Erna Raus was born in Vienna, the youngest of her parents' seven recorded children. In terms of the race-based classifications that became important to governments after 1934, and more particularly, in the context of intensifying state-mandated antisemitism, after 1938, her father was considered "Christian" and her mother was considered "Jewish". Her father died when she was three, leaving her mother to bring the children up as a single working mother. The widow set up a "Weißnäherei" a small clothing business, concentrating on the manufacture of undergarments. As a child working in her mother's business, Erna Raus developed expertise in embroidery and producing linen goods.