Letter from Otto Herrmann to Inge Herrmann on 19 December 1938
Object numberM2020/023:065
TitleLetter from Otto Herrmann to Inge Herrmann on 19 December 1938
Creator Otto Herrmann
DescriptionLetter from Otto Herrmann to his daughter Inge Herrmann on 19 December 1938. This letter is written about two weeks after Otto was released from Buchenwald, allowed to return to Magdeburg, and was instructed to leave Germany by March of 1939. Otto remarks that they are missing Inge's letters, as they have not received one from her since last month.
Otto asks his daughter whether she had travelled to Canberra in an attempt to get permits for himself and Regina, Inge's mother.
Otto also speaks of how the Magdeburg Jewish community was quite stressed by the fact that all the families who had male members arrested on Kristallnacht had been instructed to leave Germany by certain dates, with some being as soon as the 31st of that month. Otto relays that "all available countries for entry make it difficult, passage by boat is fully booked for months ahead." He states that there is an opportunity for them to go to Brazil, but he would much prefer to be in Australia with Inge.
Otto also speaks of how the Jewish community had grown more familiar with each other, speaking of how he and Regina "now address the Stein daughter 'Du', earlier on we were not even friends, but now, as a result of common worries we have become closer."
Part of a collection of over 60 letters to Inge-Ruth Poppert (nee Herrmann) from 1937 to 1957, as well as memorabilia and personal documents that detail the Holocaust experiences of the Herrmann family, and the establishment Inge's life in Sydney, Australia.
Inge was born on 12 October 1922 in Wolmirstedt, near Magdeburg, Germany to Otto and Kate-Regina Herrmann (nee Manneberg). Inge lived in Wolmirstedt, but attended school in Madgeburg from 1933. The family relocated to the city of Magdeburg in 1935 where Otto owned two shops. Due to anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish legislation, Otto had lost his clothing business in Wolmirstedt. However, from 1937 with the increasing Aryanisation of Jewish assets and property, the Herrmann family again forcibly lost their remaining businesses and way of life.
Despite the worsening risk to all Jews in Germany, Inge's parents initially resisted emigration, though in 1937 they decided that their daughter should leave. Inge was approved to go to Australia after being assessed in Berlin. She arrived in Sydney via London in September 1938.
Otto and Regina lived in increasing poverty and anxiety. Otto was arrested in 1938 and sent to Buchenwald for a brief period before being released. In October 1942 they were deported to Theresienstadt. Inge received no sign of life from her parents from 1944 and only learned years after the war that they were deported to Auschwitz in October 1944 where they were murdered.
Otto asks his daughter whether she had travelled to Canberra in an attempt to get permits for himself and Regina, Inge's mother.
Otto also speaks of how the Magdeburg Jewish community was quite stressed by the fact that all the families who had male members arrested on Kristallnacht had been instructed to leave Germany by certain dates, with some being as soon as the 31st of that month. Otto relays that "all available countries for entry make it difficult, passage by boat is fully booked for months ahead." He states that there is an opportunity for them to go to Brazil, but he would much prefer to be in Australia with Inge.
Otto also speaks of how the Jewish community had grown more familiar with each other, speaking of how he and Regina "now address the Stein daughter 'Du', earlier on we were not even friends, but now, as a result of common worries we have become closer."
Part of a collection of over 60 letters to Inge-Ruth Poppert (nee Herrmann) from 1937 to 1957, as well as memorabilia and personal documents that detail the Holocaust experiences of the Herrmann family, and the establishment Inge's life in Sydney, Australia.
Inge was born on 12 October 1922 in Wolmirstedt, near Magdeburg, Germany to Otto and Kate-Regina Herrmann (nee Manneberg). Inge lived in Wolmirstedt, but attended school in Madgeburg from 1933. The family relocated to the city of Magdeburg in 1935 where Otto owned two shops. Due to anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish legislation, Otto had lost his clothing business in Wolmirstedt. However, from 1937 with the increasing Aryanisation of Jewish assets and property, the Herrmann family again forcibly lost their remaining businesses and way of life.
Despite the worsening risk to all Jews in Germany, Inge's parents initially resisted emigration, though in 1937 they decided that their daughter should leave. Inge was approved to go to Australia after being assessed in Berlin. She arrived in Sydney via London in September 1938.
Otto and Regina lived in increasing poverty and anxiety. Otto was arrested in 1938 and sent to Buchenwald for a brief period before being released. In October 1942 they were deported to Theresienstadt. Inge received no sign of life from her parents from 1944 and only learned years after the war that they were deported to Auschwitz in October 1944 where they were murdered.
Production placeGermany
Production date 1938-12-19
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 210.00 mm
height: 293.00 mm
Language
- German Magdeburg. 19/12/1938,
My Dearest Love Ingelein. Hopefully you would have received in good health our letter, written after my return. For some time now we are awaiting news from you and every day we are disappointed again when there is no mail again. Your last letter was written on 24/11 and since then more than three weeks have passed and we still haven't heard from you, we can't explain this at all. You did after all promise to write once every week and I assume that you will have enough time and even if not writing a long letter and at least not leave us without news. After all we did write to you in our last letter, which I had to sign, that we had to leave Germany by end March, but we still don't know where to. Have you found anybody who can deposit for us the amount of 50 pounds, we have a lot of hope about this. You wrote about it that yourself, as well as Gisela did this in order to travel directly to the Canberra Government requesting a permit, in my opinion you can only do this if it is lodged by somebody with citizenship (
.?) did you now do the trip to Canberra? If yes with what success? You cannot at all imagine with what longing we are expecting news from you. There is a large excitement in our religious community that all the families, in which the men had gone away, will have to leave by a certain deadline, many of them be 31.12 and others latest here by end February, the very latest here at the moment 31.03 as currently with us. We don't know what is going to happen. All available countries for entry make it difficult, passage by boat is fully booked for months ahead. It will interest you dear Inge that this week the steamship Öronsay wll start the trip to Australia again, it will call in Sydney on 22. January. Traude Stein is shortly going to Sweden, She has got a position as domestic help, this position was arranged by Heinz. Arthur Stein too is back again since about 8 days and is starting to slowly recuperate, he still looks very bad. Mother would have already written to you that Ruth Stein will get married on 30/12. Just think about it, we now address the Stein daughter Du , earlier on we were not even friends, but now , as a result of common worries we have become closerand spending a lot of time with Stein. To-day we brought grandpa Wandrow to his grave, they took a double grave in our cemetery, Mr. Japfet made a very ,
nice speech, in the presence of Mrs. Jacob and Heinz Kramer. As you can imagine we had to do, of course, all the running around again. Dear Inge, do me a favour and write to us mailing by Air Mail, whether you have been to Canberra and whether you have achieved anything for us, if not we can, for now, see ourselves to get to Brazil and from there wait if something else crops up for us. You can imagine we would very very much prefer to be in Australia with you. Whilst I was away mother had written to Mrs. Adelson and informed her about the whole situation, unfortunately we still have no reply from there either, could you ask her again please whether she didn't get mother's letter and do please ask again whether she could make it possible to do something for us as time is exerting pressure. So, my good child, enjoy a good life and a thousand best wishes and kisses from your Dad.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Kim Poppert
In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this archival project.