Dear Ms. Eugenie Rosenbaum!
My class and I have taken part in the project „A letter to the Stars“. It was our aim to make sure that at least one victim of the Shoa is rescued from being forgotten. We found the entry of your name under “Laa an der Thaya” in a list of the “Dokumentationsarchivs des österreichischen Widerstandes” (Archive of the Austrian Resistance) that was published on the internet.
We go to school in your home-town. This is the same place where your parents Heinrich and Berta Philipp lived. They were Austrian citizens, just as we are.
On March 10th 1907 you celebrated the happiest day in your life. You were married to Otto Rosenbaum. From now on you lived in your new home, an appartment at Thaliastraße 88 in the 16th district of Vienna.
You profession was that of a hat-maker. A profession that has become almost unknown nowadays. I hope you enjoyed your work. Especially because your time was not an easy one!
It certainly was very hard for you when you lost your husband. I still want to give my condolences to you now.
After the Nazis took over, you were expelled from your appartment. On Feburary 15th 1941 you had to leave Austria forever with the first transport and the individal number 837. A train brought you to a getto in Opole in Poland. We cannot imagine what happend there to you. Even though we have learned a lot about gettos and concentration camps, we understand that only those who were there will know how it was.
Time heals many but not all wounds. One can learn from mistakes and I hope that this is something my fellow Austrians will do.
Life Records of Ms. Eugenie Rosenbaum:
born on Juny 21st 1882 (December 29th.1882) in Laa an der Thaya
parents: Heinrich und Berta Philipp (nee Rosenberger)
citizenship: Austrian
married Otto Rosenbaum on March 10th 1907, widdow
Profession: hat maker
last address: 1160 Wien Thaliastrasse 88
Deportation on Feburary 15th 1941 with the 1st transport and the individal number 837 to Opole (Poland), where she most likely died
Declared dead on May 8th 1945 by the state-court for civil matters of Vienna
Eugenie Rosenbaum lived in a time in which she was treated unjustly and human only because of her being Jewish. Today it is often foreigners and refugees, who are treated with prejudices. It all started like that in Eugenie’s time too. If we want to grant that such things won’t happen in the future, we have to respect the dignity of all human beings and step forward with courage when it is endangered. I hope for my homeland Austria, that it will never see a time like Eugenie’s again. This will only be possible though, if one is ready to step up against all racist tendencies.
