Ilse Stein Freiberger

Ilse Freiberger, née Stein (1909-2011) grew up in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of a successful shoemaker/factory owner who served wealthy clients. Ilse received a well-rounded education, learning English and German, math, domestic science, and piano. The family was involved in synagogue. She worked in the office of her father’s shoe factory, which was able to continue during World War I because it made leather products for soldiers. She married a salesman (who later worked in her father’s factory and became a teacher) who was responsible for his own family as well, and they had two young children at the beginning of World War II. The families hid together during Kristallnacht, and in 1939, Ilse and her husband and son and daughter were able to leave for England. After becoming widowed, she moved to the U.S. in 1949. In Connecticut Ilse worked as a culinary pastry baker and she was a classical pianist. Ilse was also skilled with needlework and textile crafts. She was interviewed by the first CCHAP Director, Rebecca Joseph, in 1991 for the “A Sense of Place” exhibit project.