United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Barech (1886-1966; later known as Bernard Dubia) was married to Golda (1891-1954; née Bleiman). They lived in Łódź, where they had three daughters, Helena (1914-1992, known as Hella); Bronia (b. 1916; later Bronia Netzky); and Bella (1924-1988; later Bella Mlodinoff). The family later moved to Essen, Germany. Hella married Hans Meyer (1905-1944) and they immigrated to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1937. They divorced by 1942. Bronia immigrated to the United States in 1938, and settled in Chicago. In 1938, Barech, Golda, and Bella began planning to flee Nazi Germany. They booked passage on the MS. St. Louis with the intention of immigrating to the United States from Cuba. After passengers were not allowed to disembark in Cuba, the Dobiecki’s disembarked in England. They stayed there for approximately 6 months, and then immigrated to Brazil in 1940 to be with Hella. In 1942, Bella went to visit Bronia in Chicago, and while she was there her visa quota number came up, so she remained there. In 1943, Hella and her parents immigrated to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California.
Copyright Holder: Ms. Rhonda Mlodinoff
box oversize folder book enclosure 1 1 2
The collection is arranged as four series: Series 1: Biographical materials, 1922-1977; Series 2: Emigration and Immigration papers, 1938-1943; Series 3: Correspondence, 1935-1962; Series 4: Photographs, 1936-1945
The collection documents Barech and Golda Dobiecki and their daughter Bella’s experiences as they emigrated from Essen, Germany on the MS St. Louis 1939, their disembarkation in England, their immigration to Brazil, and their eventual immigration to the United States. The collection also documents the earlier immigrations of the Dobiecki’s daughters Hella to Brazil and the United States, and Bronia to the United States. Included are identification papers, restitution papers, immigration and travel documents, letters from the Jewish Refugees Committee while they were in England, correspondence, and photographs. The photographs include a photo album made of their passage on the MS St. Louis in 1939, and one documenting their trip from Brazil to the United States in 1943.
Dobiecki family papers