| Born: | 09-28-1914 |
| Faculty: | Philosophical School |
| Category: | Expelled student |
Erwin KRONFELD, born on September 28th, 1914 in Vienna/Austro-Hungarian Empire (entitled residency ("heimatberechtigt") for Vienna/Austria, citizenship 1938: Austria) as son of Julius (Joel Baruch) Kronfeld (1882-1942, textile representative) and Witte (née Lorber, 1881-1942). He lived in Vienna's 2nd district, Krummbaumgasse 1/12a, was last enrolled in the fall term of 1937/38 at the Philosophical School in the 4th and last year of his studies and took courses in History.
In 1938, after the takeover of power of National-Socialism he was forced to quit his studies for racist reason and to leave the University of Vienna.
He had to flee Vienna and in May 1938 tried to find a way to emigrate via the emigration office of the Jewish Community, but lacked the money and contacts. He had already worked as a private teacher alongside his studies in order to contribute to the family income and finance his studies and had also taken a chauffeur course in 1937/38 in order to be able to work as a professional driver. The family was dependent on support from relatives when his father was "ausgesteuert" in 1932 after a year of unemployment as a textile salesman with no support for the family of five. His brother Max (born 1919) worked as a clerk, his youngest sister Renée (1924-2020) was still at school. She was the only one of the family who managed to leave the country via the Aliyah Youth Advice Center and emigrate to Palestine [Israel] at the end of September 1939 (his parents both died shortly after each other in March 1942 in the hospital of the Jewish Community in Vienna's 18th district).
Erwin Kronfeld was deported from Vienna to Nisko/Poland on October 27th, 1939, where he became a victim of the Shoah.
He is commemorated at the University of Vienna in the "Memorial Book for the Victims of National Socialism at the University of Vienna in 1938" (2009) and at the "Memorial to the History Students and Teachers of the University of Vienna Expelled under National Socialism | When Names Shine" (2022).
Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna/enrollment forms ("Nationale") PHIL 1937-1938; National Library of Israel/IKG-Wien-Auswandererkartei; DÖW 2001 (there erroneously as 'Armin' Kronfeld); POSCH/INGRISCH/DRESSEL 2008, 34, 424; www.yadvashem.org (source cited there: testimony from his sister Renée Edelshtein from 1989); POSCH/FUCHS 2022, 116.
Herbert Posch
