Eva Marks (born July 1, 1932, in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

– January 27, 2020) was a survivor of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and the wife of Stan Marks.

Life

Born in

she fled to

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

after the

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

subsequent to the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in the hope of getting a visa for the US. After the German invasion of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1941 she and her family were transported by the Russians to a

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

in deep

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, followed by another one to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

in 1943. She built up a new existence in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

following her

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

in 1947. Eva describes the story of her life in her book ''A Patchwork Life''. For decades she talked and lectured about her own and Jewish people's experiences during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, e.g. by speaking on ''Radio National'' in Australia's public broadcaste
ABC
or by contributing to the interactive video installation syste
''Evolution of Fearlessness''
that was shown at th
Melbourne International Arts Festival
in 2009. She first went on record to speak publicly about her war experiences as early as 1952 on a Canadian radio channel. She worked as a volunteer for the

Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre The Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM) (formerly known as the Jewish Holocaust Centre) is currently Australia’s largest institution dedicated to Holocaust education, research & remembrance. It was founded in Elsternwick, Melbourne, Australia, in ...

in Melbourne for 17 years, for the

Jewish Museum of Australia The Jewish Museum of Australia, not to be confused with the Sydney Jewish Museum, aims to "explore and share the Jewish experience in Australia". It is located in St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne. History The Jewish Museum of Australia was estab ...

for 18 months, and was treasurer for three years of the Friends of the Holocaust Centre. Furthermore, she was a founding member of the Melbourne branch of th
World Federation of the Child Survivors of the Holocaust
On October 28, 2010, Eva Marks was awarded the

Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award (AHMA) was founded by the Austrian Service Abroad in 2006. Meaning The prize is annually conferred to a person, a group of individuals or an institution, which has shown special endeavors for the memory ...

. On January 27, 2020, Eva Marks died in Melbourne, Australia, survived by her family.

Merits

* Child Survivors Certificate of Merit by the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre in recognition of the outstanding contributions made by Eva Marks * Certificate of Recognition from

Steve Bracks Stephen Phillip Bracks (born 15 October 1954) is a former Australian politician and was the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Labor Party and was party leader and premier from 1999 t ...

in recognition of her voluntary service for the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre * Certificate of Recognition from the

Glen Eira The City of Glen Eira is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and has an estimated population of 153,858 (51.6% female an ...

city in recognition of her many hours of voluntary service to the community *

, October 28, 2010

Works

*''A Patchwork Life'' (2002)

Internetsources

External links

Book Review ''A Patchwork Life''
Accessed 10 February 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Eva 1932 births 2020 deaths Austrian emigrants to Australia Austrian Holocaust survivors Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss Writers from Melbourne Australian autobiographers Jewish Australian writers Women autobiographers Jewish women writers Australian people of Austrian-Jewish descent Writers from Vienna