After liberation from Buchenwald, Gabriel was transferred to a sanitorium in Switzerland to recover. My understanding is that it was near Geneva. While there, he studied for his Oxbridge exams and sat them in English. This was a feat as he had not studied English at school and his schooling had been interrupted at the age of 14.
He matriculated and with the support of a South African WIZO chapter, he emigrated – in c.1949, to Australia. Initially he went to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains (not far from Sydney) to recover fully from TB. Later he commenced medical studies at the University of Sydney.
Shortly after arriving in Australia, he Anglicised his name to Gabriel Rose.
While working as a student doctor, he met Julie Redshaw at St Luke’s Hospital in Sydney. She was studying to become a nurse.
Gabriel moved to Guildford, England to complete a medical residency. He wrote a charming letter to Julie’s parents asking for her hand. And Julie travelled to meet him there. They married and their daughter (me!) was born in December 1964.
The marriage did not last long. After their return to Sydney in c.1967, Julie and Gabriel divorced. Julie moved to Greece. And Gabriel retained custody of me.
Gabriel built a successful practice as a gynaecologist and obstetrician. He worked until his untimely death, from a heart attack, at the age of 55.
He never remarried and never had other children.
His interests included: politics; reading history; listening to and attending the opera; and travel. He was a good cook, a raconteur, and spoke 6 languages fluently.
He used to stand with his feet crossed .. left foot pointed to the right and right foot pointed to the left. Without having met his grandfather, Gabriel’s grandson stands in the same position!
He is sorely missed.
Gabor Rosenblum from Sarospatak, Hungary (born 1928)
Sarospatak, a town on the Bodrog River in Zemblen District in northeastern Hungary (in Carpathian Ruthenia) was a picturesque town with a ruined medieval fortress, the Windischgratz castle, and many wineries, flour mills, and brickworks….
In 1944, the Jews of Zemblen District, from Sarospatak and other towns, were concentrated nearby in Satoraljaujhely in a ghetto located in the former Gypsy section of the city, and then were deported to Auschwitz, from May 16 to June 3.
Gabor Rosenblum was born in Sarospatak on November 28, 1928 to Jeno and Dora (Droth) Rosenblum (in the camps he made himself a year older, indicating birth in 1927); and was listed as an agricultural worker. In 1944, Gabor was deported together with his parents in one of the later transports (late May) from Satoraljaujhely arriving at Auschwitz on June 5 , 1944. In Auschwitz, Gabor was brutally separated from his mother on the ramp, whom he never saw again; then after a few days in the camp together with his father, Gabor and Jeno were transported to Buchenwald, arriving June 17-18. They were registered as prisoners with contiguous numbers — Gabor at #57238, Jeno at #57237. They were marked as prisoners to be placed in the zeltlager (tent city in the little camp).
Gabor and Jeno had been marked for transport to Buchenwald as part of a larger labor supply initiative to add 100,000 workers from among the Hungarian Jewish deportees to the slave force in the camps. These were in turn to be sent out to satellite camps, where prisoners were put to slave work integrated into the German war economy – slaving directly in production or indirectly digging infrastructure for the siting of production facilities protected from the Allied air war. Magdeburg was one of these satellite camps in which existed a brown coal operation focused on the production of synthetic oil. Prisoners were put to work at Brabag, where 18 interconnected tunnels in the ZIkraer Berg mountain were to be the site of a new synthetic oil plant, and at Zeitz, where prisoners served as a labor force for the Brabag plant near Zeitz.
Gabor and Jeno were in Buchenwald for about a month during which time they were moved about the base camp. They were initially in the zeltlager (tent city), and then were subsequently in block 63, moved on June 24 (this was an invalid barrack down in the little camp) and then subsequently together on June 27 in block 22, the Jewish block, in the grosse lager. After the usual quarantine time, they were both put on a transport to Magdeburg (Zeitz) dated July 23, 1944. Gabor was returned to Buchenwald in just a few days, perhaps because he was sick. Jeno was in Magdeburg longer and was returned to the base camp at Buchenwald in October 1944 and then was sent out again during the same month to another camp. Gabor never saw his father again thereafter.
