art exhibition hall (Kunstlerhaus), 174–75
Auschwitz concentration camp, 168n, 251, 259
Austria
anti-Semitism, history of, 31–33
currency restrictions, 158, 165–66
German annexation of, 7–8
See also Anschluss; Vienna
Austro-Hungarian Empire, 26, 32, 33
Axis-occupied territory, rescue risks, 251, 252
Balderston, Robert, 223
Balfour Declaration (1917), 170–71
banned art, 174
Belgium, passengers of the St. Louis, 211
Beller, Leo, 31, 229, 237
Beller, Mina, 31, 229, 237
Beller, Paul
about, 31
after the rescue mission, 237–38
on Anschluss, 49–50
on lifestyle before Nazi occupation, 23
placement of, 228–29
relatives in U.S., 202
selection interview, 126
Berg, Alfred, 159, 238
Berg, Charlotte, 159, 187–88, 238
Berlin
American consulate in, 100–101, 140, 142–43
children in, 181–82, 185–88
exit strategy. See exit strategy (emigration)
as Gil’s initial stop, 100–102
Jewish population in, 33
“Jews Forbidden” signs, 143–44
sightseeing, 140–41
Billikopf, Jacob, 97, 99–100
Blücher Palace, American Embassy in, 140
B’nai B’rith, 77
borders, sealing of, 8
Brandenburg Gate, 140
Braun, Johanna
about, 24
after the rescue mission, 238–39
outlook on rescue mission, 177
placement with Gil & Eleanor, 229–230
on taxi to train station, 175
Braun, Karoline, 24, 25, 239
Braun, Martha, 24
Braun, Max, 23–24, 25, 239
Braun, Robert
about, 23–25
after the rescue mission, 238–39
anti-Semitic school experiences, 42
on Gil’s altercation with the SS officer, 181, 185–86
placement with Gil & Eleanor, 229–230
recollections of travel, 177
on selection interview, 126
on spoiled food dump at sea, 196
on taxi to train station, 175
on U.S. customs, 208
on visa obstacles, 50
on Yiddish/Hebrew music, 189
Braunwasser, Inge, 227, 239–240
Britain
Jews, admission of
passengers on St. Louis, 211
unaccompanied children, 67, 232, 258
policy toward Palestine, 170–71
war declaration, 216
Brith Sholom
as American volunteer reliability, 254
annual convention, 217, 231–32
Collegeville setting, 213
emergency meeting of, 75–76
founding of, 16–17
Kraus (Solomon), role in, 16–17, 20
as rescue mission sponsor, 4–5, 53
reunion, 239–240
vitality of, 21
brutality. See Nazis
Buchenwald concentration camp, 43, 216, 244
Budapest
as getaway, 155–58
Jewish population in, 33, 157
Bürkel, Josef, 40
vandalism of, 38
Camp Kitchener, 194–95
Catholic Church, anti-Semitism and, 31
Celler, Rep. Emanuel, 70
Celler-Dickstein proposal, 70
Central Bureau for Jewish Emigration (Zentralstelle fur Jüdische Auswanderung), 40–41, 144
Chagall, Marc, 174
Chamberlain, Neville, 67
Child Adoption Committee of the Free Synagogue, 78
children
attitudes toward Kraus/Schless, 191
baggage for, 165–66
behavior of, 195
in Berlin, 181–82
in Collegeville setting, 208–10, 213–15, 225–230
custody transfers, 147
departure details, 165–66
documentation for, 145–46
farewell reception, 168
head tax for, 153
illness, 158–59
immigration law challenges, 9
interviews at American Embassy, 186–88, 190
letter writing, 214–15
money from parents, 165–66
newspaper coverage of, 199, 201
ocean passage
pitfalls, 166
reservations for, 144
tickets, proof of, 153
travel, 192–97, 199–201
ongoing contact with, 233
physical exams for, 143, 186–88
placement of, 225–230
relatives in U.S., 202
selection process
consulate lists, 83, 105, 106, 124
IKG role, 257
interviews, 125–28, 136
sponsors for, 10
travel preparations for, 143
See also unaccompanied German children, admission of
children’s rescue measure. See
