Liane Krochmal, the daughter of Amalie and Jacob Krochmal, born on July 25, 1937 in Vienna, Austria. Vienna was home to some 175,000 Jews and was one of the world’s most important Jewish cultural centers.
However, Vienna was also a city in which antisemitism flourished. When the Germans took over in March 1938, they found many Austrians willing to participate in the persecution of the Jews.
Liane was only a baby when Austria lost its independence and became part of Nazi Germany. Seeing no hope under the Nazis, the Krochmal family fled to France. From France they hoped to eventually receive permission to enter the United States. Liane had an uncle living in New York who was willing to guarantee the support of the entire family.
Despite the guarantee, the U.S. State Department refused the Krochmal family permission to come to the United States. Soon after, on September 16, 1942, Liane and her family were arrested by the French police and handed over to the Germans. They were sent to a transit camp, where her 11-year-old brother died. Liane’s parents were eventually deported to Auschwitz Death Camp in Poland.
Liane, who was 5, and her 7-year-old sister Renate were sent to live in the children’s home at Izieu. On April 6, 1944, the home was raided and the children were shipped to Auschwitz. They were murdered in the gas chambers upon their arrival.
Liane was 6 years old.
Liane was one of 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust.
A personal history from the Archives of the SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER 1991-821 [001]
