Advent Calendar: Dora Kresch

Dora Hillinger nee Kresch aka Bubbie

Born 1892, Died 1969, aged 77
Lived in: Galicia; Frankfurt, Germany; Paris, France; Memphis, Tennessee; Hot Springs, Arkansas; Chicago, Illinois
Married: Alex Hillinger
Children:
Ben Hillinger
Sam Hillinger (Sammi)
Mina Hillinger
Helena Sarah Hillinger
Hilda Pesel Hillinger (Peppi)
Selma Betty Hillinger

Like her husband, Dora was born in a small Jewish area in Eastern Europe which is now located in Poland. She was born to Benzion and Fiege Golda Kresch, but unlike her husband, she lived in Galicia through her childhood and into her early adulthood. It was only when she was older that she and her sister Minna decided to move to Frankfurt to find their way. Living in Frankfurt she met Alex Hillinger, and they were married in 1919. The two lived happily in the city for a decade with their growing family. When the Nazis came to power, and things grew difficult, the two decided to leave Germany. The family moved to France while they waited for permission to immigrate to the United States. When Alex suffered a stroke shortly after the family's arrival in the United States, Dora found work in a hospital as a cook to support the family while their children finished their schooling. Shortly before World War II, the family finally settled in Chicago, and it was there that the next generation began, their first grandchild born around 1947. Dora lived in Chicago until her death in 1969.