rieda Friedman, known later as Fritzi, was a twin, and possibly one of triplets. She and her sister Jolan were born in Zamutov in 1899 to Adolph Friedmann (1863-1926) and Regina Klein (1867-1944); a third baby may have died. Jolan was the prettier of the two; she married Philip Silberstein (1896-1942), an agronomist, in 1924 and moved with him to his home in Betlanovce, a village northwest of Kosice.

Frieda stayed in Rozhanovce with her mother and brother Eugene waiting for a suitor, her dowry diminishing. In 1935 she married Alexander Engel (1900-1948), owner of a hardware store in the town of Mihalovce. He adored her and her life was one of extended family, parties and friends.

 

Rozanovce in the 1920s. From left are Fritzi, Joseph Rosenfeld (?-1943), unknown (partially obscured), Serena Friedman Rosenfeld (1893-1938), Bertha Friedman Davidovics (1890-1943), Regina Klein Friedmann (1867-1944) and Adolph Friedmann (1863-1926. Click to enlarge.

When the troubles started, with the help of his brother Charles in Los Angeles, Alex was able to claim derivative U.S. citizenship from his father, who had spent some time in the U.S. This constituted protection for the family until after America entered the war in 1941.

In 1942 they went underground, and hid in various places paid for by Fritzi's dowry, which she had never shared with her husband. She kept the money in a pouch around her neck. She watched family members be deported, her mother and sister Fani (1888-1944) and her husband Armin Friedman (1886-1944) to Auschwitz; her sister Bertha (1890-1943) and husband Maximilian Davidovics (1892-1943) to Lublin. But she and her husband were able to remain in hiding.

At the end of the war, they went to Budapest and were delighted to find her sister Renee (1895-1972) and her children alive. They approached the American consulate to claim U.S. citizenship, and in the summer of 1945, left for the U.S., settling initially in Los Angeles. She was not happy there, however, and tried living in New York City for a time. Eventually, though they returned to Los Angeles.

From left, Fritzi Friedman Engel, Artur Friedman (1903-1992),  Thomas Baroth (1929-) and Rose Friedman Bruck (1906-1981), in Norman, Oklahoma. Artur and Rose were Fritzi's first cousins, children of her father's brother Salomon Friedman (1867-1942) and his wife Regina (?-1942). Thomas is the son of her sister Renee Friedman Baroth.

Alex worked in his brother Charles' liquor store, but was diagnosed with leukemia in 1948 and died soon afterward. Fritzi adjusted to widowhood, worked periodically and had a lot of friends. She was able to claim restitution from the German government, and for a while lived comfortably. She insisted on remaining independent through old age, but eventually developed Alzheimer’s disease and was institutionalized. A true survivor, she died in 1997 at the age of 98.