1941
This was the time when we had the worries about Lisa’s and Francis’ visas and then their transportation. We were very impatient and it seemed to us that they were not acting fast enough. But in reality they had gotten in touch with the organization Hicem in Marseille, which had to make all the necessary arrangements and also paid for the voyage. It took a few months, hectic months for them and exciting months for us, till they could get on the boat in Lisbon. It meant for them: Leaving Paul behind, travelling through Spain and Portugal, all kinds of complications, like losing a part of the baggage, but getting it back the next day, a sickness of Francis in Lisbon, missing a boat, but getting onto another one.
This picture shows Adolph (2nd from left) and Francis, participating in a big demonstration of refugees from Europe in Havana, Cuba. Such demonstrations were staged in many big cities in U.S.A., foremost in Washington and New York in the summer of 1942, to arouse the conscience of the government to do something about the situation in Hitler-Germany, when it became known that the Huns were moving masses of Jews to death camps, where they were being murdered by poison gas and then cremated. The story was conveniently not believed and it took a long time for Washington to react, to send messages to the Hitlerites, but to no avail. Adolf Eichmann worked very fest in arranging the mass-transports of millions of Jews from Austria, Tchechoslowakia, Hungary, Poland, etc. The end result is well known six million Jews killed.
I have to interrupt my narration here. I had forgotten to mention an important event that took place in the summer of 1941 when we had our great worries: the invasion of Russia by Germany on June 22nd. They had as allies the Italians, Rumanians, Hungarians and Finns, and attacked on a 2000 mile front from the White Sea to the Black Sea. It was an enormously exciting event, since the Germans were soon deep in Russia and seemed to be winning the race. For me there were special reasons to worry, since my family in Czernowitz was again experiencing an invasion, about 1½ years ago by the Russians and now by the Germans, bringing them the terror of the Nazi regime. It was after the war – and that means 4 years later that I could find out what had happened to them in the meantime.
Now back to Lisa and Francis. They got on the boat “Villa de Madrid” on October 1st and landed in Havana on October 12th, 1941. The whole story, their experiences from the time they left Nice till they arrived in Havana is described in interviews very well and in great detail by Lisa and Francis. Their arrival was a great day for us, the greatest in our lives. The greatest wish of our lives, crowned with success. Two great human beings saved, brought back into the stream of life.
They had to stay in the camp Tiscornia in quarantine for a few days, and we could not get near them, saw them only from far away. Dr. Ituarte, the director of the Immigration Department, was not there, was in the United States, and Mr. Agramonte was there, but could not do anything, since there was no landing money deposited. We came then every day in the afternoon, brought them food, also shoes for Francis, since he had only sandals. We saw from far away that he was quite thin and short and were a little disappointed. After a few days, when Dr. Ituarte had come back, they were released immediately and we could embrace and kiss them. There was no end of stories they had to tell us, and we sat with Lisa till late at night, to hear her fascinating story. There was plenty of space in our home, since we had four rooms now, after the Glussmanns had left, 3 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and a little shower room. We had to take them out, show them the city and surroundings, the beach nearby, show them to our many friends. There were now two cooks, and Francis had good appetite and soon gained weight. I made immediately arrangements for Paul’s immigration, he had the $500.- for landing money, and I had a good connection to the immigration department, so that the bank deposit was not necessary, and only a relatively small amount of money, which Lisa had brought along, was needed to get the permit.
It was a very critical time in France, the time when the German police worked hand in hand with the French police in the unoccupied part of France, and many people were arrested and taken away, like John and Erich Forster’s mother with Erich and a few days later their father Jozsi also. It was really one of the last boats, on which he left France, which did not go anymore straight to Cuba, but landed in Casablanca in Morocco, where he was even interned in a camp for 10 or 12 days, but finally could leave and also arrived in Havana. Soon afterwards, Lisa and Paul got married in a quiet ceremony, and moved to a small apartment, not far from us. We wrote, of course, to our parents immediately, after Lisa and Francis had arrived, and they were happy, their prayers, their greatest wish fulfilled.