Woman’s white cloth tailored jacket owned by a Jewish refugee during her escape from Vienna

Identifier
irn522461
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2004.628.7
Dates
1 Jan 1933 - 31 Dec 1933, 1 Jan 1939 - 31 Dec 1939
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 23.120 inches (58.725 cm) | Width: 14.880 inches (37.795 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Fanny (Fiege) Wilde was born on November 2, 1904, in Gorlice, Poland. She had 4 brothers, Bernard, Arnold, Joseph, and Sigmund and two sisters, Lea and Ella, born 1914. Her siblings all resided in Vienna where they attended school. Her brothers were involved in the Zionist movement which encouraged emigration to Palestine; they would be forced to leave Austria after the Anschluss. She married Isidor Bieder, born October 1, 1894, also from Gorlice, on July 6, 1924, in Vienna, Austria. They settled in Vienna where Isidor developed a prosperous retail business. They had two daughters, Frieda, born on September 11, 1925, and Gertrude, born on January 23, 1929. Soon after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany on March 13, 1938, Germans looted the family’s apartment and confiscated their money, car, jewels, and other possessions. Anti-Jewish legislation was enacted and many Jewish owned businesses, including Isidor’s, were confiscated. During the Kristallnacht pogrom that November 10, Isidor was arrested and taken to the police riding school on Kenyongasse where he was severely beaten. Fanny was detained and forced to scrub the streets. The family’s apartment was sealed and they never returned there. As a condition of his release, Isidor had to agree to leave Austria with his family by a specified date. On January 15, 1939, Isidor paid the 25 % government tax on his remaining assets that was required of all Jews leaving Austria. He received a permit for the family to leave the country the next day. They left for Italy and on January 20, they sailed on the SS Esperia from Genoa, arriving on January 26 in Haifa, Palestine. They lived in a small room in a resettlement center for Jewish refugees for several weeks and then in various temporary lodgings. Isidor was able to sell land that he had bought during a trip to Haifa with Fanny in 1933. The family left for Piraeus, Greece, on the SS Andreas-Dorus on November 20, 1939. From there, they sailed to New York City aboard the TSS Neas-Hellas and arrived on December 18, 1939. The family settled in Cleveland, Ohio. All of Fanny’s siblings survived the Holocaust. Fanny passed away, age 70, on November 1, 1975.

Gertrude Bieder was born on January 23, 1929, in Vienna, Austria, to Isidor (Cham Isak) and Fanny (Feiga) Wilde Bieder. Both of her parents were born to Jewish families in Golwice, Poland: Isidor in 1894 and Fanny in 1904. The couple married in Vienna, Austria, on July 6, 1924, where Isidor owned a successful retail business. Gertrude had an older sister, Frieda, who was born on September 11, 1925. When Nazi Germany annexed Austria on March 13, 1938, Germans looted the family’s apartment and took their money, car, and other possessions. Anti-Jewish laws were passed and soon Isidor’s business was confiscated. During Kristallnacht on November 10, Isidor was arrested and severely beaten. Fanny was forced to scrub the streets. The family's apartment was sealed and they never returned there. Isidor was released with the condition that he and his family soon leave Austria. The family received a permit to leave Vienna on January 16, 1939, after Isidor paid an expensive Jewish emigration tax. They travelled to Genoa, Italy, where they boarded the SS Esperia, arriving in Haifa, Palestine, on January 26. They lived in a room in a Jewish refugee resettlement center for several weeks; for the remaining months, they moved around the city. On November 20, 1939, the family sailed on the SS Andreas-Dorus for Piraeus, Greece. They transferred to the TSS Neas-Hellas and arrived in New York City on December 18. The family settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Gertrude married David Meisner and had two children. Her father passed away, age 83, in 1971. Her mother died, age 71, in 1975. Gertrude passed away, age 83, on February 26, 2012.

Archival History

The jacket was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Gertrude Bieder Meisner, the daughter of Fanny Bieder.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Gertrude Bieder Meisner and the Estate of Gertrude Bieder Meisner

Scope and Content

Jacket owned by Fanny Bieder who was forced to leave Vienna, Austria, with her husband, Isidor, and their two daughters, 14 year old Frieda and 10 year old Gertrude, in 1939. She acquired the jacket for her 1933 cruise to Italy and Palestine with her husband. After the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938, anti-Jewish laws were passed and Jews were targeted for persecution. Germans raided the family’s apartment, taking most of their valuables, and a little later, Isidor’s business was confiscated. During the November Kristallnacht pogrom, Isidor was arrested and beaten. As a condition of Isidor’s release from prison, he agreed to leave Austria with his family. They received their exit permits on January 16, 1939, and left for Haifa, Palestine. After nearly a year, they sailed from there to Greece, then to the United States, and arrived in New York City on December 18.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Waist-length, off-white, long-sleeved cloth jacket with a tailored collar and lapels. There are 3 small plastic buttons at the cuffs and 2 large plastic buttons for the front opening. There is a lined slip pocket on the left breast and one on each side at the bottom near the weighted hemline. The interior is fully lined with gold colored satiny cloth.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.