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Maria Schauer was an Austrian recognized by
Righteous Among the Nations Honored by Yad Vashem by 1 January 2019
Holocaust Encyclopedia: RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schauer, Maria Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Austrian Righteous Among the Nations People from Vienna Date of birth missing Date of death missing Austrian activists Austrian humanitarians
Maria Schauer was an Austrian recognized by Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
as a Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...
, after rescuing three Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
from deportation and possible death after Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
occupation of Austria during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Rescuer
Schauer was living inVienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
when Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
Germany took control of the city in 1938 and began persecuting Jews there.
Max Arnold who was a Jewish tailor living in the Pressbaum
Pressbaum is a town in the district of St. Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria.
In 1881, Johannes Brahms completed his Second Piano Concerto while in the town.
It belonged to Wien-Umgebung District
Bezirk Wien-Umgebung was a d ...
district, outside Vienna, Austria, received a message in 1942 from the Nazi authorities saying that he was required to move to Vienna and register at the offices of the Jewish community. Max did move to Vienna but chose not to register as required. While in Vienna, Arnold married his partner, Johanna. When the city-wide order was given to deport the Jews from Vienna, the couple chose instead to hide in the city along with Max's sister, Leopoldine Stern. They turned to Luci Pollreis
Luci Pollreis (also spelled Lucia Pollreiss) was an Austrian woman who was recognized as Righteous among the Nations for saving three Jews hiding from the Gestapo in Vienna during World War II.
(also spelled Lucia Pollreiss), a seamstress and businesswoman, who agreed to hire Max Arnold as a tailor, and help the three find a safe sanctuary. The three Jews moved between hiding places in Vienna from 1942 until the end of the war in 1945.
From September to April of each year, the three Jews hid successfully in Maria Schauer's home, but it was impossible for them to stay there during the summer months because of the presence of Schauer's regular house guest, who was a prominent Nazi. So, in the summertime, the refugees stayed with Pollreiss, who not only gave them a place to stay, but also supported them financially. Pollreiss’ husband, who served in the German army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
and only lived at home on vacations, demanded that she stop helping the Jews, but, despite his arguments, Pollreiss continued.
One day while the Jews were hiding in Schauer’s home, the authorities arrived at the door, and asked if anyone else lived in the house with Schauer. She "answered in the negative, and her denial, spoken with confidence, convinced them not to check."
Pollreiss and Schauer endangered themselves by hiding Jews, a crime that could have led to deportation to a concentration camp, and eventually to death. Neither woman received compensation for their activities, "on the contrary, they shared their own food and clothing with the Jews, during a period of scarcity." Schauer and the Arnold family all survived the war.
Recognition
On 8 July 1982, Yad Vashem recognized both Schauer and Pollreiss as Righteous Among the Nations, which is recognition given to "non-Jews who took great risks to save Jews during the Holocaust."References
External links
Righteous Among the Nations Honored by Yad Vashem by 1 January 2019
Holocaust Encyclopedia: RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schauer, Maria Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Austrian Righteous Among the Nations People from Vienna Date of birth missing Date of death missing Austrian activists Austrian humanitarians