Daniel Abraham

Name and spelling variations: Ronia, Ronja, Rebeca, Rebecca, Rivka

Libau

Ronya was born on May 5, 1891* in Liepaja (Libau), in what is now Latvia. The daughter of Abraham Datnowsky and Bassia Rabinovitz, she was the second of four children.

* Her birth is recorded as April 4, 1891** in the Riga Rabbinate

** Note: Dates in the registry were recorded using the Julian calendar. Add 12 days to find the date on the Gregorian (Western) calendar. So, the correct birth date would be April 26, 1891. Not sure then why her birth date was given as May 5.

(data from: The Riga Rabbinate Vital Records - Births in Libava/ Libau/ Liepaja in 1891.)

Latvia had been a Russian province since the end of the 18th century and would not regain its independence until the 1917 Revolution, so Ronya was a Russian citizen. Because Latvia was also under heavy German influence, Liepaja was known by its German name, Libau.

Ronya, 1897 or 1898

From 1904 to 1909 (age 13 to 18), Ronya attended the Girls' Gymnasium (high school) in Windau (Ventspils), (presumably) a boarding school about 90 miles south of Liepaja.

Ronya's Girls' Gymnasium report, July 3rd, 1909.

On the first page of her school report (above), Rebecca Abramova Datnovskaya is identified as a daughter of the merchant class, and as being Jewish.

While primary school was mandatory in Latvia, secondary school was not, and was not free. The Girls Gymnasium was a Christian school, as evidenced by the presence of an orthodox priest in a class portrait below, and mandatory church-related classes (although they may have been mandatory only for non-Jews, since she was not graded for Bible study in her final exam). Her attending a Christian school is a sure sign that she came from a secular, integrated family that must have prized modern education above all other concerns.

According to this school report, she skipped the first year and started with the second year after having succesfully passed the second grade entrance test in 1903 with a perfect grade. She attended grades 2 to grades 6 and completed her studies in 1908 when she successfully passed her final exams. The overall report stated that she had demonstrated a "P-E-R-F-E-C-T" behavior.

The results of her final exams are as follow:
She had no grade for Bible study, evidently excused for being Jewish.
Russian seems to have been her weakest topic, as she only received a 3 (out of 5). On the other hand, she had a perfect 5/5 in Maths, 4/5 for History, Geography, and Russian History. She received another perfect 5/5 for Physics.
Her total average was 4.16/5, and the report, dated July 3rd, 1909, concluded that she had achieved "great results".
In addition to these required, graded topics, she also took several optional courses: German, which received a "good" grade, and Art and Drawing, for which she received an "excellent" grade. She wasn't graded in French, another optional course, indicating that she either didn't study French, or if she did, only for a few years. She would of course learn French at some point as she would eventually resettle in Paris in the early 1930s.

Ronya and classmates, Russian School, Latvia, 1909

All the young ladies wear their hair in a bun, the teachers wear uniforms, and an orthodox priest seems to be in charge.

Group of students: Immerman, Jacobsohn, Jacobi, Goldsctück, Israelsohn, Feitleberg, Gerson, Jacobi, Savrunova (?), Datnowsky, Richter. Windau, Latvia, 1909.

Ronya is sitting in the front row, 2nd from the right with her hand clasped.

Although the school seemed to be a Christian school, most of the girls on this photo had Jewish names. (Except for Savrunova, all of these surnames appear on a list of victims of the Shoah from Libau: http://www.liepajajews.org/wc_idx/sur.htm.)

Ronya, 1909

Card from Dr. Israel Auerbach, addressed to Ronya in Windau.

Ronya in Windau, Latvia, 1909

Constantinople, 1909-1912

In 1909, Ronya's mother Bassja died. Along with her two younger siblings Eva (Bitia) and Israel (Isrolke), she left Latvia and came to Constantinople where her elder sister Bertha and her husband Dr. Israel Auerbach had been living since 1908.

Ronya had finished high school in the spring of 1909. In July, she was issued a passport to travel abroad, and after a stop in Odessa on August 1, 1909, she arrived in Constantinople. She was nineteen.

