Fritzi Klein Natko papers
Extent and Medium
folders
10
Creator(s)
- Fritzi Natko
Biographical History
Fritzi Klein was born on September 3, 1928, in Vienna, Austria, to Robert and Elsa (née Rosenblum) Klein. She had an older brother, Herbert, born on June 13, 1924. The Rosenblum family owned a clothing store in Linz, Austria, while Robert Klein's faily owned a automobile repair shop, the "Berthold Klein and Co.", adjacent to their home in Vienna. Robert owned and operated the shop until he was forced to sell it to Rudolf Ott in 1938-1939 as part of the Nazi expropriation plan. In the spring of 1939, Herbert Klein went on a Kindertransport to England, and Fritzi was sent to the United States as part of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus's "50 children" transport. After spending the summer at the Brith Sholomville camp, Fritzi went to live with a distant relative, Leo Bauman, in Newark, NJ. Robert and Elsa were able to join Fritzi in the United States in November 1939. Herbert joined the rest of his family in April 1940. The family settled in Newark. Herbert joined the American military and served with the 45th Infantry Division in Italy. Elsa passed away in 1985 and Robert in 2010. Herbert passed away on June 4, 2010, and Fritzi on May 16, 2014.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Gilda and Steven Natko
Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Funding Note: The accessibility of this collection was made possible by the generous donors to our crowdfunded Save Their Stories campaign.
Steve and Gilda Natko donated Steve's mother's collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.
Scope and Content
The Fritzi Klein Natko papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, and an autograph book owned by Fritzi Klein, who immigrated to the United States as a child in June 1939 as part of the "50 children" group organized by Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus. Biographical materials include birth, marriage, residency, and naturalization certificates and identification papers. Correspondence includes letters and postcards exchanged among Fritzi in the United States, her brother in England, and their parents in Austria. Photographs depict Fritzi and Herbert Klein, their parents, and other relatives in Austria. The autograph book contains poetry and illustrations dedicated to Fritzi from her friends in Austria and America.
System of Arrangement
The Fritzi Klein Natko papers are arranged as four series: I. Biographical materials, 1901-2011, II. Correspondence, approximately 1939, III. Photographs, approximately 1920-1945, IV. Autograph book, 1937-1941
People
- Klein, Robert.
- Fritzi Natko
- Natko, Fritzi Klein.
- Klein, Herbert.
- Klein, Elsa.
Subjects
- Austria--Emigration and immigration--History.
- Refugee children--United States.
- Jewish children--Austria.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--History.
- Jews--Austria--Vienna.
- World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue--Austria.
- Vienna (Austria)
Genre
- Personal narratives.
- Document