Object numberM2009/038:018
DescriptionPostcard dated 8 April 1941 from Louis Kalmus in Paris to his half-sister Ada Schnek in Marseille
After having completed this card, which is reserved strictly for correspondence about family matters, strike out the words you don't use - do not write anything above these lines. Warning - all cards which have writing which is not solely about family matters will not be sent off and will probably be destroyed.
"Dear Ada.
We are in good health. I have been demobilized. We have received news of Mamma. Do you need any money? I have been on return in Paris for several months now. Frieda is working. We have a visa to go to New York but it is impossible to get a visa to leave. Where is Willy? How is the little one? Write to me straight away please. Louis"
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.
After having completed this card, which is reserved strictly for correspondence about family matters, strike out the words you don't use - do not write anything above these lines. Warning - all cards which have writing which is not solely about family matters will not be sent off and will probably be destroyed.
"Dear Ada.
We are in good health. I have been demobilized. We have received news of Mamma. Do you need any money? I have been on return in Paris for several months now. Frieda is working. We have a visa to go to New York but it is impossible to get a visa to leave. Where is Willy? How is the little one? Write to me straight away please. Louis"
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 1941
Subjectrefugees, Visa Refusal, censorship, loved ones' contact
Object namepostcards
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 150.00 mm
height: 100.00 mm
Language
- French Paris 8.4.1941
From: Louis Kalmus, 12 Mauberge St, Paris 9th
To: Mrs Ada Schnek, Hotel Bompard, 4 Traverse Beau Lieu, Marseille
After having completed this card, which is reserved strictly for correspondence about family matters, strike out the words you don’t use – do not write anything above these lines. Warning – all cards which have writing which is not solely about family matters will not be sent off and will probably be destroyed.
Dear Ada (ie his half sister)
We are in good health. I have been demobilized. We have received news of Mamma. Do you need any money? I have been on return in Paris for several months now. Frieda is working. We have a visa to go to New York but it is impossible to get a visa to leave. Where is Willy? How is the little one? Write to me straight away please.
Louis
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Cassia Partane