Wooden toy bus owned by a Czechoslovakian Jewish girl

Renate Pollatschek (later Renata Polt, b. 1932) was born in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, to Elisabeth (née Lederer, 1902-2005) and Friedrich Pollatschek (1896-1967). Both parents were born in Aussig, Austria, which became Ústí nad Labem when Czechoslovakia was formed following World War I, during which Friedrich was injured fighting for Austria. Elisabeth was a homemaker born to Josefine (1874-1967) and Richard Lederer (?-1936), and had one brother, Willi (?-1971). Her father, Richard, was born Jewish, but converted to Protestantism when he married Josefine, and Elisabeth was baptized Lutheran. Friedrich was born to Henriette (née Heller, 1870-1942) and Hermann Pollatschek (1858-1926). He was a lawyer with his own firm. He had one older sister, Lene (Helene) Fürth (née Lederer, 1893-?), and two brothers, Hans (1891-1914) and Wilhelm (1899-1918), who both died while serving in the Austrian army during WWI. Friedrich grew up Jewish, but split from Judaism at 18 after a disagreement with a Rabbi. Consequently, Renate and her older brother Hans (b. 1929) were baptized Lutheran, and although they rarely attended church, they grew up celebrating Christian holidays. The Pollatschek family lived comfortably and employed several staff members. They lived on the second floor of Friedrich’s childhood home, while Friedrich’s mother, Henriette, lived in her own apartment on the first floor. They all spoke German as their native language, and considered themselves loyal to Austria, despite the border change that made them Czechoslovakian citizens. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was named Chancellor of Germany. The growth of the Nazi party in Germany allowed the party’s popularity to spread to other German-speaking areas, including where the Pollatscheks lived. Several members of Renate’s extended maternal family joined the Czechoslovakian Nazi party and refused to speak to the Pollatscheks anymore, viewing them as Jewish. Renate’s father, Friedrich, was concerned about Hitler’s policies and the threat of Germany invading their country, but the rest of his family thought he was worrying too much. In September 1938, Renate’s uncle, Willi, returned from a business trip in Germany and warned the family that German troops were gathering on the border. On September 11, one week after starting first grade, Renate left with her brother and parents for what she thought was another vacation in Switzerland. The family took several suitcases with them, but left the majority of their possessions behind. On September 30, the Sudetenland, which included Ústí nad Labem, was ceded to Germany as part of the Munich Agreement between Germany, Britain, France, and Italy. The family settled in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Renate enrolled in first grade. While they were in Lucerne, Friedrich was unable to work, and they lived in a hotel because Switzerland did not allow non-citizens to rent an apartment. Renate’s grandmother, Henriette, visited the family, and Friedrich tried desperately to convince her to stay with them, but she refused. Soon after the Munich agreement, she decided to move to Prague, Czechoslovakia, which was not yet under German control, with her daughter Lene. On March 15, 1939, German forces marched into Prague, and Czechoslovakia became a protectorate of Germany. On April 5, 1939, Renate and her family left Switzerland for Havana, Cuba. Cuba was a popular place for refugees as it was one of the few countries that issued entrance visas rather than visitor visas, allowing families to stay indefinitely. As a young child, Renate struggled with the unfamiliar climate, language, and food. The family’s ultimate goal was to immigrate to the United States, and after a year and a half in Cuba, they received their US immigration visas on September 4, 1940. They flew to Miami, Florida, and settled first in Queens, New York, before moving to Lake Placid in 1942. The Pollatscheks changed their last name to Polt, and took on Americanized first names. Friedrich became Frederick, Elisabeth changed her spelling to Elizabeth, Hans became John, and Renate started going by her middle name, Harriet. While they were in Cuba and New York, the family stayed in contact with Henriette, still in Prague, through letters. They continued trying to convince her to join them, but she wrote about her concerns on traveling so far and being an economic burden to them. In a letter from March 1941, Henriette wrote that she had finally decided to emigrate, but she put off leaving because she did not want to leave her daughter, Lene, behind. Frederick managed to purchase them both tickets to Cuba, but they could not get all of the required paperwork to leave, and remained stuck in German-occupied Czechoslovakia. The US entered World War II soon after the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and direct correspondence between Czechoslovakia and the US became impossible. The last letter that Harriet and her family received directly from her grandmother was dated January 21, 1942. Instead, Henriette began sending letters through her brother, Fritz Heller (1879-1960), who was living in neutral Switzerland. The last letter she sent to her brother was dated July 1, 1942. She reported that Lene had been transported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp on May 7. While at home in Lake Placid in 1945, Harriet heard over the radio about the victory in Europe, on May 8, and the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, on August 6. After the war ended, the Polts found out that Henriette had been transported to Theresienstadt on July 13, 1942, and then deported to Treblinka II killing center in German-occupied Poland on October 19, where she was murdered. Lene, was deported from Theresienstadt to Siedliszcze labor camp, near Sobibor killing center, in German-occupied Poland, where she was presumably murdered. In 1947, Harriet resettled in Santa Barbara, California, with her parents. Her brother John had already started college by that time. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from UC Berkeley, and went on to teach English at Oakland Junior College for 33 years before retiring. In 1969 Harriet met Fred Schmitt, a computer science professor at another local college, and the couple married in 1970. Later in life, Harriet reverted to her birth name, changing the spelling to Renata.

The toy bus was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by Renata Polt.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Renata Polt