The heroine of today’s entry is Karolina Silberstein – a woman who, despite the silver in her name, definitely deserves gold in the perseverance category. The number of abandonments she has suffered since early childhood only adds to our admiration for her fortitude. Despite adversity in the form of numerous moves and changes of address, as well as more personal and emotional losses such as the early death of her father, Karolina has built and led her family to a safe haven.
Karolina Silberstein was born in 1875 in Brzezowa (near Dobczyce), the daughter of Berl Silberstein and his wife Nicha from the Scherman family. Karolina’s parents ran an inn in Targoszyn. They raised four children: Feitscha, Jakób, Izaak and Karolina. In the 1880s the Silberstein family moved to Dobczyce. In 1888 Karolina experienced the death of her father. In 1894, nineteen-year-old Karolina Silberstein married Bernard Soldinger. The groom was twenty-five years old and the son of Anschl and Sprinca of the Vorzimmer family, merchants from Wiśniowa. The wedding took place on September 18 in Dobczyce. It was officiated by Schmelka Fränkel, the rabbi of the Israelite community in Klasno, and witnesses were Izrael Kleinman, a shochet from Dobczyce, and Eternhalt, a szemes from Klasno. Karolina and Bernard Soldinger moved to Ostrava in Moravia. The Ostrava Basin was a popular destination for emigrants from Poland at the turn of the 20th century, offering good wages and opportunities for social advancement. The Soldinger family settled permanently in Ostrava. Karolina gave birth to and raised four children: a daughter, Gusta, and three sons: Natan, Leo and Max. She probably visited Dobczyce, where her mother and siblings lived, more than once. One of Karolina’s sons, Max Soldinger, was a talented painter. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. He stayed in Dobczyce during the war. Karolina Soldinger did not survive the Holocaust. She was murdered in the Theresienstadt camp on December 31, 1942. Photograph from the archive of Roberto Soldinger, Karolina’s grandson.
We invite you to explore all of the Karolina’s archives HERE.