Theodore and Martha Burian papers

Theodore Burian (1885-1974) was one of five children born to Leopold and Jenny (nee Fischer) Burian. A citizen of Czechoslovakia, Theodore left at an early age for the United States, going to school in New York and becoming an athletic teacher. After some time he returned to Europe, settling in Vienna, Austria and marrying Martha Freund in 1921. The couple had two children, Paul and Lucie. Theodore originally was employed as the secretary of the Austrian Jockey club, but was forced to change professions under pressure from Martha’s father. Theodore transitioned his career to become a buyer’s representative for an import/export company, and which resulted in a lucrative lifestyle for his family.

In 1938, Hitler’s army marched into Vienna. In order to escape the oppressive Nazi regime, the family moved to Prague. However, it was only a year later when Czechoslovakia was also annexed by Germany, and the family made efforts to flee. Paul was 15 at this time, an age where children could be taken away to labor camps. Rather than wait for him to be taken, he was dressed as a child and accepted by one of the last Kindertransports from Prague to Scotland. In April 1941, Theodore, Martha, and Lucie were rounded up and placed on a passenger car with hundreds of others to Paris. En route, an allied air raid near Paris damaged the railroad tracks, forcing the train to a stop. Once the car stopped, everyone emptied the train and fled.

The family walked to the Spanish border, where they were taken in and medically examined. Once in Spain, Theodore was able to procure tickets to Lisbon, and eventually tickets to the United States aboard the refugee ship Nyassa. They arrived in the United States in May 1941, where they were confined to Ellis Island, under suspicion that Lucie had Tuberculosis. Upon clearance, the family moved into New York City.