Frieders vacation in Europe

The five Frieder brothers from Cincinnati, Ohio (Philip, Henry, Alex, Morris, and Herbert) made their fortune in cigars, which they manufactured in the Philippines. The brothers took turns managing the cigar production. Every two years, one of the brothers (excluding Henry) and his family would relocate to their home at 44 Brixton Hill, Santa Mesa, Manila. The Frieder brothers were passionate poker players and often played with influential individuals, such as President Manuel L. Quezon, the US High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt, and Army Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the late 1930s, together, they devised a way to provide refuge in the Philippines to German and Austrian Jews. President Quezon stipulated that those who came not be a burden on the Philippine economy, so the tiny Jewish community in Manila accepted that responsibility. While McNutt pressured the US State Department to keep Philippine borders open to refugees, the Frieder brothers (working with the Joint Distribution Committee) arranged transportation and visas for European Jews who possessed skills in fourteen occupations, one being cigar manufacturing. President Quezon provided a temporary home for the refugees where they could live and grow their own food on the land he was developing for his son. The haven was named Mariquina Hall. Between 1937 and 1941, the Frieder brothers, McNutt, Quezon, and Eisenhower aided in the rescue of over 1,300 Jews. In December 1941, the Japanese invaded the Philippines. All Frieder brothers had returned to the US a month earlier in anticipation of the invasion. Between December 1941 and September 1945, Manila was under Japanese occupation. Ironically, during that time, unlike all other internationals who were interned in a make-shift prison in Santo Tomas University, the Jewish refugees were considered Germans - therefore allies of Japan - and not imprisoned. A few refugees were killed in the crossfire between US and Japanese armies as the battle for Manila ended. Birthdates: Alex Frieder - December 2, 1893 Corinne Rosenberg Frieder - March 11, 1893 Edna Frieder Lichtig - August 7, 1918 Louise Frieder - June 12, 1922 Alice Frieder Weston - July 1, 1926 The Frieder family takes a vacation. The first shots show a tour of the Coliseum in Rome, family at 01:07:56, and a group of schoolboys. 01:08:27 Men and women in uniform pose and salute (fascist). Views of the Arch of Constantine, outside the Coliseum, more Italian architecture, ruins, and landscape. 01:09:48 The bronze East doors of the Florence Baptistery designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti. Pan across foggy Florence with Brunelleschi's dome in the distance. 01:10:18 Edna, Louise, and Alice and their mother Corinne feed birds outside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. Ornate façade. 01:11:22 The Danube River and the Budapest skyline filmed from Buda. The family gets into a car. Locals in traditional Hungarian dress pose. Pan across Budapest and the Danube. 01:12:05 EXT of St. Matthias Church and the Parliament Dome in Budapest. City scenes and the landscape. 01:12:46 The family visits Prague. A clock marked with Hebrew characters at the Jewish Town Hall. Pinkas Synagogue and other buildings in the Jewish quarter of Prague. CU, statue of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel and the Golem at New Town Hall, as well as a sculpture of the Calvary on the Charles Bridge. More scenic views of Prague and the castle. Cathedral. 01:14:24 Pan of harbor, ships, and city on the coast. A French flag waves from a boat nearby. Men pose for the camera.