My story

2013·39.1 MB·English

by  Shiffers, Stephan

MY STORY
by Stephan Shiffers

Compiled by Judith L. Shiffers
Diane Levy, Editor

Contents
PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................... I
FOREWORD .............................................................................................................................. II
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1
THE SCHIFFERES FAMILY OF PRAGUE .......................................................................................... 2
THE SCHIFFERES FAMILY IN VIENNA ............................................................................................. 7
SAMUEL/SEMMI SCHIFFERES ........................................................................................................... 8
LEOPOLD/POLDI SCHIFFERES ....................................................................................................... 10
HERMINE JEITELES SCHIFFERES .................................................................................................. 12
THE SCHIFFERES FAMILY IN VIENNA (CONTINUED) ................................................................. 13
LIFE IN VIENNA ................................................................................................................................. 14
OTTILIE SIEBENSCHEIN SCHIFFERES ........................................................................................... 16
JULIUS SCHIFFERES ......................................................................................................................... 18
MY STORY ............................................................................................................................... 26
MARTIN SCHIFFERES ....................................................................................................................... 32
WORLD WAR I ..................................................................................................................................... 35
MUSIC IN THE SCHIFFERES FAMILY ............................................................................................. 37
EDUCATION ....................................................................................................................................... 39
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL .................................................................................................................... 42
REALGYMNASIUM ............................................................................................................................. 45
WORLD WAR I (CONTINUED) .......................................................................................................... 47
STREETCARS AND STREETLIGHTS ................................................................................................. 53
ANTI-SEMITISM IN AUSTRIA ............................................................................................................ 53
VIENNA BEFORE WORLD WAR II .................................................................................................... 54
TECHNOLOGY .................................................................................................................................... 55
BERTHA’S BROTHERS .......................................................................................................... 57
MARCUS SCHIFFERES ...................................................................................................................... 58
Hermine Schifferes Homann, “Ine” ................................................................................................... 59
ARTHUR SCHIFFERES ...................................................................................................................... 63
ERNST SCHIFFERES, “ONNI” .......................................................................................................... 64
Gisela Schiller Schifferes, “Tante Gisi” ............................................................................................. 71
Lisbeth Schifferes Kahane ................................................................................................................... 75
KARL SCHIFFERES ............................................................................................................................ 84
Marianne [Schifferes] Schoenauer, “Mandy” ................................................................................... 89
ROSA SCHIFFERES ALLINA, “TANTE ROSA” .................................................................. 97
MALVINE SCHIFFERES POLLAK ...................................................................................... 102
HEINRICH POLLAK ......................................................................................................................... 104
ACQUAINTANCES ............................................................................................................... 111
MEMORIES ............................................................................................................................ 113
BERTHA SCHIFFERES ON HER OWN ............................................................................... 114
LIFE CHANGES ..................................................................................................................... 116
HAKOAH ................................................................................................................................. 120
LAW SCHOOL ....................................................................................................................... 125
GREMIUM DER WIENER KAUFMANNSCHAFT ............................................................................ 126
FIRST ENCOUNTER ............................................................................................................. 129
SPORTSCHULE ..................................................................................................................... 130
DACHAU ................................................................................................................................ 138
PREPARATION ...................................................................................................................... 148
LEAVING NAZI GERMANY ................................................................................................ 149
FARM LIFE ............................................................................................................................ 153
HALE NURSERY ................................................................................................................... 154
CAMPDEN HOUSE ............................................................................................................... 156
RABBI ABRAM SIMON ....................................................................................................... 158
SS PRESIDENT HARDING ................................................................................................... 160
WEDDING .............................................................................................................................. 161
LIESE FRIEDERIKE STRAUSS ........................................................................................... 165
BEST FRIENDS .................................................................................................................................. 167
DR. HUGO STRAUSS ............................................................................................................ 180
HEDWIG MARIANNE STRAUSS, “HEDE” ........................................................................ 186
LILI DOKTOR HUPPERT ................................................................................................................. 189
JOHANNES DEUTSCH, “HANS” ......................................................................................... 190
DR. EDUARD AND ELSBETH DEUTSCH ....................................................................................... 195
JOSEPH DEUTSCH, “PEPI” ........................................................................................................... 196
THE KURZ FAMILY ............................................................................................................. 198
ELISABETH/ELSE KURZ RINGER, “TANTE ELSE” ...................................................................... 202
DR. STEFAN RINGER ....................................................................................................................... 204
ALFRED KURZ, “ONKEL ALFRED” ............................................................................................... 206
DR. EMIL KURZ, “ONKEL EMIL” .................................................................................................. 207
THE SIEBENSCHEIN FAMILY ............................................................................................ 208
EULOGY FOR STEPHAN SHIFFERS .................................................................................. 214
SYMPATHY ........................................................................................................................... 215
APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 221
APPENDIX A: THE FAMILIES
APPENDIX B: SCHIFFERES FAMILY PRAYER
PREFACE
In May 1994, Stephan and his daughter, Judy, had the privilege of meeting Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg in her office at the Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg asked Stephan about his
background and after hearing his story, encouraged him to write his memoirs. In a thank you
letter to Justice Ginsburg, he wrote: “…I always wonder and cannot understand why I was
spared the terrible fate of millions and why I am living longer than anyone in my immediate
family. But there is still a Proverb: Nemo ante mortem beatus.1 May you, Justice Ginsburg, also
have a long and healthy life and a successful career in your high position.”
Stephan’s own words are written in the following font throughout the book:

