Letter from Otto and Regina Herrmann to Inge Herrmann
Object numberM2020/023:076
TitleLetter from Otto and Regina Herrmann to Inge Herrmann
Creator Otto Herrmann, Regina Herrmann
DescriptionLetter from Otto and Regina Herrmann in Magdeburg to their daughter Inge in Sydney. While the letter is undated, it is likely the last letter Inge received directly from her parents. Inge had been desperately trying to secure a permit for her parents to immigrate to Australia. This letter responds to the news that the permit was rejected.
The letter begins with Otto's contribution. He states that: "you had received the rejection of the permit which we had feared for a long time, we are absolutely dumbfounded, this setback has affected us enormously. If we heard about many rejections here, a parent-permit rejection had not been one of them and I myself had always counted with certainty on the permission, I didn't know, how to tell your mum and you, my dear child, know how easily mum gets upset. So, there is no use now, time has been lost and we have to start all over again, so far one had at least some hope." Otto notes that conditions were getting more 'desolate'. He describes how Regina was now working such long hours at the Jewish community kitchen and had enormous amounts of work to complete every day.
He also states that "The poverty in the community is getting worse, everyday something new distresses us." Otto states that Inge must reapply for a permit for Regina and himself as fast as possible, enforcing that she must "do everything humanly possible." He instructs her to ask her hosts and their attempted sponsors, Canberra officials, and the Jewish Committee in Sydney for help.
Otto ends the letter with: "Now my dear child, we do know that is not your doing and we are not reproaching you, but we are again totally beaten/overcome on account of the rejection. Farewell and remain a good girl, my beloved child and receive a thousand loving greetings and kisses, in love, from your Daddy."
Regina writes: "The last few days I have suffered from some restlessness and always had the feeling, that we would get a negative reply and unfortunately, unfortunately that has been the case. It is very terrible for us not only that we are to throw away everything, but we do not want to lose faith, and trust in God, perhaps everything will take a turn in our favour." Regina relays the hopelessness of applying for Erez (Israel), and the low chance of them gaining entry to America. She states that even if they could go elsewhere they would have no-one, and "my beloved child, we want to be with you, otherwise our lives have no purpose at all anymore."
This letter, the last from her parents, is one of the most heavily worn and damaged in this collection, likely a result of constant handling.
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.
The letter begins with Otto's contribution. He states that: "you had received the rejection of the permit which we had feared for a long time, we are absolutely dumbfounded, this setback has affected us enormously. If we heard about many rejections here, a parent-permit rejection had not been one of them and I myself had always counted with certainty on the permission, I didn't know, how to tell your mum and you, my dear child, know how easily mum gets upset. So, there is no use now, time has been lost and we have to start all over again, so far one had at least some hope." Otto notes that conditions were getting more 'desolate'. He describes how Regina was now working such long hours at the Jewish community kitchen and had enormous amounts of work to complete every day.
He also states that "The poverty in the community is getting worse, everyday something new distresses us." Otto states that Inge must reapply for a permit for Regina and himself as fast as possible, enforcing that she must "do everything humanly possible." He instructs her to ask her hosts and their attempted sponsors, Canberra officials, and the Jewish Committee in Sydney for help.
Otto ends the letter with: "Now my dear child, we do know that is not your doing and we are not reproaching you, but we are again totally beaten/overcome on account of the rejection. Farewell and remain a good girl, my beloved child and receive a thousand loving greetings and kisses, in love, from your Daddy."
Regina writes: "The last few days I have suffered from some restlessness and always had the feeling, that we would get a negative reply and unfortunately, unfortunately that has been the case. It is very terrible for us not only that we are to throw away everything, but we do not want to lose faith, and trust in God, perhaps everything will take a turn in our favour." Regina relays the hopelessness of applying for Erez (Israel), and the low chance of them gaining entry to America. She states that even if they could go elsewhere they would have no-one, and "my beloved child, we want to be with you, otherwise our lives have no purpose at all anymore."
This letter, the last from her parents, is one of the most heavily worn and damaged in this collection, likely a result of constant handling.
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 1939
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 290.00 mm
height: 204.00 mm
Language
- German Magdeburg, 3. (likely 07. 1939)
(Letter is in two sheets of paper, and ordered unclearly, text has been arranged in likely order. Kyle V.)
My dearly beloved little Inge!
