Antonie (Toni) Eckstein-Bloch was adopted by Františka Kapoun (1873–1931), a Catholic housekeeper for the Bloch family. Toni’s first husband Emerich Schmeer (married in 1917) was killed in WW1 when he had to return to the battlefields. After the death of her step-father, Leopold Bloch, in March 1933, Toni became the successor of the Bloch properties in Brno and Veverská Bítýška. She married Leopold's close friend, Dr. Michael Eckstein, a Jew who was nearly 20 years her senior in March 1934. Toni and Michael lived primarily in two homes: Hlínky 35 (a prestigious boulevard with tram connections to the center of Brno in a bourgeois neighborhood) and the summer residence at Veverská Bítýška [Eichhorn-Bitischka] 238. Both properties are prominently pictured in Toni's films. Toni and Michael had two children, Michaela (born April 27, 1935) and Antonín (born October 19, 1936). Michael chose to move away from his Catholic wife, Toni, and the children on August 14, 1940 in order to protect the family. They officially divorced on September 19, 1940. In the last years of war Toni and the children stayed in Veverska Bityska, where they survived. Michael Ekstein was born in Galicia in 1873 and moved to Brno (Brünn) as a child. He was a lawyer. He and his wife, Antonie (Toni) Eckstein-Bloch (married in 1934) lived in Brno at Hlínky 35. In an effort to save his Catholic wife and children, Michaela (b. 1935) and Antonín (b. 1936), After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Michael divorced Toni in September 1940 and relocated to their home in Brno at Zeile 12. He maintained correspondence with his wife and children. Michael was deported to Terezin in April 1942 on transport Ai, č. 226 (08. 04. 1942, Brno -> Terezín https://www.holocaust.cz/databaze-obeti/obet/81503-michal-eckstein/) and died there on August 12, 1942. Toni and the children survived in Veverská Bítýška. Juliane (Lilli) Landsmann was married to Hans/Jan Hanuš Landsmann (1898- murdered in Auschwitz). They lived in Prague and had two sons, Gustav Petr Landsmann (1926 – murdered in Auschwitz)and Felix Anotn Landsmann (1930 – murdered in Auschwitz). Lilli also died at Auschwitz - https://www.holocaust.cz/databaze-obeti/obet/103985-juliana-landsmannova/ Felix Anotn Landsmann, 16. 11. 1930, Praha – murdered in Auschwitz - https://www.holocaust.cz/databaze-obeti/obet/103979-felix-landsmann/ Gustav Petr Landsmann, 4. 12. 1926, Praha – murdered in Auschwitz https://www.holocaust.cz/databaze-obeti/obet/103981-gustav-landsmann/ Jakob Eckstein (brother of Michael Eckstein) was deported from Brno in March 1942 onTransport Ad, č. 332 (23. 03. 1942, Brno -> Terezín) and died at Terezin on July 4, 1942. https://www.holocaust.cz/databaze-obeti/obet/81461-jakub-eckstein/ Stefan Freudenfeld (b. 1910) is the son of Berta (Eckstein) and Oscar Freudenfeld. Stefan was a pharmacist and lived in Brno. Stefan was deported from Brno to Terezin on March 29, 1942. On September 29, 1944 he was deported further to Auschwitz. Both of Stefan's parents survived Terezin.
Refer to the files for digital copies of the tragic correspondence and diary entries written by Michael Eckstein after he separated from his wife and children in August 1940 and moved into the apartment at Zeile 12, Includes one-year-old baby Elizabeth H. Scholtz nee Shenk. Her mother was Hedwig (Hedy) M. Shenk nee Bloch.
“The last visit in Bítýška at the yard” in September 1938. Baby Elizabeth Shenk with newspaper. 01:00:39 Michael in shorts with tall socks. Cousins from Prague visit the summer cottage: Felix Landsmann (school-age boy in striped suit, b. 1930, died in Auschwitz) with his mother Lilli (niece of Michael Eckstein) in the foyer. Lilli in trenchcoat plays table tennis with her husband Hans (b. 1898, died in Auschwitz) and her son Gustav (b. 1926, died in Auschwitz). Michaela plays in the yard with stroller; Felix on a tricycle. Michael Eckstein (on left) with his brother Jakob Eckstein (in dark suit) watching the children. Toddler Antonín sits upright in the carriage. Nannies playfully toss Michaela in the air, she laughs. 01:03:21 The Ecksteins say farewell to their visitors, shiny Packard (same as in film #6): Hans (in hat) shakes hands with uncle-in-law Michael, the boys shake hands with their Uncle Jakob, Hans hugs his boys, and a well-dressed unknown woman in suit and hat says goodbye. They get into the Packard and the driver (chauffeur) takes off. A housekeeper closes the gate. Gustav plays with the dog in garden at Bítýška. Gustav and Felix sit on a blanket and play cards and wrestle in the grass. 01:06:24 Michaela on the tricycle; Antonín gets a turn. They pose for the camera and have a meal outdoors with their father, Michael. They play in a playpen indoors and read books. Antonín in a stroller. 01:11:16 In Brno at Hlínky 35, a young man in uniform, possibly nephew Stefan Freudenfeld (son of Berta) visits Jakob and Michael in the outdoor garden. They talk. He salutes and poses for the camera. The babies are fed by the nannies. Michaela dances indoors with her uncle Jakob. Antonín crawling and pulling himself up to walk.The children get haircuts. Antonín holds a balloon in his playpen.
Family activities at the house in Bítýška; friend in uniform; children get haircuts