Karl Akiva and Ella Huppert Schwarz papers

Karl Akiva Schwarz was born on 21 August 1921 in Vienna Austria to Erich Josef (1895-1949) and Erna (née Flessig, 1896-1942?) Schwarz. His father was a veterinarian. Karl had one brother, Heinrich (1924-1942?) and one sister, Henrietta (1919-1944?). After graduating from middle school Karl became an apprentice in a metal factory and simultaneously attended a vocational school for two and a half years. In 1936 he joined "Betar," a Zionist revisionist movement. Shortly after the German annexation of Austria, Karl left moved to Bratislava (modern day Bratislava, Slovakia) in March 1938, where he worked in a machine shop. He also continued to be involved in Betar activities. In December 1939, he met Ella Huppert, whom would later become his wife.

In May 1940, the couple boarded the S.S. Pentcho on the Danube River in Bratislava. Though only 400 Jews were supposed to board the ship, at the last moment 101 additional Jews, who were just released from Dachau concentration camp joined them. In October 1940 a boiler on the ship exploded and the passengers were shipwrecked on the Italian Dodecanese Islands, between Crete and Asia Minor. About ten days later, an Italian warship picked them up and transferred them to a camp on Rhodes. Around February or March 1942, Karl and Ella were transferred to the Ferramonti concentration camp in Tarsia, Italy. On 12 October 1942, Karl and Ella were married by a rabbi in the Ferramonti camp, and their son Peter (1944-1949) was born two years later. In April 1945 they immigrated to Palestine, and settled in Haifa where Karl worked for the electrical company. Peter died from Polio in 1949. Their daughter Ester was born in 1950.

Because of Erich’s status as a Czech citizen, Karl’s parents, Erich and Erna Schwarz, along with his sister Henrietta and his brother Heinrich all moved to Prague, Czechoslovakia shortly after the German annexation of Austria. In January 1942, upon receiving a deportation order, he obtained a false identity and later joined the underground partisan movement. In December 1944 Erich Schwarz was arrested by the Gestapo, but he managed to escape in January 1945 and was able to participate in the liberation of Prague. After the war he married Elsa Schultz, who helped him hide during the war years. He died of a heart attack in 1949. In June 1942, Erna and Heinrich were deported from Prague to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. In August 1942, Erna and Heinrich were deported to the Maly Trostenets concentration camp near Minsk where they perished. Henrietta and her husband Pavel Beran were deported to Theresienstadt in June 1943, and then transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp in January 1944 where they perished.

Ella Schwarz (born Elvira Ella Huppert was born in Bielsko-Biała, Poland to Pinchas (d. 1942) and Marie (née Rufeisen, d. 1942) Huppert. She had three brothers, Max, Arthur, and Hugo; and one sister, Gisela. She met Karl Schwarz in December 1939 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. In May 1940, the couple boarded the S.S. Pentcho on the Danube River in Bratislava. Though only 400 Jews were supposed to board the ship, at the last moment 101 additional Jews, who were just released from Dachau concentration camp joined them. In October 1940 a boiler on the ship exploded and the passengers of the ship found themselves shipwrecked on the Italian Dodecanese Islands, between Crete and Asia Minor. About ten days later, an Italian warship picked them up and transferred them to a camp on Rhodes. Around February or March 1942, Karl and Ella were transferred to the Ferramonti concentration camp in Tarsia, Italy. On 12 October 1942, Karl and Ella were married by a rabbi in the Ferramonti camp, and their son Peter (1944-1949) was born two years later. In April 1945 they immigrated to Palestine, and settled in Haifa where Karl worked for the electrical company. Peter died from Polio in 1949. Their daughter Ester was born in 1950. In 1940, her parents were forced to move to the Sosnowiec ghetto, and then in 1942 deported to Auschwitz where they were murdered immediately on arrival. Her brother Arthur, his wife Herta, and their daughter Ruth were also deported to Auschwitz where they perished. Her brother Max was shot by the Gestapo. Her brother Hugo immigrated to Palestine in 1936. Her sister Gisela, her husband Leo Kulka, and their three children obtained false-identities and survived the war in Bielsko-Biała and the Warsaw area.