Countries through which people fled: The Netherlands

Emanuel Fuchs was born in 1918 in Vienna and lived with his family in the 2nd district, where he went to school and his father owned a bookbinders. After the Anschluss, Fuchs was imprisoned and was brought to the “Notarrest” (temporary jail) in Kenyongasse. He was later sent to Dachau Concentration Camp, where he was imprisoned for several weeks until he returned to Vienna and was forced to leave the country. Fuchs was able to emigrate with a friend to the USA via Germany, Amsterdam and Belgium. After serving in the US Army, Fuchs settled in New York and worked as a jeweler.

Kurt Goldberger was born in Vienna in 1925 and grew up in the 1st district. After the Anschluss in 1938, the Goldberg family was forced to leave their apartment. Goldberger escaped on a Kindertransport to Great Britain, where his mother had fled to a couple of months earlier. They emigrated to the USA in April 1944 where they were reunited with his father who had fled there previously. Goldberger worked for B’nai Brith for 21 years, campaigning for minority rights. At the time of the interview, Goldberger lived in New York.

Gertud Kissiloff was born Gertrud Nachtigall in 1923 in Vienna and grew up in the 2nd district. After her father’s arrest following the “Anschluss”, Kissiloff went to the Gestapo and was able to secure his release. Kissiloff and her brother escaped to Scotland with the Kindertransport in March 1939, followed some months later by their parents. In October 1940, the family emigrated to the USA. Kissiloff studied at the Cooper Union and worked after graduation as a graphic designer. At the time of her interview, she lived in New York.

Kurt Schoen was born in Vienna in 1915. He lived with his family in Vienna's 20th district and studied medicine at the University of Vienna. After the Anschluss, Schoen discontinued his studies. He fled to the Netherlands in 1938, but was sent back to the German Reich by the police. After two weeks imprisonment he was able to escape to the Netherlands again and from there travelled to the USA. Except for a short period in Zurich where he continued his medical studies, Schoen has lived ever since in New York, where he ran a medical laboratory. 

Trudie Solarz was born Gertrude Braun in Graz in 1931 and spent her early years in Carinthia where her father owned a series of small department stores. He was arrested during the November Pogrom (“Kristallnacht”) in 1938 and deported to Dachau. The family were able to escape to London in March 1938. The family emigrated on a Kindertransport ship to the USA, settling in Philadelphia. Trudie Solarz worked mainly as a secretary and held lectures about her experience as a refugee. At the time of her interview she lived in Levittown, Pennsylvania.

Alisa Tennenbaum was born Liselotte Scherzer in Vienna in 1929 and grew up in Vienna’s 20th district. Following the “Anschluss” in 1938 she had to leave school and her father was arrested and imprisoned in Dachau Concentration Camp. After his release, he was able to flee to Great Britain and Tennenbaum followed him on a Kindertransport in August 1939. She lived in a children’s hostel in Windermere before joining her father in Glasgow in 1945. Her mother stayed in Vienna and survived several camps. In 1949 the family emigrated to Israel. At the time of her interview, Tennenbaum lived in Beit Herut.