Reisepass
Object numberM2011/070:046
TitleReisepass
DescriptionWalter Prager's German passport. Recorded in the passport is Walter's arrival in Uruguay in January 1939 and granting of permanent resident visa in 1944.
Part of a collection relating to the family of Lothar Prager.
Lothar Prager was born in May 1902 to Wilhelm and Wanda Prager in Rybnik, Germany (now Poland). He was the youngest of three siblings; his brother Rudolph (Rudi)) was born 1897, and sister Marie born 1899.
The middle-class family operated a textiles and dyes factory. In 1919, at the age of 16, Lothar served as a volunteer border patrol soldier for the German army during the First Silesian Uprising with Poland. Lothar served for three months in the Hasse, II Battalion Infantry Regiment, the lowest rank of the German Armed Forces, as a patrolman along the Silesian border. The family subsequently moved to Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland).
In the early 1930s Lothar and his Aryan girlfriend Grete Brix, were working together. He was a travelling salesman for their family clothing factory and Grete the model accompanying him on the trips. By early 1935 Lothar and Grete decided to move in together before getting married.
In September 1935 the Nuremberg Laws were passed, which prohibited marriage between Jews and Germans. Grete was finding it difficult as more and more couples of mixed relationships were denounced, often paraded on the streets and humiliated. By December 1935, their relationship of ten years was over. "His life was completely turned upside down by the Nuremberg Laws," noted donor Rita Prager, Lothar's daughter-in-law.
In 1938, as antisemitism worsened, Lothar tried to convince his parents to prepare for emigration as he and his brother Rudi were doing; applying for visas to any country that would take them. His parents, already in their late sixties, initially decided that life for German Jews had been difficult before and they thought in time it would pass; they didn't want to leave their home and factory. By the time they changed their minds it was too late.
Wilhelm and Wanda Prager were deported to Theresienstadt in 1942 where they perished around six months later. Marie Kohn (nee Prager) and her husband Erich had escaped to Amsterdam in 1939. They were arrested in April 1943 in Amsterdam and deported to Vught-Herzogenbusch concentration camp. Six weeks later they were transferred to Westerbork transit camp and from there to Sobibor death camp. They were murdered on 28 May 1943 in Sobibor.
Lothar's brother Rudi Prager immigrated in 1939 to Santiago, Chile while Lothar received a visa for Paraguay. As Paraguay was an inland country the ship docked in Montevideo, Uruguay, in September 1938. He disembarked and decided to make Montevideo his new home. Lothar moved from an affluent life in Breslau, a home with crystal chandeliers, to a life of struggle and hardship in Uruguay. He learned just enough Spanish to sell the blouses he began manufacturing. He was a travelling salesman carrying suitcases of samples, just managing to stay afloat.
In 1948 in Uruguay Lothar met and married Holocaust survivor Dina Weizer. Dina had emigrated from Berlin in 1938 with her sister and sister's husband, after being unable to find employment as a Jew. They had to leave behind their mother who was being cared for by another sister. Dina's mother survived Theresienstadt and the Weizer family were reunited in Uruguay in 1948, after spending time in DP camps waiting for their visas.
Once Lothar passed away, his son Victor and daughter-in-law Rita immigrated to Australia in January 1993, where Rita's parents, also Holocaust survivors, were living.
Part of a collection relating to the family of Lothar Prager.
Lothar Prager was born in May 1902 to Wilhelm and Wanda Prager in Rybnik, Germany (now Poland). He was the youngest of three siblings; his brother Rudolph (Rudi)) was born 1897, and sister Marie born 1899.
The middle-class family operated a textiles and dyes factory. In 1919, at the age of 16, Lothar served as a volunteer border patrol soldier for the German army during the First Silesian Uprising with Poland. Lothar served for three months in the Hasse, II Battalion Infantry Regiment, the lowest rank of the German Armed Forces, as a patrolman along the Silesian border. The family subsequently moved to Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland).
In the early 1930s Lothar and his Aryan girlfriend Grete Brix, were working together. He was a travelling salesman for their family clothing factory and Grete the model accompanying him on the trips. By early 1935 Lothar and Grete decided to move in together before getting married.
In September 1935 the Nuremberg Laws were passed, which prohibited marriage between Jews and Germans. Grete was finding it difficult as more and more couples of mixed relationships were denounced, often paraded on the streets and humiliated. By December 1935, their relationship of ten years was over. "His life was completely turned upside down by the Nuremberg Laws," noted donor Rita Prager, Lothar's daughter-in-law.
In 1938, as antisemitism worsened, Lothar tried to convince his parents to prepare for emigration as he and his brother Rudi were doing; applying for visas to any country that would take them. His parents, already in their late sixties, initially decided that life for German Jews had been difficult before and they thought in time it would pass; they didn't want to leave their home and factory. By the time they changed their minds it was too late.
Wilhelm and Wanda Prager were deported to Theresienstadt in 1942 where they perished around six months later. Marie Kohn (nee Prager) and her husband Erich had escaped to Amsterdam in 1939. They were arrested in April 1943 in Amsterdam and deported to Vught-Herzogenbusch concentration camp. Six weeks later they were transferred to Westerbork transit camp and from there to Sobibor death camp. They were murdered on 28 May 1943 in Sobibor.
Lothar's brother Rudi Prager immigrated in 1939 to Santiago, Chile while Lothar received a visa for Paraguay. As Paraguay was an inland country the ship docked in Montevideo, Uruguay, in September 1938. He disembarked and decided to make Montevideo his new home. Lothar moved from an affluent life in Breslau, a home with crystal chandeliers, to a life of struggle and hardship in Uruguay. He learned just enough Spanish to sell the blouses he began manufacturing. He was a travelling salesman carrying suitcases of samples, just managing to stay afloat.
In 1948 in Uruguay Lothar met and married Holocaust survivor Dina Weizer. Dina had emigrated from Berlin in 1938 with her sister and sister's husband, after being unable to find employment as a Jew. They had to leave behind their mother who was being cared for by another sister. Dina's mother survived Theresienstadt and the Weizer family were reunited in Uruguay in 1948, after spending time in DP camps waiting for their visas.
Once Lothar passed away, his son Victor and daughter-in-law Rita immigrated to Australia in January 1993, where Rita's parents, also Holocaust survivors, were living.
Production placeBreslau, Germany
Production date 1934-03-02
Subjectpassports
Object namepassports
Dimensions
- width: 110.00 mm
length: 160.00 mm
depth: 2.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Rita Prager