correspondence between Alice Peglau (nee Pfeiffer), her brother Walter and his wife Gertie
Object numberM2019/070:009
Titlecorrespondence between Alice Peglau (nee Pfeiffer), her brother Walter and his wife Gertie
DescriptionFive letters to Alice Peglau (nee Pfeiffer) in England from her brother Walter and his wife Gertie in Illinois, USA, from 1940 to 1946. Alice escaped to England from Berlin in June 1939, forced to leave her sons, Heinz and Rolf, behind. Heinz had escaped to Amsterdam in February of that year in preparation to go to Palestine, while Rolf was forced to navigate the precarious life of a Jew in Nazi Germany. The first letter sent from Illinois in December 1940 contains a letter from Heinz and mentions enclosed letters from Rolf also. The family forwarded each others mail in order to share news and cover most efficiently the expensive cost of postage. The letters from 1944 and early 1945 clearly express Alice's anxiety for her sons, having received no sign of life from them for over a year. In January 1945 Gertie responds to Alice's regret that Heinz did not "go underground." She states that "Maybe he could have tried, but who knows whether he would have succeeded? It was hell to live that way, never to see the daylight, always being afraid of being caught." Their condolence letter was sent in October 1945 following "the unspeakably sad news that Heinz does not live anymore.... My dear Alice, to give you strength, what a difficult task! What are words!" They pleads with her not to give up hope for Rolf.
These letters are part of a larger collection of 196 letters, postcards, Red Cross messages and notes of condolence donated to the Sydney Jewish Museum by Hans and Helen Pfeiffer, March 2010. The material belonged to Alice Peglau (nee Pfeiffer), Hans Pfeiffer's Aunt.
Alice Peglau (nee Pfeiffer) was born on 12 October 1895 in Berlin, into a wealthy family. She had three brothers: Egon, Walter and Rudi. She married Leonhard Peglau and had two sons, Heinz (born 1 June 1920) and Rolf (born 21 July 1921). Leonhard was murdered sometime from 1933, possibly in Dachau, although the details are unclear. Amongst the collection is legal correspondence regarding compensation on behalf of Leonhard from May 1933. Job references dated 1936 to 1939 testify that Alice worked as a governess and housekeeper in Berlin.
In February 1939, Heinz moved to Amsterdam and lived for a time with his uncle Egon Pfeiffer (donor Hans Pfeiffer's father) and Egon's Dutch wife, Mary. Heinz met his fiancee Edith, both ardent Zionists belonging to Bachad; an orthodox youth movement focused on equipping young Jewish men and women with skills needed for a future life in Palestine. Heinz was required to undergo agricultural training in Holland for two years before he could be eligible to go to Palestine. Rolf on the other hand was assigned to work constructing railways while he awaited various emigration applications.
In June 1939, 44-year-old Alice managed to flee to London, where she worked as a housekeeper for two British aristocratic families; Lady and Viscount Nuttfield and for Mrs Venables. From there she made attempts to assist Rolf's emigration to England, though this was unsuccessful. Alice's letters to her sons convey her overwhelming anxiety for their wellbeing and her efforts to provide advice and parent from afar. She sent them money and wrote to friends and family in Berlin and Amsterdam, urging them to look after her boys.
In 1941 all communication with Rolf ceased. Towards the end of that year he resided in Ahrensdorf, a Hachschara training camp located in Luckenwalde, not far from Berlin. He was deported from there on 18 October 1941 and transported to the Lodz ghetto. He was deported again in 1942 to a concentration camp, most likely Chelmno, where he was murdered. Heinz and Edith were deported to Vught on 10 April 1943, and thereafter to Westerbork. On 31 August 1943 they were sent to Auschwitz where they were later murdered.
Various themes come across in this collection; the anxiety of separation from family; Germany's obsession with racial purity - "mixed" marriages and Mischlinge; the increasing cruelties of daily life in Nazi Germany, food and clothing restrictions, escalating despair, suicides, deportations; wartime censorship; Hachshara - preparation for emigration to Palestine; and the aftermath of war.
