Ernie Brod

Ernest “Ernie” Brod was born Ernst Brod on April 7, 1938 in Vienna, Austria to Pesie Koppelmann Brod (who went by Pepi) and Israel Brod. He had an older brother, Manfred. Israel worked for his father-in-law, Josef Koppelmann, a successful movie mogul. Before Ernie was born, his parents had lived a lavish lifestyle, often attending movie premieres and events with well-known actors and actresses of the time.

In March 1938, just a few weeks before Ernie was born, Nazi Germany annexed the neighboring country of Austria in what was known as the Anschluss. Once in control, the Nazis quickly applied German anti-Jewish legislation to Vienna and the rest of Germany’s newly-acquired territory. The intent was to exclude Jews from economic, cultural, and social life. Many Jewish-owned factories and thousands of businesses were closed or confiscated by the government, including Josef Koppelmann’s company, Lux Films. The Nazi government accused the company of evading taxes and arrested Ernie’s father, grandfather and great uncles before taking over the business.

Israel was in prison around the time of Ernie’s birth, but he was able to write to Pepi and other family members and inquired about his family’s well being. While Ernie's grandfather and great uncles were eventually released Israel died in prison before he had the opportunity to meet his younger son. Pepi learned of his death in July 1938. A letter from the time indicates that Israel may have taken his own life, which was common in the desperate and despairing Viennese Jewish community at the time.

Life became quite difficult for Jews in German-annexed Austria and many attempted to leave, including Pepi. She joined the massive lines that formed at consulates, municipal, police, and passport offices across Vienna to try to get the necessary paperwork required to emigrate. The bureaucratic hurdles were overwhelming and the process was lengthy. It sometimes took years to successfully obtain an immigration visa.

Conditions for Jews continued to worsen. Jews were barred from all public schools and universities, as well as from cinemas, theaters, and sports facilities. All Jews were required to carry identity cards that indicated their Jewish heritage, and, in the autumn of 1938, all passports for Jewish people were stamped with an identifying letter "J".

Fearing for his safety, Pepi secured passage on the Kindertransport for her older son Manfred, then aged four years old. The Kindertransport, approved by the British government, allowed unaccompanied minors from the German Reich (including recently annexed territories) to enter Great Britain as refugees. Manfred left for England in August 1939 and stayed with a Jewish couple from the Netherlands. While initially there was some information exchanged  between Manfred’s foster parents and his family in Europe, the beginning of World War II cut off communication.

Systematic mass deportations of the Viennese Jewish population began in the autumn of 1939, although official Nazi policy remained forced emigration. Sometime in the next year, Ernie and his mother were required to report to a school for Jewish children that had been converted into a holding facility. Ernie believes that they were being gathered for deportation to the east. Pepi had already begun the process of trying to emigrate out of German territory, and likely argued that she and Ernie should be released so they could leave the country voluntarily. But it wasn’t until Ernie became inconsolable with coughing and crying fits that a guard let them go. He instructed Pepi to take Ernie to a doctor. Instead, Pepi went straight to the American Consulate to inquire about their immigration prospects.

After gathering all of the necessary paperwork, including an affidavit of support, the American consulate granted Pepi and Ernie permission to immigrate to the United States. The two of them left Vienna in February 1941 and made their way to Portugal via France and Spain, where they boarded the Serpa Pinto, a Portuguese ship. They arrived in New York in March, just a few weeks before Ernie’s third birthday, which they were able to celebrate with family who had moved there years earlier. Pepi married her widowed brother-in-law, the individual who signed the affidavit of support required for their immigration to the U.S. They settled in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

Although Ernie and Pepi had managed to escape Nazi Europe, they worried about family members from whom they were separated. Pepi wrote frequently to her sister living in Hungary and to her father who had immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine. Ernie remembers the excitement in the home when Pepi received a reply. She and her other family members in the U.S. attempted to secure immigration visas for them so that the family could be together, but the process proved very difficult.

Since the United States and Great Britain were allies, Pepi was again able to write to her son Manfred and his foster parents in England. Although Pepi urgently wanted Manfred with her, the ongoing war and the fact that her new husband did not want to take in another child, prevented Manfred from joining his family in the United States. When Ernie learned to write, he began exchanging letters and comic books with Manfred. In 1947, Pepi traveled to England to celebrate Manfred’s bar mitzvah. She hoped to bring Manfred back with her, but she made the agonizing decision to leave without him, assuming he would have more opportunities if he stayed with his foster parents in England. It was not until 1960, when he was 21, that Ernie reunited with his brother.

Ernie received his undergraduate and law degrees from Columbia University. He worked in corporate investigations before launching his own corporate intelligence firm. He married twice and has three children, three stepchildren, and many grandchildren. He is now a volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.