Object numberM2012/005:012
DescriptionLetter to an unknown male and female person. [Although the names of the sender and recipient are not given, a likely guess is that it was written to Gertrud Rosenbaum, who had emigrated to London in July 1939, from her family.]
Dated 27 December 1939 . The short part of the letter (written entirely in blue) summarises news from several friends and/or family members, eg. Rudi lost his job, they visit "Papa" very often (not clear if he is in a concentration camp or just in hospital). The author of the letter was very busy during the Christmas festivities, which s/he seemed to enjoy a lot. Someone is pregnant, but the father of the unborn "is not here". ["Steffi gave birth four days before Christmas to a stillborn boy. She is sick and recovering in hospital."] The longer part of the letter is hardly legible but mainly telling news from family members. The author expresses his/her joy that the addressee is healthy and satisfied and asks where she spent the Christmas holidays. The author spent Christmas with his/her kids and they were talking a lot about the addressee. The author also writes that someone got married, another person died and "Lily" has a nice apartment and earns some money with work she can do at home ("Heimarbeit"). "Gustl" wanted the addressee's address. The author also asks, with whom the addressee is in contact.
This item is part of a collection of letters, documents and photographs belonging to Gertrud Rosenbaum, a Viennese Jew who escaped to England in July 1939. After the war she immigrated to Australia. Included in the collection are letters from her husband, Leo Rosenbaum, who perished on 2 January 1939, age 46, in Dachau concentration camp; Red Cross messages of 25 words only to and from Gertrud in Cambridge to her mother Ida Deutsch, her sister Valerie (Vally) Darebnik, Rudi (her brother), and Quicki (unknown) in Vienna, spanning the years 1939 to 1943; and Red Cross communications between Leo Rosenbaum and his father Adolph in Vienna during Leo’s military service in WWI, including a photo of him in Egypt in front of a pyramid.
Dated 27 December 1939 . The short part of the letter (written entirely in blue) summarises news from several friends and/or family members, eg. Rudi lost his job, they visit "Papa" very often (not clear if he is in a concentration camp or just in hospital). The author of the letter was very busy during the Christmas festivities, which s/he seemed to enjoy a lot. Someone is pregnant, but the father of the unborn "is not here". ["Steffi gave birth four days before Christmas to a stillborn boy. She is sick and recovering in hospital."] The longer part of the letter is hardly legible but mainly telling news from family members. The author expresses his/her joy that the addressee is healthy and satisfied and asks where she spent the Christmas holidays. The author spent Christmas with his/her kids and they were talking a lot about the addressee. The author also writes that someone got married, another person died and "Lily" has a nice apartment and earns some money with work she can do at home ("Heimarbeit"). "Gustl" wanted the addressee's address. The author also asks, with whom the addressee is in contact.
This item is part of a collection of letters, documents and photographs belonging to Gertrud Rosenbaum, a Viennese Jew who escaped to England in July 1939. After the war she immigrated to Australia. Included in the collection are letters from her husband, Leo Rosenbaum, who perished on 2 January 1939, age 46, in Dachau concentration camp; Red Cross messages of 25 words only to and from Gertrud in Cambridge to her mother Ida Deutsch, her sister Valerie (Vally) Darebnik, Rudi (her brother), and Quicki (unknown) in Vienna, spanning the years 1939 to 1943; and Red Cross communications between Leo Rosenbaum and his father Adolph in Vienna during Leo’s military service in WWI, including a photo of him in Egypt in front of a pyramid.
Production placeVienna, Austria
Production date 1939-12-27
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- length: 275.00 mm
width: 210.00 mm
Language
- German
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Patricia Bull