Biography
Gabi Rosberger (born Gabrielle Reitler) is the daughter of Kurt and Blanka (Bruck) Reitler. Blanka is the daughter of Rudolf and Emily (Waldstein) Bruck and grew up in Pacov, Czechoslovakia. Blanka's father passed away in 1929, and her mother perished in Theresienstadt in 1945. Blanka had eight older siblings, three of whom died as children. The five who survived into adulthood were Erich, Victor, Lyduska, Rose and Henrietta. Erich was married to Rose and had one daughter, Lila. He passed away before the war, and his widow and daughter perished in the Lodz ghetto. Victor married Olga in 1934 and had one daughter, Ivanna (Eva). Olga passed away before the war, and Victor married a second wife, Mimi. They had one son, Rudolf. Victor, Mimi, Rudolf and Ivanna all survived the war. Lyduska (Lydia) married Tony Kares. They both perished during the war, probably in Auschwitz. Rose married Robert Lederer. They had two children, Nina (b. 1930) and Peter (b. ca. 1933). Robert died in a labor camp in Oranienburg. Rose and the two children were sent to Theresienstadt in September 1942, and from there, were deported to their death in Auschwitz on May 15, 1944. Rose could have been selected with Nina for work, but she refused to abandon Peter and insisted that all three remain together. As a result, they all perished. Henrietta married Joseph Rechts and had one son, Ivan. Joseph escaped to Palestine via Poland and Russia and planned to send for his wife and son when he reached safety, but they were deported before he could do so. They were sent first to Theresienstadt and then to Auschwitz where they perished. Blanka married Pavel Heller on August 17, 1940. When Pavel could no longer work as a Jew in Prague, they moved to the town of Plana nad Luznici, where they rented a room from a Mr. Blazek. Pavel also went to work for Mr. Blazek, and the two became good friends. In 1942, when Pavel and Blanka were deported to Theresienstadt, they entrusted their family photographs and valuables to the Blazeks. Pavel was then sent to the front with the Czech army and never returned. Blanka remained in Theresienstadt and from there was deported to Auschwitz in 1943. She survived and returned to Czechoslovakia after the liberation. She resumed contact with the Blazeks, who returned her belongings. Soon after she met Kurt Reitler, who had survived the war in Shanghai. They both immigrated to Montreal and subsequently married. They had one daughter Gabrielle.
