us-005578-irn42290-irn47262
type: RecordSet
archival history: The book was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Ruth Mondschein Zimbler in 2011.
biographical history: Ruth Mondschein was born on February 22, 1928, in Vienna, Austria, to Hene Libe (Hella) and Markus Bloch Zimbler. Ruth’s younger brother, Walter, was born in 1932. Hella was born on September 4, 1896, in Brody, Poland (Ukraine), to Chaya Rachel Bloch. She had an older sister, Mindl,who lived in Brody with her daughter. Markus was born on October 12, 1890, in Kalusz, Poland (Ukraine). He had three brothers: Max, Solomon, and Jacob; one brother lived in Vienna with his wife and child; another lived with his family in Krakow, Poland. Markus had been a prisoner of war in Siberia during World War I (1914-1918) but was released due to the Russian Revolution in 1917. The couple married on March 22, 1925. Hella was a well-known dressmaker, specializing in white goods sewing for wedding trousseaus. Markus had been a mechanical engineer working on locomotives, but lost his job in 1930 because if the decreased demand for trains. Hella had many good connections in the Jewish community from her work and Markus now worked in social services for the Jewish Community in Vienna. They were an observant Jewish family and kept kosher. Markus’s job included an apartment one of the two buildings adjacent to the largest synagogue in the city on Temple Street. Ruth went to public school, but attended Hebrew school in the afternoon. The family spent their summer vacations in the Austrian Alps. On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria and annexed the country. Ruth could see the synagogue from their house and saw what happened after vandals threw a smoke bomb into the second floor women’s gallery.. A female American journalist came to the house and Hella showed her the damage. The journalist said she would write about it, but nobody would believe it. The library of the Theological Seminary was housed in their building and one day a German SS lieutenant colonel, came to their apartment to get the keys. He said that he was selecting the most precious manuscripts for a future museum…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Book ; 240 pages ; b&w illustrations ; color plates, Grimme & Hempel ; 19 cm. ; 7.375 x 4.875 in. Title page: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre. Eine Geschichte fu?r kinder auch fu?r Solche, welche die kinder lieb haben. Von Johanna Spyri. Zehnte Auflage. Mit 4 Bildern. Gotha. Friedrich Andreas Berthes. Red cover with illustration: Geschichten fu?r Kinder und Solche welche Kinder lieb haben, Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre von Johanna Sprti , Gotha Verlag von Freidr. Andr. Perthes. Druck von Friebr. Anbr. Perthes in Gotha.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: approximately 1906
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn47262
is or was included in: us-005578-irn42290
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Children's book, Heidi, brought with Hella and Markus Mondschein when they left Vienna, Austria, for the United States in the fall of 1939. Markus was arrested on Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938, and sent to Dachau concentration camp. He was released on the condition that he leave the country. He arranged for 10 year old Ruth and her 6 year old brother, Walter, to escape on the first Kindertransport [Children's Transport] to the Netherlands on December 10, 1938. The children later were sent to an aunt in the US, arriving on October 26, 1939. Ruth's parents emigrated on November 17, and the family settled in New York.
title: Children's book