Object numberM2009/038:012
DescriptionHandwritten letter dated December 1939 from Willy in France to his wife and daughter Ada and Marion in Vienna. In it he writes that there is nothing new to report and how difficult it is to be without them, "It is half a year since I left you. I deeply regret that...I have you always before my eyes and think of you constantly".
Part of a collection of documents and letters spanning pre-war life in Austria, war-time survival experiences and immigration to Australia. The collection includes a Notice of Arrest, a Deutsches Reich Passport stamped with a 'J', censored postcards, food and clothing ration cards, letters written by Wilhelm Schnek to his wife Ada during the time they were separated, and a photograph of Marion Schnek, arriving on the RMS Strathnaver ocean liner on 24 March 1959, illustrated in the Daily Telegraph. One of the letter's in the collection is from Ada's half-brother Louis Kalmus, in which he writes that a letter to their mother, Mina Kallei, came back unopened with the comment, "addressee on a journey or has travelled to Poland". Mina had been deported on 3 December 1941 from Vienna to Riga, "...there is little hope we will hear from them again."
Marion Schnek (mother of donor) was born in Vienna in 1936 to Ada and Wilhelm Schnek. She and her mother escaped one night for France. They were put in prison - "with murderers". She was later in an orphanage and then a castle in France with other children.
Marion's father left Vienna in July 1939 for France; he was held in Bordeaux, then joined the French Foreign Legion and later the British Army where he became an interpreter. After the war, the family moved to London to join him and Marion went to a Catholic school. Her father died circa 1956 when she was 20. In 1959, Marion decided to immigrate to Australia, coming as a '10 Pound Pom'. She met her husband on the boat.
Marion's mother, Ada, born in Lemberg in 1905, was naturalised in Austria in 1933. She worked as a Dental Assistant, but lost her position because of racial persecution. In April 1940, Ada left Vienna with her daughter and was interned in Nice, France. From there she was sent to Marseille and from there, without grounds until 14 July 1940, held in prison. From 14 July 1940, she was held in Hotel Bompard in Marseille, where she remained until August 1942. From there she was deported to Camp De Les Milles on 24 November 1942 and from 25 November 1942 to Camp de Gurs. Later, she was held in Chateaux le Roc and then Chateaux de Goudeau. After the war, in May 1946 she left to join her husband in London. After he died, she got remarried to a German Jew. In 1963, Ada migrated to Sydney to join her daughter; they opened an Austrian restaurant in Double Bay.
Part of a collection of documents and letters spanning pre-war life in Austria, war-time survival experiences and immigration to Australia. The collection includes a Notice of Arrest, a Deutsches Reich Passport stamped with a 'J', censored postcards, food and clothing ration cards, letters written by Wilhelm Schnek to his wife Ada during the time they were separated, and a photograph of Marion Schnek, arriving on the RMS Strathnaver ocean liner on 24 March 1959, illustrated in the Daily Telegraph. One of the letter's in the collection is from Ada's half-brother Louis Kalmus, in which he writes that a letter to their mother, Mina Kallei, came back unopened with the comment, "addressee on a journey or has travelled to Poland". Mina had been deported on 3 December 1941 from Vienna to Riga, "...there is little hope we will hear from them again."
Marion Schnek (mother of donor) was born in Vienna in 1936 to Ada and Wilhelm Schnek. She and her mother escaped one night for France. They were put in prison - "with murderers". She was later in an orphanage and then a castle in France with other children.
Marion's father left Vienna in July 1939 for France; he was held in Bordeaux, then joined the French Foreign Legion and later the British Army where he became an interpreter. After the war, the family moved to London to join him and Marion went to a Catholic school. Her father died circa 1956 when she was 20. In 1959, Marion decided to immigrate to Australia, coming as a '10 Pound Pom'. She met her husband on the boat.
Marion's mother, Ada, born in Lemberg in 1905, was naturalised in Austria in 1933. She worked as a Dental Assistant, but lost her position because of racial persecution. In April 1940, Ada left Vienna with her daughter and was interned in Nice, France. From there she was sent to Marseille and from there, without grounds until 14 July 1940, held in prison. From 14 July 1940, she was held in Hotel Bompard in Marseille, where she remained until August 1942. From there she was deported to Camp De Les Milles on 24 November 1942 and from 25 November 1942 to Camp de Gurs. Later, she was held in Chateaux le Roc and then Chateaux de Goudeau. After the war, in May 1946 she left to join her husband in London. After he died, she got remarried to a German Jew. In 1963, Ada migrated to Sydney to join her daughter; they opened an Austrian restaurant in Double Bay.
Production date 1939
Subjectadaptation, love, loved ones' contact, signs of life
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 130.00 mm
height: 215.00 mm
Language
- German December 1939 (German)
Dear Ada & Marion (ie to his wife and daughter)
I do not wait to hear anything from you but still write and I hope to have something from Mamma soon. I cannot report anything new. Unfortunately I must say that I do not know how long I will be here. We are staying separated and I have to live without you.
What is the little one doing? I hope she is thriving and growing clever, what a father always wishes for. To think of her only increases my desire to see you.
It is half a year since I left you. I deeply regret that. All we have left is to resign ourselves to our ordeal and what has happened cannot be changed anymore. Now we are only waiting for what will happen.
I have you always before my eyes and think of you constantly. Hopefully you have a reasonable life. You at least have the little one. I am anxious to hear from you and a lot from Madi. As for me, I am deteriorating and missing you badly, living with alien people.
Many kisses,
Willy.
PS You’ll have to appreciate I cannot keep writing the same thing all the time but there is nothing else to write. I can’t write about concrete topics and other topics are repetitive and boring. But you could tell me something about my girl. I am sure there is always something new. Keep informed as much as you can. Tell her a lot about me. Don’t hit her. Send my regards to everybody.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Cassia Partane