War Organisation of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John Postal Message Scheme
Object numberM2007/084:007
TitleWar Organisation of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John Postal Message Scheme
DescriptionWar Organisation of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John Postal Message Scheme enquiry from Jakob Jacobs, Palestine, to his parents in Sogel, Germany, 20 May 1941. The message, not exceeding 25 words, tells his parents, Simon and Berta Jacobs, that he and Hans are well and that they heard from Jakob's brother, Otto, who was well in Australia. He enquires as to the whereabouts of Josef and his sisters Rosette and Else. It also states that Hans expects news about his parents. On the reverse is a handwritten response from Jakob's parents, stating that they are well and are glad to hear that everyone else is well. It states that Rosette is with them, Else is in Emden and Josef is "in the same place". The message is passed by the Censor in Palestine and includes a stamp from the High Command of the Wehrmacht, indicating that it had been examined by them as well.
Part of a collection that contains 21 documents: birth certificates, letters of reference from 1939, identity cards (Kennkarten), Red Cross messages, police clearance certificates and applications to the Australian Department of Immigration pertaining to Alice Boothman’s (nee Alizah Jacobs) family and their escape from Austria just prior to World War II. The collection was donated by Alice Boothman in 2007.
Recha Rebeka Jacobs, the donor’s mother, was born in 1920, in Poznan, Poland to Ernestyna and Maks Moses Gallewski. Her mother was a music teacher. Her siblings were university students expelled after the Anschluss of Austria by the National Socialists. Her father, a physician, had died from injuries sustained during WWI.
Recha met Jakob Jacobs at an Austrian Hachschara farm set up to train Jewish youngsters for immigration to Palestine. Jakob was born in 1911 to Simon and Berta Jacobs, “excellent farming people and horse handlers” in the north of Germany. His younger brother Otto escaped to England. Classified as ‘enemy alien’, he was arrested in May 1940 and shipped on 10 July 1940 - together with 2,541 detainees - on the Dunera to Australia. Upon arrival, the ‘Dunera boys’ were interned in Hay and Tatura.
Jakob’s father also made plans to escape. In a letter of reference from the district farm leader of Aschendorf, Germany, 26 July 1939 [M2007/084:003], Simon Jacobs (with the enforced middle name 'Israel' inserted into the document) was praised as “a farmer of great skill who had managed a 18 hectare farm for more than 30 years in Sögel.” The farm leader also confirmed that his children, Jakob, Otto and Else had also worked on the farm and that Jakob and Otto could carry out various kinds of farm work from milking to caring for cattle, and cultivating grains, potatoes, turnips and beets.
It can be established from the documents and Red Cross messages in the collection that Simon died on 26 March 1942 in Sögel, a small town in North Germany, aged 68, but it is not known why. On 15 July 1942 his wife Berta was deported to Theresienstadt where she was murdered along with her daughters Else, Rosette and Karli, Rosette’s child. Jakob and Otto felt guilt over this for the rest of their lives. In September 1940, Eichmann’s Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung (Central Office for Jewish Emigration) was involved in chartering three ships to transport 3,600 Jewish refugees from the Rumanian port of Tulcea to Palestine. Recha and Jakob were among the passengers. Palestine was under the British Mandate government at the time and the British considered these refugees to be illegal immigrants. Arriving in Haifa, they were denied entry and put aboard the ‘Patria’, to be deported to Mauritius. Zionist organisations opposed the deportation, and on 25 November 1940 the Haganah – the Zionist underground organisation - planted a bomb intended to disable the ship to prevent it from leaving Haifa. Miscalculating the effects of the explosion, the ship sank in less than 16 minutes, killing 267 refugees. Recha and Jakob managed to cling to wreckage and survived.
Following this disaster, the refugees were allowed to stay. Recha and Jakob married in Palestine on 20 February 1942. [Ketubah M2007/084:016] They had two daughters, Alizah and Shulamith. Jakob served in the 1948 War of Independence, initially as a soldier then later as a cook. In 1951 the family immigrated to Australia to join Otto, who now went by the name Jack. He had joined the Australian Army after his release from internment, and purchased a soldier settlement in Sheffield, Tasmania, where he established a farm, called Bonnie Doon. The family adapted to life in Tasmania and anglicized their names: Alizah became Alice, Shulamith became Betty, Recha changed to Rita and Jakob to Charlie. The family hid their Jewish identity in public, but the children were brought up in the Jewish faith, with the younger son, Simon, born in 1962 in Tasmania, celebrating his Bar Mitzvah.
