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Czechoslovakian Families


Figure 1.-- This is the Klimesch Family who lived in Sternberk, Moravia during the 1930s. Moravia was the heartland of the Czech lands. The Klimeschs look to be prosperous middle-class family. The family was of Dutch descent. Notice that the mother and the three children are all wearing large white Peter Pan collars. Mother's collar is a little different. The two boys in front wear button-on suits with matching tops and short trousers. The girl wears white knee socks, probably with strap shoes. The two boys probably wear the same socks and shoes.

Social class commonly affected family life in countries around the world. Etnicity can also be important. In Czechoslovakia with the coming of World War II it became a very serious matter and for Jews a matter of life and death. We do not have much information on Czechoslovakian families at this time as is the case of most small countries. And because that the Czech lands were for several centuries part of the multi-national Austrian Empire, there was a considerable mixing of ethnicities. This is reflected in the family images we have found from Czechoslovakia. The Czechs finally got gtheir own country--the Czech Repunlic (1993s) also caled Czechia, although there is some debate among Czecha as to this name--nasically it is nor an all inclusive term. It is basically historical Bohemia, but also includes Moravia and some of Silesia.

Klimesch Family (1930s)

We also note the Klimesch Family lived in Sternberk, Moravia during the 1930s (figure 1). Moravia was the heartland of the Czech lands. The Klimeschs look to be prosperous middle-class family. The family was of Dutch descent. There are three children who look to be about 3-8 years of age. Notice that the mother and the three children are all wearing large white Peter Pan collars. Mother's collar is a little different with a pointed rather than a riunded collar. We don't think that those are bloses, but earher just entirely separate collars added to the tops. Perhaps readers will know more. The two boys in front wear button-on suits with matching tops and short trousers. The girl wears white knee socks, probably with strap shoes. The two boys probably wear the same socks and shoes. we are not sure if the outfit are Dutch or Czechoslovakian, but in abny case the styles were simikr, both inflenced by Germany. We have no idea what happened to the family during or after World War II. Dutch natioinality had mixed blessings after the German invasion (March 1939). The German racial obsession favored the Dutch, but they were also enemy aliens. After the War the Czechs expelled ethnic Germans. As the Klimesch family had a Dutch background they may have escaped this. We are not sure, however, to what extent the Czechs differentiated between the Dutch and the Germans. They probably looked and sounded much alike to the Czechs. The family may have retuned to the Netherlands to escape Communist rule.

Muller Familys (1930s)

We do have information about the Muller family of Hlohovec during the 1930s. Hlohovec is a town located in western Slovakia. Muller of course sounds German. There were of course many Germans in Cechoslovakia after the country was created following World War I. Many but not all lived in the Sudetenland, the mountanous border lands with Germany. The Mullers were, however, a prominent and wealthy Jewish family in the wholesale grain business. Magda and Nandor Muller had two children--Heinrich (born in 1930) and Alice (born in 1932). We do not know what happened to the family after the Slovak secession from Czechoslovakia (March 1939). The area may have been transferred to Hungary. After some terrible experiences, the Mullers managed to escape to Canada. They were very lucky. Few Slovak Jews survived the NAZI Holocaust.










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Crerated: 6:57 PM 2/10/2012
Last updated: 6:57 PM 2/10/2012