The Stephan Schifferes Story

Stephan Schifferes as proud goalie!
(circa 1932)

1 Nobody is blessed before his death. We never know what the future is preparing for us.
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FOREWORD
As a United States citizen, restricted freedoms are as foreign to me as the country I
visited for the first time as an eight-year-old boy. On a family vacation, we traveled with
my grandfather to his homeland in Austria. The experience had a great impact on me.
The visits to the houses and neighborhoods from which my grandfather fled,
compounded with the stories he told of the horrific events that occurred there fifty-two
years before, led to a feeling of sorrow for those who were victims and vengeance
towards those who were murderers.
Events in history are often dismissed as irrelevant whenever the issues have had no
impact on the path your life has taken. My experience in Austria began an understanding
of the events of World War II that have never been classified in my mind as irrelevant.
My existence relies heavily on the direction the world took in the years of World War.
The life I lead today, and have lead for my sixteen years on this planet, has come about
because of the bravery and determination of my grandfather in 1939. At the age of
twenty-eight, after having graduated from law school in Vienna, he was rewarded with
the presence of Adolf Hitler. This man, if his brutal and homicidal existence allows him
to be referenced within humanity, had a profound effect on my grandfather’s life. Hitler’s
presence in Europe led my grandfather astray from his expected path. Instead of
continuing to be one of the best soccer players in Austria and a promising student of the
law, all hopes of a bright future in his homeland were demolished. The identity my
grandfather had established for himself was torn asunder as in November 1938 he
became a number. Becoming a number meant joining the long and hopeless execution
line of Dachau, a line leading to bits and pieces of food and eventually death. However,
all hope was not lost, as my grandfather’s diligence paid off in ways he could have never
imagined. Hitler, in his propaganda attempts to deflect attention from the true purpose of
the camps, issued an order to allow a few students to leave.
The following actions of my grandfather have changed my life, not only in terms of my
existence as a citizen of the United States, but also because of the lessons of incredible
courage I have learned. Upon days after his release, my grandfather left behind all he had
ever known, including both his family and belongings. This departure from the
companionship and love of the majority of the people he had grown up with was not a
temporary vacation, after which his family would throw him a “welcome home” party.
This departure became a goodbye he was never able to express, as little did my
grandfather know what future lay ahead for his relatives. My grandfather has never been
able to come to a sense of closure. Why was he so lucky? He has asked himself this
question for the past fifty-eight years, a question which has touched my life with an
appreciation I will never let slip away.
My grandfather’s life has had a great influence on me. He has given me an appreciation
for my life which I would not have had without his misfortune and, more importantly, he
has been a constant presence and source of advice in my daily life. His determination to
demolish the barriers Nazis had put up for him and all other Jews led him to the U.S.,
where he became, after years of hard work and persistence, a successful father and
businessman. The part of my grandfather I have known came after all the struggles. The
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stories and my imagination are all I have in my attempts to understand the struggles of his
past. However, the man who has come through it all is the grandfather whom I have come
to admire for the lessons of determination and hard work he has taught me. My
grandfather’s constant presence in my childhood has not only given me an appreciation
for my life, but has also given me the knowledge to improve my life in all my
undertakings. This improvement has come in my attempts, though feeble and concerned
with issues of miniscule importance in comparison, at matching my grandfather’s
determination. I have employed this determination in my efforts in athletics, in the
classroom, and in my outlook on life in general. I have learned not to take anything for
granted as I cherish my existence, my freedom, and my family, including my grandfather,
who has just celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday.
This essay was written by Noah Bialostozky for the common application for
entrance into college, Autumn 1998.
iii
Through an indirect series of causes and effects, seventy years after my grandfather
graduated with a degree in law, his inability to practice has spurred my desire to study.
My grandfather received his law degree from the University of Vienna in 1934. Ironically
he was never able to practice in his native Austria as a result of the law, specifically the
Nuremberg Laws of 1935. My grandfather was able to obtain a visa to come to the
United States in 1939. Thankfully his visa was possible as a result of the law, specifically
his non-quota status under the U.S. Immigration Act of 1924. Being the grandson of a
Holocaust survivor and refugee has undeniably shaped my life and present identity.
