Richard and Ernestine Benes papers

Richard and Ernestine Benes papers 

Richard Benes (b. 1908 in Vienna, Austria) married Ernestine Silberman (b. 1911 in Vienna, Austria) in 1938 and they lived in Vienna, Austria. Prior to getting married Richard attempted to obtain visas to the United States, but was unsuccessful. Shortly after they were married, they attempted to flee to Switzerland, but were denied. He continued his attempts to obtain visas and in 1940 he was successful. They fled from Austria to Spain through Prague, Berlin, and Paris and in June 1941 they left from Barcelona, Spain aboard the Villa de Madrid for the United States. Sigismund and Margaret Beres, relatives of Richard and Ernestine, were Austrian Jewish citizens who fled Nazi occupied Austria in 1938 for Switzerland. They spent two years in the Lugano labor camp before leaving for Zurich where they spent the remainder of the war. Their son, Louis Rene Beres, was born in Austria in 1945. The family immigrated to the United States in 1947. 

Richard and Ernestine Benes papers