Object numberM2018/020:010
DescriptionApron packed into Ingrid Ehrlich’s suitcase with new dresses for her new life in Australia, Mühlhausen, Germany, 1939. 10-year-old Ingrid Ehrlich and her younger sister Marion were amongst only 17 German-Jewish children sent on a Kindertransport to Australia. The girls lived in the Larino Children’s Home in Melbourne, an orphanage administered by the Australian Jewish Welfare Society. They were reunited with their parents in 1946, after seven years of separation.
"My mother had a dressmaker make up Shirley Temple dresses for our trip to Australia. I wore them until I outgrew them. The apron was to be worn over dresses so that we wouldn't have to wash them often. It was a party apron (Schürze, in German), so you could go to a party and eat but not mess your dress." Ingrid Naumburger, September 2017.
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.
"My mother had a dressmaker make up Shirley Temple dresses for our trip to Australia. I wore them until I outgrew them. The apron was to be worn over dresses so that we wouldn't have to wash them often. It was a party apron (Schürze, in German), so you could go to a party and eat but not mess your dress." Ingrid Naumburger, September 2017.
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.
Production date 1939
Object nameaprons
Materialfibres (fabrics)
Dimensions
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Ingrid Naumburger