Laura Lea Birnbaum

Her parents' address at the date of her birth: Vienna 2, Grosse Schiffgasse 6 (Her grandmother Regina Pollak's residence).

Address (after husband's death) Kohlgasse 51, Vienna IX.

Laura was a headstrong, cheerful girl. She had many suitors, but after a lot of consideration accepted her 24th, Moritz Birnbaum!

Her husband died young, leaving Laura with three children, and the laundry business with no one to manage it. Had it not been for Laura's good ideas, who knows what would have happened. She picked out all the prettiest girls from "Hygenia" and dressed them in typical Austrian washerwomen's dresses - white with blue spots. The horses were groomed until they shone and were also dressed in blue and white. Then, with Laura at the head, they paraded around the streets. This, of course, was considered and outrage at the time, when women were supposed to be sitting around doing embroidery. Laura hated sewing of any kind - she had quite a masculine outlook and for her lunch took a sandwich and a glass of champagne or beer.

Her granddaughter, Gerda Holt, wrote about her grandmother Laura and her summers in Baden-bei-Wien:

"Grandma and two of her sisters had villas in Baden and I spent all my summers and most other holidays either with "Oma Laura" as I called my grandmother or with her sister (Jeanette) and my most favourite person, her husband Otto".

"Omama Laura was an easygoing and pleasant person and she arranged that her and her sisters' gardens should intercommunicate, so there was plenty of space for playing with neighbours' children, my cousins from Trieste (= Erica and Noemi) and Vienna and I remember these were quite happy times for me."

"We were not at all religious ( =Jews) but my grandmother Laura was a great believer in celebrating whatever was on offer, so.... we had Christmas dinner, a decorated Christmas tree and presents, followed by St Sylvester, the patron saint for the end of the year. This was much more fun than Christmas, the sweet shops were full of pink marzipan pigs with 4-leaved clovers in their mouths, chimney sweeps came to wish you luck..."

Laura fled to Palestine in 1938 with the Schick family: Tini (her sister), Moritz and their sons Hans and Rudi. They lived together on 6, Trumpeldor Street in Tel Aviv. In April 1939 her son Otto and his carer Vanda (later his wife) came to Palestine, too, and stayed there until February 1947.

Her son Otto left Palestine after WWII.

Rina Talmore added on December 22nd, 2008:

Laura died in Tel Aviv in 1943. According to the "Chevra Kadisha" website, she was buried in the "Nachalat Yitzchak Cemetery". It took me almost a year to trace her burial site. The website mentions her Hebrew name, Lea, but on the stone her surname was misspelled "Birnboim": לאורא בירנבוים

But it is her grave, no doubt. Now we also know that she died on December 24th 1943, at the age of 67. (see her grave in her MEDIA).

My cousin Hedva Zur and I cleaned the tomb which had been covered in moss and weeds.

I recently appealed to the "Chevra Kadisha" and the name in their books/website was corrected to "Lea Laura Birnbaum."