Object numberM1995/014:001
DescriptionTypewritten letter (copy) from Alexander Ioffe to General Secretary Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, 3 January 1987. It was written as a plea for help and to notify the General Secretary that Alexander was initiating a hunger strike due to the bureaucratic difficulties immigrating his family to Israel. Alexander, his wife Rosa, daughter Tamara and son Dima were all classed as refuseniks in the USSR. Gorbachev was the last General Secretary before the fall of the Communist Party.
Alexander records his work history as a mathematician, membership with scientific societies and community engagement to highlight his contribution to the USSR in the hopes that his son will be able to immigrate. His frustration is evident in the letter, especially because “for more than 10 years my family is trying to get permission to go to Israel…these were not very easy years”.
The family were eventually able to move to Haifa in Israel, where Alexander worked at the Technion Institute for Technology.
This copy was sent to the family’s friends Sophie and Leslie Caplan in Australia, via the Australian Embassy in Moscow, along with a letter from the Ioffe’s (M1995/014:002). The families met when the Caplan’s travelled to Moscow in September 1985.
Alexander records his work history as a mathematician, membership with scientific societies and community engagement to highlight his contribution to the USSR in the hopes that his son will be able to immigrate. His frustration is evident in the letter, especially because “for more than 10 years my family is trying to get permission to go to Israel…these were not very easy years”.
The family were eventually able to move to Haifa in Israel, where Alexander worked at the Technion Institute for Technology.
This copy was sent to the family’s friends Sophie and Leslie Caplan in Australia, via the Australian Embassy in Moscow, along with a letter from the Ioffe’s (M1995/014:002). The families met when the Caplan’s travelled to Moscow in September 1985.
Production placeMoscow, Russia
Production date 1987-01-03
Subjectpersecution, communism, migration, families
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 210.00 mm
height: 296.00 mm
Language
- English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, donated by Sophie Caplan and Leslie Caplan