Hans Eder
- Born on: 8.11.1916
- Birthplace: Vienna (Wien),
- Category: Diploma program
- Right of domicile: Wien (Wien),
The English version is based on a translation by artificial intelligence. The authentic version is the German one.
Hans Eder was enrolled at the University for World Trade for five semesters between the winter semester 1935/36 and the winter semester 1937/38; like his younger brother Robert, he was deregistered here on September 3, 1938.
With the support of the emigration department of the welfare center of the Jewish community of Vienna, his father Hersch (Hermann), his mother Helene, his brother Robert, and his sister Lisbeth managed to emigrate to Malta, where all family members survived the Holocaust and World War II. The apartment in Neubauhof (Neubaugasse 64/1/10, 7th district of Vienna), where the Jewish family had been registered since 1929, had to be given up along with the factory for women's straw and felt hats, which the father initially operated at Gumpendorfer Straße 76, from December 1928 at Mariahilfer Straße 51 and later at Neubaugasse 30 (6th or 7th district). The grandparents, who lived in the same house, lost the Café Neubauhof. Hans' car, a vehicle from the American company Nash, was confiscated. And finally, the furniture that had been transported to Malta by ship in the summer of 1939 was not unloaded: to avoid confiscation by the British authorities in Malta after the outbreak of World War II, the ship returned to Germany with its cargo. Instead of reaching the rightful owners, the Eder family's furniture ended up with bombed-out families in northern Germany.
At the time of the 'Anschluss', Hans was on Malta for business reasons. Here he prepared for the arrival of his parents, siblings, and grandparents. On the British-administered Mediterranean island, the family received permission to open a factory for hat production. During World War II, Hans, along with other family members, was interned twice for extended periods. Subsequently, he joined the British Army. On August 9, 1943, he was naturalized by the British "Ministry of Home Security".
After the war, Hans operated businesses with his brother in various Maltese towns. They traded under the label HARO, which consisted of the first letters of the siblings' first names. Initially, they sold hats, and later high-quality clothing was added.
Even in Vienna, he had been involved with a Jewish Austrian woman who emigrated to France after the 'Anschluss'. When the German Wehrmacht invaded France in May 1940, she and her sister Helga were hidden in a Catholic convent. In this way, both women were able to survive the Holocaust and World War II. When Hans later visited his former girlfriend in France after the war, he found out that she had since joined the religious community as a nun. Therefore, he married Helga, with whom he initially lived in France. In 1958, the couple moved to Great Britain. Here, Hans settled with his wife in Wembley Park and was active as a merchant.
Explicitly referring to his forced interruption of studies at the University for World Trade, Hans Eder was granted a "compensation for professional damage" by the "Fund for Assistance to Politically Persecuted Persons Living Abroad (Aid Fund)" after World War II, however - as expressly stated in the notification - without a legal claim.
He was buried in England.
Author: Johannes Koll
Source material
Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Universitätsarchiv, Studierendenkarteikarte und Alte Prüfungsliste.
Interview mit Dr. Johannes Koll (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) in Sliema (Malta) zwischen 10. und 13. November 2013.
Archiv der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde Wien, Best. Jerusalem, A/W 2589/43, Nr. 16846.
National Archives (Kew, Großbritannien), HO 334/255/3229.
Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Archiv der Republik, Finanzen, HF, Zl. 17822 und Zl. 30893.
Meldeauskunft des Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchivs, GZ MA 8 – B-MEW – 96140-2013.
Zentralblatt für die Eintragungen in das Handelsregister in Österreich, 27. Jg., Nr. 52 vom 26. Dezember 1928, S. 983, Nr. 19816.
Compass. Kommerzielles Jahrbuch 1938. Österreich, hrsg. von Rudolf Hanel, 71. Jg., Wien 1938, S. 1314.
Datenbank "Historische KFZ-Verzeichnisse" des Technischen Museums Wien, http://historische-kfz-verzeichnisse.technischesmuseum.at/?page_id=2 [30. August 2013].
Malta Family History: Jewish Residents since 1800, http://website.lineone.net/~aldosliema/Jewish%20Residents.htm [30. August 2013].
Interview von Patricia Salomone mit Robert Eder in Sliema vom April und Mai 2009, University of Malta, Department of History, Oral history depository, Nr. 476.