Countries through which people fled: Syria

Catriel Fuchs was born in the Burgenland in 1925, but moved to Vienna with his family when he was a child. In Vienna, he lived for a long period in an orphanage and visited elementary school. After he was excluded from school in 1938, he became a member of a zionist youth organization and with their help was able to flee to Palestine over Yugoslavia. After a period living in Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, Fuchs enlisted in the Royal Navy. He later worked for a large container shipping company, a job that took him as far away as Taiwan. Fuchs now lives in Israel.

Lea Peled was born in Vienna in 1924 and grew up in the 3rd district. After the “Anschluss” in 1938, Peled stayed in Vienna with her ill mother, while her father and brother fled abroad. After her mother’s death, Peled was able to reach Denmark in Autumn 1939 with the help of the Youth Aliyah, In March 1941, Peled emigrated via Scandinavia and the USSR to Palestine. She lived in the Kibbutz Ben Schemen, Peled was a graphic designer and lived in Ramat HaScharon at the time of her interview.