us-005578-irn524336-irn524337
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Erika Schulhof was born in Hohenau, Austria in 1928 to Dr. Friedrich Schulhof (b. Krakow, 1882-1942?) and Gertrude Schulhof (nee Weil, b. Brno, Czechoslovakia, 1895-1942?). Gertrude’s family was very well-to do. Her father, Karl, was an engineer and the second highest ranking official in Brno. Gertrude was not raised Jewish and attended an Evangelical school with her two sisters, Ellie, born 1894, and Mia, born 1897. Friedrich and Gertrude married on March 24, 1928, in Prague. Her father worked as an engineer at a sugar factory in Hohenau. Erika was raised in an assimilated family; they did not observe Jewish rituals or associate with the Jewish community. The family converted to Catholicism, partly to make it easier for Erika in the small village. In March 1938, German troops annexed Austria. Anti-Jewish legislation was introduced and Jews found themselves excluded from many areas of daily life and certain professions. Even though Erika’s parents did not consider themselves Jews, they were classified as Jews by the racial laws. In August, Erika’s father was fired from his job because he was Jewish. The family moved to Vienna and lived with Friedrich‘s mother, Gabrielle Popper Schulhof. As a Jew, Erika was not permitted to attend public school. She went to the Ursuline Convent school, but she had to hide her books and pretend that she was delivering fruits or vegetables to the nuns. Gertrude’s brother-in-law, Fritz Treuer, who lived in the US, sent affidavits of support and money for American visas, but the family was not able to obtain visas. In April 1939, after her family secured her acceptance into a boarding school, ten year old Erika was sent by Kindertransport to Great Britain, where she lived at the Sacred Heart Convent in Aberdeen, Scotland. The convent was not aware of her Jewish heritage. Her father was able to find a position in a sugar factory in Turkey, but he and his wife were not able to get work permits to leave Austria. Erika continued to attend th…
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had subject: 843
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn524337
is or was included in: us-005578-irn524336
record resource extent: box 1
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: The Erika Rybeck papers include documents and correspondence from the 19th and 20th century documenting the Schulhof family and their ancestors in Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. The papers were kept by surviving family member in Austria during the Holocaust and later entrusted to Erika. The papers also include correspondence Erika's parents, Gertrude and Friedrich Schulhof, sent to her in the United Kingdom from Vienna between 1939 and 1941.
title: Erika Rybeck papers