Telegram sent by Ronya to her sister from Odessa announcing her arrival in Constantinople, August 1909.

In Constantinople, Ronya lived with her sister Bertha and Israel Auerbach, in the Galata neighborhood. It's not clear if she remained in Constantinople between 1909 and her marriage in 1912, or alternated with Berlin, but until her marriage, her address in Constantinople was at the Auerbach home.

Three postcards, dating 1909, 1910 and 1910 are addressed to Ronya, c/o Dr Israel Auerbach.

Postcard from Rahel Auerbach, 1909

Ronya (3rd from left), with Bertha, Eva and Israel in Constantinople - 1909

Ronya (with veil), with Bertha, Eva and Israel in Constantinople - 1910

Ronya, Constantinople, 1909 or 1910

Ronya, Cospoli Eyoub, 1910 (Cemetery of Eyoub)

Ronya Datnowsky - Travel to Palestine, 1910

In the summer of 1910, less than one year after arriving in Constantinople, Ronya received a "tezkere" (travel permit) for Palestine.

What were the reasons for this trip? How long did she stay? And who did she travel with?

There is no information at all regarding this trip except for a few photos and this travel document.

Travel document from Constantinople for Haifa - 1910

This travel permit was issued by the Russian Consulate in Istanbul in July 1910 . It authorizes "Mademoiselle Datnovski" to travel to Haifa.

Age: 19
Height: medium
Eye color: hazel
Nationality: Russian
Religion: Jewish
Occupation: not legible.

Although the tezkere was made in her name and was made out for "one traveller", it difficult to imagagine that a nineteen-year-old woman would travel on her own from Constantinople to Palestine in 1910, and so I assume that she didn't travel alone but had a companion. There are however no clues as to who her travel companion(s) could have been.

She probably hadn't met her future husband yet, and even if she had, she would probably not have travelled with a man she hadn't married yet.

Although there are no documents to confirm it, it is possible that she travelled with her brother Israel (Isrolke) - maybe to see him on his way to Palestine. (Note however that Alex Mallat dates his arrival in Palestine to 1913 - but this too is not substantiated by any documents.)

Ronya also had several friends in Palestine at the time - as evidenced by a number of postcards from that period. Although this doesn't provide a reason for the trip, it suggests at least that she wasn't completely on her own.

It's also possible that she could have travelled with Israel Auerbach, who made frequent trips to Palestine around that time, or that her travel was connected somehow to Elias Auerbach, who resided in Haifa. The brother of Israel Auerbach, he was a physician and had opened the first Jewish hospital in Haifa.

Jerusalem

This group photo taken in Jerusalem doesn't show any other familiar faces which might help understand the reason or nature of this trip, although the man with the moustache sitting *might* be her brother Israel.

Ronya, with jug, Jerusalem, 1910-1911. Photo: M. Swides & J.Hotinsky.

The man sitting may be Ronya's brother Israel Datnowksy. The woman sitting on the floor is Ms. Weinberg, a friend of Ronya's.

This photo is typical of early 20th century studio portraiture, the painted background and costumes providing what was meant to be an "authentic" "Oriental" look.

Zichron Yaakov

Surprisingly, there are a few photos of Ronya on a horse, next to Aaron and Sara Aaronsohn in front of their house in Zichron Yaakov. Why was Ronya visiting Zichron? How did she know the Aaronsohns? Maybe the person who took the photos was her fellow traveller, but we'll never know...

A possible answer is that she was introduced either by Israel or Elias Auerbach who knew the Aaronsohn family.

Four years later, Haim Abraham, the oldest brother of her future husband Moritz, would marry Sara Aaronsohn. Coincidence? Or did the Abraham brothers have contacts with the Aaronsohns earlier than 1913, when friends supposedly mentioned Haim as a prospect for Sara?

Zichron Yaakov, 1910: Ronya, Sara and Aaron Aaronsohn.

Zichron Yaakov, 1910: Ronya, Aaron and Sara Aaronsohn.

There is no information on what Ronya did after this trip, whether she stayed in Constantinople with her sister Bertha, or instead went to Berlin.

