Viennese districts: 16th District

Felicia Breitner was born in the 16th distict of Vienna in 1921. At the time of the Anschluss she was still in high school. Her brother and her father were able to flee to Shanghai, while she was able to escape to England in 1939 to join her sister who had already fled. Her mother stayed behind and died in Vienna. Many of her family did not survive the Holocaust. Breitner trained as a nurse and a midwife, working afterwards in healthcare. She later emigrated from England to Israel, where she lives today.

Hilda Spodek was born in Vienna in 1922 and grew up in the 16th district, where her father ran a clothing shop. After the “Anschluss” in 1938, her father was arrested and deported to Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps. The family business was ‘aryanised’ and Spodek was unable to finish her training as a seamstress. After the release of her father, the family fled via Trieste to Palestine, where they settled in Tel Aviv. Spodek worked as a seamstress and in sales. At the time of the interview Spodek lived in Holon.