Charles Roman family papers

Charles Martin Roman (1927-2016) was born Carl Martin Roman on March 29, 1927 in Vienna, Austria to Leopold and Marianne Roman. His father, Leopold Roman (1901-1942), was born in Vienna to Markus and Rose Roman. Leopold worked in Vienna as a salesman. His mother, Marianne Roman (1900-1984, née Uhrmacher, also went by Marianne Bauer), was the daughter of Karl Uhrmacher and Helene Uhrmacher (née Eskenasy), and was born in Vienna. She had one half-sister, Grete Edelschein (b. 1903). Marianne worked in Vienna as a secretary. Charles’s parents divorced in the 1930s.

Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, and in November 1938 Leopold left Austria for Belgium. Charles and his mother fled to France in December 1938. They were arrested in Strasbourg, France. Marianne was imprisoned for a month, and Charles was cared for at a local hospital. After Marianne’s release she was told to return to Austria, but she and Charles went to Paris. Marianne later fled to Saint-Martin-Vésubie in the French Alps. In January 1942, she married Wilhelm Ferdinant Bauer (d. 1943), who had served with the French Foreign Legion. Shortly after their marriage Wilhelm was arrested and deported to Gurs. He was subsequently transferred to Drancy and then Auschwitz where he was murdered.

Prior to fleeing Paris, Marianne placed Charles under the care of Oeuvre de Secours Aux Enfants (OSE). He was in the Chabannes children's home in Creuse from November 1939-May 1941. He was then transferred to Montintin, then to Rivesaltes where he was united briefly with his father.

Leopold had been imprisoned in Gurs and then transferred to Rivesaltes after Germany occupied Belgium in May 1940. On September 4, 1942 Charles and Leopold were on the transfer list to Drancy. Leopold answered for Charles during the roll call at the station which allowed for Charles to escape. Leopold was transferred to Drancy and on September 11 he was deported to Auschwitz where he was murdered.

Charles was smuggled out of Rivesaltes and briefly placed in Font-Romeu before returning to Montintin. He then received false-identification documents and was sent to a Compagnons de France youth camp in Agde, France. After his identity was scrutinized, Charles ran away from the camp and reached Saint-Martin-Vésubie where he was reunited with his mother.

Italy surrendered to the Allies on September 8, 1943, and Charles, his mother, and approximately 1000 Jewish refugees fled Saint-Martin-Vésubie before it was occupied by German troops. Charles and Marianne hid in a mountaintop church in Valle Stura di Demonte, Italy. In 1944, Charles obtained false-identification papers, and he and his mother went to Rome.

After liberation in June 1944, Charles searched for his father and then worked for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. He immigrated to the United States in November 1949 aboard the SS Marine Flasher. He later married fellow Jewish refugee Inge Rose (b. 1935). His mother Marianne also immigrated to the United States, and married Holocaust survivor Robert Feldman (1891-1969).