Marriage

It is probably around that time that she was introduced by her sister to Moritz Abraham, a wealthy merchant from Ruschuk, Bulgaria.

In December 1911, Ronya and Moritz Abraham got engaged.

Her father sent this three-word telegram:

Telegram from Abraham Datnowsky to Ronya, December 1911

"Be Blessed. Datnowsky". December 5, 1911.

The engagement was mentioned in the Devember 22 issue of L'Aurore, the Jewish weekly.

Ronya and Moritz's Engagement Announcement in L'Aurore, Constantinople, December 22, 1911

In April 1912 the following document was issued by the Russian Consulate in Constantinople (in French) to affirm that - based on the "credible testimonies of two Russian citizens" - Ronya Datnowsky was not married.

Certificate from the Russian Consulate, July 1912

Ronya married Moritz Abraham in May 19, 1912 in Constantinople.

Ronya and Moritz, wedding, Constantinople. "Souvenir of May 19th, 1912"

Wedding announcement, in German. 1912

Wedding announcement, in French. 1912

Telegram from Abraham Datnowsky, May 19th, 1912

"Wishing Happiness Blessings. Father."

Abraham Datnowsky's telegram was addressed to Auerbach because Ronya lived with her sister Bertha and her husband Israel Auerbach until her marriage to Moritz.

1912: Berlin. Business travel with Moritz? honeymoon? or vacation? No precise date, so this could be before or after their wedding.

Ronya and Moritz. Berlin, 1912

Ronya, Constantinople

Ronya, Constantinople

Ronya, Constantinople

Balkan War - 1912 - 1913

In October 1912, the first Balkan War started: an alliance made up of Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro, under Russian auspices, attacked the Ottoman Empire. Within a few weeks, Turkey had been pushed back to maintaining the defense of Constantinople.

The war brought a large number of wounded to Istanbul, and soon a cholera epidemic broke out, resulting in significant healthcare needs. Most of the governmental and official buildings in Istanbul were turned into hospitals, and the ladies of Istanbul nobility participated voluntarily in the provision of healthcare services.

On November 1st, 1912, Ronya finished a three-week nurse course at the German Hospital - which means she had enrolled in the class at the very beginning of the hostilities. Ronya had been married for less than six months when she became a volunteer war nurse with the Red Crescent.

Certificate of nurse class - 1912

Constantinople, November 1, 1912
German Welfare Association
German Hospital

Mrs. Abram
Participated in a three-week course for voluntary wartime nursing at the German Hospital in October 1912 and is qualified to practice nursing

Since Bulgaria was attacking Turkey, with the support of Russia, and Ronya was a Russian subject married to a Bulgarian Jew, it may seem strange that she got involved on the Ottoman Empire's side. However, it seems from the photos below that her case was not so unique: all the nurses seemed to be foreign. According to my father Uriel, "it was the thing to do for well-to-do young ladies at the time...". Maybe it was a way for foreign Jewish residents to prove whose side they were on, especially as Turkey was losing to the enemy.

Ronya in nurse uniform - 1912

Ronya, Balkan War - Constantinople, 1912

Ronya, Balkan War - Constantinople

Source: Central Zionist Archives

Ronya, Balkan War - Constantinople, 1912

Ronya, Balkan War. Constantinople, 1912.
Legend: Kemal Bey, Fraulein Morvien, Fraulein Abramovitz, Saud Bey, Ronya Abraham, ?, Frau Ludner, Mehmed Ahmed, Ali ?, Hussein ? .

Interestingly, the nurses all have German and/or Jewish names. Fraulein Abramovitz may have been the wife of Moritz Abramovitch (no relation to Moritz Abraham), chairman of Maccabi Constantinople until 1908.

In the January 1913 issue of "Die Welt", the Zionist Organisation publication, a brief article appeared under "Short News from Constantinople", mentioning Rornya's "heroic" service during the war:

Die Welt, January 1913.

The gymnastics club "Maccabi", section Balat, has organized a lottery on behalf of Jewish refugees who are accommodated in the suburbs. Two members of the Women's Department, the wife of the President of the organization, Rosa Abramowitz, and Ms. Ronja Abraham, have since the outbreak of the war been active in heroic self-sacrifice as nurses of the Red Crescent (Crescent-sisters) in a Turkish hospital in Halidschoglu on the Golden Horn.

