Stekler family papers

Gisela Stekler (née Schrott, 1905-1988) was born on 16 January 1905 in Vienna, Austria to David (b. 1877) and Franziska (née Wolfinger, 1880-1913) Schrott. She had two siblings, Rosa (1908-1957) and Josef (1911-1911). Her father worked as a tailor. Her mother Franziska died in 1913 and her father later married Louisa Sherman (b. 1880). She became a tailor in Vienna like her father. She married Walter Stekler in January 1931 and they had one son, Hermann Otto (Later Herman Otto, 1932-2018).

As Nazi aggression against the Jews intensified, the family sought refuge in the United States. Walter traveled to New York City first in October 1938 aboard the SS Statendam. Gisela and Hermann traveled on the SS Veendam to meet him six months later in 1939. The family settled in Worcester, Massachusetts. They remained in close contact with family still Europe during World War II, some of whom perished in the Holocaust. Many of their friends and family fled to various countries throughout Europe and the world, including England and China. Gisela’s stepmother Louisa was killed in a hospital, and her father David was deported from Vienna to Riga on 3 December 1941. He was later deported to Auschwitz where he perished.

Walter Stekler (1904-1981) was born on 15 December 1904 in Vienna to Hermann (b. 1868) and Bertha (née Frankfurter, 1875-1940) Stekler. He had two sisters: Rosa (1898-1942) and Sidonia (1900-1973). He worked as a bookkeeper and clerk for Gisela’s father’s tailor shop before working as a commercial manager at a ladies hat factory. He married Gisela Schrott in January 1931 and they had one son, Hermann Otto (Later Herman Otto, 1932-2018).

As Nazi aggression against the Jews intensified, the family sought refuge in the United States. Walter traveled to New York City first in October 1938 aboard the SS Statendam. Gisela and Hermann traveled on the SS Veendam to meet him six months later in 1939. The family settled in Worcester, Massachusetts. They remained in close contact with family still Europe during World War II, some of whom perished in the Holocaust. Many of their friends and family fled to various countries throughout Europe and the world, including England and China. Gisela’s stepmother Louisa was killed in a hospital, and her father David was deported from Vienna to Riga on 3 December 1941. He was later deported to Auschwitz where he perished.