Search
A Jewish Family living in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna in the 1930’s. Adolf Mendelsohn was the brother of my grandmother, Jetty Katz Mendelsohn Bock. It is the story of a family running for their lives from the Nazis.
Alice Valerie Mendelsohn Markus, also known as Lizzy, was born on 21 November 1913 in Vienna. Her parents were Adolf (Abraham) and Elsa Mendelsohn. Her profession was that of Schneiderin or seamstress. After the March 1938 Anschluss the family knew there was no longer a future for them in Austria.
Leaving all possessions behind, Alice, then 24, left Austria with her future husband, Friedrich Markus. In September 1938 she registered with the Belgian Foreign Police, in Brussels. Her parents would arrive that December.
In April 1939 Alice and Friedrich were married in a civil ceremony in Antwerp. Although Friedrich Markus was born in Vienna, he was considered “stateless” due to his Turkish origins. Because of Alice’s marriage to “stateless” Friedrich, the German Consulate General in Antwerp declared that Alice had lost her German citizenship and was now also “stateless”.
Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940. Alice, Friedrich, Adolf, and Elsa fled to the southern, Unoccupied Zone of Vichy France. The families did not stay together. In October 1940 Adolf and Elsa Mendelsohn were arrested and interned in Camp de Gurs for 14 months. Camp de Gurs was a concentration for Jews located near the Spanish border. Later they spent 11 months residing in the Chansaye Reception Center where life was more normal. In September 1942 they were caught in a raid of the Center, arrested and deported to Auschwitz. There they were murdered.
In July 1941 Friedrich and Alice registered with the authorities in Nice. Nice was under Italian occupation and Italy was not enforcing anti-Jewish Nazi laws. The couple had two children born in Nice. Pierre Henry Georges Markus was born on 29 December 1941 and Yvette Manuela Germaine Markus was born on 24 May 1943. There are no pictures for the children.
When Italy signed an Armistice with the Allies in September 1943 everything would change for Jews living in Nice. From 1940 until September 1943 Italy occupied an area of southeastern France. Some 300,000 Jews took refuge there. However, when the Italians signed the Armistice with the Allies, German troops immediately invaded the former Italian zone and initiated brutal raids. Within five months 5,000 Jews were caught and deported. Friedrich Markus was one of those.
On 22 September 1943 Friedrich was arrested in Nice. For six months, from September 1943 until March 1944 Alice was left alone with a baby and small child. Then on 27 March 1944, Alice, age 30, Pierre, age 2, and Yvette, 10 months old , were deported to Auschwitz via Transport 70. There the three were all murdered.
Husband Friedrich survived until April 1945 until finally dying at Concentration Camp Gröditz/Flossenbürg. He had survived 2 months at Auschwitz-Birkenau and 18 months at Gusen/Mauthausen.
More information about Adolf (Abraham) Mendelsohn and Elsa Semo Mendelsohn
