Emil Schattner papers

Emil Schattner was born on 18 October 1928 in Bobowa, Poland to Nuchim and Mirla Schattner. His father Nuchim Hersz Schattner (1893-1966, later Nathan Schattner) was born on 12 May 1893 in Zablotow, Poland (Zablotiv, Ukraine) and had five siblings: Jente or Jetti Schattner (1910-1944), Bernard Schattner, Jacob Schattner, Max Schattner, and Itzak Schattner. His mother Mirla Schattner (1894-1970, later Mina Schattner) was born Mirla Baldinger in Bobowa and had three siblings: Abe Baldinger, Shimon Baldinger, and Israel Baldinger. Emil had one sister Mary (1926-2018, later Mary Greenbaum). The family moved from Bobowa to Vienna, Austria in 1933. Three days after the German annexation of Austria (Anschluss) the family fled Vienna for Milan, Italy. Nuchim traveled to Zurich, Switzerland to obtain visas and the rest of the family soon joined him there. Prior to their emigration from Europe, the family traveled to Galicia so they could say goodbye to Mina’s brothers and their families. They spent most of the summer in Gribov (Gribov, Slovakia) with her brother Shimon, and Krynica-Zdrój, Poland with her brother Israel. On 12 October 1938 the family sailed from Gdynia, Poland to New York aboard the SS Batory. They settled in New York and moved to the Bronx in February 1939. Nuchim’s mother died before the war. His father Chaim (1867-1943) and sister Jente were both deported from Berlin to Theresienstadt on 22 September 1942. Chaim perished in December 1943. On 16 May 1944 Jente was transported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz where she likely perished. His brother Itzak also likely perished during the Holocaust. Nuchim’s other brothers all escaped from Berlin to Switzerland and survived the war. Mirla’s brothers all perished during the Holocaust. The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of Emil Schattner and his family, primarily in Bobowa, Poland and Vienna, Austria. Included are photographs, birth and marriage certificates, documents regarding Emil’s Austrian pension, report cards, and Emil’s memoir “The Summer of ‘38.” Photographs include pre-war depictions of Emil, his parents Mina and Nathan Schattner, his sister Mary Schattner, Mina’s brothers Shimon and Israel Baldinger, and Nathan’s sister Jente or Jetti Schattner. Also included is a photograph of the Schattner family aboard the SS Batory on their way to the United States in 1938.