Siemsen, August
Biographical details: 5 July 1884 in Mark (now part of Hamm) – 25 March 1958 in Berlin, GDR
Occupation: Teacher, politician, publicist
Exile: 1933 Switzerland, 1936 Argentina
Remigration: 1952 Germany/FRG, 1955 Germany/GDR
In Switzerland, August Siemsen wrote for various Socialist newspapers. He worked as a teacher in Argentina, and was instrumental in founding the Das andere Deutschland [The Other Germany] movement. He became editor of the magazine of the same name. The movement campaigned for refugee aid and sought to counteract the National Socialist tendencies in Latin America.
Spalek, John M.
Biographical details: 28 July 1928 in Warsaw, Poland
Occupation: German philologist
Exile: 1945 Germany/Western occupation zones, 1949 USA
After the war John M. Spalek emigrated to Germany from what was now Socialist Poland. He began an apprenticeship as a carpenter, but soon moved to the USA and began studying literature. From the early 70's, Spalek researched into German exile in the USA and devoted himself to saving literary estates. He documented the results of his work in a comprehensive body of work.
Steiner, Helmut
Biographical details: 20 September 1899 in Laupheim – 5 June 1992 St. Gallen, Switzerland
Occupation: Businessman, managing director
Exile: 1936 Switzerland
Two years before the hops business of the Steiner family in Laupheim was forcibly liquidated, Helmut Steiner went to Switzerland where he set up another company. This company suspended business during the war. Steiner committed himself to voluntary work in the Jewish community. He returned to Germany soon after the war to rebuild the company in Laupheim.
Steinschneider, Moritz Adolf
Biographical details: 20 June 1894 in Berlin – 11 June 1944 in Bellac, France
Occupation: Lawyer
Exile: 1933 Switzerland, 1935 France
In 1935 Adolf Moritz Steinschneider was denied re-entry into Switzerland where he had been tolerated as a political refugee since 1933. He had to stay in France and lived in difficult material conditions in Paris until the outbreak of war. After periods of internment and forced labour, he managed to hide with his family near Limoges. On 11 June 1944 he was murdered by SS soldiers.
Stern, Hellmut
Biographical details: 21 May 1928 in Berlin - 21 March 2020 in Berlin
Occupation: Violinist
Exile: 1938 China
Remigration: 1961 Germany/FRG
In 1938 Hellmut Stern succeeded in escaping with his parents to Harbin in the north of China. The family spent eleven years in difficult material conditions in the city which was occupied by the Japanese. Stern received private violin lessons and made his first public appearance in 1942. In 1949, the family was able to emigrate to Israel. Stern went to the USA in 1956 and returned in 1961 to Germany.
Vogel, Hans (Johann)
Biographical details: 16 February 1881 in Oberartelshofen (now: part of Vorra) – 6 October, 1945 in London, United Kingdom
Occupation: Politician
Exile: 1933 Saargebiet,1933 Czechoslovakia, 1938 France, 1940 United Kingdom
Co-chairman of the SPD since 1931, Hans Vogel continued his political opposition to National Socialism while in exile. He was also made chairman of the Union of German Socialist Organisations in the United Kingdom in March 1941. In his country of refuge, however, Vogel’s scope for political activity was limited not least because of his difficulties with the language.
Werfel, Franz
Biographical details: 10 September 1890 in Prague, Austria-Hungary (now: Czech Republic) – 26 August 1945 in Beverly Hills, USA
Occupation: Writer, poet
Exile: 1938 France, 1940 USA
Franz Werfel left Austria after the annexation, as his works were classified as "seditious". Two years later, he was no longer safe in France either and fled on foot across the Pyrenees. Werfel enjoyed great success with his books in the USA and could earn a decent living from the income. His novel "The Song of Bernadette", which he had written out of gratitude for his successful escape, was on the bestseller lists for months.
Wronker, Lili (née Cassel)
Biographical details: 5 May 1924 in Berlin - 10. January 2019 in Mount Holly, New Jersey (USA)
Occupation: Illustrator, calligrapher, designer
Exile: 1938 United Kingdom, 1940 USA
Lili Wronker emigrated to England with her sister and father in 1938. There she attended the Stoatley Rough School, a boarding school where mainly German refugee children were taught. They reached the USA in 1940 (this time including her mother), where Wrpnker later studied art. The first children's book she illustrated, "The Rainbow Mother Goose", was published in 1947.
Zadek, Walter
Biographical details: 26 March 1900 in Berlin – 20 December 1992 in Holon, Israel
Occupation: Bookseller, publicist, photographer
Exile: 1933 Netherlands, 1933 Palestine
Walter Zadek fled to the Netherlands across the "green border". In late 1933 he emigrated again to Palestine. There he distributed the books of European exile publishers as a wholesaler and worked as a publicist and photographer. In 1940 he founded the second-hand Logos Bookshop. After 1945, he became an important supplier to German libraries, including the later German Exile Archive 1933–1945.
Zahari, Magda
Biographical details: 29 November 1897 in Oster, Russia (now: Ukraine) – ?
Magda Zahari had emigrated to Uruguay back in 1930. There, she committed herself to the Kulturklub deutschsprechender Arbeiter [Culture Club of German-speaking Workers] and was politically very active. She distributed leaflets and magazines to enlighten people about National Socialism. She was one of the first members of the German Anti-Fascist Committee, which was founded in July 1941.