In the internet article “A memorial for two Jewish children, the birth medals of Johanna and Bertrand van Wien”, the two medals are described in detail.

Unfortunately until now we have been unable to find any descendants of this family. Dr Volker Brehme of Viersen was however able to track a descendant. He wrote to us “I have been able to take contact in the USA with the granddaughter of Mathilde van Wien, née Ambrunn, She is Lyra (van Wien) Hekmatpanah, daughter of Stefan van Wien.

She wrote:
“We were very surprised to receive your letter. You know a lot about our family! I knew that a medal for the birth of my father, Stefan Van Wien, existed, but had no idea where this medal could be.

Here are a few corrections:
My father, Stefan Van Wien, always wrote his name so (never Stefan van Wien). My parents, Stefan and Marianne Van Wien, came to the United States alone (1934 or 1935) – it was their honeymoon. My father’s mother, Mathilde Van Wien, came to the States alone in 1939. She died in 1945. My father died on 21 June 1962, my mother in July 2005.

Johanna’s first husband was Willi Bauer, they left for China. After their divorce my aunt Johanna went to Australia and married for a second time. She only came back to the States in 1953 or 1954, and married for a third time there. She was childless and lived first in California, later in Arizona. She too has died in the meantime but I don’t know the exact date.

I have a photo showing me, aged one, sitting on my grandfather Ferdinand’s lap. So he must have visited my parents in 1936.

My grandfather returned to Germany. Apparently the Gestapo came looking for him at his house. He wasn’t at home. He believed himself to be a good German who had never done anything wrong and so he reported in at the police station.

(Ferdinand van Wien then perished in the Dachau concentration camp.)

He had diabetes and I believe they just didn’t give him any insulin, which led to his death.