Renate Bridenthal Family Collection

Irene Quittner was born on February 22, 1902 in Budapest, Hungary. She was the daughter of Theresia (also spelled Therezia) Quittner and Stefan Weinert; although they were married by a rabbi, they were never legally married, and Stefan Weinert left his wife and children when Irene was an infant. Irene was placed with a Catholic foster family until she was almost six. Meanwhile, her mother Theresia Quittner had moved to Vienna, where she met Abo (called Albert) Spur, a widower. They married in 1906 and took Irene and her brother Armin with them when they moved to Leipzig in 1908. There Abo established a business as a processor of badger hair for men's shaving brushes, while Theresia, a talented seamstress, made both men’s and women's clothing.

Irene had an apprenticeship as a finisher in a fur business. In 1921 she became engaged to David Chaim (called Heinrich) Salata; they married in 1923 in Franzensbad, Czechoslovakia (today Františkovy Lázně, Czech Republic) and had one son, Abraham Harribald Salata (called Harribald). In 1929 the family moved to Berlin in an attempt at better financial prospects, which failed, so they moved to Piěstany in Czechoslovakia in 1930, to live with Irene's extended family. In 1931 Irene and Heinrich went to Rostock and Harribald was sent to a boarding school until 1933, when Irene and Heinrich Salata separated; their divorce was not finalized until 1935. Irene and her son lived with her parents in Leipzig while she supported them by working as a fur finisher. In 1934 Irene married Eichunon Rubin in a rabbinical ceremony; they had a daughter, Pesi Resi Renate Salata, in 1935, and their marriage was later legally legitimized. Irene and Elchunon had a store that sold tobacco products in Leipzig and maintained a large apartment with servants.

In 1938 the family realized they needed to leave Germany and planned their escape. Renate was smuggled out of Leipzig to Czechoslovakia; two weeks later the rest of the family fled illegally over the border to join her. In January 1939 they fled to Paris via airplane. Four months later, in April, they left Europe aboard the ship Reina del Pacifique for Panama, where they remained for a year-and-a-half and narrowly avoided being sent back to Europe, until they arrived penniless in New York in October 1940. They were assisted by the refugee agency HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and were able to secure a small apartment. For health reasons HIAS sent Irene and Renate to the countryside. For the first few months in America, Harribald found work in a factory in Miami. Due to the stress of being a refugee, alone and without funds, employment or support, Eichunon suffered a nervous breakdown and on July 18, 1941 committed suicide. Irene established herself as a fur finisher in order to support the household. In 1946 Renate and her mother became American citizens, at which point Renate took her deceased biological father's surname.

Meanwhile, Renate was a successful student, graduating near the top of her class in high school, with awards in mathematics and physics. She had begun learning the piano when she was nine, and with the assistance of her music teacher, planned a career as a pianist. In 1951 she performed for the local New York radio station WNYC. After the end of World War II Irene and Renate decided to return to Germany, first going to Munich and later to Frankfurt am Main. In Frankfurt Renate attended the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik from October 1951-April 1953, supported by her mother, who continued to work as a fur finisher. However, by April 1953, they had exhausted their funds and returned to New York.

In New York Renate found work in the offices of Time Magazine and began attending evening courses at City College to further her education, with the intention of getting a doctorate in history. In 1960 she married Kenneth Bridenthal. Renate Bridenthal became a professor of history and women's studies at Brooklyn College.

In October 1960 Irene Rubin returned to Germany. After visiting various locations from her past, she attempted to settle in different areas, including Freiburg im Breisgau, but by June 1961 had returned to New York. In January 1963 she was attacked at a subway station in the Bronx; she later died in the hospital from her wounds.