Wagner-Rogers bill
Ciano, Galeazzo, 183–84, 185
Collegeville setting, 5, 208–10, 213–15, 225–230
complicity in genocide, 251
concentration camps
about, 41
arrests and, 43, 46–47, 48
blueprints for, 231
deaths
Friedmann, Richard, 168n
Roth, Hermann, 216, 244
Seligsohn, Julius, 101n
Stahl, Heinrich, 182n
specific camps
Auschwitz, 168n, 251, 259
Buchenwald, 43, 216, 244, 259
Dachau, 43, 49, 50, 125, 176
Izbica, 248
Sachsenhausen, 101n, 144
Sobibor, 248, 253
Theresienstadt, 168n, 182n
visas and, 50
Wiesel on, 259
Congress
anti-immigration sentiment in, 63, 65, 72–73, 221–22, 253
Celler-Dickstein proposal, 70
Wagner-Rogers bill. See Wagner-Rogers bill
Coughlin, Father Charles, 69
Coulter, Eliot, 63–64
Cuba, Jewish refugees and, 210–11
currency restrictions, 158, 165–66, 259
custody transfers, 147
customs inspections
German, 191–92
U.S., 201, 203
Czechoslovakia, Nazi takeover, 117
Dachau concentration camp, 43, 49, 50, 125, 176
danger in rescue missions, 252
deaths after arrests, beatings, 47, 48
See also concentration camps
“degenerate art” (entartete kunst), 120, 174–75
Democratic political convention, unruly, 14–15
dental care for children, 190, 209
detention center, Nazi, 120
Dickstein, Rep. Samuel, 70
Dix, Otto, 174
Dodd, William, 140
Dollfuss, Engelbert, 170
Drei Husaren restaurant, 131–32
Duke of Windsor. See Edward VIII (King of England)
Edict of Tolerance, 32
education in Vienna
after vom Rath’s murder, 46
anti-Semitism in, 41, 42, 51
Jewish school, 30
private lessons, 26
public schools, 28
Schubert Schule, 25
Edward VIII (King of England), 120–21, 132, 158
Eichmann, Adolf
bureaucratic maze of, 150, 152–53
Hammond on, 133
Jewish exit goals, 39, 40
Einhorn, Samuel, 218–19
emigration. See exit strategy (emigration)
Engel, Emil, 161–63, 211
English Channel crossing, 100
English lessons, 194, 195, 214
entartete kunst (“degenerate art”), 120, 174–75
Ernst, Max, 174
Esther (Eleanor’s sister), 111
Evening Public Ledger, on rescue project, 76
exit strategy (emigration) of European Jews
in Berlin, 101–2, 143, 182, 257
in Vienna, 150, 167, 170
of the Gestapo, 38–39, 40–41, 133, 144
Nazi, 7
expulsion of Jews, 31–32
extermination camp, Sobibor, 248
F. W. Woolworth department stores, 58–59
Fannie (Eleanor’s sister), 112
farewell reception, 168
Federation of Jewish Charities, 79, 83
Final Solution, 43, 216, 232
financial support for children, 10, 127–28
Fineshriber, William, 19
Fletcher, C. Paul, 71
Follmer, Cyrus, 143, 187–88
France
Paris, 115–16
passengers of the St. Louis, 211
war declaration, 216
Franz Josef, Emperor, 26
Franz Josef I, Emperor, 29
Freud, Sigmund, 37
Friedmann, Richard
dinner invitation from, 167–68
at dinner party, 162–63
fate of, 168n
German passports, assistance with, 150–53
Friedrich II, Emperor, 31
funding for rescue project, 6, 76
Galicia, migration from, 26, 32
Gallup poll, 232
Galveston News, on quotas, 67–68
Gavin, Mary, 112
Geist, Raymond
contributions of, 254–55
feasibility confirmation, 64
Hitler birthday wishes, 113
list of children refused visas, 83
meeting with, 101–2, 142–43
Messersmith, correspondence with, 137, 212
during Reichstag address, 118
State Department cable to, 62–63, 93
as sympathetic employee, 59, 89, 254–55
Gellert spa, 158
genocide, concept of, 251, 257
German American Bund, 69–70, 70n
German customs inspections, 191–92
German Jewish migration, 14
German-Jewish Children’s Aid, 76–77, 221, 224
Gestapo
exit paperwork, approval of, 150–53
