Object numberM2015/004:006
DescriptionThis is an envelope coming without a letter from the Malayan Government Agency as the print on the bottom left corner says. The envelope has been addressed to Mrs. L. [Leonie] Oppenheim, Flat 3, Harleigh, 102 Alison Road, Randwick, Sydney, Australia, and has been stamped on 9th June 1942 in Sydney, Australia. The reverse side of the envelope is blank.
Leonie Hilton, nee Hirschberg, was born 13 April 1915 in Berlin. She left Berlin in 1938 in order to escape the Nazi regime. She caught the boat from Naples to Shanghai. On her way she came to Singapore where she met her (first) husband Leonard Oppenheim. The Japanese conquered Singapore in February 1942. Leonie was evacuated and ended up in Sydney. Leonard was captured and put to work. He became a prisoner of war and died in 1945. In 1949, she married John J. Hilton, who, together with his brother Emil, had established a business manufacturing ladies knitwear.
This letter was probably sent in connection with the inprisonment of her husband Leonard Aron Oppenheim. Leonard was an engineer and architect in Singapore which was controlled by Britain. When war started he joined the British Volunteer Corps. The Japanese conquered Singapore in February 1942. Leonie was evacuated and ended up in Sydney. Leonard was captured and put to work. He became a prisoner (N° 13753) of war and was moved from Singapore to a camp in Kuching, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo in March 1943. There Leonard died in 1945. The cause of his death was officially given as malaria and beriberi.
Between 1942 and 1945, Leonie and Leonard managed to make contact in an exchange of telegrams, letters, postcards and broadcast messages.
Leonie Hilton, nee Hirschberg, was born 13 April 1915 in Berlin. She left Berlin in 1938 in order to escape the Nazi regime. She caught the boat from Naples to Shanghai. On her way she came to Singapore where she met her (first) husband Leonard Oppenheim. The Japanese conquered Singapore in February 1942. Leonie was evacuated and ended up in Sydney. Leonard was captured and put to work. He became a prisoner of war and died in 1945. In 1949, she married John J. Hilton, who, together with his brother Emil, had established a business manufacturing ladies knitwear.
This letter was probably sent in connection with the inprisonment of her husband Leonard Aron Oppenheim. Leonard was an engineer and architect in Singapore which was controlled by Britain. When war started he joined the British Volunteer Corps. The Japanese conquered Singapore in February 1942. Leonie was evacuated and ended up in Sydney. Leonard was captured and put to work. He became a prisoner (N° 13753) of war and was moved from Singapore to a camp in Kuching, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo in March 1943. There Leonard died in 1945. The cause of his death was officially given as malaria and beriberi.
Between 1942 and 1945, Leonie and Leonard managed to make contact in an exchange of telegrams, letters, postcards and broadcast messages.
Production date
SubjectHolocaust, survivors, Jews in Australia, loved ones' contact, Japanese occupation, prisoners of war, Malayan Government Agency
Object nameenvelopes
Dimensions
- width: 147.00 mm
height: 90.00 mm
Language
- English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Jeffrey Hilton