In the December 4, 1914 issue of l'Aurore, a French language Jewish weekly, a brief mention of Ronya ("Mme Moritz Abraham") for her participation as a nurse to the Balkan war.

L'Aurore, December 4, 1914

The first paragraph mentions three Jewish ("correligionnaires") ladies who received the Order of the Chefakat, third class (an order bestowed on women for distinguished humanitarian or charitable works): Mrs. Lily Gunzberg, Mrs. Lily Donsaft and Mrs. Marguerite Rosenthal. The second paragraph mentions "[...] other Jewish ladies who also distinguished themselves under the same circumstances, among them Mme Moritz Abramovitch and Mme Moritz Abraham (Ronya). We believe that their zeal and their patriotic zeal will be rewarded also". (Ronya would receive a "Berat" for her work as a nurse in 1916.)

WW1 - 1914-1915

On 28 October 1914, fifteen months after the end of the second Balkan War, Turkey entered World War I on the side of Germany and Austria, against France, England and Russia.

Ronya, who was originally a Russian citizen and had received a Russian education, was again part of the Turkish war effort as a volunteer nurse.

It seems that her participation as a nurse lasted only until 1915.

Ronya, nurse, WW1- 1914 or 1915

Wounded soldiers wave Turkish flags without much enthusiasm, and Ronya's neighbor is dutifully attaching a Red Crescent armband. A photo taken right before shows her without the armband.

See more photos related to Ronya's service as a nurse.

Recognition

In 1916, Ronya was awarded a bronze medal and received a berat with the Sultan's seal (tugra) in recognition of her services as a nurse during WW1.

Berat with the tugra of Sultan Mehmed Reshad (1916)

"Medals in different levels had been granted to the women whose services regarding the material and spiritual interests of the Ottoman Red Crescent Society were appreciated. Madame Abraham, who served at Sisli Etfal Hospital as a nurse helping the patients with their treatment and recovery, deserves one as well. Based on the special regulations, in accordance with the decision that had been made by the Red Crescent Society, a bronze medal of the same kind was granted to her and thus this imperial Berat has been issued for the grant of this bronze medal. Written in the day 13 Sevval 1334 (August 13 1916)."

Tugra: The big drawing at the top is called a tugra (tughra) - it's the signature of the sultan. The tugra in this document belongs to the 35th Ottoman Sultan Mehmed Reshad (Mehmed V Reshad (2/3 November 1844 - 3/4 July 1918).

Berat: When Sultans granted something to people to show appreciation for their services, he issued a berat. Grant might be a medal, nomination to a higher rank or right to use of place or property. This document was issued for a bronze medal that your grandmother received as an appreciation for her services in the hospital.

Hospital thank-you note

This thank you note was written by the chief doctor of Sisli Etfal Hospital in Istanbul, and was sent to Ronya in 1915. The chief doctor thanks her for her great efforts in taking care of the injured soldiers, in the hardest time of WWI.

Constantinople 1916 - 1922

1916

In July 1916, Aaron Aaronsohn, the brother of Sarah Aaronsohn who had married Haim Abraham a year earlier, arrived in Constantinople. A world-famous agronomist and leader of the NILI spy ring, he paid a visit to Ronya.

He wrote in his diary:

Aaronsohn Diary - July 25,1916

Courtesy of Beit Aaronsohn

(...) I go pick up Ronya and Collen (?) at the Pera Hotel to go to Abramovitch where Dr. Caleb will give me injections against cholera.

Tuesday July 25, 1916

(...) "After 9 am, we go with Ronya to examine Sara's house. We have the keys to the house, but all the rooms are locked, and we need to use a locksmith who forces the doors. We find the house in a mess, and Mrs Blumberg is kind enough to take it upon herself to put things in order.

(...) From there at 1 pm I go to have lunch with Ronya in her apartment, which is well-lit and bright."

