Pisker, Fischer, and Altstädter families papers

Identifier
irn84979
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2014.411.1
Dates
1 Jan 1919 - 31 Dec 1987, 1 Jan 1935 - 31 Dec 1948
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Croatian
  • English
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

box

1

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Elvira Pisker (later Elvira Fischer and Elvira Altstädter, 1916-1987) was born on 16 April 1916 in Vrginmost, Yugoslavia (now Gvozd, Croatia) to Leo (d. 1944) and Helena (née Hochstater, referred to as Lina) Pisker. She had one sister, Lili (1909-1976), and three brothers, Vilko, Hinko (d. 1941), and Oskar. Leo was a wealthy merchant and owned a soap factory. Elvira’s father and brothers Hinko and Oskar perished during the Holocaust.Elvira and Alfred Fischer married in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Zagreb, Croatia) in 1936. Their son Boris (later Boris Altshtater) was born on 25 May 1938. Before the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, they owned an orthopedic prosthetic shop in Zagreb. In 1941, Alfred faced persecution by the Ustaše and was subsequently deported to the Stara Gradiška subcamp of the Jasenovac concentration camp where he perished in 1943. After he was deported, Elvira, Boris, and members of the Pisker and Fischer families fled to Crikvenica, Croatia. In 1942, they were deported to the Kraljevica and Rab concentration camps. The camps were liberated by Yugoslav Partisans in 1943. After the camp was liberated, Elvira and Boris survived with the partisans in forests until the end of the war. After the liberation of Rab, Elvira met Vladimir Altstädter, whom she would later marry in 1948. In 1949 Elvira, Vladimir, and Boris immigrated to Israel. They returned to Yugoslavia in 1954. Boris moved back to Israel in 1957.

Alfred Fischer (1910-1943) was born on 20 July 1910 in Kutnjak, Yugoslavia (now Kutnjak, Croatia) to Ljudevit and Milka (née Veiss) Fischer. He had two brothers, Hugo and Pavle, and one sister, Ella (Ella Novac). All of Alfred’s siblings survived the Holocaust.

Vladimir Altstädter (1911-1984) was born on 23 September 1911 in Virovitica, Yugoslavia (now Virovitica, Croatia) to Julius and Slava (née Weiss) Altstädter. He had at least one sister, Anica (Anica Lukic). His mother perished during the war.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Boris and Louise Altshtater

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2014 by Boris and Louise Altshtater.

Scope and Content

The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of the Pisker, Fischer, and Altstädter families in Yugoslavia. Biographical materials include marriage certificates, two postcards from Alfred Fischer to his wife Elvira Fischer Pisker written while he was imprisoned at the the Stara Gradiška subcamp of the Jasenovac concentration camp, and written testimony from Elvira describing her wartime experiences. The photographs include pre-war family photographs primarily of the Pisker family; the Pisker and Fischer families in Italian-occupied Crikvenica, Croatia; Elvira Pisker’s weddings to Alfred Fischer in 1936 and Vladimir Altstädter in 1948; Vladimir Altstädter in Yugoslav Partisan uniform; and the Pisker and Fischer families in the Kraljevica and Rab concentration camps.

System of Arrangement

The collection is arranged as two series: Series 1: Biographical materials, 1937-1987 Series 2: Photographs, 1919-1948

People

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.