Hess family papers

Vera Mahler (née Hess, b. 1923) was born in Berga an der Elster to Adolf Hess (1887-1944) and Jette Hess (nee Falk, b. 1896) and had one sister, Ilse (1927-?). Adolf and Jette married in 1922 and lived in Berga where Adolf worked as a manufacturer. Adolf was arrested and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp during Kristallnacht in 1938. He was released four weeks later after promising to leave Germany. Vera and her family left for Cuba aboard the MS St. Louis in 1939. After the ship was denied entry in Cuba and returned to Europe, they disembarked in France. Vera and Ilse were sent to Villa Helvetia, an Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE) children’s home near Montmorency. They stayed in the home for a year before being sent to another OSE home in Montintin for two years, unaware of where their parents were. Adolf was in a series of internment camp, but he was able to obtain visas for Cuba in 1941. Adolf and Jette met Ilse and Vera in Marseille, France before traveling to Spain where they boarded a ship for Cuba. They lived in Cuba for two years before family members in the United States were able to provide affidavits and secure paperwork for immigration to America. Adolf died in 1944, before his family was able to leave Cuba. In mid-1944, Jette, Ilse, and Vera immigrated to the United States. Ilse died prior to 1999 and Vera had two daughters, Joan and Nancy.