Growing up in prewar Vienna, Ilse Kaufmann had a sheltered childhood. When the Germans invaded Austria in March 1938, Ilse was in Olmutz, Moravia. Four months later she was joined by her parents in Czechoslovakia, and the family's long journey to freedom began. In late 1942, Ilse and her family successfully made the journey to Spain via Berlin, then crossed the border to Lisbon, arriving in Argentina in early 1943.