July 16, 2006

Buried In The Past

Brothers Discover Long-Lost Family In Austria

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By Rebecca Leung

Chris and Rich Andrews, who grew up on welfare in California, discovered the truth about their life 30 years after their mother's death. (CBS)

Fast Facts Austria
Learn about the people, economy and history.
Timeline Hitler's World
Read about key events in Hitler's life, from his birth in Austria to his suicide in 1945.
Interactive Living In Poverty
A state-by-state look at U.S. Census Bureau data on income and poverty levels.

(CBS) As for Chris and Rich Andrews, having a building to call their own is not nearly as important as having their own family. But we couldn’t end this story without bringing together these two branches of the Furth family for the very first time.

"We lost our mother over 30 years ago and we found out that the closest thing in terms of a real family, who had a life like hers, and that is a family that we’re about to meet," says Chris. "Rich and I decided if nothing ever comes of this – this gift to us has just been extraordinary."

"And to be able to have some sense of understanding of what they went through, and to be able to carry it forward to where we can actually meet the people in our family that went through, that has just been life-changing," adds Rich.

Although they didn't know it at the time, the Andrews and their new found family would have another reason to celebrate.

Late last year, an Austrian arbitration panel ruled that Schmidgasse 14 was being returned to the heirs of Lothar Furth and the U.S. State Department announced that it would vacate the building.