Monica was a desperate young woman who had lost all hope of finding safety. Her Jewish mother had died, and her German father was a fanatic Nazi who wanted to see her deported to the death camps.

The Loewensteins took her in when she had nowhere else to turn. Karin Steinberg, Maria's daughter from her first marriage, became especially close to Monica. One day Monica did not come home. Hearing talk of a body in a nearby canal, Karin investigated and was saddened to learn that Monica had committed suicide.

Monica

Monica poses for a portrait in a park in Berlin, circa 1941.

Karin Steinberg and Monica

Karin Steinberg and Monica sit on a park bench with their arms around each other.