Valerie Mathilde Adler

Valerie Mathilde Adler was born in Vienna, the only child of post office director Adalbert Viktor Adler and Mathilde Adler, née Schück. Her father fought in the First World War, where he rose to the rank of captain. Soon after returning home from the war, he died in October 1920 as a result of his military service.

Valerie Adler began working as an accountant at the Viennese company Fattinger & Co AG and its sister company Aktiengesellschaft für chemische Industrie in 1927 after completing her schooling. Her mother died a year later in 1928, after which domestic servant Antonie Komarek took on the role of foster mother.

Aware of the persecution against her personally, she decides to flee. She leaves Fattinger & Co AG on September 30, 1938 and emigrates to the Netherlands via the Czech Republic on October 1, 1938. Her 4-room apartment, including the entire inventory, is confiscated by the National Socialists. She would never get her apartment or its contents back.

After emigrating to the Netherlands, she first worked there without pay as a kitchen assistant in a Catholic hospital. She later became an employee of the "Catholic Relief Organization for German and Austrian Emigrants" in Utrecht. She worked for the normal Dutch support allowance, which was also paid to non-working refugees to cover their living expenses.

In the Netherlands, Valerie Adler experienced the liberation of Austria by the Allies and returned in 1946. Her foster mother Antonie Komarek died in the same year. In November 1946, she joined the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs and worked at the embassies in The Hague, Bern and Warsaw. During this time, she joins the ÖVP Kameradschaft der politisch Verfolgten und Bekenner für Österreich. In November 1959, she returned to Vienna after suffering from a heart condition.