Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
1924 – 1941 autonomous republic in the Soviet Union with a German-speaking population whose descendants had emigrated to Russia in the 18th century following an edict by Catherine the Great.
Walden, Herwarth
1871 – 1941, writer, publisher and musician, moved tot he Soviet Union in 1932
Wälterlin, Oskar
1895-1961, Swiss theatre director and producer. Began his career at the Stadttheater (civic theatre) in Basel. In 1933, he was appointed Senior Director at the opera house and civic theatres in Frankfurt am Main. Director of the Schauspielhaus in Zurich from 1938 until his death.
Weguelin Vieira, Milton César de
1890-?, Brazilian diplomat, helped obtain Brazilian entry visas for the Görgen group.
Wehner, Herbert
1906–1990, German politician, KPD until 1942, SPD from 1946. Deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group and later of the SPD parliamentary faction. Supporter of the reformative Godesberg Programme
Weil, Edgar
dramaturge, first husband of Grete Weil, married in 1932, emigrated together with Grete Weil to the Netherlands, murdered in 1941 in Mauthausen concentration camp
Weil, Simone
1909-1943, French philosopher, emigrated via the USA to England in 1942 where she was active in the French Resistance for Charles De Gaulles; died of anorexia
Weimar Republic
A phase in German history that began after the First World War in 1918 and ended in 1933 when the Nazis seized power.
Weiskopf, Franz Carl
1900-1955, German Jewish writer from Prague, collaborated on anti-Fascist and Communist newspapers; exiled in Paris and the USA.
Weissenstein, Rudi
1910-1992, Fotograf. Ende 1935 Emigration nach Palästina, wo er den Alltag und das kulturelle Leben der jüdischen Einwanderer sowie wichtige politische Ereignisse fotografisch dokumentierte. Das von ihm gegründete Fotogeschäft Pri-Or in Tel Aviv, in dem auch sein umfangreicher fotografischer Nachlass archiviert wird, existiert noch heute.
Wells, Herbert Georg
(1866-1946) was an English novelist who became best known for his science fiction.
Wertheim, Maurice
(1886-1950), American banker, President of the American Jewish Committee
Westland
A radical democratic magazine founded in 1933 with its publishing base in Saarland. When the Treaty of Versailles came into force in 1920, the Saar region was placed under the mandate of the League of Nations until its reunion with Germany in 1935. Many of the German authors who initially went into in exile in the Saar region published in Westland.
Wexberg, Hedwig
Born in Belišće, Croatia, in 1906, oboist, pianist, organist. Nothing more is known about this musician.
Wigman, Mary
(1886 - 1973), real name Karoline Sofie Marie Wiegmann, German dancer, choreographer, pioneer of rhythmically expressive free dance (New German Dance).
Wilder, Thornton
1897-1975, US author who wrote novels, short stories, plays and essays.
Wilhelm, Kurt
(1900-1965): a liberal Rabbi from Germany, led the Emet and Emuna Synagogue in Jerusalem, and Chief Rabbi in Sweden from 1948 until his death
Williams, Tennessee
1911 – 1983, American writer
WIZO
Women’s International Zionist Organisation, international charitable women's organisation
Wolff, Kurt
1887-1963, German publisher, founder of the Kurt Wolff Verlag publishing company. Exile in Italy, Great Britain, France and the USA. 1942 in New York Foundation of the Pantheon publishing company with his wife Helen Wolff.
Wolff, Theodor
(1868-1943), editor and writer, from 1906 until 1933 editor-in-chief of the Berliner Tageblatt
Wotruba, Fritz
1907-1975, Austrian sculptor; exiled in Switzerland and remigrated to Austria in 1945.
