Object numberM2013/063:001
DescriptionThis letter, typed in German, was written from Samuel Hirschmann in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia to his brother Harry Hirschmann and sister-in-law Marci in New York. He and his other brothers are desperately looking to emigrate because of the anti-Jewish measures and are pleading for more information how they might do so. They have found a fruit canning business in Florida which they are hoping to buy but need help assessing things over there. They hope that this will help them get visas as well as provide a livelihood. There are other problems such as language barriers and transferring the funds. Refers to the situation in Slovakia and the enactment of the anti-Jewish laws. “It is therefore difficult for us to expect any possibilities for a future existence…”
Harry never replied to his brother’s letter.
Samuel (Sammy) was deported to Auschwitz. Marcel together with his family were deported to Auschwitz. None survived.
Samuel was the father of John Horak.
Samuel Hirschman is the father of John Horak, Olga’s husband. He died in Auschwitz in 1944, as well as his brothers Marcel (Marci), Isidor and their families.
Olga Horak (nee Rosenberger) was born in August 1926 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia to Hugo and Piroschka Rosenberger. She was 17 when first deported to Sered, then Auschwitz- Birkenau, Kurzbach, Gross Rosen and Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. She immigrated to Australia in 1949. Olga received an OAM in 2014 for service to her community.
Olga witnessed the Nazi Regime turn Czechoslovakia into a 'puppet republic'. The government agreed to laws that restricted the lives of Jews. They weren't allowed to go to school, be out after dark, go to the movies or sit on a park bench.
In 1942, Olga's sister Judith was taken in a roundup of 16-year-old Jewish boys and girls to Auschwitz. She never saw her sister again. Out of fear, her parents made plans to escape; they illegally crossed the border into Hungary, but Budapest wasn't easy because they didn't have papers or a home. When bombings began in 1944, Olga and her parents couldn't take refuge in the shelters without being caught. They returned to Bratislava, crossing illegally over the border again.
Back home, Olga's family had false papers. But a cousin was found out and these documents were no longer secure. The family went into hiding with the help of a family friend, but the same friend denounced them two weeks later. The family was taken to a collection camp in Sered before being put in cattle cars to Auschwitz. During the selection process, her father, grandmother, aunts and cousins were taken away and murdered. Olga and her mother were stripped, shaven, registered, and sent to Germany into a camp where they had to carry logs and dig trenches. One morning, the women were evacuated on a Death March, walking through the snow until reaching Gross Rosen. After three days, they marched again until they arrived in Dresden, eventually ending up in Bergen-Belsen. On 15 April 1945, they were liberated by British and Canadian troops. Inmates were registered as survivors, but just as her mother received her card, she collapsed and died. A day that was supposed to be celebratory turned out to be one of the saddest of Olga's life.
Olga was taken to a German hospital where she was left to die. A Catholic Padre from the British Army came to give her last rites. Instead she asked for a Rabbi who arranged for her to be returned back to the sick bay at the camp. She stayed there until late August and was then transported to a hospital in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, weighing 29 kilos. She was placed next to a Catholic woman named Bozena. When Olga was discharged, Bozena took her home with her. Soon, Olga found distant relatives in Bratislava who survived and she lived with them for two years before she met her husband, John Horak, a survivor who had trained as a textile engineer in Brno.
They were determined to leave Czechoslovakia. Eventually they got a tourist visa for Switzerland and then landing permits for Australia. They arrived on the TSS Cyrenia on 16 September 1949 where they established a business manufacturing blouses, Hibodress, within two weeks after arriving.
Harry never replied to his brother’s letter.
Samuel (Sammy) was deported to Auschwitz. Marcel together with his family were deported to Auschwitz. None survived.
Samuel was the father of John Horak.
Samuel Hirschman is the father of John Horak, Olga’s husband. He died in Auschwitz in 1944, as well as his brothers Marcel (Marci), Isidor and their families.
Olga Horak (nee Rosenberger) was born in August 1926 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia to Hugo and Piroschka Rosenberger. She was 17 when first deported to Sered, then Auschwitz- Birkenau, Kurzbach, Gross Rosen and Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. She immigrated to Australia in 1949. Olga received an OAM in 2014 for service to her community.
Olga witnessed the Nazi Regime turn Czechoslovakia into a 'puppet republic'. The government agreed to laws that restricted the lives of Jews. They weren't allowed to go to school, be out after dark, go to the movies or sit on a park bench.
In 1942, Olga's sister Judith was taken in a roundup of 16-year-old Jewish boys and girls to Auschwitz. She never saw her sister again. Out of fear, her parents made plans to escape; they illegally crossed the border into Hungary, but Budapest wasn't easy because they didn't have papers or a home. When bombings began in 1944, Olga and her parents couldn't take refuge in the shelters without being caught. They returned to Bratislava, crossing illegally over the border again.
Back home, Olga's family had false papers. But a cousin was found out and these documents were no longer secure. The family went into hiding with the help of a family friend, but the same friend denounced them two weeks later. The family was taken to a collection camp in Sered before being put in cattle cars to Auschwitz. During the selection process, her father, grandmother, aunts and cousins were taken away and murdered. Olga and her mother were stripped, shaven, registered, and sent to Germany into a camp where they had to carry logs and dig trenches. One morning, the women were evacuated on a Death March, walking through the snow until reaching Gross Rosen. After three days, they marched again until they arrived in Dresden, eventually ending up in Bergen-Belsen. On 15 April 1945, they were liberated by British and Canadian troops. Inmates were registered as survivors, but just as her mother received her card, she collapsed and died. A day that was supposed to be celebratory turned out to be one of the saddest of Olga's life.