exit strategy focus. See exit strategy (emigration)
Geist’s communication with, 137
headquarters of, 39, 120
IKG shutdown, 39
Das Jüdische Narchrichtenblatt, transmittal through, 144
as omniscient force, 121
ghettos, Jewish, 31–32, 43
Goebbels, Joseph
as art exhibition organizer, 174
Kristallnacht and, 46, 47
Quaker rescue delegation and, 6
Reichstag address and, 118
Goldman, Blanche, 76–77
Göring, Hermann, 38, 47, 132
Great Depression, unemployment/immigration and, 68, 70, 72
Greenfield, Albert, 15–16, 18, 21
Greenfield, Carlotta, 4, 10
Grynszpan, Herschel, 45–46
Gundel, Karoly, 157
Gundel restaurant, 157
Haber, Fritz (Fred), 240
Haber, Henry, 240
Habsburg monarchy, Jewish loyalty to, 24
Halote, Gerda, 240
Hammond, Ogden, Jr., 133–34, 134n
Hart, Parker, 134
Hayes, Helen, 72
head tax, 153
Hebrew music, 189
Hebrew Orphan Home, 78
Hennings, Richard, 232
Herman, Heinrich, 29, 240–41
Herman, Kurt
about, 29
after the rescue mission, 240–41
on arrival, 200–201
Hitler’s motorcade and, 41–42
on the President Harding, 189, 192
at the train station, 175
on visa obstacles, 50
Herman, Martha, 29, 41–42, 241
Heydrich, Reinhard, 46
Hilfsverein, 143
Hilfsverein der Deutschen Juden (Aid Association of German Jews), 101, 181–82
Himmler, Heinrich, 132
Hitler, Adolf
art exhibition, praise of, 174
birthday celebration, 113
dining room portrait, 122
Holman on, 222n
hotel preferences, 120
paintings for museum, 150, 150n
Reichstag address, 118
shop windows with likeness, 123
in Vienna, 8, 37
Hitler Youth organization, 38, 42
Hodgdon, A. Dana, 56
Hohenthal, Theodore, 136
Holman, Rufus, 221–22, 222n
Holocaust
indifference, excuses for, 257–58
lives lost in, 211
rescue dangers, 252
statistics, 251
See also concentration camps
Hoover, Herbert, 70
Horcher, Otto, 132
Hotel Adlon, 100, 182, 184–85
Hotel Bristol, 102, 120–21, 156
Hotel Majestic, as Gil’s home, 18
Hotel Metropole, Gestapo headquarters at, 39, 120
Höttl, Wilhelm, 40–41
Houghteling, James, 73
Houghteling, Laura Delano, 73
Hull, Cordell
Holman’s letter to, 221–22
immigration law changes, opposition to, 70–72
Messersmith’s memo to, 58
request for list of children, 82–83
on visas complexities, 160
Hungarian edicts, 157
IKG. See Israelitische Kultusgemeinde (Jewish Community of Vienna)
immigrant rights, Wagner and, 66
Immigration and Naturalization Service, approval from, 255
immigration laws
British easing of, 67
change, resistance to, 62–63
children and, 9, 88
editorials on, 67–68
Messersmith’s defense of, 59–60
as obstacle, 37–38
policy fairness, 104–5
public charge requirement, 70–71
See also anti-immigration sentiment; Celler-Dickstein proposal; Wagner-Rogers bill
Imperial Hotel, Hitler’s lodging at, 120
International Order of Brith Sholom. See Brith Sholom
interrogation, Nazi, 120
isolationism, public policies and, 254
Israel, identifying non-Jewish rescuers, 252–53
Israel as Nazi-required name, 188
Israelitische Kultusgemeinde (Jewish Community of Vienna)
about, 32
Engel as secretary of, 161–62
exit strategy role, 39
farewell reception at, 168–69
interior of, 124
rescue mission office in, 106
support from, 257
synagogue adjacent to, 123
Izbica concentration camp, 248
Jacobs, Eleanor. See Kraus, Eleanor Jacobs
Jacobs, Harris (Eleanor’s father), 18
Jacobs, Rosa (Eleanor’s mother), 18
“Jewish Bolshevist” ideology, 174
Jewish Community of Vienna. See Israelitische Kultusgemeinde (Jewish Community of Vienna)
Jewish community (U.S.)