As a teenager I came to admire my grandfather for his unspoken lessons of determination
and hard work. I learned much from him, and my view of the world has been profoundly
altered by his actions and experiences. However, the part of my grandfather I knew came
after all of his struggles, leaving me continually curious about his experiences and its
cause.
At first, I relied on personal accounts and my imagination in attempts to understand. I
learned of my grandfather, the model citizen and star athlete, mistreated and arrested on
Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938. I learned of his transport to the Dachau concentration
camp. I learned how he survived his months there, volunteering to clean the food troughs
so he could scrape off an extra ration for himself. I learned of his fortunate release and his
rapid departure from Europe.
As I got older and expanded my knowledge through further inquiry into the historic
record, I learned the tragic extent of the Holocaust. Why was my grandfather so lucky?
He has asked himself this for the past sixty-three years and it is a question that has
touched my life with an appreciation I will never let slip away.
As I learned more, it became strikingly clear that the Holocaust was not only directly
responsible for my grandfather’s path, but also for my own existence. As a result, for
many years I have been interested in studying the Holocaust. My work and study has
ranged from research on the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, to a course on the
representation of the Holocaust in art and literature, to my current position teaching a
course on the Holocaust to middle-school students in the Dominican Republic. However,
the personal impact of my Holocaust education has had only fleeting traces of anger and
revenge. My grandfather has made me realize that perpetual anger and sorrow do not lead
to progress. Instead, my grandfather has provided a model of relentless determination
directed towards the future, determination that I have translated into my own life and into
an outlook hopeful for personal and societal progress. It is this outlook that has brought
me to the Dominican Republic to teach and this determination that I hope to channel
through law school into a force for social good.
My desire to attend law school is not the culmination of solemn reflection on the
injustices of the Nazi era. Nor is it a result of my subsequent appreciation for the
American legal system and the freedom it afforded my grandfather. Instead, it is a desire
to supplement the lessons I have learned with opportunity and a powerful set of skills.
My grandfather taught me to approach the future with undaunted courage and buoyant
determination, an approach I intend to always have, in law school and beyond.
Noah Bialostozky’s essay for admission to law school, written August 2003.
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INTRODUCTION
This, my story, is written to report to my children and theirs about our
family and ancestors who lived and died in Europe. To show them also why
their father, a man, born like his parents, in Wien (Vienna), Austria, as a Jew,
left his native land (1939), and how he came to the United States of America.
Although I am not a survivor2 of the Holocaust, which started in 1942, I saw
some of the mistreatment and atrocities against Jews and living through most
of the twentieth century, can tell them what it meant to grow up before the era
of automobiles and electric streetlights in Wien, the capitol of the late Austro-
Hungarian monarchy. In less detailed form I gave a description of the
circumstances to the Shoah’s Visual History Department, not to get publicity or
fame, but to keep an eyewitness report documented. As we see, there are old
and Neo-Nazis who are giving speeches, denying Zyklon gas killings, ovens, and
numbers. Memory is a funny thing because in reporting my story, many more
recent events are forgotten and some [from] my childhood are impregnated, as if
they happened yesterday.
[Written by Stephan Shiffers in 1994.]
It is time at age 85 to reflect on the life I lived and how it came to be that
I was the last male [Schifferes] who landed in the U.S. There are lots of things
that time caused me to forget, lots of things I should forget and certain things,
out of my early childhood, which I, to my astonishment, remember.
Like my parents, I was born in Vienna, Austria (November 21, 1909)
before World War I, when Wien was the capitol of the Austria-Hungary
monarchy. My education and orientation was completely Austrian and during
all these years I never thought of traveling to America or emigrating. This
contradicts the time spent in Vienna of the Schifferes families (1840–1939)
compared to their much longer stay in the capitol of Prag[ue], which can be
seen on the genealogy (1748–1840).3 Since the [documents from the] archives
stated: “again admitted,” it is assumed that they were there before the
banishment.
To find out what caused the banishment from Prag[ue], I went to the IU
[Indiana University] library and found in the book The Jews of Bohemia and
Moravia that Maria Theresia,4 the last Hapbsburger in December 1744, issued
an order that all Jews had to leave the city of Prag[ue] by January 31, 1745, a
date which was impossible to keep so she graciously prolonged the stay until
March 31, 1745, and by October 29, 1745, they had left. Toward the end of

