![]() ![]() That overcrowded hell-hole was a scrapheap for the elderly and infirm. Liesl's mother and disabled sister Irma were rounded up and sent to Theresienstadt, where they would die of starvation and illness within two months of each other in 1942. David saw them off on the plane and said he would follow on.Īs for Liesl's widowed mother, she told them: 'I'm too old to make a new life in a foreign country and this nasty business will be over soon.' England did offer a visa, but just for two of them: Liesl and Dorli. He made it his business to obtain visas so the three of them could escape to a safe country. 'Once they discover you are Jewish by heritage, you will become a target.' 'Because of your success in business and mine at tennis, we're completely accepted,' Liesl said cheerfully to David, as outbreaks of anti-Semitism started to sully Vienna. It took foresight in the mid-1930s to see what was coming round the corner, and not everyone was blessed with that foresight. She and David had one child, Dorli - the author's mother - who, amazingly, would also one day play at Wimbledon, in the doubles (and would similarly be knocked out in the first round). By 1930 she was the Austrian national champion. She met her Polish-born husband David (also Jewish) in the Louvre, while she was studying Art History at the Sorbonne and he was trying to find the Mona Lisa.Īlthough she didn't like the way he slurped his soup (he was less high-born than she was), they fell passionately in love and married in the early 1920s, he running a successful silk-stocking business in Vienna, she taking part in 70 international tennis tournaments and winning 15 of them. Hardy tells their heartbreaking story with tenderness and warmth. Liesl's other sister Trude and her family suffered a dreadful fate. It brought home how wealthy Jews in seemingly liberal cities such as Vienna and Prague felt safe, even when the Nazis took charge - but how wrong they were.īorn in 1903 and growing up in an affluent, affectionate household, young Liesl had everything: beauty, wealth, charm, brilliance at the piano, and astonishing athleticism on the tennis court. That match in London SW19 happened just as an unfolding tragedy was about to engulf Liesl's family still trapped in Vienna and Prague. In this harrowing family memoir, Liesl's granddaughter Felice Hardy puts that Wimbledon appearance into its traumatic context. My name is Liesl Herbst and I'm going to play at Wimbledon.' 'Well, I was Austrian until Hitler took away my nationality. Jane jogged up to the net and said: 'Please forgive my French, but who the hell are you?' Liesl stepped forward and hit a flat forehand drive with pent-up force so hard it almost twisted Jane's racquet out of her hand. On a cold morning in March, she'd knocked on the door of the Queen's Tennis Club, tentatively enquiring whether she might be allowed to join.Ī brisk woman on the committee called Jane, having no idea who this newcomer was, offered to have a quick game with her. Provide production code on package.Liesl had arrived in England just four months before, as a Jewish refugee. On a cold morning in March, she'd knocked on the door of the Queen's Tennis ClubĪ tennis star in her native Austria, Liesl had arrived in England just four months before, as a Jewish refugee. ![]() Write: PO Box CAMB Battle Creek, MI 49016. Plastic Tray: Check locally (Not recycled in all communities). Visit to redeem codes and for complete details. Collect & redeem points for family rewards. It's easy! Find code on bottom of package. We hope they delight you as much as we delight in baking them! - Ernie Keebler. We do this by baking only the yummiest ingredients into our delicious cookies. ![]() At Keebler we strive to add a little sweetness to your day. What makes Keebler Cookies taste so uncommonly good? Maybe it's because they're made with 100% elfin goodness. See bottom panel for details (Compare Reduced Fat Vienna Fingers with 4.5 g fat per serving to Regular Vienna Fingers with 6 g fat per serving.). 25% less fat than regular Vienna Fingers. ![]()
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