Illich family visits the Dolomites, 1937

Ellen (Maexie) Regenstreif Illich (1901-1965) came from a family of converted Sephardic Jews who had settled in Germany. Her industrialist father, Fritz (Pucki) Regenstreif (1868-1941), had a lumber business in Bosnia where he owned a sawmill at Zavidovic and an Art Nouveau villa on the outskirts of Vienna in Pötzleinsdorf built by Friedrich Ohmann. Piero Ilic (1890-1942) came from a landed family in Dalmatia, Yugoslavia with property in Split and extensive wine and olive oil producing estates on the island of Brac. Ellen and Piero married in 1925 and established a home in Split. There was a resurgence of anti-foreign and anti-Jewish sentiment in Yugoslavia, so in 1932, Ellen returned to her father's villa in Vienna with their three children: Ivan (1926-2002), Michael (Micha) (b. 1928), and Alexander (Sascha) (1928-2009). Piero died of natural causes in Split in July 1942 (the boys never saw their father after they moved to Vienna). After the death of Fritz Regenstreif on May 8, 1941, the splendid home was taken by the Nazis in a forced sale, and Maexie moved into a pension in Vienna with the children. In Nazi Austria, Maexie was considered an ethnic Jew although she was a baptized Christian, and the children were classified as half-Jewish. In 1942, they made their way to Florence by way of Split, where they lived for three months. Later, Maexie made her way to the United States, where she died in 1965. Introduced with Maexie Films logo (drawing of Maexie holding a film camera), "Agfa 1937", and German titles. The Illich family exits a car with their luggage. INTs of a train. Good CUs of Grandfather Fritz and the boys. The family tours the countryside (mountains, farms) by automobile on their tour of the Dolomites (a mountain range in the Alps). They stop in the medieval town of Lienz in Eastern Austria (Tyrol) - shops, bicycles, pedestrians, hotels. They cross the border from Austria to Italy and sightsee by Mercedes car - filming mountains and villages from the window. They stop at lookouts from major peaks in the Italian Dolomites (each introduced with name of peak and elevation). Cars struggle up the mountain, so the family exits and hikes up the road. More mountain views from the car. Returning to the border with an official and cars in queue, and to the town of Lienz with the boys walking towards the camera. More sightseeing - mountains and towns - including Mt. Glockner where the boys and their grandfather stop at the overlook and snack. View of the glacier, Pasterze, and snow. Driving along the beautiful Grossglockner High Alpine Road which opened in August 1935. (ends abruptly)