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.
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.
