50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany (38 page)

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