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[nb-NO]Object number[nb-NO]M2010/082:002
[nb-NO]Description[nb-NO]Scarf made of fine white lace or silk with delicate floral designs. Owned by Marika Weinberger OAM - a Holocaust survivor of several camps including Auschwitz and Ravensbruck. Married Alex Weinberger in 1946 and migrated to Australia in 1950. Alex died in 1994. The scarf was a gift from Alex to Marika and was worn by Marika on Shabbat and Jewish festivals.
Marika Weinberger was born Eva Marianna Cierer on 7 August 1928 in Kosice, Czechoslovakia. The traditional Jewish family consisted of Marika, her elder sister Edita, and their parents Irena (nee Aschheim) and Vojtech (Albert) Cierer. Soon after Marika was born they moved to Zilina, Slovakia, where her father worked for the insurance company Phönix. In 1939, to escape the escalating persecutions of Nazi collaborators, the family returned to Kosice.
Vojtech bought Hungarian citizenship papers for the family and with these they moved to Hungary, where it was believed Jews were more protected. However, Vojtech lost his directorship of Phönix under new anti-Jewish laws and was forced into a labour camp. He became seriously ill in the camp and was permitted to return home. On 4 June 1944, following the German occupation of Hungary, Marika was transported to Auschwitz with her sister, her parents, an aunt, and her two grandmothers. She never saw her parents or grandparents again.
Marika survived a year in concentration camps across Europe. She was transferred almost immediately to Riga-Kaiserwald, then to Stutthof in Danzig, then in August 1944, to Glöwen near Berlin; a subcamp of Sachsenhausen. Marika, her sister Edita and her aunt Olga spent eight months in Glöwen where they suffered extreme hunger, cold and brutal treatment by the SS guards. In mid-April 1945 they were sent on a 'death march' to Malchow, a subcamp of Ravensbrück, where they were liberated on 2 May 1945. Marika attributes her survival in many ways to her sister and aunt, who dragged her to work when she was ill and, on the death march, held her upright between their shoulders as she sleep-walked through sights she still can't recall.
On their return to Kosice they were reunited with Uncle Peter. They were the only survivors of the Cierer and Aschheim extended families.
Marika met Alex Weinberger in June 1945 in Hungary. They were married on 24 March 1946, and afterwards moved to Paris following the installation of the communist government. Alex had great language skills and was fluent in Czech, Hungarian, German, Yiddish and Hebrew. He found work with a Jewish newspaper in Paris and the family, which grew to include daughter Kathy, began to prosper once more.
Eventually, with the help of 'the Joint' (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) and the Australian Jewish Welfare Society, the Weinbergers journeyed to Australia. Marika, Alex and Kathy arrived in Sydney on 5 May 1950 on board the MV Surriento. Living first in Brisbane, Alex and his brother George established a furniture factory and Marika concentrated on being a wife and mother to Kathy and their second daughter, Yvonne. In 1958 the Weinberger family moved to Melbourne and then in 1963 to Sydney.
Public life for Marika began with her participation in the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. In 1990, Marika became president of the association. She was integral to the establishment of the Sydney Jewish Museum and volunteered at the museum since its opening. She was vice-president of the museum for some time.
Marika Weinberger was born Eva Marianna Cierer on 7 August 1928 in Kosice, Czechoslovakia. The traditional Jewish family consisted of Marika, her elder sister Edita, and their parents Irena (nee Aschheim) and Vojtech (Albert) Cierer. Soon after Marika was born they moved to Zilina, Slovakia, where her father worked for the insurance company Phönix. In 1939, to escape the escalating persecutions of Nazi collaborators, the family returned to Kosice.
Vojtech bought Hungarian citizenship papers for the family and with these they moved to Hungary, where it was believed Jews were more protected. However, Vojtech lost his directorship of Phönix under new anti-Jewish laws and was forced into a labour camp. He became seriously ill in the camp and was permitted to return home. On 4 June 1944, following the German occupation of Hungary, Marika was transported to Auschwitz with her sister, her parents, an aunt, and her two grandmothers. She never saw her parents or grandparents again.
Marika survived a year in concentration camps across Europe. She was transferred almost immediately to Riga-Kaiserwald, then to Stutthof in Danzig, then in August 1944, to Glöwen near Berlin; a subcamp of Sachsenhausen. Marika, her sister Edita and her aunt Olga spent eight months in Glöwen where they suffered extreme hunger, cold and brutal treatment by the SS guards. In mid-April 1945 they were sent on a 'death march' to Malchow, a subcamp of Ravensbrück, where they were liberated on 2 May 1945. Marika attributes her survival in many ways to her sister and aunt, who dragged her to work when she was ill and, on the death march, held her upright between their shoulders as she sleep-walked through sights she still can't recall.
On their return to Kosice they were reunited with Uncle Peter. They were the only survivors of the Cierer and Aschheim extended families.
Marika met Alex Weinberger in June 1945 in Hungary. They were married on 24 March 1946, and afterwards moved to Paris following the installation of the communist government. Alex had great language skills and was fluent in Czech, Hungarian, German, Yiddish and Hebrew. He found work with a Jewish newspaper in Paris and the family, which grew to include daughter Kathy, began to prosper once more.
Eventually, with the help of 'the Joint' (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) and the Australian Jewish Welfare Society, the Weinbergers journeyed to Australia. Marika, Alex and Kathy arrived in Sydney on 5 May 1950 on board the MV Surriento. Living first in Brisbane, Alex and his brother George established a furniture factory and Marika concentrated on being a wife and mother to Kathy and their second daughter, Yvonne. In 1958 the Weinberger family moved to Melbourne and then in 1963 to Sydney.
Public life for Marika began with her participation in the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. In 1990, Marika became president of the association. She was integral to the establishment of the Sydney Jewish Museum and volunteered at the museum since its opening. She was vice-president of the museum for some time.
[nb-NO]Object name[nb-NO]scarfs
[nb-NO]Material[nb-NO]fibres (fabrics)
[nb-NO]Credit line[nb-NO]Sydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Marika Weinberger
[nb-NO]Documentation[nb-NO]
Surviving survival: a selection of speeches300004063
Surviving survival: a selection of speeches300004063