50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany (38 page)
Authors: Steven Pressman
Tags: #NF-WWII
Philadelphia Jewish Exponent
, on rescue mission, 220–21
Philadelphia Jewish Sanatorium for Consumptives, 16–17
Phillips, William, 58, 71
physicians, practice prohibitions, 37
Pickett, Clarence, 81, 161, 221, 224
plan
overview, 62–63
conception of, 4–5
history of, 5–6
State Department, unofficial support, 63–64
pogroms
in Eastern Europe, 16
in Galicia, 32
Kristallnacht, 9, 46–47
Polier, Justine, 71, 74
population, Jewish. See
specific city
porcelain sculpture, 169
preference visas, 155, 159–160
preparations
Brith Sholom emergency meeting, 75–76
earlier attempts, 76–79
encouragement, 81–82
professional jealousy, 79–80
President Harding
(ship), 144, 192, 193–94, 199–201
Propaganda Ministry, Kristallnacht and, 47
property, loss of, 45, 126, 167
See also
businesses; residences, loss of
public assistance, deportation for, 72
public charge requirement, 70–71
public opinion polls, 68–70, 232
Quaker rescue delegation.
See
American Friends Service Committee
Queen Mary
, 97–98, 113, 193
quotas
disparities, 53–55
editorials on, 67–68
German-Jewish Children’s Aid, snags, 78
Holocaust and, 258
public charge requirement, 70–71
reduction of, proposals for, 72, 221–22
unused, 224
U.S., 37–38
See also
immigration laws
Rattner, Esther, 243
Rattner, Jakob, 243, 256
Rattner, Klara
after the rescue mission, 243
in Collegeville setting, 208–9
dangers in Vienna, parents’ recognition of, 127, 256
Razovsky, Cecilia
German-Jewish Children’s Aid and, 77–79
opposition from, 160–61
in response to editorial, 221
on waiting period, 75
Reichstag address, 118
Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (Union of Jews in Germany), 257
relatives in U.S.
greeting the ship, 202
interviewing, 226
placement with, 225, 227–28
rescue mission success
acclaim for, 217–221, 224
criticism/scrutiny of, 221–24
professional jealousy of, 79–80, 223–24
Reynolds, Sen. Robert, 65–66, 72–73
Ribbentrop, Joachim von, 132, 183–84, 185
Richmond Times-Dispatch
, on Wagner-Rogers bill, 67
Righteous Among the Nations, 252–53
Rogers, Rep. Edith, 66–67
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 71, 74
Roosevelt, Franklin
appeal from passengers of the St. Louis, 210
letter to Hitler, 118
Mercy Ship bill, signing of, 232
visa extensions for German Jews, 60n, 71
Roper polling company, 68–69
Rosenberg, Kurt, 244
Rosenberg, Regina, 244
Rosenberg, Simon, 244
Roth, Bertha, 30
Roth, Herbert, 216, 244
Roth, Hermann, 30, 207, 215–16
Roth, Kurt
about, 30
after the rescue mission, 244
father’s letter, 207, 215
on Kristallnacht, 51–52
parental uncertainty, 127
Rothschild, Albert, 40
Rothschild palace, as Jewish emigration center, 40–41, 150–53
Sachsenhausen concentration camp, 101n, 144
Sacks, Leon
about, 57
after the rescue mission, 235
at Brith Sholom annual convention, 217–18
children of specific interest, 83
in Collegeville setting, 214
Messersmith commendation of, 212
transition to U.S., 201
Sacks, Myra, 214
Saint Gellert Hotel, 158
Sara as Nazi-required name, 188
Sarah (Eleanor’s sister), 112
Schless, Robert
at dinner, 121
family members at dock, 203
at farewell reception, 168–69
free first-class ticket for, 166
humor of, 156
interviewing children, 125–27
lifestyle, 97–98
Neufeld, marriage to, 196–97, 234–35
as replacement for Eleanor, 91–92
Sacks’ praise for, 218
as Uncle Bob/Herr Doktor, 191
Schubert, Franz, 25
Schuschnigg, Kurt, 35–36, 120
Seligsohn, Julius
assistance from, 144, 149, 181–82
exit effectiveness of, 101–2
fate of, 101n
Senate Joint Resolution 64.
See
Wagner-Rogers bill
sightseeing
Berlin, 140–41
Budapest, 157–58
Paris, 115–16
Simpson, Wallis, 120–21
Sobibor extermination camp, 248, 253
Southampton, England, stopover at, 194–95
Spiegler, Ella, 226, 245
Spies, Robert, 245
St. Louis
(ship), 210–11
Stadttempel (City Synagogue), 123–24, 148
staffing in Collegeville setting, 213–14
Stahl, Heinrich, 181–82, 182n
Stahlpakt (Pact of Steel), 183
State Department.
