Erna Böhm, A Young Girl, Emigrates to America
A Young Girl Emigrates to America
Karl and Erna got married just after the war.
It was 1946.
Karl had a temporary part-time job at the University of Vienna.
There was no wedding. You couldn't get eggs, flour or cake. There was no money.
After they were married Karl and Erna rented an apartment at 66 Salmannsdorfer Straße, Vienna. They lived there until 1953. My cousin Tassilo said he used to visit them often (he was 12).
Here is their front door, number 66.
In 1947 my older sister Johanna "Hanni" was born, in Salmannsdorf.
Our maternal grandmother Bianca Böhm (born Colnago) got the nickname "Mami-Omi."
On Tuesday, March 10, 1953, the four of us, Karl, Erna, Hanni (7) and I (4) left Austria by train to Bremerhaven, where we would board the US Navy Ship H.F. Hodges bound for New York. Nobody knew we were part of Operation Paperclip.
"What was most poignant was the family leaving for America when I was 6 in 1953." Jo writes.
"There were lots of photographs taken at the front door of Mamiomi’s [Bianca Böhm's] building of flats, Reischachstraße 3. And many taken as we left at the train station."
It was 1946.
Karl had a temporary part-time job at the University of Vienna.
There was no wedding. You couldn't get eggs, flour or cake. There was no money.
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| Erna Böhm (24) and Karl Kordesch (24) in Vienna, 1946. |
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| Vienna after the war, 1945 |
After they were married Karl and Erna rented an apartment at 66 Salmannsdorfer Straße, Vienna. They lived there until 1953. My cousin Tassilo said he used to visit them often (he was 12).
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| Salmannsdorfer Straße, Salmannsdorf, Vienna [Google Maps] |
Here is their front door, number 66.
In 1947 my older sister Johanna "Hanni" was born, in Salmannsdorf.
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| Erna holding Johanna "Hanni" Kordesch, 1947 |
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| Hanni and her grandma "MamiOmi" (Bianca Böhm) Reischachstraße 3, Vienna, 1948 |
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| Erna (26) and Hanni (1 1/2) in the park Vienna, summer of 1948. |
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| Johanna (4), Karl, Albert Kordesch (2), Vienna, 1951 |
"What was most poignant was the family leaving for America when I was 6 in 1953." Jo writes.
"There were lots of photographs taken at the front door of Mamiomi’s [Bianca Böhm's] building of flats, Reischachstraße 3. And many taken as we left at the train station."
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| Hanni, Berti, Erna Kordesch and colleague Adolph Marko wearing his motorcycle goggles. Westbahnhof, March 10, 1953 |
"Everyone we knew came to say good-bye to us, extended family and work colleagues of my father [Adolph Marko] included. All I saw were the well-dressed people. I did not guess we were leaving Vienna."
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| Left to right: Grandma Katharina Kordesch with Karl, Nora, Erna Kordesch with Albert and unknown photographer. In the back right, Bianca Böhm with Dr. Hedi Schneider, wearing glasses. Wien Westbahnhof, March 10, 1953 |
"We returned later [1955], but only as visitors. I came again for a year when I was 14 [1961] and when I was 21 [1968]."
Erna, Johanna, and Albert came back to Vienna in 1958 for the wedding of our Uncle Peter Böhm and Anne Daw [LINK]. Karl never returned to Vienna until the late '70s, as far as I know.
"The naval military ship which took us to the U.S.A. [the USNS General HF Hodges] was segregated into women and men. We had to stay with my mother. I only remember the grey sea and looking at the endless horizon with my brother. It seemed as endless as the journey."
NAVY SHIP PHOTO [Wikipedia]
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| View from the main deck, USNS General HF Hodges March, 1953 |
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| Albert and Johanna Kordesch on the boat to New York City, USNS GEN H.F. HODGES (T-AP144), March, 1953 |
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| This is the navy supply ship that carried Karl, Erna, Albert and Johanna Kordesch to New York from Bremerhaven, Germany. Arrived on March 31, 1953 USNS GENERAL HF HODGES T-AP144. Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_General_H._F._Hodges_(AP-144) |
"The New Word held many surprises. One was the sea—we came from a landlocked country. I recall playing in the sand with Al. It must have been autumn. We had knitted sweaters on and climbed the rocks. We stared out to sea. It was far far away to the distant Vienna."
"I nearly died in the sand—it was wet and I dug a deep hole. Then I fell in. Then the sand covered me. I rolled up inside like a shrimp and managed to get out and keep breathing."
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| "Hanni" and "Berti" on the breakwater. Long Branch, New Jersey, 1954 |
"I nearly died in the sand—it was wet and I dug a deep hole. Then I fell in. Then the sand covered me. I rolled up inside like a shrimp and managed to get out and keep breathing."