2 Stephan Schifferes actually was a survivor of the Holocaust, as were Liese, Bertha Schifferes, Sophie and
Hugo Strauss, Hede and Hans Deutsch [Dewton], Pepi and Lilly and Ruth Deutsch [Dewton], Emil and
Alfred Kurz, Stephanie Kurz, Gisela Schifferes, Lisbeth and Aryan Kahane—all our relatives who made it
out of Vienna.
3 See Appendix A for the Schifferes and Jeiteles family trees, along with documentation regarding the
Siebenschein family of Moravia, family of Stephan’s grandmother Ottilie.
4 Stephan notes, “Maria Theresia, the Kaiserin [Empress] with many children, who listened to the boy
Mozart and had her daughter, Marie Antoinette, marry the French king, was under the influence of her
Father Confessor, who told her that if she sends the Jews out of Prague, she will win all the battles.”
1
1748 the sum of fl 204,000 paid yearly by the Jewish community for 10 years
made it possible that they could return to Prag[ue]. After 10 years the sum was
raised to 295,000 fl per year. Even the Edict of 1797 (Toleranz Edict) issued by
Josef II (Maria Theresia’s son) was issued for financial reasons and taxed Jews
severely.
As you can see in Anatewka from “Fiddler on the Roof,” the banishment
caused incredible hardships and of course was preceded by a pogrom and
plunder.
Although anybody in Germany could see the great military buildup, I
would like to mention that in Stuttgart I saw members of the fire department (!)
practicing crawling on the floor and throwing (dummies) hand grenades. But
they showed him [Hitler] speaking: “In case the Jews are able to get us into
another war, it will be the end of the Jews in Europe.” He knew what was going
to come, but the blame was for the victims.
When my two grandfathers, Samuel and Leopold, emigrated from Prague
to Vienna, their life and living standard was, of course, tied to the economic and
political conditions of the monarchy. So the years 1870–1915 were very good
years while the war years and post–war years were horrible.
[Written by Stephan on October 19, 1996]
Today, fifty-four days before my eighty-seventh birthday, I am telling you
happenings and conditions of my past life, among them fifty-four days as
prisoner of the Nazis in Dachau, Bavaria. Please consider, therefore, that some
important details might have been forgotten, while minor incidents from my
childhood are indelibly impregnated in my memory.
The Schifferes Family of Prague
Through the Jewish Archives of Prague (Archivny Sprava), I was able to
determine that the Schifferes, Schiffres, Schiffers (remember that Yiddish was
spelled with Hebrew letters, no vowels), lived since the seventeenth century
there in the Ghetto of Prague (now in the Czech Republic, but then a city in the
Austrian Empire). My two grandfathers were born there, but moved with their
parents in the nineteenth century to Wien [Vienna], the capital of the big
Austrian Hungarian monarchy.5
[In 1969, Stephan wrote to the Jewish Archives in Prague and received the following
information:
The first available information about your family was found in the Protokoll der
prager Familianten. Among the Jews who returned to Prague after their
banishment from the city was Pinkas Schiffer, a hat maker, with his wife, Ester
Rypka. He, Pinkas Schiffer, also called Pinkas Jekef Mannes, married in 1749 for
a second time Hindl, later called Rachel, daughter of Joseph Gumperle Eydlitz.
Unfortunately it was not possible to find the year of Pinkas Schiffer’s birth.
Hindl-Rachel was born in 1729 and died on July 6, 1804. Her husband died

5 See Appendix B for a prayer that most likely came to Vienna from Prague with the family; it was
intended to protect the household from epidemics.
2