See
U.S. Department of State
Statue of Liberty, 54, 200, 201, 209
Stein, Lilly, 134n
Steinberger, Heinrich, 158–59, 248, 253
Steinberger, Hilda, 159
Steinberger, Josef, 159
Steinbrecher, Kurt, 245–46
Stokowski, Leopold, 21
storm trooper presence
in the dining room, 122
at Gestapo headquarters, 182
at Hitler’s birthday celebrations, 182
omnipresence, 116
at train stations, 118, 119, 175, 182
suicides, 37, 104, 126
Sunday comics, English lessons and, 214
synagogues
destruction of, 31, 45, 47, 144
Stadttempel, damage to, 123–24, 148
Tamar, Erika, 246
Tamar, Heinz, 246
Tamar, Julius, 246
Tamar, Pauline, 246
Tepper, Erwin
about, 29–30
after the rescue mission, 246–47
father’s visit, 194
on Kristallnacht, 45, 48
on new foods, 213
on Sunday comics, 214
Tepper, Juda
about, 29–30
during Kristallnacht, 48
reunion with son, 194, 246–47
Tepper, Schifra, 29–30
Theresienstadt ghetto-concentration camp, 168n, 182n
train travel
to Berlin, 100, 139, 175, 176–79
to Budapest, 156
to Hamburg, 190–91
to Vienna, 102, 116, 144, 158
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, investigation of, 66
unaccompanied German children, admission of
Great Britain, 67, 232, 258
U.S., 258
unemployment, immigration and, 68, 70, 72
Union of Jews in Germany (Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland), 257
United Palestine Appeal campaign, 17
United States Lines ship company, surly staff, 191
Unter den Linden avenue
blockade of, 182–83
luxuries of, 140
U.S. customs inspections, 201, 203
U.S. Department of Labor
affidavit requirements, 223
cable confirming approval of affidavits, 149
child immigrant regulations, 9, 87–88
German-Jewish Children’s Aid, quota snags, 78
meeting with, 10
Perkins as Labor Secretary, 60, 70
Razovsky’s agreement with, 78
U.S. Department of State
appeal from passengers of the St. Louis, 210–11
bureaucratic obstacles, 55–56
diplomatic relations with Germany, 89
Messersmith/Geist Nazi insights, 59
Sacks’ introductions, 57
unaccompanied German children, 258
unofficial support, 63–64
See also
American Embassy; visas
Vienna
before 1938, 23–33
Hitler’s takeover, 35–43
Jewish population in, 31–32, 33
post-Anschluss, 102–3, 116–17, 119–124, 132–33, 214
Vienna Opera House, 120
visas
applications, deluge of, 39, 55, 60, 81, 103–4
approval of, 143
arrests and, 50
bureaucratic complexities, 137
children’s use of dead visas, 61–62
Cuban, 210
extension for German Jews, 60n, 71
Holocaust and, 258
obstacles, fabrication of, 135–36
parents’ applications for, 226
preference/non-preference, 155, 159–160
quota disparities, 53–55, 60–61
receipt of, 190
uncertainty of, 101, 103, 128, 136
unused, 224
U.S. limitations on, 37–38
waiting period for, 39
Wenkart (Hermann) and, 36–37
Vogel, Herbert, 229
Völkischer Beobachter
(Nazi newspaper), 37
vom Rath, Ernst, murder of, 46, 47
vote approving Hitler’s takeover, 37
Wagner, Robert, 65–66
Wagner-Rogers bill
about, 65–67
hearings for, 72
Mercy Ship bill, contrast with, 232
opposition to, 67–71
support for, 70–71, 72, 74
Wald, Julius, 240
Wallenberg, Raoul, 259
Walton, George, 5
warning, State Department employee, 87, 89–90
Warren, A. M.
Goldman’s letter to, 76–77
memo on children of interest to Sacks, 83
Messersmith’s memo to, 63–64
Razovsky’s letters to, 160–61, 221
Warsaw, Jewish population in, 33
wartime documentation, American policymakers and, 256
Washington
(ship), 110, 111–12, 113–14
Waters, Agnes, 72
Watson, Edwin “Pa,” 74
Weiss, Inge, 247
Weiss, Kitty, 247
Weiss, Marianne
as childcare assistant, 166, 176–78, 182, 189
farewells to, 192
Weisz, Emil
about, 27–28
after the rescue mission, 247
arrest of, 49
in Dachau, 50
farewells, 175–76
visa prospects, 227
Weisz, Helga
about, 27–28
after the rescue mission, 247–48
Braunwasser reunion with, 239–240
farewells, 175–76
during Kristallnacht, 49
living arrangements, 50–51
placement of, 226–27
recollections of travel, 194
selection interview, 124–25
on Statue of Liberty, 200
Weisz, Rosa
about, 28
death of, 247–48
farewells, 175–76
living arrangements, 50–51
selection interview, 124–25
urging Helga on, 119
visa prospects, 227
Welles, Sumner, 74, 77
Wenkart, Eleonore, 26
Wenkart, Henny
about, 26–27
after the rescue mission, 248
Anschluss and, 35–37
chiding Eleanor, 190
farewells, 177
on jitterbug dancing, 213
money from parents, 166
placement of, 227
selection interview, 126–27
on Whitman chocolates, 207
Wenkart, Hermann
about, 26–27
father’s employment prospects, 227
visa attempts, 36–37, 104
Wenkart, Ruchele, 26