Object numberM2018/008:084
Description
In March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in the “Anschluss”. From May 1938, the racist Nuremberg laws applied in Austria, and Austrian Jews were steadily ostracised from their societies during the process of “Aryanisation.” This tension came to a climax in the Kristallnacht pogrom from 9th-10th November.
In the meantime, Hardy Brothers, a British jewellery-making firm, offer young Leo Steiner from Vienna employment in Sydney, Australia as a jewellery mounter in July 1938. However, the Gestapo threaten to arrest Jews issued with travel documents who do not leave within a short time. Whilst Leo’s Australian landing permit is pending, it is therefore prudent to seek temporary refuge in a third country. Before he is discharged from his erstwhile firm Vienna Art Designs, Leo’s employer Oscar Fastlich writes that his stay in Switzerland is necessary for business. In July, Leo moves to Zurich on a temporary stay visa, leaving his parents, Adolf and Hermine, and brother Paul, behind in Vienna.
Once established in Australia, Leo makes various applications to the Australian government for landing permits on behalf of his parents and Paul, all of which are denied. All three family members would eventually perish during WWII.
Whilst in Australia, Leo remains in contact with a wide network of friends and family. His maternal Aunt Anna and her husband Abraham Seifter are amongst the prisoners to be released from the Ferramonti di Tarsia camp following the downfall of Mussolini in September, 1943. They are also two of the approximately 1,000 refugees from the camp shipped to the US for the Fort Ontario refugee settlement in Oswego, NY - the only concerted effort made by the US during WWII to house Jewish refugees. This letter, with parts written by both the aunt and uncle, discusses daily life at the Fort, for instance, learning English, celebrating Chanukah, and their lack of contact with American civilians. The Seifters are uncertain about their future and hope not to be returned to Europe after the war. Anna asks Leo if he could obtain permits for the pair to relocate to Australia if necessary.
In March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in the “Anschluss”. From May 1938, the racist Nuremberg laws applied in Austria, and Austrian Jews were steadily ostracised from their societies during the process of “Aryanisation.” This tension came to a climax in the Kristallnacht pogrom from 9th-10th November.
In the meantime, Hardy Brothers, a British jewellery-making firm, offer young Leo Steiner from Vienna employment in Sydney, Australia as a jewellery mounter in July 1938. However, the Gestapo threaten to arrest Jews issued with travel documents who do not leave within a short time. Whilst Leo’s Australian landing permit is pending, it is therefore prudent to seek temporary refuge in a third country. Before he is discharged from his erstwhile firm Vienna Art Designs, Leo’s employer Oscar Fastlich writes that his stay in Switzerland is necessary for business. In July, Leo moves to Zurich on a temporary stay visa, leaving his parents, Adolf and Hermine, and brother Paul, behind in Vienna.
Once established in Australia, Leo makes various applications to the Australian government for landing permits on behalf of his parents and Paul, all of which are denied. All three family members would eventually perish during WWII.
Whilst in Australia, Leo remains in contact with a wide network of friends and family. His maternal Aunt Anna and her husband Abraham Seifter are amongst the prisoners to be released from the Ferramonti di Tarsia camp following the downfall of Mussolini in September, 1943. They are also two of the approximately 1,000 refugees from the camp shipped to the US for the Fort Ontario refugee settlement in Oswego, NY - the only concerted effort made by the US during WWII to house Jewish refugees. This letter, with parts written by both the aunt and uncle, discusses daily life at the Fort, for instance, learning English, celebrating Chanukah, and their lack of contact with American civilians. The Seifters are uncertain about their future and hope not to be returned to Europe after the war. Anna asks Leo if he could obtain permits for the pair to relocate to Australia if necessary.
Production placeOswego, NY, USA
Production date 1944-12-18 - 1944-12-18
Subjectrefugees, family life, Fort Ontario, refugee camps, landing permit, rebuilding lives, Ferramonti di Tarsia internment camp
Object nameletters
Dimensions
- letter length: 279.00 mm
letter width: 214.00 mm
envelope length: 145.00 mm
envelope width: 97.00 mm
Language
- German My dears,
I cannot convey to you what a joy it was to read a letter from you our dearests, which we waited for with such longing, until indeed a letter came addressed to Ferramonti which was forwarded on to us by an acquaintance. Your picture also brought us great pleasure, but you don’t look well as a soldier; you look sickly in the face. Hopefully you are already better. We supposed that you were in the army, and asked about it in several of our letters.
