There's nothing to go back to.

— Eva Deutschkron

Biography

Eva Lauffer Deutschkron was born in Posen, Germany (now Poznan, Poland), on November 12, 1918. Her widowed mother moved the family to Berlin. Young Eva was generally shielded from the growing Nazi terror until Kristallnacht. She witnessed the November 9-10, 1938, rioting that launched widespread violence against the Jewish community.

Eva's family attempted to immigrate to the U.S. Delays in the U.S. Consulate in Berlin prevented the family from leaving. In October 1942, Nazi officials captured Eva's sister and the parents of her husband, Martin. Eva's parents were also eventually abducted and murdered. At 24, Eva and her husband were assigned to forced labor at the Siemens Munitions Factory. They eluded Nazi attention until January 1943. That is when Eva and her husband went into hiding.

Helped by a number of Gentiles, the Deutschkrons survived the war by hiding underground in Berlin, the seat of the Third Reich. They experienced many harrowing events - not only close calls with the Gestapo but also bombing from Allied warplanes. After the war, with the help of American soldiers, they re-established contact with relatives in the U.S. In May 1946, they emigrated from Germany, shortly after the birth of their son.

Settling for a time in New York City, the Deutschkrons moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in November 1948. A daughter was born in 1951. From humble beginnings in a rented store, they established Martin's, Inc., a tailoring and retail clothing business with several locations around the city. Eva died in 2011.

Pictures

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