What is interesting is that Aaronsohn mentions Ronya and not her husband Moritz Abraham, who was after all Sarah's brother-in-law. This is probably a sign that Ronya maybe knew the Aaronsohn family first, or had a closer relationship with them. Any details however are lost, at least until the unpublished portions of Aaronsohn's diary become accessible and maybe provide more information.

A few days later, miles away in Palestine, Ronya's younger brother Israel Datnowsky died under confusing circumstances - the official story later repeated in the family was that he had died of an epidemic (most likely typhus). However the following entry in Aaron Aaronsohn provides a different version of the events, which may be closer to the truth, since it is a contemporary record:

August 15, 1916, Constantinople:
"Ronya received a telegram from the Jaffa Consulate announcing the death of Datnowsky Israel at Wilhelma, following an accident. This telegram which left Jaffa on the 1st, only arrived here on the 13th."

See Israel Datnowsky's page for the circumstances of Datnowsky's death.

1917

Comite des Dames du Bnei Brit (Ronya, standing, second from the left)

In Constantinople, Ronya's circle was apparently made up predominantly of Western European Jews.

In 1917, Ronya's and Moritz's first son, Gisy (Gedeon), was born

Ronya with first son Gisi, Constantinople, 1917

1918

1918: Ronya's and Moritz's second son, Uriel was born.

Ronya with Gisi and Uly, Constantinople, 1919

1920

In the Summer of 1920, Ronya, the children and their nurse Kitza travelled across Europe. According to the Travel Pass issued by the Italian Authorities in Constantinople, the trip was for "Health and Personal (?)" reasons.

Travel pass issued by the Italian Authorities in Constantinople, 1920.

We ask the Inter-Alliance Authorities, military and civil, to please facilitate travel for Mrs. Abraham and children, who for reasons of health and of interests (?) are traveling to Switzerland and Germany. The above mentioned lady and her children are carrying valid passports.

Kitza, Uly, Gisi and Ronya in Venise, 1920

From Constantinople to Germany

Ronya, not wanting to live in Constantinople and aspiring to a western environment, convinced her husband Moritz to move the family to Germany.

This is probably the last photo of Ronya and Moritz in Constantinople, taken in 1922

Ronya and Moritz, Constantinople, 1922

In 1922, Ronya acquired the Spanish nationality. Why the change, and why Spain? Was the timing a coincidence, or was it related to the upcoming move to Dusseldorf that same year? Born in Liepaja when it was part of the Russian Empire, it was now part of Latvia since 1918. Did this change affect the decision to change nationality? Her husband Moritz also acquired the Spanish nationality around that time, however, being Sepharad, he had some grounds to justify the change. Ronya, a former Russian citizen, had no other connections to Spain than her husband.

Note that this document is not completely clear on Ronya's status. I assume it means she was now a Spanish citizen, however her status might have been more fluid, something like "under the protection of the Spanish Consulate". It simply states:

"The Consulate of Spain in Constantinople certifies that Mrs Ronya Abraham, natural of Ruschuk, 29 years of age, married, housewife, is inscribed in the registry of administered subjects kept at this consulate."

Incredibly, this certificate has her as a "natural of" Ruschuk. Does this mean that she lied about her place of birth in order to come under the protection of Spain? Or did she somehow "inherit" this place of origin simply by virtue of being married to a former resident of Ruschuk? Or was this change suggested by a lenient consular employee looking to faciliate the naturalisation of the family? In addition to changing her place of birth, her age is also off by two year: born in 1891, she was 31 years old in 1922, not 29 as indicated in this document.

Although Ronya and Moritz might have aquired the Spanish citizenship earlier, this certificate is the oldest document available, so 1922 is the earliest confirmed date.

Ronya and Moritz had no way of knowing it then, but their decision to acquire the Spanish nationality would provide them with some protection almost two decades later in German-occupied Paris. In particular, the Spanish nationality would allow Ronya to flee France and cross the border into Spain in 1943 after the death of her husband.

Certificate from the Spanish Consulate in Constantinople, 1922

Ronya used a two-year-old photo for this certificate: Uriel looked very different by then.

