Therese Bauer's Escape: Evading Austria's Grasp

Therese Bauer escaped Austria by emigrating to Canada, arriving at the Quebec seaport in June 1940. She travelled aboard the ship Antonia.

Therese Bauer's daughter Maria and her husband Fritz escaped Austria, chased by the Nazis

Maria Altmann (née Maria Victoria Bloch, later Bloch-Bauer) was the daughter of Therese Bauer. She fled Austria with her husband Fritz after it was annexed to the Nazi's Third Reich. Maria's husband Fritz was held by the Nazis at Dachau concentration camp. Maria and Fritz were chased by the Nazis, but they managed to escape.

The Bloch-Bauer family had been the target of growing Nazi persecution and were forced to leave Austria. Maria's uncle, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, was able to escape to Switzerland, but he had to leave his property behind, including paintings by Gustav Klimt that had been commissioned by his wife Adele. The Nazis took the paintings, along with much of the family's property, jewellery and financial assets.

Maria Altmann was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, in 1916. She later became an Austrian-American Jewish refugee. She is noted for her ultimately successful legal campaign to reclaim from the Government of Austria five family-owned paintings by Gustav Klimt that were stolen by the Nazis during World War II.

Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, an elderly man, fled to Switzerland

The Bloch-Bauer family had become the targets of growing Nazi persecution and were forced to leave Austria. They journeyed to Zurich and placed their shares in OZAG, Austria's largest sugar refinery, in a custody account with a Swiss bank. The bank did not follow the family's directions and years later used the excuse that all records had been destroyed.

Therese Bauer, the mother of Maria Victoria Bloch (later Bloch-Bauer), emigrated to Canada, arriving at the Quebec seaport on 11 June 1940 aboard the ship Antonia. In July 1940, she was living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. On 17 July 1940, she travelled to the port of Seattle, Washington, en route to visiting her daughter Maria in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Adele Bauer died suddenly in 1925

Adele Bauer was the wife of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, who made his fortune in the sugar industry. Adele became acquainted with Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, who immortalised her in several of his most famous works.

The Bloch-Bauer family had to leave their property behind when they fled Austria, including the paintings. The Nazis took the paintings and the rest of the family's property during the Anschluss. The family had placed their shares in OZAG, Austria's largest sugar refinery, in a custody account with a Swiss bank, with instructions that the shares were not to be sold without the unanimous consent of the family members. However, the bank did not follow these directions, and years later, used the excuse that all records had been destroyed.

Therese Bauer, Adele's daughter, emigrated to Canada in 1940. She travelled to the US in July 1940 to visit her daughter Maria Altmann in Fall River, Massachusetts. Maria Altmann was an Austrian-American Jewish refugee from Austria who fled her home country after it was annexed to the Nazi's Third Reich. She is noted for her ultimately successful legal campaign to reclaim five family-owned paintings by Gustav Klimt that were stolen by the Nazis during World War II.

The family's property, jewellery and financial assets were seized by the Nazis

The family had placed their shares in OZAG, Austria's largest sugar refinery, in a Swiss bank account before the Anschluss. However, the bank did not follow the family's instructions and sold the shares without their consent. In 2005, several family members, including Maria Altman, won a $21 million judgment against the bank and eventually received restitution for the paintings.

Therese Bauer emigrated to Canada in 1940

Therese Bauer was born in 1874 in Augsburg, Germany. She was the mother of Charles (Bloch) Bloch-Bauer, Leopold Lionel Garrick (Bloch) Bentley, Luise (Bloch) Gattin and Maria Victoria (Bloch) Altmann. Her family name was changed to Bloch-Bauer in 1875. She died in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 4 December 1961 at the age of 87.

Therese Bauer's family suffered a devastating loss in 1925 with the sudden death of Adele, who was immortalised in several paintings by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. In her will, Adele directed her husband to confer the Klimt paintings to the Austrian Gallery upon his death. However, with the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, the paintings, along with much of the family's property, jewellery and financial assets, were seized by the Nazi state. The family became the targets of growing Nazi persecution and were forced to leave Austria.

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