Häfner, Thomas
Biographical details: 24 December 1928 in Berlin – 30 January 1985 in Düsseldorf
Occupation: Painter
Exile: 1938 Ceylon, colony of the United Kingdom
Remigration: 1948 Germany/Western occupation zones
The pupil Thomas Häfner emigrated without his parents to Ceylon. A family friend had agreed to take him in. Thomas Häfner attended an English-speaking school: the language of the letters to his parents soon changed to English. About his stylistic development as a painter, Häfner later said his "jungle experience" had been formative for him.
Heartfield, John (born Helmut Herzfeld)
Biographical details: 19 June 1891 in Schmargendorf – 26 April 1968 in Berlin, GDR
Occupation: Painter, graphic artist, illustrator
Exile: 1938 Czechoslovakia, 1938 United Kingdom
Remigration: 1950 Germany/GDR
John Heartfield's art served the political struggle even before 1933. After fleeing in 1933, his political photomontages continued to appear on the cover of the "Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung" and he designed posters and book covers e.g. for the Malik publishing house. In his second place of exile, Heartfield's health had now deteriorated and he did not succeed in creating the same impact.
Heilbut, Charlotte (née Meyer)
Biographical details: 9 September 1899 in Briesen (now: Wąbrzeźno, Poland) – ? June 1984 New York USA
Occupation: Editor, translator
Exile: 1933 France, 1940 Portugal, 1941 USA
Charlotte Heilbut went into exile after being denounced by a neighbour and detained for two months. In Paris she earned a living through various temporary jobs and worked e.g. as a secretary for the exile newspaper, "Das Neue Tage-Buch". She fled with her husband Iwan and her nearly one-year-old son Francis across the Pyrenees. They reached New York in January 1941.
Heilbut, Iwan (also Iven George Helbert)
Biographical details: 15 July 1898 in Hamburg – 15 April 1972 in Bonn
Occupation: Writer, journalist
Exile: 1933 France, 1940 Portugal, 1941 USA
Remigration: 1950 Germany/FRG, since 1961 alternately in Germany and in the USA (New York)
In exile in Paris, Iwan Heilbut was able to resume his work as a journalist. He was the cultural correspondent of the "Basler Nationalzeitung" and wrote for the exile newspaper "Das Neue Tage-Buch". His book "Die öffentlichen Verleumder" [“The Public Slanderer”] was published in 1937. In it he revealed the tactics of the Nazi state. Heilbut arrived in the USA in 1941 after months of uncertainty. There his main focus was on literature.
Herz, Yitzhak Sophoni
Biographical details: 18 February 1905 Bad Homburg – 11 August 1993 Rechovoth, Israel
Occupation: Journalist, political scientist
Exile: 1939 United Kingdom, 1940 deported to Australia, 1970 Israel
Yitzhak Sophoni Herz was an educator in a Jewish orphanage which was laid waste during the November pogroms. After taking the children abroad, Herz emigrated to the United Kingdom. He was interned in 1940 as an "enemy alien" and deported on the "Dunera" to Australia. From 1942 to 1945 he was employed in a penal working company of the Australian Army.
Herzfelde, Wieland (born Herzfeld)
Biographical details: 11 April 1896 in Weggis, Switzerland – 23 November 1988 in Berlin, GDR
Occupation: Publicist, publisher
Exile: 1933 Czechoslovakia, 1938 United Kingdom, 1938 USA
Remigration: 1949 Germany/GDR
While in exile in Prague, Wieland Herzfelde published books and continued the work of his Berlin Malik publishing house. He also edited the exile magazine "Neue Deutsche Blätter". In New York Herzfelde provided for himself and his family by running a philately business. From 1943 he was involved in the founding of the Aurora publishing house, the only German-language exile publishing house in the USA.
Hirsch, Leon
Biographical details: 2 October 1886 in Berlin – 27 July 1954 in Bern, Switzerland
Occupation: Bookseller, publisher, cabaret artist
Exile: 1933 Switzerland
Leon Hirsch fled in April 1933 to Switzerland, initially to Zurich. There, however, he was denied a longer stay. He settled in Ascona, later in Brissago. Emigration meant a retreat into political inactivity for the committed Hirsch. During his emigration he received no work permit and remained dependent on the support of others.
Höllriegel, Arnold (i. e. Richard A. Bermann)
Biographical details: 27 April 1885 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary – 5 September 1939 in Saratoga Springs, USA
Occupation: Journalist, writer
Exile: 1933 Austria, 1938 United Kingdom, 1938 USA
The Viennese journalist lived and worked in Berlin before 1933. He was dismissed from the "Berliner Tageblatt" in 1933 for being a Jew and returned to Vienna where he developed the idea for the German Academy in Exile together with Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein and worked as a journalist. Only after two failed attempts did he manage to escape from Austria in May 1938.
Horkheimer, Max
Biographical details: 14 February 1895 Zuffenhausen – 7 July 1973 Nuremberg
Occupation: Social philosopher
Exile: 1933 Switzerland, 1934 USA
Remigration: 1949 Germany/FRG
At Columbia University in New York, Max Horkheimer was able to rebuild the Institute of Social Research which he had headed in Frankfurt until March 1933. It had been closed by the Nazis. Together with Theodor W. Adorno, Horkheimer worked from 1941 on the "Dialectic of Enlightenment". From 1943 he led a research project on anti-Semitism for the American Jewish Committee.
Husserl, Johanna (née Elias, 2. marriage: Hanna Kapit)
Biographical details: 16 June 1917 Vienna, Austria-Hungary – 9 June 2011 in New York, USA
Occupation: Psychoanalyst
Exile: 1938 USA
After the annexation of Austria, Hanna Kapit was not permitted to continue her studies at the University of Vienna. The family emigrated to the USA. Hanna Kapit continued her psychology studies. After obtaining her Bachelor's degree she began working as a teacher while proceeding with her studies at Columbia University in New York. She then completed her training as a psychoanalyst.