A Spanish Certiicate of Nationality established the next year in Dusseldorf confirms that, by then, Ronya had become a Spanish subject. Again, her province of origin is incorrectly indicated as Bulgaria.

Certificate of Nationality from the Spanish Consulate in Dusseldorf, October 1923

Dusseldorf 1922

Moritz bought an empty lot on LindenmannStrasse in Dusseldorf, for which he commissioned an architect to build their house. Ronya, Uriel and Gisy first came to Dusseldorf in 1922, while Moritz stayed behind in Constantinople until December of that year, taking care of his business, and eventually dissolving his partnership with his brother Haim in an acrimonious dispute.

While the construction of the house went on, Ronya, Gisy, Uriel and their nurse Fraulein Ewald lived in Frau Brockerhoff's boarding house, a guest house popular with artists and intellectuals in Dusseldorf.

Ronya, Uly, Gisy with Mme Cornfeld, in front of the house, Dusseldorf, 1926

Ronya and Fraulein Ewald, the nanny - Dusseldorf, 1925

1927

Based on an inscription to my grandmother by Johanna Thal-Birsen in her book "Die wilde Katschke: Bilder aus dem Osten", it appears that Ronya may have attended the 15th Zionist Congress in Basel:

Die wilde Katschke: Bilder aus dem Osten, by Johanna Thal-Birsen.

"If you take my book in your hand, think of our long gone youth in Libau and to the lovely Congress time in Basel.
In memory of Mrs. Abraham,
Johanna Thal-Birsen, Basel, 4 September 1927"

Since the 15th Zionist Congress was held in Basel from August 30 to September 11, 1927, the date in the inscription (4 September 1927) and the location seem to indicate that Ronya was in Basel during the Congress. Although it's impossible to confirm that she attended the Congress, one can assume that her presence in Basel then was not a coincidence; Instead a likely explanation is that she came with her husband Moritz ("National Commissar of the Jewish National Fund" at least in 1922), and maybe also with his brother Haim - who was known to have attended several Zionist Congresses.

1928

In the late 1920s, Dora Diamant, Franz Kafka lover, befriended Ronya. Dora was studying theatre in Düsseldorf (at the Dumont Drama Academy according to wikipedia; at the "Schauspielhaus" theater according to my father's recollections).

A struggling actress, Ronya helped support her financially - my father described her as a "protégée of Ronya" - and she was hired as my father's private Hebrew tutor.

Dora Diamant, Dusseldorf, 1928

As a testimonial of her friendship, she gave Ronya her photograph and first editions of novels by Kafka: A Hunger Artist (1922), The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926), and the short story The Verdict (1916).

Kafka's The Castle, original 1926 edition with inscription by Dora Diamant.

Zum Dank für die Fügung die uns zusammenbrachte.
Dora DIamant Kafka

In gratitude for the good fortune that brought us together.
Dora DIamant Kafka

1929

Ronya, Celerina, 1929

From Dusseldorf to Paris

1930 - Berlin

A postcard dated May 22, 1930 addressed to : Frau Ronja Abraham
bei Herrn Dr Auerbach
Berlin - Grunewald
Douglas Str 30

It appears that between Dusseldorf and Paris, the family (at least Ronya and the children) stayed with Bertha, or at least in her house, in Berlin.

Paris - 1931

Ronya, balcony of 122 boulevard Murat, Paris, 1933.

1938

In the summer of 1938, Ronya travelled to Palestine, apparently without Moritz. She sailed the S.S. Champollion, making a short stop in Alexandria, and arrived in Haifa on August 22. She left one month later, on September 22, and disembarked in Marseilles on September 28.

S.S. Champollion

During her trip, she visited all her relatives: her sister Bertha and her family (Israel and Lea Auerbach, Israel's brother Elias), Eva, Ascher and Bitia, and Visa De Leon.

Was this just a vacation, an excuse to see the family? Or was she considering moving there as the war loomed?

Ronya's Spanish Passport bore a red stamp: "not valid - including transits - for Germany, Italy, Portugal, Austria and Hungary"

Ronya's passport - 1938

She took another short trip in April, this time to England. She left from Dieppe to Newhaven on April 9, then returned back to Dieppe on April 16, 1939.

