Lene (Helena) Weil
born Ústi nad Labem (Aussig), December 5, 1907; died in Germany
Documents associated with this person:
Daughter of Rosa Weil (née Schiff) and Arnold Weil, hence niece of Jeanette Schenker (née Schiff).
Life Summary
Born Helena, but known as “Lene,” she was brought up in Ústi nad Labem (Aussig on the Elbe). In 1925, Anna Schiff described her as “turning into a strikingly pretty, buxom girl, who is exceptionally bright academically” (OJ 14/8, [1]). She is mentioned four times in Heinrich’s diary, visiting him and Jeanette on March 26, 1930, aged 22, after which Heinrich recorded: “she behaves modestly, seems sufficiently intelligent to enjoy life, even when rather strict demands are placed on it; whether she will maintain and justify these demands, only time will tell.”
For a time, she worked in medical institutions in Berlin, Prague, and elsewhere as an intern, going on to study medicine and to graduate Doctor of Medicine (M.U.Dr.). In October or early November 1935 she visited Jeanette in Vienna, and was reportedly much impressed by Heinrich’s work and Jeanette’s organizing of his papers (OJ 14/10, [29]), and Jeanette sent her a copy of the Victor Hammer mezzotint of Heinrich (OJ 14/10, [28]). She was also a keen skier.
She married Max Gutmann, M.U.Dr. in August 1936 (so became Helena Gutmannová), and there is a suggestion in (OJ 14/10, [34]) that she bore a child around April 1, 1938. Max died on a death march in Poland on October 30, 1944. Secondly, she married Arnošt Freschl (becoming Helena Freschlová), who died in 1968. At some point she apparently moved to Germany; where she died; nothing is known of her later life.
No correspondence between her and the Schenkers is known to survive. She is frequently referred to in Rosa Weil’s correspondence with them (OJ 14/10).
Contributor
- Ian Bent