I found it. 

Rene Berger

 Rene Mendel was born in Budapest, Hungary on September 3, 1883. She was the third and youngest child of Jacob Berger and the former Cecilie Schoen.

Rene’s sister, Rosa (b. 1875) married Sigmund Lichtenthal in 1899, becoming my maternal great-grandmother. Rene’s brother Rudolph was born in 1872.

Rene married Adolf Mendl. They had one son, Kurt, born in 1919. Prior to WWII, the family lived in Vienna, Austria. On or about May 20, 1942, Rene was transported on Transport 22 Train Da 203 from Vienna to Minsk, Belorussia (USSR). Her prisoner number was 164. 

To learn more about this transport see: Transports to Extinction