What was the purpose of her trip? Did she go there to see a relative? (There may have been a Datnowsky and/or a Rabinowitz in England - or was this later?) Or was she planning to move there in the event of a war? Germany had annexed Austria one month earlier.

WWII

In September 1939, the Abraham family moved once more, this time to 35, Rue de Lubeck, as always in Paris 16th.

In May 1940, Germany invaded France, marking the end of the "Phoney War".

On June 3, 1940, the Germans bombed Paris, and half of its population joined a mass exodus, fleeing the German advance. Among them was Ronya's son Uriel, who rode a bicycle all the way to the south of France.

Ronya and her husband Moritz chose to stay in Paris. Why is not clear. Maybe Moritz was already too ill to consider fleeing? Or maybe they simply couldn't imagine what lay ahead for Jews under German rule?

There is no information at all on how Ronya and Moritz survived through the first years of the German Occupation.

In 1942, the situation of Jews in France further deteriorated, with new anti-Jewish laws targeting foreign Jews, including in December the stamping of ID cards with "Jew".

By then, Moritz was not working - most likely because as a Jew he couldn't own a business anymore. His health was not good - although there are no precise details on his ailments, he apparently remained in bed for long periods of time.

How did they survive? Had Ronya already started her knitting business then? (Either Michael Rosenberg or Bitia remembered her coming to Palestine a few years later making her luxury knitwear).

Ronya, like Moritz, was holding a Spanish passport, and as such had been protected - at least up to a point - from Vichy's laws.

This was not the result of the Spanish government's official directives, but of the Spanish Consul in Paris, Bernardo Rolland. Rolland issued "letters of protections" to shield "Spanish" Jews (mostly Jews from the Balkans) living in France.

The Spanish consulate probably defied the German racial laws at least in part to prevent the assets of Spanish Jews from being confiscated by the Germans - assets the Spanish government felt should fall under Spanish control.

Regardless of the actual motivation, the Spanish consul did help save the lives of many Jews with Spanish nationality, including Ronya and Moritz.

In January 1943, Bernardo Rolland sent the following letter to Ronya's husband:

The Spanish Consulate in France certifies that Mr Mauricio ABRAHAM JACOB, a Sepharad, is a Spanish national, and as such benefits from the provisions of the French-Spanish covenants concerning the treatment of Spanish subjects in France.

Two weeks later, on January 31st, 1943, Moritz died.

In March 1943, Moritz's certificate of nationality was cancelled by the Spanish consulate in Paris, and on March 29th, Ronya had a new passport delivered by the Spanish Consulate in Paris to her name.

Although it was now stamped "CANCELLED", Ronya still held on to Moritz' official document, which was most likely crucial in proving that she deserved the protection from the Spanish authorities.

Three weeks later, she left Paris and found refuge in Spain.

Why did Ronya finally decide to leave Paris? Did she fear that with the death of Moritz, her Spanish citizenship would be questioned and would not protect her anymore? While Moritz was a Sepharad, she was a Russian Jew from Latvia - her claim to Spanish protection was clearly more tenuous.

According to Michael Rosenberg, who claimed to have heard Ronya describe her flight to his grandparents in Jerusalem in the 1940s:

One day there was an "Aktion" against the Jews in Paris and she had gone to someone's funeral (not her husband's, because he had been dead for "many years" (sic)), someone there tipped her off that the Germans were waiting for her in her apartment. She didn't go home, and instead went directly to take a train to Madrid. All she had with her was her purse, but it contained her husbands' "Consul honoraire d'Espagne" (sic) passport which she always carried with her to protect her. Because she carried such document, they had to let her through the border. The passport was not even of Franco's Spain, but of the Monarchy.

Spain - 1943

Ronya crossed the border in Hendaye on April 19, 1943.

According to my sister, the border guard had refused to believe that she was actually Spanish, because she didn't speak the language and, of course, because of her Russian-sounding name and heavy Slavic accent. According to her, at some point the guard turned his head and wasn't looking, so Ronya "simply walked on and crossed the border."

