13 dental hand tools in a fitted wooden box used by a Croatian Jewish refugee

Ferdinand Stift was born on March 16, 1897, in Ruse, Bulgaria, to a Jewish couple, Maurizio and Johanna Weiss Stift. Ferdinand lived with his parents and brothers in Vienna, Austria. He attempted to enlist in the army to serve in World War I (1914-1918), but was rejected because he was too young. Ferdinand attended dental school in Vienna. He worked as a dental technician assistant for two years, then moved to Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). He married Teresia Hirschler, who was born on March 1, 1897, in Molve, Yugoslavia (Croatia), to Mojsije and Friederika Hirschler. Ferdinand and Teresia had two children: Gertruda Renata, born on April 13, 1924, and Fredrich Miroslav, born on February 5, 1927. Ferdinand started a dental practice in the late 1920’s. The practice included general dentistry, surgery, braces, and false teeth. He had his own laboratory and kiln where he made dental prosthetics.

On April 6, 1941, the Axis partners, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria invaded and partitioned Yugoslavia. The Stift family lived in the newly created Independent State of Croatia, controlled by the fascist, anti-Jewish Ustasa regime. Croatia was divided into German and Italian zones of influence. The Ustasa terrorized the country with the mass slaughter and expulsion of the Serbs and persecuted the Jewish population. Ferdinand and his family could not travel outside Zagreb and had to wear Star of David badges. They lost their friends, home, and possessions. Gertruda and Fredrich had to leave school. Ferdinand's in-laws were arrested and jailed. One of Ferdinand’s patients was Archbishop Aloysius Viktor Stepinac, a Catholic Cardinal and the Archbishop of Zagreb. Stepinac knew about upcoming actions against the Jewish people and helped Ferdinand and his family escape. He told Ferdinand to leave with his family, telling people they were going on vacation. Ferdinand and his family were baptized in a church and given false papers as Catholics. They could take only one item small enough to be hidden, and Ferdinand took his dental tools, They fled to an area of Yugoslavia that was controlled by Italy. In August, they lived as confined refugees in Split, then went to Krk Island off the Croatian coast. Circa December 1941, they went to Italy. They lived as confined refugees in Asti, Turin, and Genoa in northern Italy. Ferdinand could not learn Italian and avoided contact with others by pretending to be deaf and dumb and behaving eccentricly. He did continue to practice dentistry to support the family and Fredrich acted as his assistant. In July 1943, the Allies landed in Sicily. The Italian government reached an armistice with the Allies on September 3 and declared war on Germany on October 13. Germany invaded Italy on the same day and occupied Rome. In March 1944, Ferdinand’s son Fredrich Miroslav assumed a false identity, Federico Orsini, in order to work with the Allies and the resistance. Ferdinand, Teresia, and Gertruda Renata remained in German occupied Asti. In April 1945, Ferdinand and his family were liberated by the Allies. The war ended when Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.

Ferdinand’s daughter Getruda married Sreten Jovan Ivanisevic. The couple had a daughter in July 1946. Ferdinand and Teresia decided to leave Italy for the United States. Teresia’s parents had perished in the Holocaust. Teresia’s cousin Fred Schlosser agreed to sponsor their emigration. In October 1946, Ferdinand, Teresia, and Fredrich sailed from Savona, Italy, on the SS Henry Gilbert Costin, arriving in Philadelphia on October 21. Ferdinand’s daughter and her family stayed in Genoa. Ferdinand, his wife, and son settled in New York. Ferdinand went by Frank, Teresia changed her name to Theresa, and Fredrich Miroslav changed his name to Frederick. Teresia’s cousin Fred helped them find a home and employment. Ferdinand was a chauffeur for a wealthy family and Teresia was a nurse. In March 1949, Ferdinand’s daughter Gertruda and her family arrived in the US. They moved in with Ferdinand and Americanized their names to Renee and Stephen Evans. Ferdinand, 74, died in February 1972 in New York.