The Klarwills: Escape stories and secrets from Vienna to Africa!

The Klarwills: Escape stories and secrets from Vienna to Africa!

A fascinating chapter of Viennese history comes to life through the research of Victoria Voros and her nephew Eschner. The 76-year-old Canadian has embarked on a journey of discovery into her family history, which is deeply linked to 19th century Viennese society. Her maiden name, Klarwill, bears the legacy of an important Jewish family at the time who were among Arthur Schnitzler's circle of acquaintances. This applies not only to one's ancestors, but also to one's own identity, which was strongly influenced by the memories and experiences of her grandmother Elsa. We also learn that a mysterious stamp in a book that German society wanted to restitute brought to light new details about the escape from the Shoah and the subsequent life in Africa, as Kurier reports.

Elsa von Klarwill smuggled numerous possessions out of Austria before the Nazi persecution. Her family, including Isidor Ritter von Klarwill, was well connected in Vienna's cultural and media circles. Isidor was not only a prominent journalist and editor-in-chief of the political daily newspaper “Fremdenplatz”, but was also knighted in 1881. His sons, especially Victor von Klarwill, continued the tradition and also developed into influential journalists.

Escape and new beginnings

The turbulent times of the 1930s forced the Klarwills to emigrate. In 1938/39 the family fled to Kenya to escape the Nazi regime. Victor, who died in 1933 and was buried next to Theodor Herzl at the Döblinger Cemetery, left behind a family and a strong legacy. His son, Viktor Isidor Ernst von Klarwill, also affectionately known as “Rufus,” was born on June 2, 1902 in Vienna. He later emigrated to Nairobi in 1938, while his mother Elsa followed a year later after having to sell her assets - the dangerous path to Kenya was riddled with uncertainty.

Viktor experienced harrowing times as he was arrested by the English and taken to a labor camp in South Africa. However, this did not stop him from opening the Naro Moru Lodge after the war, which still exists today and attracts tourists. He was known for the huts he built along the Naro Moru River and his involvement in the safari industry at Mt. Kenya, which brought him good business. He later managed this lodge together with his second wife Rachel Sutton, whom he married in Kenya in 1944.

Legacy and memory

Victoria Voros also has a personal connection to this story. Despite the discoveries, she regrets that she can no longer question her father. Her father was a Nazi expellee who returned to Africa in his 80s and lived happily there. Voros, who built a new life and married in Vancouver, proudly picks up the pieces of her family history and looks back at the Klarwills' longings, struggles and lives.

This story of survival powerfully shows how a family's roots and legacy endure through generations. The Klarwills, strong in their faith and unwavering in their will, have made a name for themselves despite the challenges and adversity that has not been forgotten to this day. European Society in East Africa sums up that Viktor von Klarwill has built a bridge between the worlds through his entrepreneurial activity and his personal story.