backlash, fear of, 254
immigration laws, resistance to change, 68–69, 70, 253
rescue attempts, failed, 6
Jewish migration
1840s, 14
exit strategy. See exit strategy (emigration)
pogroms and, 9, 16, 32, 46–47
post-Anschluss, 37–38
Jewish Times, on rescue project
, 76
“Jews Forbidden” signs, 121–22, 128–29, 143–44
Jones, Rufus, 5, 81–82
Joseph II, Emperor, 32, 124
Judenrein policy, 39, 40–41, 50, 102–3
Das Jüdische Narchrichtenblatt, Gestapo use of, 144
Keller, Amalia, 241
Keller, Robert, 214–15, 241
Keller, Viktor, 241
Keneseth Israel (Reform synagogue), 16, 19
Kennan, George, 57
Kenworthy, Marion, 222–23
Kepecs, Jacob, 161, 221, 224
Kindertransport, 67, 232, 258
Kis Royale, 158
Klee, Paul, 174
Klein, Max, 20
Kraus, Charlotte (grandmother), 14
Kraus, Edna (sister), 15, 17, 20, 21
Kraus, Eleanor Jacobs
after the rescue mission, 233
arrival home, 209
during children’s interviews, 128, 136
courtship and marriage, 18–19
dinner invitation in Vienna, 162–63
Ellen & Steven at the dock, 201–2
emotional impact of, 147–48, 159, 168–69, 174–75, 178, 203
employment, 11
as fairy godmother, 191
farewells, 98–99, 113
hairdresser appointment in Vienna, 161
hat purchase, 93–94
lifestyle, 3–4, 11, 20
misgivings, 6–7, 9, 10, 11–12
panic, 173–74
photo, 13f
rumored affair, 21
Sacks’ praise for, 218
Schless as replacement for, 91
as Tante Ellen, 147
trans-Atlantic journey, 113–15
travel preparations, 111–12
views
on self-satisfied faces of the “superior” race, 139, 141
on taking children from mothers, 145, 147
on travels in Germany, 3, 6–7, 9, 10
wardrobe, 156–57
Kraus, Ellen (daughter)
birth of, 20
death of, 234
Gil’s telephone discussion, 110
during parents’ absence, 112
waiting at the dock, 202–3
Kraus, Eva Mayer (Gil’s mother), 14, 20
Kraus, Fannie, 14–16
Kraus, Gilbert (Gil)
after the rescue mission, 233–34
altercation with SS officer, 181, 185–86
anger at newspaper reporters, 201–2
appreciation of, 168–69
courtship and marriage, 18–19
education/career, 17–18
Einhorn’s praise for, 219
family history, 14–17
farewells, 98–99
as father figure, 191
interviewing children, 125–28
lifestyle, 18, 97–98
Messersmith correspondence, 53, 212
photo, 13f
plan conception, 4–5, 9–10
post-arrival correspondence, 211–12
request for Eleanor’s assistance, 109–10
on rescue mission, 217, 219–220
Sacks’ praise for, 218
smuggling Jews into Palestine, discussion of, 167
as social justice advocate, 13–14
trans-Atlantic journey, 97–98, 100
as Uncle Gil, 147
50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany Page 26