Marianne Winter

After Nazi Germany annexed Austria, Jews living there, like sixteen-year-old Marianne Winter and her family, quickly became subject to new antisemitic laws. Many sought to immigrate to the United States but struggled to gather the documents required to obtain a US immigration visa. Refugees also needed to find an American sponsor willing to sign a financial affidavit promising to support the new arrivals. Remarkably, Marianne and her family were able to receive an affidavit through her American pen pal Jane Bomberger, whom she had never met.

A Letter and a Lifeline

In 1935, 14-year-old Marianne Winter of Vienna, Austria, began exchanging letters with Jane Bomberger, a non-Jewish girl living in Reading, Pennsylvania. The pair were matched by chance through the Camp Fire Girls organization. They forged what Jane’s dad, Joseph Bomberger, described as “a deep friendship.” Over the next three years, they learned about each other’s lives and families and occasionally exchanged pictures and small gifts.

As soon as Nazi Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 (an event known as the Anschluss), Austrian Jews were subjected to the same antisemitic laws as Germany’s Jews. Not long after the Anschluss, Nazi storm troopers stopped Marianne and her mother in the street and forced them to scrub the floors of a Nazi barracks. The Winters lost their citizenship and became “stateless.” They realized they needed to leave Europe as soon as possible. The Winters wanted to immigrate to the United States, but they did not have any American relatives who could grant them a financial affidavit promising that they would not become “public charges” in the United States. On June 6, 1938, Marianne wrote Jane to ask whether her pen pal knew any wealthy Americans who might help her family:

“Facts are that we have to immigrate under every circumstances and of course I know that you and your family have not the money to claim for us. . . . Now I ask you my dear, if it would be possible for you to get a connection with any rich man who would be able to give us an affidavit. I know that will be very difficult but as I have heard here in U.S.A. there are many people who want to help us.”

Though they had never met in person, Jane Bomberger’s family decided to sponsor the Winter family’s immigration themselves. Jane’s father Joseph signed an affidavit on July 18, 1938. As a sponsor, he agreed to financially support Marianne, her parents, and younger brother Stefan.

The Winter family was overwhelmed by the Bombergers’ expression of kindness and generosity. Marianne immediately wrote a letter of thanks:

“My dear, dearest Jane! You cannot imagine how we felt after having received your letter an hour ago. We could not believe that there are such people, who are really so kind to help us. It is not to think that real strangers, as you are, give us so much love.”

Max Winter, Marianne’s father, added a note to the end of her letter:

“I beg to express you my deepest thanks for your immense kindness. My wife and I are happy to see the way of getting out of here.”

Jane Bomberger, ca. 1938. *Courtesy of the Bomberger family.*

Joseph Bomberger wrote and signed this affidavit for the Winter family, promising to be financially responsible for the family in the United States. *US Holocaust Memorial Museum.*

Obstacles

Though the Winters had found an American sponsor, they still had great difficulty obtaining visas to the United States. While waiting for their turn to present their papers at the US consulate, they planned to travel to the relative safety of Czechoslovakia, where Anna had relatives. The Nazi government forced the Winters to surrender most of their belongings before being allowed to leave Vienna. They could only keep ten reichsmarks each, equivalent to $45 today.

The US consul in Prague, Czechoslovakia, initially rejected Bomberger’s affidavit because the two families were not blood relatives and the consul was not convinced that the Bombergers would support virtual strangers. Fearing a Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, Max Winter wrote to Joseph Bomberger on September 11, 1938, desperate for additional help.

Bomberger immediately submitted additional income statements to prove his suitability for sponsorship. Though the Bombergers were an average middle-class family, they were determined to help the Winters.

The additional income statements persuaded the US consulate in Prague to reconsider the Winters’ application and interview them. They finally received their immigration visas in January 1939.

The Reading Eagle published this photograph of Marianne and Jane soon after the Winters’ arrival. — The *Reading Eagle* published this photograph of Marianne and Jane soon after the Winters’ arrival. *The Reading Eagle, February 5, 1939.*

Arrival in America

When the Conte di Savoia arrived in New York City on February 3, 1939, Joseph and Jane Bomberger were waiting on the dock to greet the Winter family. The families traveled together to Reading, Pennsylvania, and a few days later, The Reading Eagle published an article with their amazing story.

Marianne and her family briefly lived with the Bombergers in Reading before renting their own apartment and finding work nearby. Marianne’s younger brother Stefan enrolled in Reading High School. The Winters also tried to help other relatives immigrate, but after the war began in 1939, it became increasingly difficult to leave Europe.

Later in life, Marianne remarked that her family was very lucky to have been able to immigrate together. She remembered the Bombergers’ unhesitant generosity with awe:

“We could have been bank robbers or murderers. They had no idea [who we were]. But they thought that if we were in need, they would help. And they were terrific.”

Watch Marianne & Jane: A Pen Pal’s Story, part of the Behind Every Name animated video series.