Olga was taken to a German hospital where she was left to die. A Catholic Padre from the British Army came to give her last rites. Instead she asked for a Rabbi who arranged for her to be returned back to the sick bay at the camp. She stayed there until late August and was then transported to a hospital in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, weighing 29 kilos. She was placed next to a Catholic woman named Bozena. When Olga was discharged, Bozena took her home with her. Soon, Olga found distant relatives in Bratislava who survived and she lived with them for two years before she met her husband, John Horak, a survivor who had trained as a textile engineer in Brno.
They were determined to leave Czechoslovakia. Eventually they got a tourist visa for Switzerland and then landing permits for Australia. They arrived on the TSS Cyrenia on 16 September 1949 where they established a business manufacturing blouses, Hibodress, within two weeks after arriving.
Production placeBratislava, Slovakia
Production date 1939-03-09
Subjectimmigration, migration, anti-Jewish measures
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 210.00 mm
height: 300.00 mm
Language
- German Bratislava 9.3.1939
Dear Brother and Dear Sister-in-Law,
We received your kind letter written on the 19th of February and was addressed to Dear Marci. It gave us great pleasure, especially to have heard from you. We waited quite a long time for your reply to our letters which we have written a few months ago. As we are reading from your letter, you yourself are unable in helping us to emigrate from here.
We are asking you therefore to provide us at least with some information about the situation in your home. Dear brother, I do ask you kindly, please advise me, if there would be any possibility at all to start any business and if that would be profitable? I am not in command of the English language, but my daughter and also my youngest son speak a little English. But then I think it would always be possible to employ people who speak your native language of the country. However for me it is important to find out whether I could plan anything at all, just to be informed about any possibilities at all. Please advise me in some more detailed information.
It is the same situation regarding dear Marci, could he have his own practice as a dentist or would he be better off to be in a job as a dental technician? He does not speak English but his 17 year old daughter speaks English fairly well. Please give us more detailed information as we are very serious and we are now planning to leave and emigrated from here. Unfortunately the situation here is Slovakia is now such that the anti-Jewish laws will be enacted in 1-2 weeks time. It is therefore difficult for us to expect any possibilities for a future existence, there is no clear picture at all.
I met someone a few days ago. He is a gentile (Christian man) who with 25 other Christian families, Moravians and Slovaks emigrated to Florida USA a long time ago. Land and properties were provided and a large colony was established. Many houses were built from timber. Most of these people own orchards and are prosperous. This information was given to me by the above mentioned gentleman who is the owner of 60 hectares of land. He returned home to Bratislava and lives here now. He is the owner of a pub. He has written to his old friend who was his neighbour in Florida and enquired about his property which is leased and also about conditions in general. He received the following reply: the friend is now 75 years old, his wife is 65. They are a childless couple and would like to retire. They are the owners of a fruit cannery factory (plant) employing 40 people. The products are exported to various European countries, you will have knowledge and probably heard about the variety of fruits.
This 75 year old man wrote that he would prefer to see to a Czechoslovakian Jew. His asking price is $10,000. He would be willing to stay and help until the new owners would be able to carry on, on their own. The pub owner told me also that the particular cannery has potential for improvement and with further investment and more employees they could have a better financial income. However, the current income-profit is so good that a few families could live on it. I am therefore very interested. It would also be an advantage as the place is called: A small Czechoslovakian colony. I think that the climatic conditions would suit us as well and would be bearable. It might even be better than New York or North America. It could possibly be easier to get a visa when providing to have an arrangement to finalise a contract. He could then send me an affidavit by stating that I am a partner for the time being. This would enable us to leave and to emigrate in the shortest time, without having to wait because of the long quota. Regarding the transfer of finances is would be the easiest to be with 4 families. Each of them would get legal permission to exchange 80,000 Czech crowns for foreign currency. On my own I would get permission for a limited amount only. Even Marci would change his profession if all this could be possible and he too could participate in this programme.
The man also told that there are no differences, regarding religions or nationalities. This means a lot to us because of current circumstances here. We are asking you kindly, please get information by getting in touch with Dr Mikša Schwartz who also has some investments there. Please find out from him about possibilities and suggestions. His opinion will give us some useful information. This is important before one liquidates everything here, which was hard earned. There we would not have any knowledge, experience or security at all. We rely entirely on your information and also from Dr Schwartz because both of you know the situation and the possibilities there. We are unable and have no possibilities at all to go there in order to check on the deal. Therefore we ask you very much, if possible at all, to go there, to have a good look around and also to get some information from reputable people who would give honest advice. Such information would be of great value to us. We would of course reimburse you with all the expenses.
I saw the photo of the property. It is a ground floor house, partly from timber with 7 small and some slightly larger rooms, storage rooms etc. We all are still fit and are amities to start again in order to live in peace and to give our children a new future. The too would like that and would enjoy a new start.
I do not want to burden you with my writing but I am asking you again, please advise us at you earliest. My 2 sons are currently enlisted in military service and my 3rd one is shortly the next candidate. In case of emigration they would be exempted from compulsory military service. This of course would be to our benefit as well. Thanks to our lord, we are well, we hope to hear from you likewise. I am (the one) replying to you today as dear Marci is very busy at the moment. We both would appreciate to hear about the proposition in a positive way and as soon as possible. Many thanks for your assistance. We remain with best regards, from my family to you and your dear ones.
Your brother,
Sammy
Address:
Cannery Manufacturer:
J.M. Bradac
Masaryktown
Bronksville Florida USA
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs Olga Horak