Overview
- Description
- Consists of original documents, correspondence, and copyprints related to Frantisek Benno Vohryzek, originally of Hrdlovka, Czechoslovakia. Includes documents related to Vohryzek's emigration to Ecuador in 1939, his life in Ecuador, emigration to the United States in 1944, and related to learning that his parents and sister perished during the Holocaust.
The Frantisek Vohryzek papers document the experience of a Czech refugee immigrating to Ecuador in early 1939. The collection includes his emigration and identity papers for the immigration, correspondence with his parents and sister remaining in Prague, and his marriage certificate from 1943. The bulk of the correspondence is post-war, as Frantisek, now married and in the United States, corresponded with extended family and friends to learn of the fate of his parents and sister, as well as the fate of the family’s belongings in Prague. The correspondence has all been translated into English; translations are included in folder 4 of the collection, as well as published in Frantisek Vohryzek: One Story of Love and Loss by Miki Vohryzek-Bolden (2011). - Date
-
inclusive:
1933-1991
bulk: 1941-1947
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Miki Vohryzek-Bolden
- Collection Creator
- Frantisek Vohryzek
- Biography
-
Frantisek Benno Vohyrzek was born on March 3, 1916, in Hrdlovka, Czechoslovakia, to Otto and Marie Abeles Vohryzek. He had a younger sister, Vlasta, who was born in 1923. Frantisek lived in Hrdlovka until 1934, when he moved to Prague to attend law school at Charles University. By the late 1930s, the entire family was living in Prague. In early 1939, Frantisek immigrated to Ecuador, likely to pave the way for his parents and sister to join him, but any attempts were unsuccessful. On October 7, 1943, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Frantisek married Mary McCabe Lynch, originally of Denver, Colorado. In the spring of 1944, the couple was able to enter the United States through Mexico. After the war, Frantisek learned that his parents were deported on September 8, 1942, to Theresienstadt, and from there, on October 26, 1942, to Auschwitz, where they perished. Frantisek and Mary settled in San Francisco, CA, and raised eight daughters.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Correspondence. Photographs.
- Extent
-
1 box
- System of Arrangement
- The collection is arranged chronologically within each folder.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Geographic Name
- Hrdlovka (Czech Republic)
- Personal Name
- Vohryzek, Frantisek. Vohryzek, Vlasta. Vohryzek, Otto. Vohryzek, Marie.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Miki Vohryzek-Bolden and members of the Vohryzek family donated this collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-02-24 13:41:50
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn73296
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD