Object numberM2000/005:001
CreatorShanghai marriage registry
DescriptionMarriage certificate for Paul and Dita Beran who were married in the Barcelona restaurant/coffee shop, Hongkew Ghetto, Shanghai, 17 November 1946. This is not a marriage contract but rather an official document in Chinese in which the marriage was confirmed before an official of the Communal Association of Central European Jews in Shanghai.
Dita Frischmann (born 1925), the only daughter of Franzi and Sigmund Frischmann, arrived with her parents in Shanghai, China as the only port of escape from Nazi Vienna in 1938. They put a deposit on a Viennese coffee shop, known as the Barcelona, in the French Concession. Later, under Japanese occupation in 1943, moving to the Hongkew ghetto.
Paul Beran (born 1920 in Vienna) was the younger of Alice and Richard Beran. He was forcibly taken from his home with his father and beaten so badly his mother couldn’t recognize him. His father was sent to Dachau, and subsequently released. Richard’s health, as a result of this incarceration was never robust.
Paul arrived in Shanghai in 1939 and found employment as a Police Officer for the Chinese Police Force. His responsibilities included media censorship as he had mastered Cantonese. He met Dita when he was assigned to oversee a soccer match involving the local Barcelona coffee shop patrons, who were largely Viennese expats. They married in the Barcelona coffee shop on 17 November 1946. Dita’s parents owned and managed it until leaving for Australia, where they arrived in 1948 together with Paul’s mother Alice. (Richard had died in the ghetto). Dita and Paul bore two children, Roger and Danny.
Dita Frischmann (born 1925), the only daughter of Franzi and Sigmund Frischmann, arrived with her parents in Shanghai, China as the only port of escape from Nazi Vienna in 1938. They put a deposit on a Viennese coffee shop, known as the Barcelona, in the French Concession. Later, under Japanese occupation in 1943, moving to the Hongkew ghetto.
Paul Beran (born 1920 in Vienna) was the younger of Alice and Richard Beran. He was forcibly taken from his home with his father and beaten so badly his mother couldn’t recognize him. His father was sent to Dachau, and subsequently released. Richard’s health, as a result of this incarceration was never robust.
Paul arrived in Shanghai in 1939 and found employment as a Police Officer for the Chinese Police Force. His responsibilities included media censorship as he had mastered Cantonese. He met Dita when he was assigned to oversee a soccer match involving the local Barcelona coffee shop patrons, who were largely Viennese expats. They married in the Barcelona coffee shop on 17 November 1946. Dita’s parents owned and managed it until leaving for Australia, where they arrived in 1948 together with Paul’s mother Alice. (Richard had died in the ghetto). Dita and Paul bore two children, Roger and Danny.
Production placeShanghai, China
Production date 1946-11-07
SubjectJewish diaspora, post World War II, marriage, weddings
Object namecertificates of marriage
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 518.00 mm
height: 372.00 mm
Language
- Chinese
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Ditta Beran