Baumkirchnerring 5 (laid in 2011, Rosa in 2022)
The Müller Family
Son Paul was a pupil of today’s BRG Gröhrmühlgasse
Lazar Müller, born November 22, 1897, in Nádas, watchmaker,
wife Rosa Müller, born February 24, 1897, in Brtnice, milliner,
Paul Müller, born April 29, 1927, in Wiener Neustadt, pupil,
Wolfgang Müller, born March 5, 1929, in Wiener Neustadt,
Ruth Müller, born March 20, 1930, in Wiener Neustadt, pupil, and
Kurt Müller, born January 12, 1935, in Wiener Neustadt.
The family apparently fled to Bratislava and was deported on April 11, 1942, from Trnava: Lazar and Paul to the concentration and labor camp Majdanek, the mother and the three younger children to the ghetto in Lublin. In March and April 1942 the inmates were transported to the extermination camp Belzec and murdered there.
After their marriage in 1924, Lazar Müller and his wife settled in Wiener Neustadt at Herrengasse 22. Lazar was a master watchmaker and his wife Rosa a milliner. Together they operated a shop at Herzog-Leopold-Straße 30: Lazar repaired and sold watches as well as gold and silver articles, while Rosa created hats of various styles and also offered furs. Beyond his profession, Lazar was engaged in the Jewish Community of Wiener Neustadt and from 1927 to 1929 was a member of the Kultus Committee. After the birth of their children, the Müller family moved in 1935 to Baumkirchnerring 5, where they found a larger apartment.
The eldest son Paul began in 1937 to attend the “Bundesreal- und Bundesoberrealschule in Wiener Neustadt” (today’s BRG Gröhrmühlgasse) at Herzog-Leopold-Straße 32. His performance showed him to be a diligent student, assessed with “Good” marks in almost all subjects. His younger sister Ruth had attended since 1936 the “Jubiläumsschule – Girls’ Primary School” on Baumkirchnerring.
After the “Anschluss” in March 1938, the family’s workshop and shop were “Aryanized,” i.e. seized from the Jewish owners. Paul, Wolfgang, and Ruth were expelled from the newly reorganized Nazi school system and “de-schooled.” As their lease was not renewed, the family of six had to vacate their apartment at the end of September 1938 and moved for several weeks into a small lodging at Wassergasse 24. After their business was “liquidated” under imposed management, the family moved to Vienna, to Leopoldsgasse 16 in the Second District, where they remained until October 29, 1938.
Lazar Müller wanted to emigrate with his wife and children to Palestine or the USA, but it seems they eventually fled to Bratislava. Their traces were lost for a time, until April 11, 1942, when the family was deported in a so-called “family transport” to Lublin. From there, father Lazar and son Paul were taken to Majdanek, where Lazar was murdered. Paul was transferred to Auschwitz, where he, too, was killed on July 4, 1942. The mother Rosa and the three younger children were transported from Trnava to the Lublin ghetto. When the ghetto was liquidated in March and April 1942, the inmates were deported as part of Aktion Reinhard to the extermination camp Belzec and murdered.
Werner Sulzgruber