Object numberM2003/017:007
DescriptionDrawing coloured pencil crayons depicting two teenage girls - one in a pink dress presenting flowers to the other wearing a blue dress. The words "Bon Anniversaire" (Happy Birthday) are written diagonally on the page. A birthday message is written on the back and signed by "Felisa" and Gregoria". It reads: "Dear Friend, I wish you a happy birthday. Hope that you will pass your Certificate and that you find your father and that the war should finish, and that you should be among your dear ones. Receive a thousand hugs ('caresses') from your two friends who love you. Felisia and Gregoria." This card was given to Jacqueline Dale (nee Feldman) for her 14th birthday in 1945 at the orphanage in Castera-Verduzan.
Jacqueline was born in Paris, France on 18 January 1931 to Pessa and Icek Feldman. Her parents were Polish Jews and married in 1929; shortly after they moved to Paris. Jacqueline attended a French public school, except for on Thursdays and Sundays, when she attended a Jewish school. Her family visited the synagogue and kept kosher.
Her father Icek (Isaac) was a tailor and served in North Africa with the French Foreign Legion until 1940. He returned to France but was then arrested by French authorities in May 1941. He was deported to Pithiviers Internment Camp in 1941 and deported to Auschwitz in July 1942, where he was murdered.
After her father’s arrest, German soldiers visited Jacqueline’s apartment to take her family to a camp, but they managed to hide. Pessa fled to the Zone Libre (unoccupied territory) in the south of France. In 1942 (aged 11) Jacqueline was sent by the OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants, a children’s aid organisation) to De l'ecole Du Couret; an orphanage in the French town of Couret. Meanwhile her brother Charles (born 1937) was sent to a nursery. Jacqueline and Charles were reunited a year later at an orphanage in Poulouzat. When Poulouzat was attacked by German soldiers Jacqueline and Charles moved to a Catholic orphanage in Castera-Verduzan in the Haute Pyrrenees region of France, where they stayed from 1943 until 1945. She and her brother hid their Jewish identity and pretended to be Catholic at Castera-Verduzan. Meanwhile, her mother worked on a farm as a maid.
After liberation, Jacqueline was taken to two chateaus where she learned sewing, which later helped her get a factory job when she returned to Paris. She migrated to Australia in 1949, aged 18, with the help of the OSE. She married Louis Pakula in November 1949 and had two children, Rina (born 1950) and Irwin (born 1953). She joined a Child Survivor group and was naturalized as an Australian citizen five years after her arrival. Later Jacqueline married again to Anthony Dale. Pessa migrated to Australia in 1977.
Part of a collection of birthday cards donated by Jacqueline in 2003.
Jacqueline was born in Paris, France on 18 January 1931 to Pessa and Icek Feldman. Her parents were Polish Jews and married in 1929; shortly after they moved to Paris. Jacqueline attended a French public school, except for on Thursdays and Sundays, when she attended a Jewish school. Her family visited the synagogue and kept kosher.
Her father Icek (Isaac) was a tailor and served in North Africa with the French Foreign Legion until 1940. He returned to France but was then arrested by French authorities in May 1941. He was deported to Pithiviers Internment Camp in 1941 and deported to Auschwitz in July 1942, where he was murdered.
After her father’s arrest, German soldiers visited Jacqueline’s apartment to take her family to a camp, but they managed to hide. Pessa fled to the Zone Libre (unoccupied territory) in the south of France. In 1942 (aged 11) Jacqueline was sent by the OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants, a children’s aid organisation) to De l'ecole Du Couret; an orphanage in the French town of Couret. Meanwhile her brother Charles (born 1937) was sent to a nursery. Jacqueline and Charles were reunited a year later at an orphanage in Poulouzat. When Poulouzat was attacked by German soldiers Jacqueline and Charles moved to a Catholic orphanage in Castera-Verduzan in the Haute Pyrrenees region of France, where they stayed from 1943 until 1945. She and her brother hid their Jewish identity and pretended to be Catholic at Castera-Verduzan. Meanwhile, her mother worked on a farm as a maid.
After liberation, Jacqueline was taken to two chateaus where she learned sewing, which later helped her get a factory job when she returned to Paris. She migrated to Australia in 1949, aged 18, with the help of the OSE. She married Louis Pakula in November 1949 and had two children, Rina (born 1950) and Irwin (born 1953). She joined a Child Survivor group and was naturalized as an Australian citizen five years after her arrival. Later Jacqueline married again to Anthony Dale. Pessa migrated to Australia in 1977.
Part of a collection of birthday cards donated by Jacqueline in 2003.
Production placeFrance
Production date 1945-01-18
Object namedrawings
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- whole width: 220.00 mm
height: 169.00 mm
Language
- French 18.1.1945
Dear Friend,
I wish you a happy birthday. Hope that you will pass your Certificate and that you find your father and that the war should finish, and that you should be among your dear ones. Receive a thousand hugs ('caresses') from your two friends who love you. Felisia and Gregoria.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs Jacqueline Dale