Herlinger family papers

Ivek (Ivo) Herlinger was born in 1902 in Zagreb, Croatia. He worked as a representative for Remington Office Machines. While working there, he met and later married Elsa Spitzer, who worked for the company as a legal secretary. The couple gave birth to their daughter, Lea, in 1938. In 1941, as axis powers invaded Yugoslavia and the independent state of Croatia was formed, the Herlinger family was told to report to a labor camp. Instead, they fled Zagreb and split up, with Lea being sent to Ivo’s sister, Zlata and Elsa staying with friends. Ivo posed as a train conductor, traveled to Trieste, Italy, and then paid a man to bring his family to join him. From there, the family stayed in Castel Guiliano, Italy for 18 months living in an attic above a store with 21 other people. When they were warned that Germans were approaching, the family fled to Rome. Elsa, Lea, and Zlata lived in a convent, while Ivo, and his brothers Arthur and Otto, lived in a monastery. Ivo and Elsa eventually moved to an apartment under false identities: Giovani and Lena Fabiani. After liberation, the family lived as stateless refugees in Italy, until they were granted visas to immigrate to the United States. With assistance from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Herlingers traveled aboard the "General Harry Taylor," arrived in New York, and eventually settled in Chicago.