"I loved museums. In New York City there was—probably still is—a natural history museum we were taken to as small children. I saw my first grey squirrel there with its plumy, full tail. It was all stuffed, but coming towards me, as if searching for a just buried nut. This made a great impression on me. The next time grey squirrels came so close—in abundance—was in Toronto where my mother lived for a spell and where I came to visit. In the back of the house was a wire fence with good supports and my mother called it the squirrel highway. Down it came not only grey squirrels, but black ones too!
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| American Museum of Natural History, NYC [Photo credit: By Ingfbruno - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikipedia] |
"New Jersey, where we first lived, was then less populated than it is now. We lived in Long Branch within sight of New York."
Why New Jersey? [See Why New Jersey]
"My father bought a nice (almost) new Chevrolet [1947 Fleetline] and later a [1954] Nash Rambler."
[See KORDESCH FAMILY AUTO HISTORY]
"And we bought a full grown tuna which we put in the bathtub. I think my parents thought the New World replete with marvellous, rich items to eat, live, drive, and house in where Vienna had been poor all through the war."
Why New Jersey? [See Why New Jersey]
"My father bought a nice (almost) new Chevrolet [1947 Fleetline] and later a [1954] Nash Rambler."
[See KORDESCH FAMILY AUTO HISTORY]
"And we bought a full grown tuna which we put in the bathtub. I think my parents thought the New World replete with marvellous, rich items to eat, live, drive, and house in where Vienna had been poor all through the war."
"I went to a Catholic primary school [Our Lady Star of the Sea] where I started to learn English. I only remember the Nativity scene where I played the Virgin Mary. We sang too and the nuns wore elaborate habits."
"I remember best the railroad crossing on the way home. It was very scary to me. I don’t know quite why, but I scampered really fast to get across and leave it behind. This railroad crossing occupied my dreams for some time to come."
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| Eatontown, NJ Near Long Branch Business Center, circa 1955 |
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| The railroad crossing on Bath Avenue, Long Branch, New Jersey [Google Maps] |
"I remember the museum in New York. Museums became part of my life, the easiest way to learn the history of a new country. We lived in rather pleasant army barracks with squares that had walks and trees, tall ones, growing within them. It was pleasant. The cat we had got entangled in the crown of one of the trees and wouldn’t come down. I remember the fire brigade coming with their red trucks. They extended the ladder upwards and saved the cat!"
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| This is the street corner of our apartment (on the right). Prospect Street and Bath Avenue. The latter leads directly to the Atlantic Ocean. Spring blossoms, Long Branch, New Jersey, 1954. |
"We had a green bunny rabbit on the bed. By now my sister Kitty was born. We were in the double bed. It was my parent’s double bed and we were tossing the bunny back and forth. The bunny had floppy ears lined in white; the rest of it was a light green. Probably it was Easter. I had with me a small basket in Long Branch which must have originated in Vienna. It must have made the long journey with me and given me security. My favourite stuffed animals were inside—except the bunny which was too large and came later. The basket is where my love of wicker and woven things comes from. In later years I amassed lots of baskets and admired the artists doing them."
"My grandmother [Bianca Böhm] had a small porcelain white rabbit with red eyes and clapped back, long ears in her sewing box. I loved the occasions when we were allowed to bring the rabbit out. I think I just held it. There were also thrilling multi-coloured threads and glinting sewing needles safely located, because secured, in the lid of the box. On this lid was sewn a piece of cloth stitched fast to secure it to the square basket. The box, because it so rarely came into our hands, was inspected and treasured."
"We came back to Vienna in 1958. Uncle Peter [Böhm] opened the sunroof of his VW and Al and I stood on the back seat with heads and fingers waving. I remember the cupola of the Hofburg since we went through the centre of the city to reach the flat Uncle Peter was sharing with MamiOmi and where we were staying. It was near evening and I remember the dome lit up and spinning with decoration. The black iron gate, also ornate, wizzed past. As did the baroque statues, white, contorted. And writhing under the spotlights and made of marble."
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| Vienna Graben with its baroque Pestsaeule, Now closed to traffic. 2017 |
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| Georg Böhm (2), Nikolaus Böhm (4), Uncle Peter's wife Anne Böhm (born Daw), Johanna Kordesch (17) Vienna, 1964 |
Many thanks to my sister Joanna for sharing these memories!
Joanna lives in Edinburgh with her husband Jim.
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| Left to right: Joanna, Kitty, David, Jim, Albert Edinburgh, 2017 |
After retiring from her career at the University of Glasgow, Joanna now enjoys gardening, painting, and writing. She has authored quite a number of fascinating books. Her latest book, "Why Gardens Matter" will be published later this year, 2020.
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