The FHM is saddened by the recent passing of Marietta Sobel Drucker
The Florida Holocaust Museum is saddened by the recent passing of Marietta Sobel Drucker.
Marietta left her homeland of Vienna, Austria at the age of nine on the Kindertransport. After arriving in Great Britain, she was greeted by the first of six foster families that she was placed with over the next six years. Both her mother and father eventually made their way to Great Britain and Marietta recounts that the day she was reunited with her parents was one of the happiest days of her life. Soon after, Marietta’s mother became ill and passed away.
Deciding to make her way to America, Marietta moved to New York City and where she met her future husband, Ernst, also a Viennese survivor. Ernst was manager of the men’s custom clothing department at Macy’s but always dreamed of owning his own business. Eventually, they moved to Detroit, Michigan where they raised two daughters, Judy and Debbie, and together ran Executive Custom Shirtmakers, a very successful business that operated for thirty-five years in Birmingham, Michigan.
Warm weather and family eventually beckoned the Druckers to move to St. Petersburg, FL. Marietta and Ernst each served as co-chairs of the Menorah Manor Foundation, and both were honored for two decades of leadership of the Pinellas/Pasco Chapter of the American Friends of Mogen David Adom.
Ernst passed away in July of 2012 at the age of 92. He published his biography, Ernst: Escaping the Horrors of the Nazi Occupation, two years before his death.
Marietta passed away on August 18, 2019. She was involved in many organizations including The Florida Holocaust Museum, American Red Magen David for Israel (ARMDI), All Children’s Hospital, and Menorah Manor.
Marietta and Ernst are survived by their two daughters and five grandsons.
