gb-003348-wl1869
type: RecordSet
biographical history: Frank Steiner was born into a family of Jewish converts to Catholicism in 1922. His father, Richard Steiner (1878-1944), a high court judge, it is thought, had converted as a student for pragmatic reasons. Frank's mother, Paula, who came from an assimilated Jewish background, followed suit. Both Frank and his brother, Willi (1918-2003), were raised in the Catholic faith. Frank was able to come to England on the Kindertransport via the Catholic section of the Refugee Children's Movement. A place had been found for him at Belmont Abbey, a Catholic boarding school in Herefordshire. Meanwhile, his brother, Willi, had already managed to obtain a student visa to study law. He went on to become a distinguished academic lawyer. Their parents remained in Vienna. They were later misinformed by the American Quakers organisation, which still had offices in Vienna in 1939, that they would be able to obtain transit visas from any neutral country to Britain or the USA so they went to Budapest where they had a number of relatives. Once they discovered that they were unable to obtain further visas, it was thanks largely to the connection through the school that Frank and Willi were able to bring about the extension of their parents's stay in Hungary with the influence of Cardinal Seredi, Prince Primate in Hungary. Although ultimately they were deported to their deaths after the Germans invaded in March 1944. Much of the correspondence in this collection is between Willi and Franz in the UK and their parents in Budapest. Between February 1940 and the date Hungary entered the war the boys could correspond with their parents via Switzerland. After that the same route was used through Paula Steiner's uncle, Julian Halberstam (1879-1958), but the post was censored. Frank was released from internment on his 19th birthday after being found unfit for Army service. Thereafter he worked at a part time office job including civil defence (classed as war work) while reading part time for a Londo…
related material: See also 2015/21 for digital memoir of Willi Steiner
conditions of access: Open
has beginning date: 1876-01-01
has end date: 1980-01-31
has or had holder: gb-003348
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: 641
has or had subject: 304
has record set type: Collection
identifier: WL1869
record resource extent: 6 folders
record resource structure: Chronological by family member
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: This collection comprises the following folders: (1869/1) Correspondence from parents to Willi and Franz, 1938-1939; (1869/2) Correspondence between parents, Willi and Franz and Max Steiner (1874-1942), father's eldest brother, 1938-1942; (1869/3) Correspondence from parents to Franz and Willi, 1938-1943; (1869/4) Correspondence from Julian Halberstam to Willi and Franz, 1939-1951, also biographical material on the family; (1869/5) Correspondence from Julian Halberstam in Saanen, Switzerland, to Willi and Franz, 1951-1956; (1869/6) Correspondence from parents in Budapest to Willi and Franz, 1940-1942
title: Frank Steiner: Family papers