After the occupation of the border area, the Kraus family fled to Prague and attempted to emigrate. First, however, like most refugees from Ústí nad Labem, they had to convince the authorities of the Second Republic, Czechoslovak authorities, not to deport them back to Germany. Read the request to the Prague Police Presidium below.
Only the young managed to emigrate to England; Olga and Ernst Kraus were deported to the ghetto in Terezín by transport Au1, and then by transport Bv to the death camp in Treblinka. Of the two thousand people deported from Terezín by this transport, none survived.
REQUEST FOR CONFIRMATION OF RESIDENCE IN PRAGUE
The undersigned spouses Arnošt and Olga Kraus, now living in Prague ... hereby kindly request this police headquarters to issue a certificate stating that they have lived in Prague already before: Olga Krausová since September 18, 1938 and Arnost Kraus since October 5, 1938. They need a certificate of residence as a document for opting out of German citizenship.
To their request, they would like to state: On 18th September 1938 my wife arrived in Prague and stayed at the hotel "Pension Cerveny" ... where the hotel administration had registered her for residence: On 5th October 1938 I also arrived in Prague and stayed at the above-mentioned pension, where I was also registered for residence by the hotel administration.
My wife and I lived in the above-mentioned pension until 29th October of this year, when we moved to our own flat in Prague VII., Veverkova no. 10. As proof that we actually lived in the pension, we enclose a confirmation from the administration of the Pension Cerveny dated 4th December 1938. We thank you in advance for your kind handling of this request.
Source of portrait photographs and documents: National archive, Police directorate Praha II, 1931 – 1940, sign. K 4357/17, kart. 7963, K 4265/32, kart. 7940, digitized by the Terezín Initiative Institute as part of the Terezín Album project.
The house was confiscated by the German Reich as enemy property during the occupation. It became the seat of the Reich Finance Administration, the chief postal inspector Heinrich Ottilige also lived here. After the war, the Union of Czech Brethren was interested in establishing a prayer room in the house, but it apparently never took place and the house was divided into apartments.
What do you know about the Treblinka death camp?