Wartime Letters of Richard and Hilda Löbl 1939
Object numberM2021/036:001
TitleWartime Letters of Richard and Hilda Löbl 1939
DescriptionLetter from Richard Löbl, Berlin, to George and Dora Fekete (nee Löbl), 15 January 1939, Sydney.
Part of a collection of letters written by Richard and Hilda Löbl (nee Gerstl) from Berlin and Shanghai to their daughter, Dora, their son-in-law, George Fekete, and their granddaughter, Susie, who were in Sydney, between 1939 and 1941.
George Fekete was born in Hungary in 1901. Anti-Semitism at Budapest University forced him to study civil engineering in Berlin. There he met Dora Löbl, born in 1902. They married in 1927 and in 1932 their daughter Susie was born.
According to the donor, "George did not want Susie to go to a Jewish ghetto school, nor did he want her to go to a school where they espoused Nazi principles, so they decided to emigrate". The Feketes fled to Budapest and later to Australia, arriving in Sydney on 10 February 1938.
Although Dora's parents, Richard and Hilda Löbl, were booked to travel to Australia on the RMS Strathmore on 6 November 1939, their landing permits were cancelled with the outbreak of World War II.
The 38 Berlin letters, written during 1939, are a record of correspondence between Richard and Hilda who were stranded in Nazi Germany, and the Fekete family who were newly settled in Sydney.
Richard and Hilda managed to escape to Shanghai in April 1940. They were on the final voyage made by the SS Conte Rosso, one of four Italian ships which carried Jewish refugees from Trieste to Shanghai - prior to Italy joining the Axis alliance.
The 53 Shanghai letters follow the narrative of the Löbl's lives in Hongkew between 11 July 1940 and 15 November 1941. They provide political commentary of the German-Jewish experience in the Shanghai ghetto during World War II. The letters also provide first-hand social commentary on the intersection between Eastern and Western cultures. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour, it became impossible for Richard and Hilda to send letters to Australia.
Dora and George had no further correspondence until May 1945, when a note arrived from Richard via the Red Cross; "Since July 21 1942 am alone. Mama died of typhus without suffering. Her thoughts were always with you. Your good news is my only comfort."
Richard arrived in Australia in 1946 and lived with the Feketes. He passed away on 2 August 1964.
Dora and her parents were prolific correspondents, writing almost weekly. Dora wrote long letters, sometimes nine pages in length, detailing the lives of her family in Sydney. The letters that Dora wrote to her parents have not survived, however, the letters which they wrote to her mostly did. Richard and Hilda's letters were much shorter due to the 5-gram weight restriction, having to pay more if the letter exceeded that weight.
As far as is possible, the English translations of these letters are an accurate record of the experiences shared between family members separated by long distances.
Part of a collection of letters written by Richard and Hilda Löbl (nee Gerstl) from Berlin and Shanghai to their daughter, Dora, their son-in-law, George Fekete, and their granddaughter, Susie, who were in Sydney, between 1939 and 1941.
George Fekete was born in Hungary in 1901. Anti-Semitism at Budapest University forced him to study civil engineering in Berlin. There he met Dora Löbl, born in 1902. They married in 1927 and in 1932 their daughter Susie was born.
According to the donor, "George did not want Susie to go to a Jewish ghetto school, nor did he want her to go to a school where they espoused Nazi principles, so they decided to emigrate". The Feketes fled to Budapest and later to Australia, arriving in Sydney on 10 February 1938.
Although Dora's parents, Richard and Hilda Löbl, were booked to travel to Australia on the RMS Strathmore on 6 November 1939, their landing permits were cancelled with the outbreak of World War II.
The 38 Berlin letters, written during 1939, are a record of correspondence between Richard and Hilda who were stranded in Nazi Germany, and the Fekete family who were newly settled in Sydney.
Richard and Hilda managed to escape to Shanghai in April 1940. They were on the final voyage made by the SS Conte Rosso, one of four Italian ships which carried Jewish refugees from Trieste to Shanghai - prior to Italy joining the Axis alliance.
The 53 Shanghai letters follow the narrative of the Löbl's lives in Hongkew between 11 July 1940 and 15 November 1941. They provide political commentary of the German-Jewish experience in the Shanghai ghetto during World War II. The letters also provide first-hand social commentary on the intersection between Eastern and Western cultures. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour, it became impossible for Richard and Hilda to send letters to Australia.
Dora and George had no further correspondence until May 1945, when a note arrived from Richard via the Red Cross; "Since July 21 1942 am alone. Mama died of typhus without suffering. Her thoughts were always with you. Your good news is my only comfort."
Richard arrived in Australia in 1946 and lived with the Feketes. He passed away on 2 August 1964.
