Dr. Colonimus-Coloman and his wife, Helena came to Vienna in the second half of the 19th century, and had three children: Georg, Margit and Alfred.
Colonimus was a doctor, as were many of his relatives. His daughter Margit married advocate Georg Weiner, who came from a family of lawyers. Many of the Weiners converted to Christianity in order to improve their financial prospects, but despite not looking outwardly Jewish, Georg Weiner was one of the founders of the Herzl Club in Vienna, and even visited Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine) with a view to eventually immigrating there.
Margit and Georg Weiner had two daughters, Ruth and Eva, and the family lived comfortably at 19 Porzellangasse. Georg shared a law office with an Austrian lawyer, such that they attracted both a Jewish and a non-Jewish clientele.
Georg Weiner's death in 1937 rocked the family, and it fell apart entirely after the Anschluss. Margit's brothers left Austria: Georg went to the USA and Alfred immigrated to Shanghai with his family, due to business interests there.
Margit decided to send her two daughters to Eretz Israel with the Youth Aliyah. She had intended to follow them there together with her mother Helena, but after the November Pogrom of 1938, their "Certificates" (entry permits into Eretz Israel) were taken away from them, and they found themselves trapped in Vienna with no way out. Approximately two years later, having paid an exit tax and leaving all the family belongings behind, Margit Weiner and Helena Stein escaped Vienna for Shanghai. In preparation for her immigration to China, Margit learned how to string pearls and weave, so that she would be able to make a living there. She used her newly-acquired skills in Shanghai and continued to do so even after the war.
In the aftermath of World War II, Margit and Helena immigrated to the USA and were reunited with Georg. Later on, Margit decided to join her daughters and immigrated to Israel in 1948.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection, courtesy of Danit Ber
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