United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Mariette Schwarz Reed (Mimi) was born Mariette Schwarz on 16 August 1935 in Antwerp, Belgium to George and Magdolna Schwarz. Her father George Schwarz (1903-1962) was born György Schwarz in 1903 in Szászrégen, Hungary (Reghin, Romania) to Henrik (d. 1913) and Maria (d. 1918, née Bretter) Schwarz. He had one brother, Paul Schwarz (later Paul Savet). George’s parents died when he was young. Her mother Magdolna Schwarz (1908-1993) was born Magdolna Madeleine Haberfeld in 1908 in Budapest, Hungary to Miksa Haberfeld and Etelka Herzog. Her father Miksa Haberfeld (1873-1948) was born in Bakóca, Hungary. He had five siblings: Sámuel Haberfeld (b. 1861), Janka Haberfeld (later Janka Bachrach, 1864-1949), Vilmos Haberfeld (later Vilmos Hódos, b. 1868), Dezsö Haberfeld (later Dezsö Salamon Hódos, b. 1875), and Béla Haberfeld (later Béla Hódos, 1878-1966). Magdolna’s mother, Etelka Herzog (1881-1916), was born in 1881 in Nagyszombat, Hungary (Trnava, Slovakia). Magdolna had one brother, György, and one sister Klári Haberfeld (1905-1991, later Klári Kovács) who was born on 4 October 1905 in Budapest. Magdolna’s family was wealthy and her father was the director of the Nasici Tanning Company. Antisemetic laws made it difficult to attend universities in Hungary so both George and Magdolna studied at the University of Vienna. George received his Ph.D in chemistry in 1933, and Magdolna received her Ph.D in physics the same year. They met while attending the university and married in Budapest in 1934. The couple moved to Antwerp, Belgium because George was offered the position of director of research at Gevaert (later Agfa-Gevaert). He had also been offered a job with Agfa, but was wary of moving to Germany and turned it down. Germany invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940. The same day, the family fled Antwerp to Paris. They remained briefly in Paris and then fled when the Germans occupied the city. They went to Juan-les-Pins, France and lived in a hotel occupied by many others attempting to flee. George obtained Brazilian visas in Marseille, but could not leave until he also acquired false documents. On 10 October 1940 the family went to Portugal through Spain. They sailed from Lisbon, Portugal to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil aboard the Paquete Angola on 20 October 1940. The family remained in Brazil from November 1940 to 5 February 1941 when they sailed aboard the SS Uruguay to the United States. George got a position with his old firm Gevaert in Williamstown, Massachusetts, but didn’t remain with them long due to current ties to Nazi Germany. He opened his own research lab called George Schwarz Laboratories in North Adams, Massachusetts. Their son John Henry Schwarz was born 22 November 1941 in North Adams. George, Magdolna, and Mariette all became naturalized citizens in 1950. Magdolna’s sister Klári married László Kovács (1899-1980, nicknamed Laci) on 20 May 1925 and lived in Budapest. She worked as a tailor, and passed her master’s degree exam for it in 1940. During the war, she was also trained on mechanical drawing. He worked as a banker. On 23 October 1944, Klári and László received Swiss protection documents, but they likely remained at her father’s house. They remained in Budapest after the war until 1957 when they fled the country in the wake of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and settled in London.
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The collection documents the Hungarian Holocaust-era experiences of the extended Schwarz family, including George and Magdolna Schwarz, their daughter Mariette, and Magdolna’s sister Klári Kovács (née Haberfeld) and her husband László Kovács. Included are identification papers, immigration documents, and photographs.
Schwarz family papers