After Gabor was returned to Buchenwald in July 1944, it appears he was ultimately placed in what was becoming a new second Jewish block, block 23, staffed with veteran Polish Jewish prisoners linked with the international Communist led underground in the camp. This block was headed by Communist Karl Seigmeyer and contained several veteran Jewish prisoners loosely linked with the underground. Many of these veteran Jewish prisoners had been through the Polish brick mason school at Buchenwald and, as a consequence, had been held back as trained brick masons from being sent to Auschwitz in September 1942 in order to use their labor to help build the Gustloff Armament Werke and related infrastructure. After being retained in the camp, these Jewish prisoners had been transferred for a time into block 22, Buchenwald’s Jewish block, headed by Emil Carlebach, a German Jewish Communist from Frankfurt am Main, and an important leader in the underground. Many of these then became the Jewish staff in block 23, and shifted their location to that barrack in summer, 1944. Among these were Gustave Schiller, a Polish Jewish Communist from Lvov, Yakov Werber, a left Zionist from Radom, and Eli Grinberg, a left Zionist from Tarnow. Jack Werber later wrote an interesting and useful memoir in the 1990s titled Saving Children, in which these people and block 23 are described in detail. These staff then incorporated selected newly arriving Jews on the transports coming to Buchenwald into block 23 and into a clandestine underground effort to protect and save boys. Such people, for example, included Motele Strigler, a Yiddish poet and writer, who had been in Warsaw and Majdanek and who arrived from Skarszewsko in early August 1944. Strigler thereafter took leadership in schooling these boys; there were several others too in block 23 who were cadres and helpers in the child-saving operation.
In early 1945, Gabor Rosenblum shows up in the records as working with BIII, the Bau Kommando, a well-known kommando run by Communist Robert Siewert where work assignments were tailored to what prisoners could do. Curiously, it is Gabor Rosenbaum who is listed in the kommando list, but with Gabor Rosenblum’s number. Feb. 20, 21, 25….. Must be the same….
The documents from the International Red Cross Tracing Service indicate an effort in the 1950s by Gabor Rosenblum to obtain documents and evidence from the ITS both pertaining to himself (i.e., a certificate of incarceration, with the appropriate dates), and on Jeno and what happened to him after he was sent out again. Gabor’s last days in Buchenwald remain a bit murky–unlike others liberated and still in Buchenwald after liberation, who had to submit to military interview to be released – Gabor’s records do not contain such an interview. It appears that Gabor was ill near the end of his confinement and was likely moved after initial treatment at Buchenwald by American health workers to a 500-bed sanatorium at Blankenheim, close to Buchenwald. He must have been among the several hundred Buchenwald prisoners examined by members of the 45th Evacuation Hospital in the camp at Buchenwald, and then among the several hundred selected TB cases to be assigned to more permanent hospital quarters where conditions were better.
Thereafter Gabor Rosenblum was in Switzerland, initially in Davos 1945-47, recovering, then in Geneva 1947-48, attending school and preparing for a new life. It appears he migrated to Australia in late 1948. Later he became a doctor and changed his name from Gabor Rosenblum to Gabriel Rose.
Gabor or “Gabriel” Rose was born in _____________, Hungary on November 28,1928 and passed away from a heart attack in Sydney, Australia in 1980. He was the son of Jeno Rosenblum (1901-1944) and Dora Drot Rosenblum (? -1944).
After the end of World War II, he went to medical school in England.
He married Julie Redshaw and together, they had one child, Karen, who was born in 1964 in England. Upon moving to Australia after the completion of his training, Julie and Gabriel divorced, with Julie moving to Greece and Gabriel and their daughter Karen or “Rosie” as she was known, remaining in Australia where Gabriel practiced medicine until his death by heart attack in 1980. Rosie was left without parents in Australia but she persisted and went on to become a lawyer, working for large law firm in Sydney.
Karen married Albert Stafford (born in 1958) and together, they had two children, Claudia ( born in 2001) and Gabriel (born in 2004). They live in Sydney, Australia and have vacation home in New Zealand.
Albert was born in New Zealand and studied in England before moving to Australia. He founded a very successful economic consulting business working primarily in the Pacific Rim. After spending time with Andy Reed during a ski trip in Breckinridge, Colorado, Albert agreed to hire Andy to work for him in Australia for a year. Initially Andy lived with Albert and Rosie in Sydney and later moved out on his own. Albert had Andy perform economic analysis of various potential tourism projects in the Pacific Rim. These included things like ski resorts, elevated rain forest walk ways, hotels and harbor renovation projects. Albert’s generosity and mentoring provided Andy with a wonderful career path.
While a student, “Rosie” wrote her father’s story, which follows:
Gabriel Rose was born on November 11, 1928. He lived in a small agricultural town called Sarospatak in North East Hungary. The town itself is about 250 kilometers north-east of Budapest. Its population is estimated at 13,000. Sarospatak, although only a small provincial town, is steeped in history. The castle of Sarospatak, built on lake Renaissance and early baroque architectural style, attracts visitors annually.
At the outbreak of World War II, Gabriel, a young man inches teens, was still attending high school. He was the only son of Eugene Rosenblum (a lumber merchant) and Dora Drot.
The family lived in a large building on the Main Street of Sarospatak. The building had two floors. The first was occupied by shops. The second floor was owned by two families who lived in separate apartments. The house had an internal courtyard with a well. Both families and the tenants from the adjoining building had a view of the courtyard.
