Object numberM2018/008:098
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.
This letter was written to Leo after the war by family friend and former colleague, Alfred Bikles, from his place of refuge in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1946. He expresses his despair with living in stateless exile, and urges Leo to do all he can to expedite his visa application to Australia. The letter also discusses Leo's stamp-collecting hobby and contains a list of enclosed postage stamps for his collection.
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.
This letter was written to Leo after the war by family friend and former colleague, Alfred Bikles, from his place of refuge in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1946. He expresses his despair with living in stateless exile, and urges Leo to do all he can to expedite his visa application to Australia. The letter also discusses Leo's stamp-collecting hobby and contains a list of enclosed postage stamps for his collection.
Production placeZürich, Switzerland
Production date 1946-09-30 - 1946-09-30
Subjectpost-World War II, survivors, refugees, refugees, visa application, landing permit, rebuilding lives, missing people, tracing loved ones, refugee experiences in Australia
Dimensions
- letter length: 297.00 mm
letter width: 210.00 mm
envelope length: 161.00 mm
envelope width: 115.00 mm
Language
- German Dear Leo,
I got your airmail letter from 19.9.46 within five days, which these days is very fast. It is commendable that you are still trying to bring me to Australia, though it is the outcome that is of upmost importance. It is understandable, then, that I have become very pessimistic; now, only the reality of an entry visa will lift my spirits.
I am working and preparing myself for the coming works to be done, upon which my future depends. I sat my final exams last month at the technical college, and I have a good transcript. It is really true, how one says – I have had enough of being an emigrant and would like to be accepted as a full-fledged human being, rather than merely tolerated in a so-called hospitable country.
I am sad to hear from you that no-one else from your dear family is still living. Unfortunately to this day I have not received any intelligence regarding your mother’s whereabouts. I liked your mother very much, and your blessed father, who used to put chicken heads and chicken feet into my coat pocket when we went to the movies; those were wonderful yet sad times, and now we are scattered across the whole world without a homeland to go to in order to forget everything we’ve been through. It must be so lovely to be able to move to a new country where one can develop oneself, and can hope to live as a free person – it pains me that I am without this. But I hope that your dear mother is still alive, and that she will say to me once more: “look Leo, here comes the Schacherer [the haggler],” which she said whenever I came over to pick you up; still, I liked her very much.
I know that you are a keen stamp collector, and I have been buying a few stamps from every new release in order to send them over to you. I am sending you a few with this letter and ask you to let me know which other ones I should send you. Enclosed is a catalogue where you can see which stamps have been released and how much they cost. After having a look you can tell me what stamps to send. I will send you some stamps with the collective value of whatever it costs you to quickly secure the permit for me – if I am ever to get one, in which case I would faint from joy. I hope that you are happy with my suggestion, and I will do all that is in my power.
So, I wish you all the best for the new year, and hope to be able to be able to celebrate together the next time. Please write immediately or as soon as possible, and many regards to you all,
Your colleague,
Fred
Attached: set of four Pestalozzi stamps, 2 Pro Juventute series, official tête-bêche stamps worth 5, 10, 20, 30 Rappen [unit of Swiss currency], 1944 Swiss National Day series, one special issue PostBus stamp.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Pauline Shavit