Eirich, Maria (née Dehne)
Biographical details: 31 March 1911 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary – 28 July 2007 in Hightstown, USA
Exile: 1938 United Kingdom (via Yugoslavia), 1947 USA
Maria Eirich fled with her daughter Ursula via Yugoslavia to the United Kingdom where she settled with her husband, Frederick R. Eirich, in Cambridge. In 1940, Maria Eirich was interned along with her two-year-old daughter as "enemy aliens" on the Isle of Man. Frederick R. Eirich was interned in Australia. After their release in 1941, Maria and Ursula Eirich lived in Cambridge.
Elk, Benjamin (Benno)
Biographical details: 14 July 1879 in Memel (now: Klaipėda, Lithuania) – 1 March 1959 in New York, USA
Occupation: Dentist
Exile: 1938 Belgium, 1940 France, 1941 Cuba, 1941 USA
In the wake of the November pogroms of 1938, Benjamin Elk was arrested and taken to Buchenwald. After his release, the Elk family fled across the green border to Belgium at the end of 1938. As their daughter Charlotte was born in France and did not count as part of the German contingent, she was able to emigrate to the USA in 1939. Benjamin and his wife Anna Elk reached the USA in 1941 via Cuba.
Fink, Eugenie (Jenny) Scheindel (née Monheit)
Biographical details: 24 December 1891 in Zülz (now: Biała, Poland) – 15 June 1942 in the Maly Trostinec extermination camp
Occupation: Poet
Eugenie Fink and her husband, Isaak Fink, applied for a visa for the USA in August 1938 in Vienna. By October 1939 their financial resources were depleted. They had to take free meals offered by an aid organization and ask relatives for money. The waiting time for the visa was too long because they came under the Polish contingent. Eugenie and Isaak Fink were deported and murdered.
Fink, Isaak Leser (Lazar)
Biographical details: 29 March 1881 in Rzeszów, Austria-Hungary (now: Poland) – 15 June 1942 in the Maly Trostinec extermination camp
Occupation: Cantor, poet
Isaak Fink and his wife, Eugenie Fink, applied for a visa for the USA in August 1938 in Vienna. By October 1939 their financial resources were depleted. They had to take free meals offered by an aid organisation and ask relatives for money. The waiting time for the visa was too long because they came under the Polish contingent. Isaak and Eugenie Fink were deported and murdered.
Flechtheim, Ossip K.
Biographical details: 5 March 1909 in Nikolayev, Russia (now: Mykolaiv, Ukraine) – 4 March 1998 in Berlin
Occupation: Jurist, political scientist
Exile: 1935 Belgium, 1935 Switzerland, 1939 USA
Remigration: 1952 Germany/FRG
In Switzerland the doctor of law was able to study again upon obtaining a scholarship. In 1939, he passed his diploma after the University of Cologne had stripped him of his doctorate in 1938. From 1939, Flechtheim taught at various universities in the USA. He returned in 1946 for the first time to Germany as a member of the U.S. armed forces. In 1952, he accepted a professorship in Berlin.
Freud, Sigmund
Biographical details: 6 May 1856 in Freiberg, Austria-Hungary (now: Příbor, Czech Republic) – 23 September 1939 in London, United Kingdom
Occupation: Neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis
Exile: 1938 United Kingdom
In Germany, the works of Sigmund Freud fell victim to the Nazi book burnings in May 1933. Yet he still underestimated the threat posed to him by the Nazi regime. What triggered his decision to flee Vienna after the annexation of Austria was the interrogation of his daughter Anna by the Gestapo. In London, Freud continued working on his scientific writings.
Glaser, Erna (née Friedländer)
Biographical details: 12 January 1894 in Plauen – 12 December 1976 in Contra Costa, USA
Occupation: Bilingual secretary
Exile: 1939 Shanghai, 1947 USA
In January 1939, Erna and Moritz Glaser applied for a US visa for themselves and their son Ernst in Berlin. Because the wait was too long, the family opted for an interim escape to Shanghai. There the Glasers made a living, among other things, from room rental. In 1947 Erna Glaser continued her escape with her family to the USA.
Glaser, Moritz (later Morris)
Biographical details: 19 May 1887 in Plathe (now: Płoty, Poland) – 2 May 1973 in San Francisco, USA
Occupation: Businessman
Exile: 1939 Shanghai, 1947 USA
The waiting time for a U.S. visa was too long and so Moritz and Erna Glaser fled with their son Ernst to Shanghai in 1939. Moritz Glaser worked initially as a sales representative. With the help of a loan, the Glasers were able to lease a house and rent out rooms. Daily life was beset by food shortages and the fear of disease. In 1947 Moritz Glaser emigrated with his family to the USA.
Graf, Oskar Maria
Biographical details: 22 July 1894 in Berg (Lake Starnberg) – 28 June 1967 in New York, USA
Occupation: Writer
Exile: 1933 Austria, 1938 Czechoslovakia, 1938 USA
Oskar Maria Graf did not return to Germany following a trip to Vienna in the spring of 1933. In Austria and later in Czechoslovakia he was politically and journalistically active against National Socialism. In 1938, he moved on to the USA. In New York, the writer organised regular informal meetings for emigrants and in 1944 established the Aurora publishing house together with other authors.
Grosz, George (born Georg Groß)
Biographical details: 26 July 1893 Berlin – 6 July 1959 Berlin, FRG
Occupation: Painter, graphic artist
Exile: 1933 USA
Remigration: 1959 Germany/FRG
Upon emigrating from Germany, George Grosz lost the political and social environment to which his art referred. Although he was very productive in the USA and displayed works in many exhibitions which were well received, he could not match his successes in Germany. Grosz relied financially on his teaching and work for newspapers and magazines.
