Introduction
My grandparents Karl and Clara Oestreicher lived in the imposing
house ‘Deutscher Kaiser’ (German Emperor) renamed ‘Deutscher Reiter’
(German Cavalier) after 1918, on the Sprudelstraße in Carlsbad (now
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic). It was directly opposite the Kurhaus,
where patients often came to drink the curative waters. Karl
Oestreicher was the district doctor.
I know little of my grandfather apart from a few photographs and a
poster announcing a comic play that he wrote. He died in 1915, during
the First World War, just before the birth of his second daughter
Marie.
Clara Oestreicher-Kisch was born in the popular spa town Marienbad (now
Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic), not far from Carlsbad. She was the
eldest in a family of four girls and one boy. Her father, E. Heinrich
Kisch, was a well-known physician and professor at the University of
Prague. In his impressive book Erlebtes und Erstrebtes (Experience and
Aspirations), he describes his youth in Prague and his transformation,
through diligence and discipline, from a poor Jewish boy to an erudite
and respected physician.
My grandmother Clara was a delicate yet strong woman. With her
husband’s death during the First World War, she was left to care for a
newborn baby and two children. Felix, her eldest son, studied medicine
before being conscripted into the army. In 1918 he took over his
father’s medical practice.
For her daughters, Lisbeth and Marie Clara was an emancipated mother
who encouraged them to learn a trade. Lisbeth studied art in Vienna and
Munich before going to the Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany. Marie completed
her studies in photography in Vienna. Both became professional artists
of significance.
At the end of December 1930 Felix Oestreicher and Gerda Laqueur were
married in Amsterdam and made their home above Felix’s medical practice
in Carlsbad.
Clara, Omi to her grandchildren, saw her household expand when her
first grandchild Beate was born in 1934, followed eighteen months later
by the twins Maria and Henriette (Helli). This period of happiness was
brought to an abrupt end in 1938 when the family felt forced to flee to
Amsterdam to avoid the Nazi threat.
In 1943 Clara Oestreicher and her family were arrested by the German
occupying forces in Amsterdam and interned in Westerbork transit camp
and then taken to Bergen Belsen. Clara Oestreicher died there.
I have clear and fond memories of my Omi. Her soothing presence has
remained with me, familiar and warm. She taught us to bake cookies, to
knit and crochet, read us German stories and was always willing to play
with us. I also remember that she observed the Jewish High Holy Days by
fasting on Yom Kippur.
Biography of Karl Oestreicher 1864-1915
| 1864 |
born in Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic) |
| 1891 |
marries Clara Kisch |
| 1894 |
birth of son Felix Hermann |
| 1898 |
birth of son Willush, who drowns in 1911 during a holiday on the Baltic Sea |
| 1902 |
birth of daughter Lisbeth |
| 1915 |
Karl Oestreicher dies, birth of his daughter Marie, later known as Maria Austria |
Biography of Clara Oestreicher-Kisch 1871-1945
| 1871 |
born in Marienbad (now Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic) |
| 1891 |
marries Karl Oestreicher, moves to Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary) |
| 1894 |
birth of son Felix Hermann |
| 1898 |
birth of son Willush, who drowns in 1911 during a holiday on the Baltic Sea |
| 1902 |
birth of daughter Lisbeth |
| 1915 |
Karl Oestreicher dies |
| 1915 |
birth of daughter Marie |
| 1918 |
Felix graduates as a physician and starts practice in his parents’ home |
| 1926-1930 |
Lisbeth studies at the Bauhaus in Dessau |
| 1931 |
Gerda and Felix move in with Clara, Lisbeth moves to Amsterdam |
| 1932-1937 |
Marie studies in Vienna |
| 1938 |
flees with Felix, Gerda and children to the Netherlands |
| 1943 |
interned in Westerbork concentration camp |
| 1944 |
sent with family to Bergen Belsen (Germany) |
| 1945 |
dies in Bergen Belsen concentration camp |