Augusta Feldhorn Biography

Born in Vienna, Austria on the 29th of May 1934, Augusta Feldhorn was the only child in her family. Her father, Julius Feldhorn, begun his business career as an accountant in Austria. However, shortly after working as an accountant, Mr. Feldhorn decided to further his career by producing men’s hats, owning his personal factory. Augusta’s mother, Margarete Krigsman, elected to primarily care for Augusta during her early years. Unfortunately, in 1938, when Augusta was only four years of age, the Feldhorns left their home in Vienna, fleeing to Belgium, a peaceful country that was not currently under German control. Hoping to rejuvenate Augusta’s childhood, she attended a new school in Belgium. As she began her new life, the Feldhorns believed that they had made the correct choice to move from Vienna. Sadly, after only two years of living in Belgium, the Germans invaded the country, forcing the Feldhorns to move once more. Being denied at the Belgium border, Augusta and her family were destined for a harsh wartime.

Under German control, all Jewish people were required to provide their information to Nazi soldiers, but Julius, Margarete, and Augusta, as well as her aunt and uncle, chose to keep in hiding. After two years of hiding, Augusta and her family began to appear in public disguised, not wearing the yellow Jewish star patch. Knowing that they were constantly surrounded by Nazis, the Feldhorns had to be incredibly cautious.

During the early summer of 1942, Margarete, Augusta’s mother, left her home to purchase milk for the family. While leaving the house, German police began to surround and violently enter the Feldhorn household. Not being able to escape, Augusta’s father, aunt, and uncle were captured by Nazi soldiers, taken to a transit camp where they would wait to be transported to a concentration camp. All three members of the captured Feldhorns were killed at the Birkenau camp.

On the other hand, Augusta and her mother were able to escape the soldier invasion, instantly reverting to hiding. Fortunately, Augusta’s mother was incredibly clever, hiding them in the convent, posing as Christian nuns. Along with twenty additional Jews, Augusta remained in hiding until 1945. In April of 1945, Augusta and her mother realized that Belgium has regained their independence when strolling through the streets. At the sight of this moment, Augusta fainted. She and her mother had become elusive survivors of the treacherous Holocaust.

In her years after the Holocaust, Augusta Feldhorn, currently known as Augusta Feldhorn Kaplan, had three kids. She has two sons, Joel and Jay, one daughter, Joyce, and six grandchildren. After immigrating to the United States, Augusta resided in Northridge, California, where she continued her Judaic studies by attending the Chabad of the Valley. Augusta passed away on February 15, 2014. She was only 79 years old. Her journey through the Holocaust will surely be remembered for generations to come. One and a half million Jewish children were murdered by the Germans and their collaborators in the Holocaust. Augusta was one of the few who survived.

References

https://www.graceproducts.com/HOLOCAUST/faugusta.htm

This article "Augusta Feldhorn Biography" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Augusta Feldhorn Biography. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---