Eisenstein and Grunwald families in Cernosice in 1935

Emil Eisenstein (1885-1941) was the owner of a paper factory and later founded a Gross Paper import/export company in Prague. His wife, Szdenka (Cifkova) (1904- ) was a Catholic. They had two children, Karel and Helena. Emil was deported on October 26, 1941 from Prague to the Litzmannstadt ghetto. Szdenka, Karel, and Helena survived the Holocaust. Other Eisenstein family members include Otto Eisenstein and his wife Mathylda, Karl Israel Eisenstein (Emil's older brother), his wife Herta (Neumann), and their three children, Lilly, Heinz, and Kurt. Karl studied at Charles University in Prague and owned a bank in Vienna. They each escaped Prague in different ways due to their Czech citizenship and lived in New Orleans, LA. Heinz and Kurt served in the U.S. Army in Germany during WWII.

Frank Grunwald (born Misa Frantisek) is the son of Dr. Kurt Grunwald and Vilma Eisenstein Grunwald. (Vilma's father is Otto Eisenstein). Frank was born on September 30, 1932 in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia and his older brother John was born in 1928. Kurt and Vilma met in Prague when Kurt was a medical student, studying obstetrics. The family's life changed radically on March 15, 1939 when German troops invaded and occupied the Czech lands. Misa and John were expelled from school; the family had to wear Jewish stars and was evicted from their apartment. On July 13, 1942 the family was deported to Theresienstadt and separated into male, female and children's living quarters. Kurt continued to work as a physician, and Vilma worked in a large camp kitchen. The family was deported to Auschwitz on December 15, 1943. After spending two days in a crowded railcar, they arrived in the camp in the middle of the nigh and were taken to the Czech Family Camp. Two years later, when they closed the family camp, Kurt was sent to the F Lager while Misa was directed to the left with other young children, as was his brother who though older, walked with a limp. In a matter of seconds, Willy Brachman grabbed Misa by the shoulder and pushed him into the group of older children and was taken to the D Lager where they were tasked with sorting the clothing of new arrivals. Misa saw his father march out of the camp and managed to toss a winter coat and one boot over the barbed wire fence to him. Misa remained in Auschwitz until his evacuation on a death march on January 18, 1945. Misa marched through the snow to Gleiwitz and spent the remaining months of the war in Mauthausen. A group of American soldiers liberated him in May 1945 and brought him to Hoersching to recuperate. He soon reunited with his father and returned to Prague. After the Communist take-over of Czechoslovakia, the Grunwald family decided to flee and in 1951, they immigrated to the United States where Kurt resumed his medical practice. Misa finished high school and studied industrial design at Pratt Institute. After Kurt's death, Misa found a note from his mother explaining the circumstances of her death. She wrote it on July 11, 1944 following the selection and moments before she was gassed. She explains how she voluntarily decided to accompany her son John to the gas chambers. Misa donated the letter to the United States Memorial Museum in July 2012.