We received your letter and see that you were in good health when you wrote it. Unfortunately we had to learn that you had received the rejection of the permit which we had feared for a long time, we are absolutely dumbfounded, this setback has affected us enormously. If we heard about many rejections here, a parent-permit rejection had not been one of them and I myself had always counted with certainty on the permission, I didn't know, how to tell your mum and you, my dear child, know how easily mum gets upset. So, there is no use now, time has been lost and we have to start all over again, so far one had at least some hope. The conditions here are becoming more and more desolate, because we don't know what to live on. Mum spends from 8 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon in the kitchen, sometimes till 6, there are meals supplied for 65 people at the moment and it is very difficult for your mum, although she has help for some of the tasks, there are 3 buckets of potatoes to be peeled, usually 30 pounds of vegetables to clean, you can just imagine how much work mum has and on top of that she has the responsibility that everything is tasting well. The poverty in the community is getting worse, everyday something new distresses us. Now, my beloved child, if you have not done so, you have to go to the local committee and lodge a new request on our behalf at once, once more. Ask Mrs. W
to give you a letter for the ministry that she pledges the guarantee of the required amount for us and take it to Canberra, if the Committee advises you to do so and present the request in person, perhaps, if you can speak to the relevant official and explain our situation, perhaps you would have a faster success, perhaps it is better than him dealing with the usual queries on an enrolment form. I don't know of course how much such a journey would cost, but I believe and hope that one of these well-meaning ladies will be prepared to help you out, eventually you could repay the money in instalments. Also mention to the ladies in the Committee that your mother is in charge of the emergency kitchen of the local Jewish community and also skilled in 'haute cuisine' and will therefore be able to find work in Australia, and therefore be no burden to anyone. You have to do everything humanly possible to get us a permit, and to do it as fast as possible. In my opinion it is pointless to
(?write/approach?)
to
. Lowen
you have probably heard about the rejection of Gisela's parents from Gisela, had she been in Canberra again, and did she have success? Jankos, who all three eat in the kitchen here, have said that Gisela had been to Canberra and that they would get their permit soon. But people tell so many lies that you cannot believe them anymore.
.. to write, for firstly
.. and then a gentleman whom she knows has offered to sponsor Uncle
., apart from that one has to expect that it could be up to 8 years before one can emigrate to the USA. We do not know the address of the Rosenbergs, but in the end Tel Aviv may have to suffice or through the Oley Germania in Tel Aviv, the address of which can be obtained in the local
.. I expect practically nothing of it. I also have cousins (male) in Tel Aviv, whose address I got a hold of a while ago, to whom I will write tomorrow and describe our circumstances to them. But an entry into Erez they will not be able to provide for us either, that I already know. Now my dear child, we do not know that is not your doing and we are not reproaching you, but we are again totally beaten/overcome on account of the rejection.
Farewell and remain a good girl, my beloved child and receive a thousand loving greetings and kisses, in love, from your Daddy.
My dearly beloved sweet child!
This morning, after our meal, dear Daddy showed me your letter and, of course, I am quite
The last few days I have suffered from some restlessness and always had the feeling, that we would get a negative reply and unfortunately, unfortunately that has been the case. It is very terrible for us not only that we are to throw away everything, but we do not want to lose faith, and trust in God, perhaps everything will take a turn in our favour. The most important thing is to apply again and to describe our circumstances
To write to the
.. is pointless, even
.. have problems to gain entry to Erez and (to go) to America, where we have no one, we could be waiting for years. And then, my beloved child, we want to be with you, otherwise our lives have no purpose at all anymore. See what can be done. Speak quietly and factually to Miss
, who treats you so touchingly well, to stand by your side with advice and assistance, also to your boss. I can send certificates/documents from here
It is of value that
. Received 10 Marks more, which is very pleasant [5 LINES ILLEGIBLE]
Does Gisela have a new guarantor again? One hears about a terrible lot of unsuccessful applications, I think that may change again, that happens during such crises, hopefully it will pass soon.
My food still has to cook more
. Everybody has left
. I am unable to get up early
Try to be diligent and to be a good girl, so people give you help
.., people have been treating you well
one in a thousand. My beloved child
.. greetings and kisses a thousand times, your loving Mum
There is no need to write to Max R., it is pointless.
Once more, loving kisses from Mum
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.