Helena Koffler, née Philipps, was born around 1888 in Stanislawow, a town in Galicia, which at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War I, Austrian Galicia became part of Poland, and after 1945, it was incorporated into the USSR. Today, it is in Western Ukraine.
Note: Do not confuse Austrian Galicia
with the Spanish province of the same name (home to cities like Santiago de
Compostela, Vigo, and A Coruña).
Her birth
took place during a period when Poland did not exist as an independent nation,
having been partitioned by Austria, Prussia, and Russia at the end of the 18th
century. Helena’s family background, with her father Johann Philipp born in
1863 and her mother Jozefa Gorska in 1869, places them squarely within this
multi-ethnic empire, where Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, and other groups coexisted
under imperial rule.
Helena
married Anton Kofler from Austria (Bozen, South Tyrol) in the early years of
the 20th century, a time marked by growing nationalist movements across Europe.
The couple had two daughters, Elena and Anita, amidst the backdrop of World War
I (1914–1918) and the subsequent collapse of empires, including the
Austro-Hungarian one. Bozen in South Tyrol became Bolzano, Upper Adige in Italy
after the war.
This
tumultuous era saw the re-establishment of Poland as an independent country in
1918 after more than a century of partitions. Helena lived through both World
Wars, witnessing the interwar period of Polish sovereignty and the devastating
impacts of World War II, including the Holocaust and the Soviet occupation of
Eastern Europe. She passed away in 1975 at the age of 87 in Bolzano, Upper
Adige, Italy, a region with its own complex history of shifting sovereignties.
It was annexed by Italy from Austria after World War I and underwent intense
Italianization efforts under Fascist rule. By the time of her death, Helena had
witnessed the rise and fall of empires, the horrors of war, and significant
changes in Europe’s political landscape.
Elena
Koffler, their daughter, born in 1920 in Bolzano, married an Italian, Salvatore
de Franco, and lived in Italy, in Azzate. They had four children: Franco,
Irene, Maria, and Mila. Mila de Franco currently lives in France. Her date of
birth suggests that her mother, Helena Philipps, met Anton Kofler towards the
end of World War I, possibly when he was a soldier in the Austrian army
stationed in Austrian Galicia.
Anita
Koffler, the other daughter, married Katryniuk and emigrated to Argentina
around 1945, settling in Cordoba.
Helena
Koffler (née Philipps) had several siblings:
- Katharina
Elisabeth Zika (née Philipps) born in 1889
- Emilia
Maria Harz (née Philipps) 1892–1963
- August
Philipps 1896–1979
- Johann
Philipps 1905–1997
- Franz
Joseph Philipps born in 1909
- Zofia
Kamiński (née Philipps) 1913–2002
- Edward
Philipps
- Adelaida
Skrynek (née Philipps)
- Wilhelm
Philipps.
After 1945,
part of the family lived in Poland, and others resided in Germany (Jena, Gera).
Some older branches of the family are known to live in Germany, Canada, and the
USA.
Franz
Joseph Philipps is my grandfather, who arrived in Buenos Aires in 1946, and his
subsequent fate remains unknown.
Everything
written here I have uncovered myself, searching archives and the Internet.
Although this information can be found on numerous genealogy sites and my
blogs, no one from the family has ever reached out to me. I have wondered why.
The reason is probably quite simple: for example, Elena de Franco’s children
were born between 1941 and 1948, so her grandchildren, whom I don’t know, were
likely born after 1960 (making them around my age). Their kinship to me is
already quite distant. Elena’s daughter, Mila de Franco, shares 4% of my DNA
(as shown by MyHeritage results), but despite my request for contact, she has
never responded. Is it even worth trying to connect?