The house had various amenities. Meals were cooked on an open fireplace heated with wood chips. The family owned a lumberyard on the outskirts of town, so fuel was never in short supply. The house itself was heated by two fireplaces covered with ceramic tiles. These fireplaces used wooden chips and coal as fuel. The house was connected to the town sewage system. This system was not readily;y available to all houses. Those houses not attached to the sewage system had outside toilets which were regularly emptied by the town council. Water for bathing was obtained from the well in the courtyard. Theater was pumped by hand to a reservoir on the roof of the building every few weeks. Water for drinking and cooking was collected daily from another well some distance away st the town bakery. The majority of houses in Sarospatak ……….
Insert No. 1-A Comprehensive plan of the first floor of the Rosenblum’s House
InsertNo. 2-A Comprehensive Plan of the 2nd Floor of the Rosenblum;s House
- The Guest Room was occupied by a Hungarian Soldier at the outbreak of World War II
- The Dining Room was used on special occasions. Jeno Rosenblum, as President of the Jewish Fellowship, held functions there.
… tailored pieces of handcraft. They were of middle European style and had been handed down through the generations.
During the early yers of the war, lifestyle were altered slightly. There were often shortages supplies:-such as soap and imported food stuffs. Cloth began to be combined with artificial materials. For instance, woolen cloth fibers were mixed with a type of paper as synthetics were not yet in existence.
Towards the last eighteen months of the war, Germany occupied Hungary-in fear that Hungary might back out of the Axis power alliance. Information of such and more was transmitted to Germany by Hungarian Nazi party members.
Germany’s occupation of Hungary was performed within a space of a few days. The move wasso sudden that Sarospatak woke up one morning in March 1944, to find German soldiers directing traffic on the Main Street. German soldiers were placed in strategic positions throughout the country. The Government was overtaken by the Germans. S tract restrictions were felt by the Hungarian population.
One of Hitler’s main policies was to systematically “remove” the Jews. The policy was thus applied to the now occupied Hungary. Within a month of the German occupation, a number of rules were decreed. Once such rule was to register all Hungarian Jews. Within a fortnight of registration, the Jews were systematically concentrated into ghettos-usually in the most dilapidated sections of major towns. Gabriel and his parents were sent to a ghetto in a neighboring town. They were confined with up to fifteen other people in a single room. Conditions there were poor. There was inadequate organization of food and no means of sewage. The ghettos served as a transitory period for the many Jews sent there. Within three weeks of their arrival, they were transported to concentration camps outside of Hungary.
Food formed a major part of one’s daily occupation. At least half the day was spent prepping the two major meals. The meals basically followed Hungarian and Jewish recipes.
Most food stuffs were produced in the house from raw materials that were either bought or delivered. Food was bought primarily and the market-daily or every secondary. Some farmers from the outskirts of the town delivered their own produce to the households. Milk and other dairy products were delivered daily. __________________- was also delivered. The family owned a small vineyard close to Sarospatak. There was always a plentiful supply of wine.
Friday night was the Jewish sedar. Special preparation of the food was a prerequisite. for the dinner. A different type pf bread called “challa” was eaten and a more “fruity” type of wine drunk. Other special occasions ranged from birthday celebrations to entertaining guests. On such occasions, special cookies and treats were made.
There were no shortages of food supplies in Sarospatak until the Germans occupied Hungary. During the occupation, food supplies were still more than adequate. Only imported foods were unavailable.
After being transported to the ghetto and after to the concentration camps, the Rosenblum family had inadequate supplies of food. Meals consisted mainly of bread and watery soup.
A Menu.
Breakfast:
Coffee or tea
Bread with jam or bread with cold cuts
Lunch:
Soup (eg lentil potato)
Main Dish (eg Cholent-a lima bean dish)
Dessert (eg Strudel)
Dinner:
Main Dish (eg Hungarian Goulash)
Dessert (eg Poppyseed Loaf)
Clothes … In the early years if World War II, Gabriel still attended high school. There were no school uniform. He wore casual clothes to school. He usually wore a pair of trousers with a shirt or jumper. On special occasions, a more formal style of this combination was worn. Occasionally, Gabriel wore a suit.
During the initial years of the war, the quality of clothing materials steadily declined. A synthetics did not exist at the time other substitute materials were used. In wool, for instance, the woolen fibers were mixed with a type of paper. As more ____________________ material available, this mixture was worn most uncomfortably.
Work…
In the initial years of the war, Gabriel and his family still went on vacations. These vacations were usually spent resting _______ in or around Budapest -the capital city.
By 1944 however, schooling and vacations were ended. Gabriel and his family were transported to to a ghetto in a neighboring town and ______________________________.
Entertainment…
Gabriel’s leisure time was spent socializing with school friends. They often went to the town’s only cinema screen. More often, they played games in the streets.
Our Family-Our History 