Rath - Josef - b 1908

Josef Lazar Weinstein (after adoption Josef Lazar Rath-Weinstein, later Joseph Rath) was born on 18 June 1908 in Vascauti (Romania), son of Berl and Sidi Weinstein. Ephraim and Rosa Rath, both born in Vienna in 1862, adopted Josef in 1923. Due to the aryanisation of his employer Josef was made redundant in 1938.

Josef and Mary Rath (née Futterweit, born in Vienna on 31 December 1913) emigrated to England in 1939 and got married in 1940. Mary's parents Salomon and Rosalia Futterweit perished in a concentration camp in the Second World War. Her sister Grete Thorn and brother Kurt Forsyte emigrated to the United States.

During Josef's stay at Kitcheners camp, a Jewish refugee camp in Kent, he decided to volunteer to serve in the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. Upon release from military duty in 1946 he was granted the honorary rank of Major.

Both obtained British citizenship in 1947 and lived in London with two children. Joseph Rath worked as export manager and became a member of the British Legion of Ex-Servicemen.

From the guide to the Josef and Mary Rath: personal papers, 1914-1995, (Wiener Library)