Fred (Fritz) Sauerbrunn was born in Berlin, Germany, to Polish immigrants of Jewish heritage. He married Lola Jachet and they had a daughter, Marion, in 1923. Fred was a partner in a financial firm in Berlin, with a seat on the stock exchange. He had to give this up when the Nazi's came to power in 1933; he then he entered the zipper business. Fred and Lola thought about emigrating after Kristallnacht in November 1938, but they did not want to leave Lola's 82 year old father. However, they did send 16 year old Marion on a Kindertransport to England in May 1939. Fred and Lola were deported on one of the last transports to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943. After the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army, on May 8, 1945, they were sent to the Deggendorf displaced persons camp in Germany. They were able to send a postcard that reached Marion after the war. She was living in London with relatives and did not expect to ever hear from her parents again. Fred and Lola were not able to go to England. Civilians in other countries could not travel to continental Europe. So Marion joined the United States Army. She worked as a German censor in Munich where she was able to visit her parents on the weekends. In 1946, Fred, Lola, and Marion emigrated to the United States on the ship, Marine Perch.
Lola Jachet was born in Chrzanów, Poland; she was of Jewish heritage. She moved to Germany as a young teenager, married Fred (Fritz) Sauerbrunn, and had a daughter, Marion, in 1923. Fred was a partner in a financial firm in Berlin, with a seat on the stock exchange. But when the Nazi’s came to power in 1933, he had to give up his position; he then entered the zipper business. Lola and Fred thought about emigrating after Kristallnacht in November 1938, but they did not want to leave Lola's 82 year old father. However, they did send 16 year old Marion on a Kindertransport to England in May 1939. Lola and Fred were deported on one of the last transports to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943. After the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army, on May 8, 1945, they were sent to the Deggendorf displaced persons camp in Germany. They were able to send a postcard that reached Marion after the war. She was living in London with relatives and did not expect to ever hear from her parents again. Lola and Fred were not able to go to England. Civilians in other countries could not travel to continental Europe. So Marion joined the United States Army. She worked as a German censor in Munich, where she was able to visit her parents on the weekends. In 1946, Lola, Fred, and Marion emigrated to the United States on the ship, Marine Perch.
Marion Sauerbrunn was born in Berlin, Germany, on February 23, 1923. She was the only child of Fred (Fritz) and Lola (Jachet) Sauerbrunn, who were both of Polish Jewish heritage. Fred was a partner in a financial firm in Berlin, with a seat on the stock exchange until the Nazi’s came to power. After 1933, he entered the zipper business. Marion originally attended a private German school, but transferred to a Jewish school due to antisemitism. Marion enjoyed her new school, and joined the Hashomer Hatzair Zionist youth movement and a Jewish sports club.
Marion’s parents thought about emigrating after Kristallnacht in November 1938, but they did not want to leave her 82 year old maternal grandfather. They sent sixteen year old Marion on a Kindertransport to England in May 1939. Marion was one of the oldest children on the transport. She met a girl from her school and they stayed together during the journey. When they arrived at the train station in London, their foster families were supposed to meet them. All the children were claimed by someone, except Marion and her traveling companion. Marion was taken to a different train station, given an address, and told someone would come for her. No one did. Marion spent her remaining money on a cab and, eventually, she arrived at a hostel where 20 other refugee girls from Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Germany were staying. Her situation began to improve and Marion was offered a job in the library at Oxford, but she contracted whooping cough. After her recovery, she found a job as an office trainee in a real estate firm. But she was used as a nanny and was very unhappy. She finally was able to move in with an aunt and uncle in London. Her relatives had been unable to take her in when she first arrived, because they had no money. But they welcomed her once they were able to care for her. Her relatives taught Marion about their fur business.
Marion was shocked to receive a postcard from her parents after the war; she had thought she would never hear from them again. They had been deported to Theresienstadt in 1943, and were there until liberation by the Soviet Army on May 8, 1945. They had been sent to the Deggendorf displaced persons camp in Germany. They were not able to go to England and civilians could not travel to continental Europe, so Marion joined the United States Army. She worked as a German censor in Munich, where she was able to visit her parents on the weekends. In 1946, Marion and her parents emigrated to the United States on the ship, Marine Perch. In the United States, Marion worked as a furrier. She married a Viennese Jewish refugee named Adolf House in 1949 and had a daughter. She has worked as an advisor to Holocaust survivors on obtaining German repatriations. Marion also speaks to audiences about her wartime experiences.
