Thea Altaras (19242004) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

architect who was known for her research and publications on Jewish monuments in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

, Germany.

Early life

Altaras was born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

, Croatia on 11 March 1924. She was raised in a wealthy Croatian-Jewish family of; her parents were Žiga and Alma Fuhrmann. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Altaras was imprisoned with her mother and sister Jelka, at the

Rab concentration camp The Rab concentration camp ( it, Campo di concentramento per internati civili di Guerra – Arbe; hr, Koncentracijski logor Rab; sl, Koncentracijsko taborišče Rab) was one of several Italian concentration camps. It was established during World ...

. After the

capitulation of Italy The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Briga ...

and the liberation of the camp, Altaras joined the Partisans with her mother and sister.

Education

After the war, she returned to Zagreb and became a member of the

Communist Party of Croatia League of Communists of Croatia ( sh, Savez komunista Hrvatske or SKH) was the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (''Komunistička ...

. She finished high school and then attended the Faculty of Architecture at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

, graduating in 1953. Afterwards, she worked as an architect in Zagreb and later completed her

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

studies in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Upon her return to Zagreb, she married

Jakob Altaras Prof. Dr. Jakob Altaras (1918–2001) was a Croatian-German physician and president of the Jewish community Giessen. Early life and education Altaras was born as the youngest of six brothers in Split, Croatia on 12 October 1918 to a poor Sephard ...

. In 1960 their only daughter

Adriana Adriana, also spelled Adrianna, is a Latin name and feminine form of Adrian. It originates from present day Italy. Translations * Arabic: أدريان * Belorussian: Адрыяна (Adryjana) * Bulgarian: Адриана (Adriana) * Chinese Sim ...

was born. In 1964 her husband was forced to leave Zagreb for Zurich, Switzerland under League of Communists of Croatia persecution.

To Germany

In 1964, Altaras escaped to Italy thanks to her brother-in-law who smuggled her and her daughter into the country. From Italy she moved to

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was ...

, Germany where she worked at the Municipal building department of Konstanz. For three years Altaras traveled between Konstanz and Zurich, where her husband worked. In 1968 she received German citizenship. She helped her husband to found the revived Jewish community in Giessen in 1978. Grab Thea Altaras

Achievements and awards

Altaras researched the architectural remains of the former synagogues in Hesse. In 1989 she received the honorary doctorate at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

in recognition for her research on Judaism in Hesse. In 1995 she was rewarded with the Hedwig-Burgheim-Medaille for her contributions. Altaras was also awarded with the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

. She received worldwide attention due to her research and publications about the fate of the destroyed Jewish community in Hesse from 1933 to 1945. During her career she published several books about Judaism. She died in

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...

on 28 September 2004.

Published works

* ''Stätten der Juden in Gießen'', Königstein i. Ts., 1998, * ''Synagogen in Hessen – Was geschah seit 1945?'', Königstein i. Ts., 1988, * ''Synagogen und jüdische Rituelle Tauchbäder und: Synagogen in Hessen – Was geschah seit 1945? Teil II'', Königstein i. Ts., 1994, * ''Synagogen und jüdische rituelle Tauchbäder in Hessen – Was geschah seit 1945?'', Die Blauen Bücher, Königstein i. Ts., Verlag Langewiesche, 2007,

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altaras, Thea 1924 births 2004 deaths Architects from Zagreb Croatian Jews 20th-century German Jews Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb alumni 20th-century German architects Jewish architects Croatian communists Yugoslav Partisans members Croatian people of World War II Yugoslav emigrants to Germany Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Rab concentration camp survivors Jewish socialists German women architects Women in the Yugoslav Partisans Jews in the Yugoslav Partisans Holocaust survivors Altaras family Women anti-fascists