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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.
Although Friedrich Markus was born on 23 July 1902 in Vienna, he was considered “stateless” because of his Turkish origins. His last address was 3 Adamsgasse 28, Vienna. He was a photographer, film operator, and car driver. He worked 10 years in Vienna as a representative for the German chocolate company Stollwerck. He was fired after the Anschluss in March 1938. He planned to leave Austria with the Adolf Mendelsohn family and would later marry Adolf Mendelsohn’s daughter Alice in Belgium. He and Alice Mendelsohn were the first to leave in September 1938 and illegally entered Belgium. Alice’s parents, Adolf and Elsa Mendelsohn would follow in December 1938.
The two families stayed in Belgium until the German invasion in May 1940. Sometime after that both families fled to the southern Unoccupied Zone of Vichy France. In 1941 Friedrich and wife Alice arrived in then Italian occupied Nice. His son, Pierre, and daughter, Yvette, were born there. In September 1942 Alice’s parents were murdered at Auschwitz.
After Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943, the Germans immediately entered Nice and began deporting all Jews. Nice had been under Italian occupation and Italy was not enacting anti-Jewish laws. Friedrich was arrested on 22 September 1943 and transported to Auschwitz coming from Drancy. His wife Alice and two small children were left without husband, father, and protection.
After almost 2 months at Auschwitz–Birkenau, Friedrich was sent in November 1943 to Camp Gusen, subcamp of Mauthausen in Austria. For 18 months, from November 1943 until April 1945, he was a slave laborer for Messerschmidt GmbH, the German airplane manufacturer.
During his time at Gusen, his wife and children were murdered at Auschwitz in March 1944.
In March 1945 Friedrich was sent to Camp Gröditz, a subcamp of Flossenbürg Camp in Bavaria. There he was used as slave labor constructing anti-aircraft guns for Mitteldeutsche Stahlwerke. Just one month later, in April 1945 the camp was liberated. How Frederick perished is unknown.
Friedrich was 43 years old when he died.
Friedrich Markus was a remarkable and strong man to have survived so long under the terrible conditions imposed by the Nazis.
A month later World War II in Europe ended on 8 May 1945.
For a more detailed account of his life, see information about Alice Mendelsohn Markus
