Tatiana Guliaeff

Tatiana Otzoup Guliaeff was born in Berlin of Russian parents, silent movie star, Alexandra Sorina, and movie producer, art collector and recipient of numerous awards, Sergio Otzoup.

Tatiana and her parents only survived the Holocaust and World War II through the efforts of a close friend, her godfather Albert Goering, who provided the family with false papers. She was six years old when she saw him for the last time in Vienna.

The Otzoup Guliaeff family never forgot the selfless generosity and heroism of Albert Goering, his love and compassion toward mankind.

Tatiana acted on the stage for 25 years, she had poems published in 1970 and she wrote this moving letter to Albert Goering titled 'Onkel Baer':

"Onkel Baer (Uncle Bear)

From the time I can remember I loved and cherished you, I remember every moment we were together, the walks in the parks, the treats you bestowed on me, the way you taught me to pray, always accompanying me to church, although you were a devout Catholic and I Russian Orthodox.

How hurt I was when I was forbidden to enter the study in our house, where you sat grim faced, clutching a telephone with reams of papers, pens and inkwells surrounding you. Through the mists of cigarette smoke that encircled your being, I saw you, haggard and tired, yet with a determination to fulfill some dreadful task.

Little did I know that you, at the risk of your own life, gave orders in the name of your half brother, a high ranking German official, to release prisoners, to issue exit papers to thousands of Jewish and other ethnic peoples, thus saving their lives. How you forged your half brother's name on the documents, how you changed your voice and bearing to sound like he.

Neither did I know that, after saving the life of the composer of the "Merry Widow" Franz Lehár and his family, he composed an important musical piece in your honor.

Nor did I know that you were tried in Nuremberg, absolved of all your crimes, and banished to Argentina for a number of years for your own safety, for the name of your half brother was well known and hated by all. Most of this I found out from an article written in the 1950s in the News Call Bulletin of San Francisco, where it stated that all the Jewish families, that you saved, remembered you with kindness, gratitude and respect, that they had sent affidavits to certify of your courageous actions.

To my regret, I only have one letter written by you to my mother, when you returned to Germany.  Also in my possession I have a letter from your sister Olga, who wrote that as your last act of selflessness, on your deathbed, you married your housekeeper, so that she could receive your pension.

Truly we were blessed to have had you in our lives.

God rest your soul, my dearly beloved godfather, my "Onkel Baer"

Tatiana"

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