This is clearly an apocryphal story. Although there is no doubt that the border guards must have been dubious of the authenticity of her passport and probably hesitated to let her cross, they apparently had to give in since she did carry both her passport and Moritz' papers and most likely the border officer "looked the other way" - i.e. decided not to stop her, and instead let her cross into Spain.

In any case, the stamp in her passport clearly proves that she crossed legally

In April 1943, she arrived in Spain. Photos taken at that time show her in Barcelona, Madrid and Cadix.

Ronya receive a letter in August 1943. The letter was addressed to "Madame Ronia", 42 Rambla Catalunya. Was "Madame Ronia" an indication that she had changed her identity from Ronya Abraham?

Letter to Madame Ronia, Barcelona, 1943.

While in Spain, she met and befriended other Jewish refugees.

Standing: Elieser Neuhoff, Ronya, Vera N., M.Capunao.
Sitting: Sophie Neuhoff, Mrs Scherzer.
Cadix, Spain, 1943.

The Neuhoffs would go to Palestine with her on the same boat, and their son Alex would become friend with her son Uriel, and would later introduce him to his future wife, Toni...

She was received in Spain with the status of refugee, accepted under the condition that, like all Jewish refugees, her presence would be temporary.

In the beginning of 1944, Spain forced its Jewish refugee population out, and with the help of the Joint (the American Jewish organization), Ronya left Spain for Mandate Palestine.

In the winter of 1944, the SS Nyassa was chartered jointly by two relief agencies - the JDC and the HIAS - to transport 750 refugees from Portugal and Spain to Palestine.

The Nyassa first left from Lisbon with 166 refugees, then arrived in the port of Cadiz in Spain, to take an additional 570 refugees.

The Spanish refugees came mainly from Barcelona and Madrid and had been transported to Cadiz by special trains to coincide with the arrival of the Nyassa in Cadiz on January 24.

Ronya boarded the Nyassa in Cadiz on January 24, 1944.

The sailing of the boat made history by crossing the Mediterranean in war-time and the story was covered at the time by the press in Portugal, Spain, England and Palestine.

Palestine

Ronya arrived in Palestine on February 4, 1944 after an uneventful journey.

List of passengers - Ronya is #5. Her age is mistakenly given as 82 - she was 53 at the time. Dr. Auerbach is listed as her relative in Jerusalem.

The steamer's arrival in Haifa received a hearty and triumphant welcome, as this was the first ship since war began to arrive in Palestine with a group of legal immigrants from Europe.

Arrival of the SS Nyassa in Haifa. Although it's impossible to tell, I can't help but think that the first person on the left under the flag is Ronya.

(Photo: Yad Vashem Photo Archives, 156FO3 )

Arrival of the SS Nyassa in Haifa

(Photo: Yad Vashem)

Arrival of the SS Nyassa in Haifa

(Photo: Yad Vashem)

Alex Neuhoff:

Ronya and the Neuhoffs met in 1943 (actually 1944) on the boat that took them from Spain to Palestine (actually they had met before). When they arrived, they were quarantined in Athlit, like all immigrants at he time of the British Mandate. They were "parked like animals for sanitary reasons (?) for 40 days".

These recollections may be incorrect - and probably confuse conditions with incarceration in the Athlit prison; the "40 days" quoted were more likely just a few days of medical observation.

According to Michael Rosenberg:

(Michael remembered Ronya) arriving in Jerusalem from Haifa, maybe in a car, with a round rattan basket which contained all of her possessions at the time.

She came to Jerusalem because this was where her sister(s ?) were.

According to Michael Rosenberg, she spoke German, not Hebrew.

Ronya came with some savings, or maybe someone - maybe on the Mallah side - helped her with some money.

Ronya lived in Talpiot, the modern neighborhood in Jerusalem, and stayed with the Gail family. (?)

Michael who lived in Jerusalem with his grandparents would see Ronya at least twice a week until the end of the war, or 46.

At the end of July 1946, Ronya left Jerusalem and moved back to Paris.

Paris

Ronya - Photo studio Harcourt, Paris

Ronya died on April 28th, 1969, at the age of 77, in her apartment, 3 square de la Dordogne, Paris 16eme.