Karl H. Frankl

Karl was born in Guben, Germany. Karl was the only child of Carl and Anna Frankl. Carl was the Technical Director of a large hat manufacturer. They lived in Guben until Kristallnacht in 1938. Karl walked through the town with his father and saw the devastation at all the Jewish shops. Even though he was only five years old, that night left a lifelong impression on Karl. The SA (German Nazi troops) checked everywhere to find Jews. They asked a close non-Jewish friend of Karl’s father, Mr. Donat, whether Karl’s family was Jewish. He replied, “No he is from Hungary and not Jewish and leave him alone”. Karl’s parents decided that they must leave Guben. They relocated to Vienna, Austria in 1938. Karl’s father had lived in Vienna previously and through the compassion of a non-Jewish man named Ottmar Reich, the Frankl family was given protection and Carl’s dad was able to work for Mr. Reich due to Carl’s incredible reputation and technical expertise in the close-knit hat industry of Europe.

The Frankl’s moved around the Vienna area, often moving to avoid the Nazis. Karl was enrolled in school and the family managed to “hide in plain sight” from the Nazis. The Synagogue was right next to Karl’s school, and it was soon destroyed by the Nazis. Karl walked by those ruins every day and several boys who suspected him of being Jewish, would throw rocks at him. On several occasions he would have to run home to have his mother tend to the wounds. One time they were so bad that he had to be taken to the hospital. This lasted for the next four years until Karl was enrolled in High School. There he met Gustav Bogner who became his lifelong best friend.

After the war ended the family moved to Italy in Intra by Lago Maggiore which is near the Swiss border. Karl began to work for his father in the hat industry. They lived in a beautiful villa with a view of the lake. They planned to stay in Italy forever, however Karl’s father was offered a position in Johannesburg, South Africa. The opportunity was too good to pass up and they moved once again in 1952 when Karl was 19 years old. Karl went to work for his father at Dorian Hats and learned about the industry. As the family moved Karl showed an amazing ability to learn new languages, eventually speaking six languages fluently.

Karl met the love of his life, Shirley, at a birthday party in 1957. They had an instant connection and Karl would spend the rest of his life by her side. They got married on February 23, 1960, and by 1962 Karl had convinced Shirley to move to San Francisco, California to accept an offer to run a fashion organization. As they were planning to move Shirley found out that she was pregnant with their first child, Richard. Shirley wanted to stay close to her parents and they decided to stay in South Africa. They later were blessed with two more children, Linda, and Peter.

With the decision to stay in South Africa cemented, Karl started his own fashion company in 1965. Karl achieved great success and he and Shirley built their dream house where the young family would spend the next chapter of their lives. Karl and Shirley were very involved in the Jewish community and their neighbors became some of their best friends for life. While Karl and Shirley had built a seemingly ideal life, Karl was convinced that he needed to move his family to America both to escape the crumbling Apartheid regime and to give his children the greatest possible opportunity for success.

The family left South Africa in 1977 and took a few months to travel Europe and see some of the places where Karl grew up. While in Vienna, the children all got chicken pox and the family’s departure to the US was delayed. The kids were enrolled at the English Diplomatic School. Meanwhile Karl flew to Dallas, Texas where he got a position with Resistol/Stetson Hats before bringing over the rest of the family to start their newest chapter. The family made Dallas their permanent home and to Karl’s delight his children chose to stay in Dallas as adults.

Upon retiring from the fashion industry, Karl, never one to like idle time, followed another passion and became a realtor. He remained a realtor into his eighties before finally retiring to enjoy his time with his kids and grandkids and traveling with his beloved wife. Karl always made time to support his favorite charities, mostly through quiet contributions, never wanting to garner attention for himself.

His greatest joy was in the successes of those who survive him: his wife, Shirley, their sons, Richard and Peter, daughter Linda and husband Mark Siegel and his six grandchildren, Adam, Jenna and husband Hunter Morgan, Josh, Jason, Jordan, and Dylan. In lieu of flowers, Karl requested that a contribution be made to The Dallas Chapter of Hadassah, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or your preferred charity.