Domicile of Chane and Kreiner Feldhorn

In this dwelling lived Chane Feldhorn and daughter Edith Kreiner. Chane, called Anna by the people of Sandon, was born on September 10, 1875, in Tarnopol, Poland (now Ternopil, Ukraine). Edith, known as Editta, was born in Vienna, Austria, on Oct. 6, 1916. Chane had another son, Arieh Kreiner, who moved to Palestine and a Simmon brother residing in Delaware (United States).

From Vienna to San Donato Val di Comino

On August 3, 1939, the two women left Vienna and moved to Italy. The following year they were arrested and on September 16, 1940, they were taken to the concentration camp at Ferramonti di Tarsia (Cosenza). On September 12, 1941, the public security authorities decided to intern them in San Donato Val di Comino. On August 1, 1942, Edith applied to the Opera Mensa dei bambini (Milan) to receive hospital care, as she suffered from mental disorders. Given her special situation, the Jewish Community of Florence sent her mother Chane a bank draft of 60 liras.

The day of the arrest

On April 6, 1944, Feldgendarmerie soldiers went into action from the early morning hours to arrest Jews interned in San Donato. Some of them knocked on the door of Chane's house, got them to open it, went inside, and after a few minutes came downstairs, taking with them the two women and a man, most likely Ignatius Gross, a close friend of both of them. The three were taken to the Kommandantur (German command) and were interrogated. They were then herded together with the other Jews onto a truck in October 28 Square (now Giacomo Matteotti Square). Chane's house, the Kommandantur and the square were only a few meters apart.

Deportation to Auschwitz

In the early afternoon of April 6, the truck carrying the sixteen Jews rounded up in San Donato reached the Regina Coeli prison in Rome. The following day, again by truck, they were taken to the Fossoli concentration camp. On May 16 they were taken to the station and placed on a cattle car destined for the Auschwitz death camp. The train, named Convoy 10, arrived in the Polish city on May 23. The following day, when the gates were opened, the Jews were forced to undergo selection by the SS present in the camp. Chane Felhorn and Edith Kreiner were immediately destined for the gas chambers and killed. Of the sixteen deportees from San Donato, only three survived: Rosa Blody, Gertrude Glaser and Enrico Lewi.

In search of news

On July 19, 1945, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, through Delasem, wrote to the City of San Donato for information about Chane. Urging the request for news was his son Arieh: "From Palestine we are asked for news of Mrs. Kreiner Chane who would have been a resident there for some time. Please take information and forward it to us promptly". On July 25, after conducting research, the prefectural commissioner of San Donato replied that "was taken by the Germans and deported to Germany where, it is rumored, she died in the gas chambers of the Auschwitz camp".