Paula Marsand (1922-2014) was born Paula Butterklee on 29 June 1922 in Vienna, Austria to Norbert and Mina Butterklee. She had one brother, Samuel (1919-2019). Her father Norbert (b. 1883 in Tarnopol, now Ternopil, Ukraine) worked in Vienna as a textile merchant. After the German-annexation of Austria in March 1938, the family began making plans to emigrate. Samuel immigrated to the United States aboard the SS Gerolstein in April 1939. Paula immigrated to the United States in November 1939 aboard the SS Rotterdam. Paula’s parents attempted to secure visas for themselves but were not successful. They corresponded with their children from 1939-1942 before they were likely deported to Riga where they perished. Paula’s brother Samuel was drafted into the United States army during World War II. After the war, Paula met and married Nathan Marsand and they raised their daughter Mona in Poughkeepsie, New York.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Norbert and Mina Butterklee letters
Consists of letters written to Samuel and Paula Butterklee from their parents, Norbert and Mina Butterklee, from 1938-1942. Norbert (Nissen) and Mina (Menie) Butterklee, of Vienna, Austria, sent their children, Samuel and Paula, to the United States to escape Nazi persecution. Though they attempted to obtain visas for themselves, Norbert and Mina were unsuccessful, and perished during the Holocaust. The letters discuss their attempts to escape and their love and hopes for their children.