Kurt Brodmann tells the story of his family: how his father Leopold, an actor, fell in love with Franzi Goldstaub, who was sitting in the audience. Franzi came from an orthodox family and her parents would not let her marry an actor.
Because he was so much in love, Leopold gave up his acting career and went into business.
Leopold and Franzi raised two sons. During the war, one son, Harry, fled to England; Kurt emigrated to Palestine, while their parents found refuge in Shanghai. There, Franzi opened a cafe and Leopold became an actor once again. After the war, the family was reunited in Vienna.
Study Guides
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
Kurt says that his parents grew up in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Empire covered much of Central Europe, including today's Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Transylvania (now in Romania), and parts of Italy, former Yugoslavia and Poland.
WWI
On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, prompting Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. This action mobilized alliances across Europe and triggered World War One, in which Kurt’s father fought.
LVOV
Kurt's mother came from Lemberg, or Lvov - a town that is now situation in western Ukraine. It was once part of a region called Galicia, which was ruled by Austria-Hungary from 1772 until its incorporation into interwar Poland in 1918. Today, the region is divided between Poland and the Ukraine. No country of the Austrian monarchy had such a varied ethnic mix as Galicia: Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, Germans, Armenians, Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, Roma, etc.
VIENNA
Kurt's parents settled in Vienna, the capital of Austria, where Kurt and his brother were born and raised.
Vienna dates back to the Roman Empire, at which point it began to grow and develop into a European economic, political, and cultural capital.
ENGLAND
Kurt's brother left Vienna for England on a Kinderstransport (German for children transport). Around 10,000 children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland were sent without their parents to England, where they were able to survive the war.
In 2008, a sculpture was erected in the main train station in Vienna commemorating the Jewish Viennese Children who were able to escape via the Kindertransport.
SHANGHAI, CHINA
Kurt's parents escaped to Shanghai, China - before 1939 one did not require a visa in order to enter Shanghai. Read more about German and Austrian refugees in Shanghai.
PALESTINE
Kurt Brodmann escaped to Palestine (today Israel) via ship. During this time Palestine was under British mandate. Although in Zionist ideology Palestine was considered a Jewish holy land, immigration was restricted.
The term "Aliyah" describes Jewish immigration to Israel.