Part of a collection that contains 21 documents: birth certificates, letters of reference from 1939, identity cards (Kennkarten), Red Cross messages, police clearance certificates and applications to the Australian Department of Immigration pertaining to Alice Boothman’s (nee Alizah Jacobs) family and their escape from Austria just prior to World War II. The collection was donated by Alice Boothman in 2007.
Recha Rebeka Jacobs, the donor’s mother, was born in 1920, in Poznan, Poland to Ernestyna and Maks Moses Gallewski. Her mother was a music teacher. Her siblings were university students expelled after the Anschluss of Austria by the National Socialists. Her father, a physician, had died from injuries sustained during WWI.
Recha met Jakob Jacobs at an Austrian Hachschara farm set up to train Jewish youngsters for immigration to Palestine. Jakob was born in 1911 to Simon and Berta Jacobs, “excellent farming people and horse handlers” in the north of Germany. His younger brother Otto escaped to England. Classified as ‘enemy alien’, he was arrested in May 1940 and shipped on 10 July 1940 - together with 2,541 detainees - on the Dunera to Australia. Upon arrival, the ‘Dunera boys’ were interned in Hay and Tatura.
Jakob’s father also made plans to escape. In a letter of reference from the district farm leader of Aschendorf, Germany, 26 July 1939 [M2007/084:003], Simon Jacobs (with the enforced middle name 'Israel' inserted into the document) was praised as “a farmer of great skill who had managed a 18 hectare farm for more than 30 years in Sögel.” The farm leader also confirmed that his children, Jakob, Otto and Else had also worked on the farm and that Jakob and Otto could carry out various kinds of farm work from milking to caring for cattle, and cultivating grains, potatoes, turnips and beets.
It can be established from the documents and Red Cross messages in the collection that Simon died on 26 March 1942 in Sögel, a small town in North Germany, aged 68, but it is not known why. On 15 July 1942 his wife Berta was deported to Theresienstadt where she was murdered along with her daughters Else, Rosette and Karli, Rosette’s child. Jakob and Otto felt guilt over this for the rest of their lives. In September 1940, Eichmann’s Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung (Central Office for Jewish Emigration) was involved in chartering three ships to transport 3,600 Jewish refugees from the Rumanian port of Tulcea to Palestine. Recha and Jakob were among the passengers. Palestine was under the British Mandate government at the time and the British considered these refugees to be illegal immigrants. Arriving in Haifa, they were denied entry and put aboard the ‘Patria’, to be deported to Mauritius. Zionist organisations opposed the deportation, and on 25 November 1940 the Haganah – the Zionist underground organisation - planted a bomb intended to disable the ship to prevent it from leaving Haifa. Miscalculating the effects of the explosion, the ship sank in less than 16 minutes, killing 267 refugees. Recha and Jakob managed to cling to wreckage and survived.
Following this disaster, the refugees were allowed to stay. Recha and Jakob married in Palestine on 20 February 1942. [Ketubah M2007/084:016] They had two daughters, Alizah and Shulamith. Jakob served in the 1948 War of Independence, initially as a soldier then later as a cook. In 1951 the family immigrated to Australia to join Otto, who now went by the name Jack. He had joined the Australian Army after his release from internment, and purchased a soldier settlement in Sheffield, Tasmania, where he established a farm, called Bonnie Doon. The family adapted to life in Tasmania and anglicized their names: Alizah became Alice, Shulamith became Betty, Recha changed to Rita and Jakob to Charlie. The family hid their Jewish identity in public, but the children were brought up in the Jewish faith, with the younger son, Simon, born in 1962 in Tasmania, celebrating his Bar Mitzvah.
Production placePalestine, Sogel, Germany
Production date 1941-05-20 - 1941-09-08
Object nameRed Cross message service
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 145.00 mm
height: 230.00 mm
Language
- German Hans and I are well. Had news from Otto. Otto is well in Australia. Where are Josef, little Rosette, Else? Hans is expecting news from his parents. Signed Jakob, Hans
German Very happy, are all well, also the Herzlaker parents. Setti is with us, Else is in Emden, Josef in the same place. We always think about you. All the best! Your parents
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Alice Boothman
DocumentationOur family history300003807