The Leibel
Connection.
The Leibel Family became
briefly connected to
The Aufrichtig Family following the marriage of
Viktor Leibel
to my father's sister, Martha Aufrichtig on
30 September 1936 in Vienna. Theirs was a short-lived marriage,
suffering first from the strain of increasing anti-Semitism and Nazi pressures
in Austria,
followed by a subsequent enforced separation caused by the different dates on which visas
to freedom in England took effect.
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Viktor arrived in Britain considerably earlier than Martha, who had selflessly
remained in Vienna with her parents in the hope of them receiving similar
permits to enter Britain. Thanks to my father's efforts, these eventually came
through, and they made their escape in June 1939. Although no longer in fear for their lives, the new
beginning in England was not without challenges since, although my grandparents
were aged 61 and 60, their lack of English and declining health made them
virtually unemployable. Moreover, they were being cared for in a home for aged
refugees in Manchester, to which visits - subject to travel approval - were both
costly and time-consuming.
Fulfilling her alien
visa employment requirements and doing her best for her parents clearly took
their toll, but Martha never ever spoke
critically about Viktor, nor the break-up of her marriage. As a result,
little was ever learned of Viktor's background. From family photographs, I
had established that he and my father were friends as well as brothers-in-law, and had
spent some time together in Belgium in 1938.
When Martha did attempt
to determine his whereabouts in the Sixties, following information that he had
moved to the north of England, she was unsuccessful. Many years later, we
heard that he had, indeed, relocated to Doncaster in the county of Yorkshire,
and had changed his name to James Curley. We subsequently learned that in early
1952 he had married a second time, to a Rosina Allen, about whom we had no
information.
He was 63 when, on 12
July 1969, he collapsed with a stroke and died before reaching hospital. Martha
outlived him by 20 years and, although we had some conversation about Viktor, it
was never revealing, nor did it provide any insight into his family background.
More than 40 years after his death, this was rectified when I received an email
from Erez
Refaeli, who had come across Viktor's page on the Aufrichtigs website. Erez
advised that he was the grandson of Viktor's younger brother, Egon Leibel, and
that, like his grandfather, Viktor had at one time been a boxer in Vienna.
Research on his new
adopted name James Curley indicated that there was a Doncaster based boxer in
the years 1938-1947 going under the name of Jim Curley. While on the surface
this would appear too much of a coincidence to overlook, the boxer in question
fought all his matches as a bantamweight. Photographs we have of Viktor suggest
that he would have been a minimum of five weight scales higher, ranging from
super lightweight to super middle-weight. According to Erez, his grandfather
left Vienna in 1938 and following the war did not |
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discover what had
happened to the rest of the family. It wasn't until he himself visited Vienna in
September 2011 that he learned of the number of family members who survived the
holocaust, as well as the fact that his grandfather and Viktor were just two of
the 10 children born to Markus Leibel (son
of Isaac and Sara Leibel) and
Augusta Golde Rostau.
Upon seeing the pictures
of Viktor that I sent to Erez, his mother, Edna Leibel Refaeli, advised that he "looked exactly like" her father.
Edna, born in 1943, holds
a unique position in the Leibel family since, despite Markus and Augusta's 10
children, she is probably the only known grandchild. Her father, Egon, was the
eighth of Markus and Augusta's children. Their first born was
Stefanie Maria Leibel on 12 May 1897 who, with
her husband, Hugo Rubinstein, was deported
to Litzmannstadt on 15 October 1941, never to be seen by the family again.
A year and one day after
Stefanie's birth, eldest son, Franz J Leibel,
was born. He survived the war and remained in Vienna, where he died on 13 May
1978. Third child, Karl [Carl] Leibel, was
born on 23 January 1900. Married to Paula Josefa
Griesbacher, he died 26 August 1962. Karl is believed to have been
involved with "Operation Bernhard", a secret Nazi
plan devised during the the war to destabilise the British economy by flooding
the country with forged Bank of England £5, £10, £20, and £50 notes. The story
of this counterfeiting plot has frequently been used in books, movies and
television productions.
Next to arrive in the
family was Elisabeth Leibel who, based on an entry in Carl Leibel probate
documents, had the married name of Elisabeth Zaydmann. She is known to have
moved to England where she is believed to have died in 1977 or '78.
The fifth born was
Rudolf Leibel (1903), followed by Valerie Leibel
(1904), Viktor in 1906, Egon in 1907, Friedrich Leibel (1912) and Erich Kurt Leibel
(1913) who died in infancy the following year.
The Holocaust period was
responsible for the devastating loss of many Leibel family members.
Stefanie Leibel, the eldest of Markus and Augusta's children, and her husband
Hugo Rubinstein were deported to Litzmannstadt on
15 October 1941 and were never seen again. Fourth-born Rudolf Leibel is known to
have escaped Austria in 1938, but no news of his whereabouts was ever
established. Friedrich Leibel's fate is similarly unknown. The Leibel family was
further decimated with the murder of Markus's elder brother,
Abraham Jacob Leibel, his wife and their children.
On a
happier note, Edna Leibel married Itzhak Refaeli (original family name Hirsch)
in 1963. An interesting historical note of Izhak's family is that his aunt, Rosa
Boekdrukker-Hirsch, was part of the Resistance and a school in Amsterdam carries
her name.
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| 1963 Wedding day picture of Edna Leibel and
Itzhak Refaeli. Standing behind them to the left are Golda [Zehava]
Milstein Leibel and Egon Leibel. |
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Above Left: Egon Leibel. Right: Headstone in the name of Augusta Leibel who died in June 1916. Following his death in December 1937,
Markus was laid to rest in the same plot. At the time the family were
too poor to either add his details or erect a new stone. |
Leibel Family Tree
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