Hi Colin-
The picture she sent to my aunt, here in the states, was signed on the back --"to my dear aunt from Eva and husband". This was the only niece my aunt had that lived in Europe and the picture came from Europe. My aunt had received one post from her brother in the late 1930s , saying that things were very bad in Poland and all over Europe for that matter. He also said that work was impossible to find and food was scarce. He also mentioned his family was having a really hard time of it.
He and his wife were a bit older , in their forties when Eva was born, so it was probably doubly difficult for them with a young girl to take care of.
That's why we have the feeling that she might have been given to a non-Jewish family so that she could find a safe haven to avoid the Germans who were on the march.
Probably hoped if they all survived that after the war they could re-unite with her. Apparently that did not happen
At least Eva made it to England and evidently kept her new adoptive name. There are no records from the 1930s or 1940s anywhere that we can find with and Eva Dottel entering GB.
Her parents were never heard from after that first letter. We assume they didn't survive.. Hope this explains the situation. Sara