The collection also includes letters that chronicle the post-war period (from August 1945), for example those from Alice's brother Egon in Amsterdam asking for basic food because "there is nothing". Other letters reveal Alice's agonising search for answers as to the fate of her sons. Juda Landau, a friend of Heinz', wrote, "Auschwitz was hell and I do not know what further happened to your son." A 1945 letter to her from an uncle, Sergeant Curtis Rosenberg, of the US Army Legal Division stationed in Berlin, informed her that there is no word of either Heinz or Rolf from the Berlin Jewish Community. Alice only received absolute confirmation of Heinz' death in 1947. She never learned Rolf's fate.
As sole survivor, Alice decided to join her brother Rudi in Sydney, arriving in 1948/9. Initially she worked in his haberdashery shop in Pitt Street. Alice was a talented musician and artist, playing the piano and violin. Some of her compositions have been donated to the Conservatorium of Music.
These letters are part of a larger collection of 196 letters, postcards, Red Cross messages and notes of condolence donated to the Sydney Jewish Museum by Hans and Helen Pfeiffer, March 2010. The material belonged to Alice Peglau (nee Pfeiffer), Hans Pfeiffer's Aunt.
Alice Peglau (nee Pfeiffer) was born on 12 October 1895 in Berlin, into a wealthy family. She had three brothers: Egon, Walter and Rudi. She married Leonhard Peglau and had two sons, Heinz (born 1 June 1920) and Rolf (born 21 July 1921). Leonhard was murdered sometime from 1933, possibly in Dachau, although the details are unclear. Amongst the collection is legal correspondence regarding compensation on behalf of Leonhard from May 1933. Job references dated 1936 to 1939 testify that Alice worked as a governess and housekeeper in Berlin.
In February 1939, Heinz moved to Amsterdam and lived for a time with his uncle Egon Pfeiffer (donor Hans Pfeiffer's father) and Egon's Dutch wife, Mary. Heinz met his fiancee Edith, both ardent Zionists belonging to Bachad; an orthodox youth movement focused on equipping young Jewish men and women with skills needed for a future life in Palestine. Heinz was required to undergo agricultural training in Holland for two years before he could be eligible to go to Palestine. Rolf on the other hand was assigned to work constructing railways while he awaited various emigration applications.
In June 1939, 44-year-old Alice managed to flee to London, where she worked as a housekeeper for two British aristocratic families; Lady and Viscount Nuttfield and for Mrs Venables. From there she made attempts to assist Rolf's emigration to England, though this was unsuccessful. Alice's letters to her sons convey her overwhelming anxiety for their wellbeing and her efforts to provide advice and parent from afar. She sent them money and wrote to friends and family in Berlin and Amsterdam, urging them to look after her boys.
In 1941 all communication with Rolf ceased. Towards the end of that year he resided in Ahrensdorf, a Hachschara training camp located in Luckenwalde, not far from Berlin. He was deported from there on 18 October 1941 and transported to the Lodz ghetto. He was deported again in 1942 to a concentration camp, most likely Chelmno, where he was murdered. Heinz and Edith were deported to Vught on 10 April 1943, and thereafter to Westerbork. On 31 August 1943 they were sent to Auschwitz where they were later murdered.
Various themes come across in this collection; the anxiety of separation from family; Germany's obsession with racial purity - "mixed" marriages and Mischlinge; the increasing cruelties of daily life in Nazi Germany, food and clothing restrictions, escalating despair, suicides, deportations; wartime censorship; Hachshara - preparation for emigration to Palestine; and the aftermath of war.
The collection also includes letters that chronicle the post-war period (from August 1945), for example those from Alice's brother Egon in Amsterdam asking for basic food because "there is nothing". Other letters reveal Alice's agonising search for answers as to the fate of her sons. Juda Landau, a friend of Heinz', wrote, "Auschwitz was hell and I do not know what further happened to your son." A 1945 letter to her from an uncle, Sergeant Curtis Rosenberg, of the US Army Legal Division stationed in Berlin, informed her that there is no word of either Heinz or Rolf from the Berlin Jewish Community. Alice only received absolute confirmation of Heinz' death in 1947. She never learned Rolf's fate.
As sole survivor, Alice decided to join her brother Rudi in Sydney, arriving in 1948/9. Initially she worked in his haberdashery shop in Pitt Street. Alice was a talented musician and artist, playing the piano and violin. Some of her compositions have been donated to the Conservatorium of Music.
Production placeUnited States
Production date 1940 - 1946
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Language
- German All letters translated by Sigrid Summers, 2013.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Helen and Hans Pfeiffer