Magdalena Lerner Kapp

Magdalena Lerner was born in Backi Brestovac, Austria-Hungary and was the 6th of 12 children born to Franz Lerner and Magdalena Gottler. She married Adam Kapp in 1886 and he died in 1894. After her son, Nickolaus and his wife left for the United States, she took care their child, Katharina Kapp, from 1910 to 1921. Her son Johann Kapp died in Siberia in 1915 during World War I. Johann's wife, Katharina Neubauer Kapp came to the United States in 1921. When WWI ended, Magdalena found herself living in Yugoslavia after the break up of Austria-Hungary. In 1921 Katharina was finally allowed to leave the country to be with her parents in the United States. In 1918, Magdalena's daughter Eva died at the age of 30 leaving behind 2 daughters, Elisabetha "Lizie" then 8 and Eva "Effie" then 6. Eva's husband had already died in 1916. Magdalena raised these 2 granddaughters as well. In 1945, she was living at 30 DampfmühlGasse with her granddaughter Effie and her husband and their 2 children. When the communists invaded Yugoslavia, all persons of German origin were forced to leave or be killed. Being too old to travel back to Germany, she hid in the cellar and when she came out one day to get some water from her well, she was captured and put into the Gakowa concentration camp where she died.