Czechoslovakian Family Clothes: The Mullers (1930s)


Figure 1.--Here we see the Muller children of Hlohovec, Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. The name sounds German. The Mullers were a prominent and wealthy Jewish family in the wholesale grain business. Magda and Nandor Muller had two children--Heinrich (born in 1930) and Alice (born in 1932). The portrait here was taken about 1935.

We do not have much information on Czechoslovakia families at this time. We do have information about the Muller family of Hlohovec, Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. The name sounds German. There were of course many Germans in Cechoslovakia after the country was created following World War I. The Mullers were a prominent and wealthy Jewish family in the wholesale grain business. Magda and Nandor Muller had two children--Heinrich (born in 1930) and Alice (born in 1932).

Hlohovec

We know nothing about Hlohovec, the city where the Mullers lived. It appears to be in Slovakia, the eastern portion of Czechoslovakia at the time.

The Mullers

We do have information about the Muller family of Hlohovec, Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. The name sounds German, as do their first names. There were of course many Germans in Cechoslovakia after the country was created following World War I. The Mullers were a prominent and wealthy Jewish family in the wholesale grain business. The Mullers lived a very upper-class life in Czechoslovakia, visiting spas and vacation spots of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, until the rise of the NAZIS in Germanyand then Austria.

The Children

Magda and Nandor Muller had two children--Heinrich (born in 1930) and Alice (born in 1932). Heinrich in the photograph here would have been about 5 years old in this picture and his sister about 3 years old (figure 1). The children here are a good example of why the NAZIs insituted decrees that Jews had to wear yellow stars. Many Jews did not look Jewish and thus were difficult to identify.

Clothing

This photograph, taken in Hlohovec about 1935, shows the two children nicely dressed in complementary outfits. Notice that both Heinrich's short-pants suit and Alice's dress seem to be made of the same woolen material and are probably the same color. Both are wearing almost identical Peter Pan collars. Heinrich wears tan long stockings with his suit while his sister wears white long stockings. Notice that the stockings in both cases are extremely long to accommodate the short skirts and trousers then in fashion. Both children also have fashionable lace-up canvas spats which they wear over their black leather shoes (apparently low-cut shoes). They are posing with the family dog who doesn't look all that friendly. These costumes illustrate the typical dress of central European children from an affluent family.

Munich Conference (September 1938)

After the Anchluss, Hitler next targeted Czechoslovakia, demanded that the Sudetenland where about 3 million Germans lived be turned over to the NAZI Reich. The British and French caved in to the threat of war, especially fearing the new German Luftwaffe. Hitler promissed Prime Minister Chamberlin that this would be Germany's final territorial demands in Europe. The Wehrmacht entered the Sudentland (October 1938). Only a few months later, Hitler ordered the Wehrmacht to seize the rest of Czechoslovalia (March 1939). Slovakia seceeded from Czechoslovalia the day before the NAZIs seized it. The first target were democratic politicans that had opposed them. Next the NAZIs and their puppet allies went after the Jews.

The Mullers Escape

After Slovakia suceeded from Czechoslovakia, the new Government implimented NAZI-style race laws targetting Jews. Life became increasingly difficult for the Jewish population. Members of the Hlinka Guard, the Slovak fascist armed party facction rounded up prominent Jews (including Mandor Muller, the children's father) and beat them savagely to both terrorize and extract ransoms. As a result the Mullers made arrangements to leave the country. This was becoming very difficult by 1939, in part because many countries did not want to accedpt Jews. The Mullers may have suceeded because they had money. They finally managed to emigrate to rural Ontario, Canada. They managed to get out of Slovakia just in time to avoid the Holocaust.

The Holocaust

The Slovaks slavisly cooperated with the NAZIs, becoming perhaps the most compliant NAZI puppet state. . It also became a an enthusiastic participant in the Holocacaust. There were before the Munich Conference about 138,000 Jews living in the Slovakian portion of Czechoslovakia. The Slovaks secceed from Czechososlavakia and set up slavishly compliant pro-NAZI state (March 1939). The NAZI's carved up Slovakia and the resulting NAZI-puppet state had a Jewish population of about 89,000. The Slovaks seeking to appeal to their NAZI masters began enacting anti-Semitic laws nased on the NAZI Nuremberg Laws. Officials targeted Jews as the enemy of the Slovak people. The Slovakian Government enacted the Jewish Code (1941). Slovakian officials began deporting its Jews to NAZI occupied Poland as the death camps were beginning to operate (March 25, 1942). Officials deported 57,628 Jews to Poland, about two-thirds of the Slovakian Jews, in the next 7 months. Only about 600-800 Jews survived these transports. Most of the Slovakian Jews were killed in the death camps of the Lublin district. Some were killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Slovakian officials stopped deportations (October 20). At that time the killing of the deportees became widely known in Slovakia. The remaining Jews that were unable to hide were interned in labor camps in Slovakia (Sered, Novaky, and Vyhne). After the tide of battle shifted on the Eastern Front, NAZI allies began reconsidering their position. A Slovak National Uprising occurred (1944). The NAZIs as a result occupied Slovakia (autumn 1944). The first deportations were carried out by the Slovaks. Now the NAZIs began deporting the remaining Slovakian Jews. The NAZIs deported 13,000 Jews to the Polish death camps (primarily (Auschwitz-Birkenau) and to Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia and German camps. Slovakia special police commandos murdered 1,000 at this time. While the Slovakian Government loyally supported the NAZIs in killing Jews, there were many Slovaks who risked their lives to hide their Jewish countrymen. Slovaks hid about About 10,000 Jews.









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Crerated: 1:40 AM 1/27/2006
Last updated: 1:41 AM 1/27/2006