Object numberM2018/008:099
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, written in 1948, is from Elsie and Max Soffer, family friends of Leo's who moved to Philadelphia, USA, during the war and thus also survived. As both Elsie and Max and Leo and his wife Betty begin to start new families in the US and Australia respectively, they correspond with each other about domestic life. This letter contains chitchat about each others' young children, written as it was one year after the birth of Leo and Bettys' first daughter, Pauline.
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, written in 1948, is from Elsie and Max Soffer, family friends of Leo's who moved to Philadelphia, USA, during the war and thus also survived. As both Elsie and Max and Leo and his wife Betty begin to start new families in the US and Australia respectively, they correspond with each other about domestic life. This letter contains chitchat about each others' young children, written as it was one year after the birth of Leo and Bettys' first daughter, Pauline.
Production placePhiladelphia, Pennyslvania, United States
Production date 1948-04-24 - 1948-04-24
Subjectpost-World War II, survivors, refugees, refugees, family life, rebuilding lives, refugee experiences in Australia
Dimensions
- letter length: 158.00 mm
letter width: 127.00 mm
envelope length: 165.00 mm
envelope width: 92.00 mm
Language
- English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Pauline Shavit