Frieda Newton, née Mandel, was born in Dorna Vatra, Romania, in 1916. Frieda had four siblings: Lotte (1914-1939), Isidor (1910-1937), Markus (1913-1945) and Helena (born 1920). Her parents, Hermann Hersch Mandel (born 1882), a tailor, and her mother Regina Rachel Mandel (born 1882) moved to Vienna when Frieda was still a child. Hermann and Markus, who had become a doctor, were both imprisoned for a short time after the annexion of Austria. Frieda emigrated to England as a domestic servant but found life difficult with the family that sponsored her. She was able to come to England because the Romanian quota was not yet full. She soon moved around the country to find work in factories, was sleeping rough and had little money for food. She met Rudolf Neu ("Rudi") (1905-1990) at a club frequented by Jewish refugees. In September 1942 Frieda's parents were deported to Terezin and in 1943 taken to Auschwitz where they are believed to have died. Frieda's brother Markus died at Dachau concentration camp in March 1945.
Similarly to the Mandel family, Rudi's father Samuel Neu and his mother Johanna Neu also moved to Vienna after World War One from Hungary and Yugoslavia. Johanna converted to Judaism with her marriage. They had three children: Albert ('Albin'), Berta and Rudi. Berta was save living in Vienna during the war years as one of her husband's relatives was in the SS. When Rudi came to England he joined the Territorial Army and changed his name to Peter Newton.
From the guide to the Peter Newton (formerly Rudolf Neu) and Frieda Newton: family papers, 1922-1994, (Wiener Library)