Now I’ll describe our life to you. We are in a military camp and are allowed to go into town for 6 hours every day. Oswego is 20 minutes away from the camp. We are not allowed to take on work in the city as we have to work here for our people. We are 980 in number including 260 children. I earn 3-4 thaler per week, as I had to sell my machine in Italy. Leo, you can’t get away from the Schneider family; I know you must be surprised that we are in America when you believed we were going to go to Palestine. There was a transport from Ferramonti to Palestine, though a few people wrote back to acquaintances of theirs that they were not doing particularly well over there.
The letter that you wrote to us addressed to Ferramonti cheered us up a lot and helped us to see that there are still people out there with good hearts and love to give. Even though I am not without a companion, I don’t have the capital required to open a shop, even though I would be loyal and work very hard to be a competent shop owner. Indeed, I am not sure what to do.
Willi and Aunt Theresa, who has already written, wants us to stay here as long as possible. He wants to be with more of his relatives. He also has an overseer for us if needed. Before we left Ferramonti we had to sign a form saying that we would return at the end of the war. I will describe to you sometime all of the things they made us sign.
According to the map you will see that we are only 3 minutes away from a big lake. In the enclosed picture is a cousin of mine in America who is already 23 years old. Schneider is independent and came here to visit us, and is pictured in front of our barracks. We will write to you more often. Until now we have undergone military censorship; now the address is A. Seifter 159 Fort Ontario Oswego NY USA (159 is the barracks number).
Wishing you much health and happiness on your birthday.
Willi also paid us a visit here after the holiday season.
My dearests!
It is my best day whenever I receive a letter from you, Leonku. You are, alas, the only family member of mine that I know is in safety. I don’t want to give you a heavy heart but it is very questionable whether we will see any of our loved ones ever again, according to the news that one hears. When we arrived here we met a few women from the Red Cross. We gave them the addresses of all our loved ones and until now have received no response. I have made up my mind to visit you, even if only for a couple of weeks. I want to see you again and speak with you, since I can see from you letters how you yearn for relations from your mother’s side of the family, and here in the USA I am the only one who has been saved.
I am really worried, as I can see from your photo that you look unwell. Are you in good health and free from the military now? Were you perhaps wounded or otherwise unhealthy there? I think of you and your lovely wife all the time. We like her very very much; what a beauty and thank G-d that you are happy. We are very well here; we have very good food like in the military. We also have 2 rooms, central heating, 3 military blankets each, clothing and shoes. We are happy to be in safety.
I have been working in a kitchen for 4 months with 200 people. Everything is delivered by the military and there is plenty for the soldiers. All of our people have to help. We come across civilians very rarely, only our own people, which makes it hard to learn the language. I go to an hour of English lessons in the evening four times a week when the teachers come over here from Oswego.
It is very cold here at the moment with lots of snow. Our barracks are only 3 minutes away from the lake, which is lovely in summer but we cannot go there as the camp is surrounded by a wire fence. Eight families live in our barracks, of whom six are from Vienna, including even some of our former clientele from Arnetzhoferstrasse.
We are both looking very well; I have even gained weight. We arrived here starving from Italy and now all the people here look swollen; this is truly the land of milk and honey. There are two temples here: one orthodox and one general. There was a Chanukah party this week and everyone got a little bag of treats to nibble on. Now it is almost Christmas time.
Are you doing good business? You did well to be working together with your father-in-law. You must not have as many worries as you had in the beginning.
Dear Leo, please apply for us to go to Australia so that if we are sent back we’ll be able to call on you.
I look at the picture you sent ten times a day; I can’t get over how beautiful your wife is.
Write soon and thoroughly.
A thousand kisses to you and your wife,
Your Aunt Anna
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Pauline Shavit