In the school-year 2002/03 all Austrian students were invited to take part in a project called "A Letter To The Stars". The aim was to do research-work about the lives of the 80000 Austrians, who were killed by the Nazis. In Laa an der Thaya 44 students of the local music school took part in the project. After Christmas vacation they tried to recover details about Eugenie Rosenbaum and Ida Fischer - two Jewish women who were born in Laa.
The students tried to find out information in many ways. At first they made a request at the town government. Then they wrote letters to various archives in Lower Austria and Vienna. This lead to quite some success. In the end, the findings were published in the internet. (www.LetterToTheStars.at)
The students also wrote about their feelings during the course of the project when writing imaginary letters to Eugenie Rosenbaum and Ida Fischer. These letters were bound to white baloons (the color white symbolizing rememberance in Jewish beliefs) and this way - togehter with thousands of other letters - sent to heaven on May 5th 2003, when the big final event took place at the Heldenplatz in the center of Vienna.
It was only coincidence that many of these letters were blown northwards and were later found in the area of Laa an der Thaya. The letters were sent back to the organizing platform and in the future will be part of an exhibition. Some of the letters and findings were already published in the book "Briefe in den Himmel. Schüler schreiben Geschichte" ("Letters to the Sky. Students write History" Wien 2003) Among them is the life-story of Ida Fischer from Laa. You can read all about it online.
Dear Ms. Ida Fischer!
You were born on August 28th 1878 in Laa an der Thaya. I am going to school in this very town today.
Later in life you met and fell in love with your later husband Samuel Fischer. After your marriage you moved with him to Eggenburg into a beautiful house with two floors and garden. I wonder how your wedding may have been. With many guests or only a few?
You named your daughter Frieda and I bet she was the big joy in your life. Thanks heaven, she was able to survive these horrible times in exile.
The First World War took your husband from you, but you were proud that he gave his life for his motherland Austria. This can be deducted from your calling yourself a war-widdow.
It certainly was not easy for you to leave your beautiful home and move to foreigners into a forced collective-apparement in Große Schiffgasse 5/23 in Vienna. We were only able to find out that you were transported on October 15th 1941 with the 6th transport and the individual number 431 in the direction of Poland. It is so sad to know that you never saw your daughter again. The aim of your trip was Lodz. Under which circumstances you had to travel, live and die there are not capable for our imagination.
I wonder how you endured this all: that you lost your husband, daughter and all your belongings. At the end you were all alone. This must have been the hardest.
My class tried to give you back your life-story, which was threatened of being forgotten. We hope that you like that.
Life records of Ms. Ida Fischer:
Ida Fischer was born on August 28th (1871) in Laa/Thaya
nee Schweinburg
married to Samuel Fischer, who died in the First World War
for a while she lived in in Eggenburg, Rathausstr. 8
daughter: Frieda Fischer survived in exile
Ida’s last known adress: Wien 2, Große Schiffgasse 5/23 (most likely a forced collective appartment)
On October 15th 1941 she was deported to Lodz (Litzmannsstadt) in Poland with the 6th transport and the individual number 431. It is known that of the 5000 Jews from Vienna, who were deported to Lodz in fall 1941, only 34 returned. Therefore it is most likely that Ida Fischer died there. The date of her death remains unknown.
Ida Fischer lived in a very cruel time, which caused a lot of victims. Thousands of people lost everything: their belongings, home, even their life. They were brought to gettos or concentration camps only because they were considered differently.
In the future nobody should ever endure what Ida Fischer had to suffer. To grant this, we have to get used to judging people not for their religion, color of their skin or appearance, but only because of their character. I hope that I will have the courage and strength to act when human dignity is endangered.
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 known 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.
This web page was started with Mobirise