Dora and her parents were prolific correspondents, writing almost weekly. Dora wrote long letters, sometimes nine pages in length, detailing the lives of her family in Sydney. The letters that Dora wrote to her parents have not survived, however, the letters which they wrote to her mostly did. Richard and Hilda's letters were much shorter due to the 5-gram weight restriction, having to pay more if the letter exceeded that weight.
As far as is possible, the English translations of these letters are an accurate record of the experiences shared between family members separated by long distances.
Production placeBerlin, Germany
Production date 1939-02-15
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Techniquehandwritten
Language
- German Berlin, Sunday 15 January 1939
My dear children,
I am remorseful about writing by hand again, but it is a bit awkward to bring the typewriter into the living room. My letter from yesterday and the one earlier you have hopefully received in Port Said.
Yesterday, Saturday afternoon, Herr Krenitze and Herr Prinz, my former cigarette supplier, were here. The latter has three affidavits sent by relations, who are earning about $30 per week. He is hoping that counting them all together, it will be enough for him and his wife to facilitate admission to America. However, the processing of his affairs could still be far off.
Krenitze is making no progress in his affairs. The instructions to the customs officers have been changed in the last few days. They will now no longer be sent from the existing customs office, but from Padehof. How this will work out has not been determined. Even personal travel luggage for local travellers now requires a sealed lock.
Last evening we were at the son-in-law of Engineer Bloch from Lichtenstadt, who was employed by Bewag, [Berlin Electricity Works] and is now pensioned off. There we got to know a lady, about 70 years old, whose son, for the last two years, has been working as a sales representative in Sydney, while his wife is running a beauty salon. This lady, who, to us, did not seem to be a very pleasant person, has a visa for Australia and will go to Sydney in summer. By the way, as a result of stiffening legs, she is in a bad way.
Last evening, Frau Brasch came to tell us the happy news that the pharmacist received a residence permit for 12 months in London. With this she will be relieved of a big worry. For the doctor himself there still are no prospects.
Mama met the mother-in-law of Steinmetz. As we wrote to you earlier, Steinmetz had to deduct the full gold amount. From London they are requesting from us details of the different purchases (really a ridiculous matter). As a matter of fact, Mama mentioned that you had been here, and it was a pleasure for you to take the things with you. But since these gentlemen did not say “good-bye” we did not know that they had already left. The mother-in-law was upset about the missed opportunity. Your household goods are deposited in the Free Port of Hamburg.
Krenitze pleads very much for us to give up Chile, and we should spend some time in Latvia. In his opinion, with our Czech passports, we should receive confirmation of residence for a long time without any problems. His family live in a garden suburb of Riga and feel very well there.
Today a rather confusing letter arrived from Frau Lederer, whose husband is away. I am going to quote a few lines from it. “I have talked to my brother, and together we have studied the advice therein. My brother reports to you as follows: According to the application (I had sent a copy to the Lederers) it is not clear what you have opted for. If you have become German, it does not mean that you have remained Czech. On the 10th October, you did indeed give you permanent address as being Berlin, but were apparently abroad (??!!) which probably does mean that you remained as Czechs. (What a contradiction to what was written before!) Because it can be interpreted one way one day and another way the next, in my brother’s opinion you should opt for it, even if it becomes superfluous. And for you, the Czech Consulate comes into consideration, where they want you to fill out the forms, at the cost of 50 Heller, and free of stamp duty. You will be advised of your place of domicile.”
Then she writes various things about you and about her, but certainly it would not be of such interest to you that I would have the need to quote it.
For us, the time of your journey is moving very, very slowly. We are already writing to Aden and you aren’t even in Malta yet. It is not a good feeling, not being able to establish any connection with you whilst you are at sea. We would gladly offer years, or at least one year, of our lives, in exchange for a conversation with you on board your ship. And so, one day after another creeps by, without us being able to hear anything from you.
Mama has changed into a painter. She picked Sunday morning to do this. She painted the kitchen table on the assumption that you would need it. Yesterday we bought a very pretty tablecloth for the oval table that you would really like.
I will only post this tomorrow, Monday, in case there is something else to report. By the way, I am unreasonably proud!
[The rest was written as a postscript on the first side of the paper, as there was a bit of room, and the second side was full.]
My right side is quite swollen from….Pass! To fly to Australia, as was my firm intention, will not be possible, since the Lottery can’t be bribed………… [This was written on the bottom and up the right-hand side of the page.]
[On the left-hand side of the page:] My dears, In the afternoon today, please excuse this open advice - so in short, for us it is the bathroom. Why am I writing this? Well, I am following your trip there. The breakfast tasted really good, but then perhaps I got seasick.
Note: a few more illegible notes in margin. There was one further sentence.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Hazel Hillier
In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this archival project.