Meisel, Hans (later James or James Hans Meisel)
Biographical details: 16 July 1900 in Berlin – 2 March 1991 in Bellevue, USA
Occupation: Political scientist, writer
Exile: 1934 presumably Italy, 1936 presumably Austria, 1938 Italy, 1938 USA
Since he was no longer safe in his place of exile in Austria, Hans Meisel fled in 1938 to the USA. He worked there until 1940 as secretary to Thomas Mann. Later he taught political science at various colleges. He also wrote a number of literary works including a novel about the Spanish Civil War which, however, was only published posthumously.
Meyer, Erna (née Pollack)
Biographical details: 13 February 1890 in Berlin – ? March 1975 in Haifa, Israel
Occupation: Economist, publicist
Exile: 1933 Palestine
In 1933, Erna Meyer was dismissed as editor of the "Neue Hauswirtschaft" magazine. She emigrated to Palestine where she intended to make use of her expertise in home economics and rationalisation of domestic work in building up the country. She worked as a writer, the housekeeping manager of a children's village and as a teacher at a vocational school in Jerusalem.
Morgenstern, Soma
Biographical details: 3 May 1890 in Budzanów, Austria-Hungary (now: Budaniw, Ukraine) – 17 April 1976 in New York, USA
Occupation: Writer
Exile: 1938 France, 1941 New York
Soma Morgenstern fled to Paris after the annexation of Austria. Supported, among others, by his colleague Joseph Roth, he tried to continue writing while in exile. He was interned after the war broke out, but managed to escape to Marseille from a camp in Brittany. After encountering a great deal of bureaucracy, he finally fled via Casablanca and Lisbon to the USA.
Münzenberg, Willi
Biographical details: 14 August 1889 in Erfurt – late June 1940 in Saint-Marcellin, France
Occupation: Publisher, publicist, politician
Exile: 1933 in France, interrupted by numerous journeys, particularly to the Soviet Union
At risk as a Communist functionary, Willi Münzenberg fled into exile. There, he continued his journalistic activity. He set up antifascist journals and publishing houses, including the Éditions du Carrefour. Münzenberg was interned after the Battle of France as an "enemy alien". He died in unexplained circumstances while fleeing to the south of France.
Neumark, Fritz
Biographical details: 20 July 1900 in Hanover – 9 March 1991, Baden-Baden
Occupation: Public finance expert
Exile: 1933 Turkey
Remigration: 1952 Germany/FRG
The Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars helped Fritz Neumark to obtain a professorship in Istanbul in 1933. He was soon teaching and publishing in Turkish. Neumark acted as adviser to the Turkish government and the Central Bank and was involved in reforming the Turkish tax system. He returned to Germany for good after a period as visiting professor.
Obermann, Karl
Biographical details: 22 September 1905 in Cologne – 10 July 1987 in Berlin, DDR
Occupation: Historian
Exile: 1933 France, 1941 USA
Remigration: 1946 Germany/Soviet occupation zone
Karl Obermann worked as a journalist in Paris where he attended lectures at the Sorbonne as a guest student. He joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1936. Obermann was interned in 1939. He fled to the USA in 1941 where he worked for "The German American" magazine from 1943 to 1946. After remigrating to the later German Democratic Republic, he was able, for the first time, to study history at university.
Olden, Rudolf
Biographical details: 14 January 1885 in Stettin (now: Szczecin, Poland) – 18 September 1940 in the Atlantic
Occupation: Journalist, lawyer
Exile: 1933 Czechoslovakia, 1933 United Kingdom, 1940 USA
Rudolf Olden fled to Prague on 28 February 1933. There, and later in the United Kingdom, he wrote e.g. for the "Neue Tage-Buch" and the "Pariser Tageblatt". He was one of the founders of the German PEN Group in Exile in 1934, and assumed the position of secretary. In September 1940 Olden intended to continue his escape to the USA. He died when the ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boot and sank.
Roth, Joseph
Biographical details: 2 September 1894 in Brody, Austria-Hungary (now: Ukraine) – 27 May 1939 in Paris, France
Occupation: Writer, journalist
Exile: 1933 France
Joseph Roth left Germany on the day on which Hitler was appointed chancellor. He continued his journalistic campaign against Nazism while in exile in Paris. Roth remained productive as a writer, his works were published e.g. by the German-speaking exile publishing houses Querido and Allert de Lange. Nevertheless, he was dependent on financial support. Roth died in a poor-law infirmary in Paris.
Schaal, Eric
Biographical details: 18 August 1905 in Munich – 26 April 1994 in Männedorf, Switzerland
Occupation: Photographer
Exile: 1936 USA
Eric Schaal was able to turn his previous hobby into his occupation while in exile in New York. At the end of the 1920s the businessman had already started to take portrait photographs of artists. He continued this in the USA. He worked e.g. for the PIX agency, his portraits appeared in the "Time" and "Life" magazines. Schaal settled in Switzerland in 1967.
Schindel, Dora
Biographical details: 16 November 1915 in Munich – 11 January 2018 in Bonn
Occupation: Commercial clerk, office assistant
Exile: 1937 Switzerland, 1941 Brazil
Remigration: 1957 Germany/FRG
Together with the politician Hermann Görgen, the student Dora Schindel organised the emigration from Switzerland to Brazil of 48 people who were at risk. Once in Brazil, she took over the commercial organisation of a factory; there was little scope for political activity. After her remigration, Schindel continued to work closely with Hermann Görgen. German-Brazilian dialogue became her life's work.
