Red Cross letter sent from Shanghai
Object numberM2025/102
TitleRed Cross letter sent from Shanghai
DescriptionRed Cross letter from Hilde Ehrlich to her children, dated 29 September 1943, sent from Shanghai to Melbourne, Australia.
Ingrid Ehrlich was born on 11 April 1929 in Wanfried, Germany. Her parents, Paul and Hildegard Ehrlich, worked in a wholesale material shop. Paul frequently travelled to distribute his products. When Hitler came to power they began to experience antisemitism. Consequently the family moved to Muelhausen due to its larger Jewish community.
Ingrid and Marion attended Muelhausen State School until early 1938 when Jewish children were banned from attending. On the eve of Kristallnacht, Ingrid's father Paul was deported to a concentration camp. He managed to obtain a visa for Shanghai and was given two weeks to leave Germany. His wife Hilde tried to get their children out. In early 1939 a friend in the German Jewish Welfare in Berlin told her that the Australian Jewish Welfare Society were willing to accept 17 Jewish children. Hilde applied for 10-year-old Ingrid and nine-year-old Marion.
Dr Erna Falk escorted the children to Australia. On June 12, 1939 Ingrid, Marion and Hilde caught a train to Bremen to board the ‘Europa’ for Southampton. Children were given Kindertransport stickers and said goodbye to their parents. From Southampton they boarded the ‘Orama’ for Australia. In July 1939, the Orama arrived in Perth. The children were welcomed by a Rabbi and attended a member of the community’s house for lunch. After Shabbat they reboarded the Orama for Melbourne, arriving on 23 July 1939. Frances Barkman from the newly founded Australian Jewish Welfare Society, Anglicised Ingrid and Marion’s surnames from Ehrlich to Earl. Thereafter the children were taken by bus to their new home in Balwyn, Melbourne. The house, named ‘Larino’, was rented to the Australian Jewish Welfare Society. Hilde managed to join her husband in Shanghai; the family were eventually reunited in 1946 in Australia after seven years of separation.
After the war, Arthur Calwell, the Minister for the newly created Department of Immigration, announced that a limited number of permits would be granted to close relatives of refugees in Australia. Hilde and Paul received permits and arrived in February 1946, after seven years of separation. The daughter's recall, “We went to the boat to collect my parents, expecting them to be so tall… they looked so small and pale…they didn’t feel like our parents”. “They couldn’t speak any English so we had to try speaking German. We were pretty assimilated … I felt almost like an Australian child.” As Hilde sighted her girls, she broke down in tears. Ursula Kaye (the matron of the house since 1943) recalls Hildegard (Hilde) saying in German, “I want my little dolls back”.
Ingrid Ehrlich was born on 11 April 1929 in Wanfried, Germany. Her parents, Paul and Hildegard Ehrlich, worked in a wholesale material shop. Paul frequently travelled to distribute his products. When Hitler came to power they began to experience antisemitism. Consequently the family moved to Muelhausen due to its larger Jewish community.
Ingrid and Marion attended Muelhausen State School until early 1938 when Jewish children were banned from attending. On the eve of Kristallnacht, Ingrid's father Paul was deported to a concentration camp. He managed to obtain a visa for Shanghai and was given two weeks to leave Germany. His wife Hilde tried to get their children out. In early 1939 a friend in the German Jewish Welfare in Berlin told her that the Australian Jewish Welfare Society were willing to accept 17 Jewish children. Hilde applied for 10-year-old Ingrid and nine-year-old Marion.
Dr Erna Falk escorted the children to Australia. On June 12, 1939 Ingrid, Marion and Hilde caught a train to Bremen to board the ‘Europa’ for Southampton. Children were given Kindertransport stickers and said goodbye to their parents. From Southampton they boarded the ‘Orama’ for Australia. In July 1939, the Orama arrived in Perth. The children were welcomed by a Rabbi and attended a member of the community’s house for lunch. After Shabbat they reboarded the Orama for Melbourne, arriving on 23 July 1939. Frances Barkman from the newly founded Australian Jewish Welfare Society, Anglicised Ingrid and Marion’s surnames from Ehrlich to Earl. Thereafter the children were taken by bus to their new home in Balwyn, Melbourne. The house, named ‘Larino’, was rented to the Australian Jewish Welfare Society. Hilde managed to join her husband in Shanghai; the family were eventually reunited in 1946 in Australia after seven years of separation.
After the war, Arthur Calwell, the Minister for the newly created Department of Immigration, announced that a limited number of permits would be granted to close relatives of refugees in Australia. Hilde and Paul received permits and arrived in February 1946, after seven years of separation. The daughter's recall, “We went to the boat to collect my parents, expecting them to be so tall… they looked so small and pale…they didn’t feel like our parents”. “They couldn’t speak any English so we had to try speaking German. We were pretty assimilated … I felt almost like an Australian child.” As Hilde sighted her girls, she broke down in tears. Ursula Kaye (the matron of the house since 1943) recalls Hildegard (Hilde) saying in German, “I want my little dolls back”.
Production placeShanghai, China
Production date 1942 - 1943
Production periodWorld War II (1939-1945)
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Language
- English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum collection, donated by Karen Midalia.
In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this archival project.