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My father, Richard Francis Adler, was born in a suburb of Vienna, Austria (Liesing) on May 6, 1912. His parents were:
Oskar Adler, a clothing salesman from Liesing, and Therese Steiner — my own paternal grandparents. Other relatives lived in the nearby Vienna suburbs of Brünn am Gebirge and Mödling.
Dad as an infant, approx. 8 months old, in January, 1913.
As a boy, in a sailor suit, probably around 1919-20.
Dad was an only child, and was apparently close to his parents, especially his mother, Therese.
They encouraged him to study and improve himself, and though in later life he confessed that his early ambition was to become a railroad engineer on Austria's well-developed system, he applied himself in gymasium (the secondary school level in Scandinavia and or central Europe that prepares pupils for university entrance) and followed his parents' earnest desire to see him become a doctor. He attended the University of Vienna's renowned medical school in the early 1930s, and by 1935 he was accredited as a practicing physician.
Dad and his mother...
mid-1920s
mid-1920s
By 1933 Dad was at the University of Vienna's medical school. In the photo here he is shown with classmates at the Pathology-Anatomy Institute.
RFA is at far left, with a bunny on his lap.
The young Adler family in Austria all loved hiking, skiing, and traveling to the Vienna woods as well as to farther destinations in western Austria and beyond.
This photo at left shows Dad in Liechtenstein, the small principality between Austria and Switzerland. But by 1938, after the Nazi anschluss in March, Dad and his parents knew it was time to leave. At right is a page from his passport, with official Nazi stamp over it...
By 1939 Oskar (Oscar) Adler was in Paris, France (perhaps with wife Therese and son Richard)—and in April, 1940 the three Adlers set off for America on the S.S. Champlain. They arrived in New York on May 27, 1940.
The formal portrait of Dad shown at left may have been taken around the time of their arrival.
Shortly after that, Grandparents Oskar and Therese remained in New York for a time.
Richard (Dad)—despite being a respected physician in Austria for five years or more—had to spend another year as an American intern in order to practice medicine in the USA.
For that purpose, he went to Madison, Wisconsin, where he spent a year at Madison General Hospital. He was issued an internship diploma/certificate on July 1, 1940. At right he is shown as an intern in Madison.
The formal portrait of Dad shown at left may have been taken around the time of their arrival.
Shortly after that, Grandparents Oskar and Therese remained in New York for a time.
Richard (Dad)—despite being a respected physician in Austria for five years or more—had to spend another year as an American intern in order to practice medicine in the USA.
For that purpose, he went to Madison, Wisconsin, where he spent a year at Madison General Hospital. He was issued an internship diploma/certificate on July 1, 1940. At right he is shown as an intern in Madison.
Jane Cook Hospital, Frenchburg, KY, c. 1942-43.
Meanwhile, Dad was asked by the wartime National Board of Health to serve as a much-needed doctor in a remote and medically underserved area: Menifee County, Kentucky.
The elder Adlers located there by late 1941. Soon after, Dad became only the second doctor based in the tiny county seat of Frenchburg; an older physician, Dr. Riley, was then about to retire. There had previously been a small hospital building in Frenchburg: the Jane Cook Hospital, but it had burned down completely in 1940. A new building was built and was complete by early 1942; and there Dr. Richard F. Adler had his office and clinic.
In early 1943 dad was introduced to another Viennese physician—also a refugeee from Nazi-occupied Austria:
Alice Blau.
She, too, had studied at the University of Vienna, but was forced to finish her M.D. in Switzerland before emigrating to the USA. Here she interned in Chicago, then did a residency in pediatrics in Iowa City. Her American sponsor, then visiting in Cincinnati, Ohio, introduced Alice and Richard; and on July 4, 1943 they married and commenced their life together as doctors in Frenchburg...
Later that year, RKO Radio Pictures shot a "short subject" film about refugees called "New Americans," which was released in 1944. It included a segment focused on Dr. Adler—and Dr. Blau can also be seen in it!
Alice Blau.
She, too, had studied at the University of Vienna, but was forced to finish her M.D. in Switzerland before emigrating to the USA. Here she interned in Chicago, then did a residency in pediatrics in Iowa City. Her American sponsor, then visiting in Cincinnati, Ohio, introduced Alice and Richard; and on July 4, 1943 they married and commenced their life together as doctors in Frenchburg...
Later that year, RKO Radio Pictures shot a "short subject" film about refugees called "New Americans," which was released in 1944. It included a segment focused on Dr. Adler—and Dr. Blau can also be seen in it!
Wedding Day: July 4, 1943
Alice Blau, M.D. and
Richard F. Adler, M.D. at their home
in Frenchburg, Menifee County, KY
Richard F. Adler, M.D. at their home
in Frenchburg, Menifee County, KY
This song, which I composed around 2016, celebrates the life of my dad: Dr. Richard F. Adler, a Viennese physician and refugee who escaped Hitler's Europe in 1940.
This version is annotated with on-screen lyrics and images of Dr. Adler from his early-1940s base in Frenchburg, Kentucky. The song is performed by me, with Lexington, Kentucky-based bluegrass band LIBERTY ROAD.
Adler Family, 1950: Alice, Richard, Tom, Peter
Richard F. Adler and his three sons:
Peter, Tom, and Bob -- Indiana Dunes, c.1956
Peter, Tom, and Bob -- Indiana Dunes, c.1956
Sept. 1967: Hiking on a trip with me in New Hampshire
1969: While visiting Peter, who was
in the Peace Corps in India
in the Peace Corps in India
August, 1971: Entering the doorway of the Church in Cooperstown, for
my wedding to Betsy Mosby
my wedding to Betsy Mosby
Dad died in Chicago on May 26, 1972,
of lymphosarcoma
I will miss him, ALWAYS...
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