Baumkirchnerring 9 (laid 2011)

The Riegler Family

Frieda Survived

Nathan Riegler, born February 7, 1878, in Kobersdorf,
Ida Riegler, née Basch, born January 15, 1882, in Kobersdorf,
Frieda Riegler, born May 27, 1905, in Neunkirchen,
Irma Riegler, born July 2, 1906, in Kobersdorf,
Armin Riegler, born September 28, 1907, in Kobersdorf.
The parents and daughter Irma were deported to Minsk on June 2, 1942, and murdered at the Maly Trostinec extermination site. Son Armin survived in Palestine, and daughter Frieda survived in England.

After the opening of the „Tracing the Past“ exhibition at the City Museum, an elderly lady approached us about a Stolperstein. She remembered a Jewish Riegler family who had lived across the Baumkirchnerring. She also spoke about the daughter Frieda, who often looked after her and played with her. The images after the Reichskristallnacht, where Jewish citizens from the synagogue, including the family from across the street, were driven past her house, were etched in her memory. Then she heard nothing more from the Rieglers. Now, the lady hoped that, in the course of the research for the Stolperstein, she would learn more about their fate, especially that of her older friend Frieda.

The Riegler family came from Kobersdorf in Burgenland, then still Hungary. As early as 1918, Wiener Neustadt appears as the registered address for Nathan Riegler, his wife Ida, daughters Frieda and Irma, and son Armin.

Frieda went to Vienna as early as May 1938. According to the registration form, the son Armin was deregistered to Palestine on November 10, 1938. Nathan Riegler and his wife moved to Vienna, and the daughters Frieda and Irma moved in with them. For Frieda Riegler, the registration form states: „Deregistered on April 18, 1939, to London.“

For Nathan, Ida, and Irma Riegler, events took a dramatic turn in 1942. On May 30, 1942, they moved to Sperlgasse, but as early as June 2, 1942, they were deported to Minsk. All three were murdered at the Maly Trostinec extermination site.

However, the story with Frieda Riegler has a sequel. In October 2010, I met with a teacher from the Neue Mittelschule Sta. Christiana for a discussion about a school project. I told her about the family’s fate and Frieda’s survival in London. The teacher smiled and said: „I knew Frieda Riegler; I even visited her three times in London.“ The picture was taken during the last visit in 1994, when Frieda Riegler was almost 90 years old.

Anton Blaha

One stone was sponsored by the 4th grade classes of the private NMS Sta. Christiana Wr. Neustadt, 2010/11 year, as part of a project, and another by Mrs. Inge Schweiger, the former neighbor child.