Interviewer
Sandra McGee Deutsch
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee
Born in Vienna, lived in Budapest when they escaped to Austria from Nazis, then escaped to Argentina in 1942. Forty years later she refound her self in her studies of Judaism and a trip to Israel.
Summary of Interview
She was born in Vienna in 1922. Her father was an Austrian industrialist and her mother a Hungarian pharmacist- the first woman to graduate with this specialty in Hungary. They lived in Vienna until she was 16, when the Nazis took over and they left for Hungary. At her mother's prompting, they left Hungary in1942 for Argentina; the trip had been planned for two years and was extremely dangerous. They took the last ship that sailed the Atlantic for South America. They were supposed to go to Brazil but wound up in Argentina instead, their stay in this country facilitated by Saavedra Lamas. They adapted easily to Argentine life, and her parents never looked back, although they continued some European customs. Maria still feels European although she's had a good life in Buenos Aires. She retook her bachillerato exam and became a chemist, after marrying and having three children. Forty years after her arrival in Argentina, she went to Israel, the result of spending four years studying at the Centro de Estudios Judaicos. She regained an identity and came to grips with her past when she entered this center.
Date of Interview
8-9-2000
Length of Interview
1 hour and 10 minutes
Tape Number
No. 954
Transcript Number
No. 954
Length of Transcript
21 pages
Interview Number
No. 954
Terms of Use
Unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Interview with Maria Eisser by Sandra McGee Deutsch, 2000, "Interview no. 954," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso.
Comments
Interview in Spanish.