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William Ladner
- Accession Number
- 2018-8-15
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2018-8-15
- Material Format
- graphic material
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 27 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller
- 1 folder of textual records
- Date
- [192-?]-[2003?]
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of material documenting William Ladner's family in Europe and his immigration to Canada. Included are photographs of his family, his immigration identification card, certificate of Canadian citizenship, and a fax from he received from his paternal uncle in the United States.
- Administrative History
- William Ladner is a Holocaust survivor, born en route from Austria to Antwerp, Belgium in 1940. As a child, William Ladner and his mother fled to Belgium from their home in Austria following the arrest of his father by the Nazis. Will's parents had attempted to immigrate to Switzerland but were turned away. Both of Will's parents perished during the Holocaust. William's father was an [electrician] and his mother a nurse. At the time of their immigration, Belgium was occupied by Germany having capitulated on the terms of unconditional surrender on May 28, 1940. Germany invaded Belgium and Holland on May 10, 1940 (Plan Yellow). Desperate for work, Mrs. Ladner reported to an employment office but was quickly discovered to be Jewish and deported to Malines. Deportation trains from Malines to Auschwitz began on August 4, 1942. Will has records documenting the movement of his parents during the war up until their deaths. Will's mother arranged for his safekeeping during the war by placing him in an orphanage operated by a Catholic Convent before she was deported to Auschwitz where she was murdered. After the war, arrangements were made by a cousin [Schindler] who worked for the British Intelligence in Birmingham, as well as William's mother's sister, who resided in Birmingham, England. Will Ladner immigrated to England in January 1946 to join his aunt. He then moved to Canada.
- Photo captions
- 001: Kurt Ladner and Willie Ladner reunite, (Dedham, Massachusetts), ca. 2003
- 002: Willie Ladner (back) reunites with his paternal uncle Kurt Ladner, and Kurt’s wife Elizabeth Newman, (Dedham, Massachusetts), ca. 2003
- 003: Passport photo of Willie Ladner, (Willowdale, ON) 25 Apr. 1997
- 004:J Portrait of Berta Berger, (Vienna, Austria), ca. 1938. Written on reverse “Bertha Berger married Ladner, born 30. May 1919 in Vienna Austria.”
- 005: Willie Ladner in orphanage attire, (Antwerp, Belgium), ca. 1945. Written in German on the reverse: “Meinem Liebsten Groszmutterchen, Millionen Kusse, Harry William Ladner.”
- 006: Willie Ladner (right) holding hands with another child at the orphanage, (Antwerp, Belgium), ca. 1945
- 007: Portrait of Berta Ladner with her infant son Willie Ladner, (Antwerp, Belgium), 1940.
- 008: Portrait of Berta Ladner, (Vienna, Austria), [1935?].
- Descriptive Notes
- Related groups of records external to the unit being described: Other records relating to William Ladner and his family can be found in Accession 2018-8-5.
- Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Orphans
- Places
- Belgium
- Austria
- Source
- Archival Accessions