Fritz Steissel

Fritz "Frédéric" STEISSEL: b. 20 Jan 1919, Wien - d. 3 Nov 1996, Manosque

Clearly something of a child prodigy as a piano player. Did he later (also) play the accordeon?

cf. a couple of mentions - with photos - in newspapers of the era, viewable courtesy of:

ANNO, Die Stunde, 1926-07-31, Seite 1

http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=std&datum=19260731&query...

&

ÖNB-ANNO - Die Bühne

http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno-plus?aid=bue&datum=19260088&...

Also note:

Mémorial de la Shoah

http://ressources.memorialdelashoah.org/notice.php?q=noms_tous%3A%2...

Features actual list of deportation (shown here under "Media"

In David Jakob MATZNER's memoir (with David MARGOLIS) of his years as prisoner he writes of a spontaneous recital by a trio of musicians who had just arrived "from Vienna" (in fact, they had been deported from Drancy in France but were all, indeed, of Viennese origin). Sadly, MATZNER doesn't provide the names of all three but presumably they were Rudi LAUFER, Frédéric - Fritz - STEISSEL, and Charles - Karl - SCHIFFERES (as they are listed together on a Drancy deportation list which is not in alphabetical order i.e. suggesting that it was compiled according to grouping of individuals instead).

Rabbi David Jakob Matzner (1904 - 1986) - Genealogy

Rabbi David Jakob Matzner

May his words speak further ...

Viewable courtesy of the Center for Jewish History - digital collections - at the Leo BAECK Institute, New York: RLAUFER: DigiTool - Results - Full

http://digipres.cjh.org:1801/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pi...

Page 29 (39 of pdf)

"Three professional musicians from Vienna had also arrived. Their instruments - a violin, an accordian and a guitar - were kept in the guard house, for often they were called to entertain the guards. Whenever music came from there, I thought that Schubert, Strauss and Mozart would turn in their graves had they known what murderous creatures their compositions now pleased.

One evening, the three musicians were permitted to play for us prisoners. An empty barrack had been prepared with long benches, with seats reserved for Davidowitch, Cohen, the capos, the kitchen personnel, and women from the office. There was singing, some dancing, a couple of instrumental and vocal solos.

Cohen had asked Rudi Laufer, the violinist, to play the Andante Cantalistene of Tschaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Laufer's violin sang in deep, sonorous tones, and silence fell over us. Men and women bent their heads, some with tears in their eyes. Deeper than ever before, I felt the loss of my life, the waste of hopes and ideals, of goals I dreamed of achieving. I thought of my parents, my brothers, my sisters, of the brutal destruction of God-given beauty and talents.

Rudi finished. Before applause could begin, his voice and features full of bitterness, he said, "I should have broken that piece of wood before they got me." Markiel, the shoemaker, peppy as always, replied, "What do you mean? We expect you to lead us out of here with this music. You are our Pied Piper."

i.e. Associated with the following GENI profiles:

Rudolf "Rudi" Laufer (1904 - c.1942) - Genealogy

Rudolf "Rudi" Laufer

&

Karl (Carl) Schifferes (1894 - 1942) - Genealogy

Karl (Carl) Schifferes

A few further welcome details thanks to the following:

Documents - Caisse 4

http://judaisme.sdv.fr/histoire/shh/dordogne/caiss4/caiss4.htm

"L'affiche placée à l’arrière plan sous la photo du chef de l'Etat français annonce un gala présenté par l’équipe artistique des Travailleurs Etrangers au profit de l'Oeuvre du colis au prisonnier, au Casino de Paris, à Périgueux, les 22 et 23 avril 1942. Ils se produisent aussi à Bergerac. Cette équipe artistique a été formée par des Travailleurs Etrangers du 653e GTE d'Egletons et du 665e GTE Juif de Soudeilles (Corrèze). Elle organise, durant l'hiver 1941-1942, des tournées en Corrèze, Dordogne et Haute-Vienne et elle associe danseurs et chanteurs autrichiens et espagnols.

Quatre solistes juifs tiennent la vedette sur l'affiche : un violoniste autrichien, Rudi Laufer, qui dirigeait l'ensemble, un violoncelliste de l'opéra de Vienne, Carl Schifferes, deux pianistes de la radio de Vienne, Frédéric Steissel et Kurt Weininger. La proximité, sur le même mur, de Pétain et de ces artistes juifs ne doit pas faire illusion. Les succès de cette équipe ne plaisent pas à tout le monde. Les rafles d'août 1942 disloquent l'équipe, Frédéric Steissel et Carl Schifferes sont déportés à Auchwitz par le convoi n° 24 du 26 août 1942, Kurt Weininger est déporté à Maïdanek par le convoi n° 51 du 6 mars 1943, Rudolf Laufer sauve sa vie en parvenant à fuir. Le Commissariat général aux questions juives étudie le projet de reconstitution du groupe à partir d'effectifs non-Juifs et conclut ainsi son rapport : "[Le groupe artistique] reflètera alors la valeur des Travailleurs Etrangers aryens, qui ont une autre allure et une autre ardeur au travail que les Juifs, qui ne cherchent qu'à éviter maladroitement tout travail manuel." (Rapport n° 676 du 28 août 1942. Arch. dép. Haute-Vienne, 985 W 454)."

Rough summary: Four Jewish musicians gave solo performances at gala events organised by the "Foreign Workers Committee" in April 1942. Austrian violinist Rudi Laufer was also head of the group. Carl Schifferes was a cellist at the Vienna Opera. The two pianists who played for Vienna radio were Frédéric Steissel and Kurt Weininger.

N.B. erroneously it is stated that Rudolf Laufer "escaped" (unless this refers to a later escape from concentration camp ...?).

A photo shows a poster of one of these gala events, featuring the names of these musicians.

N.B. photo kindly provided from family albums.