Object numberM2018/008:073
Description
In March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in the “Anschluss”. From May 1938, the racist Nuremberg laws applied in Austria, and Austrian Jews were steadily ostracised from their societies during the process of “Aryanisation.” This tension came to a climax in the Kristallnacht pogrom from 9th-10th November.
In the meantime, Hardy Brothers, a British jewellery-making firm, offer young Leo Steiner from Vienna employment in Sydney, Australia as a jewellery mounter in July 1938. However, the Gestapo threaten to arrest Jews issued with travel documents who do not leave within a short time. Whilst Leo’s Australian landing permit is pending, it is therefore prudent to seek temporary refuge in a third country. Before he is discharged from his erstwhile firm Vienna Art Designs, Leo’s employer Oscar Fastlich writes that his stay in Switzerland is necessary for business. In July, Leo moves to Zurich on a temporary stay visa, leaving his parents, Adolf and Hermine, and brother Paul, behind in Vienna.
Once established in Australia, Leo makes various applications to the Australian government for landing permits on behalf of his parents and Paul, all of which are denied. All three family members would eventually perish during WWII.
Leo wrote this letter to his brother Paul in 1941, yet it was returned to sender; the censorship notice attached to the envelope reads “direct communication with enemy occupied territory is not possible.” Leo writes that he does not plan on marrying his sweetheart Betty Woolf until he has managed to bring their mother to Australia.
Paul Steiner was previously stranded in Kladovo, a remote port in Yugoslavia, with his youth movement on the way to Palestine before being relocated to Sabac. Later in 1941, Paul would be shot along with most of the other men of the Kladovo Transport by fascist insurgents near Zasavica, Macva.
In March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in the “Anschluss”. From May 1938, the racist Nuremberg laws applied in Austria, and Austrian Jews were steadily ostracised from their societies during the process of “Aryanisation.” This tension came to a climax in the Kristallnacht pogrom from 9th-10th November.
In the meantime, Hardy Brothers, a British jewellery-making firm, offer young Leo Steiner from Vienna employment in Sydney, Australia as a jewellery mounter in July 1938. However, the Gestapo threaten to arrest Jews issued with travel documents who do not leave within a short time. Whilst Leo’s Australian landing permit is pending, it is therefore prudent to seek temporary refuge in a third country. Before he is discharged from his erstwhile firm Vienna Art Designs, Leo’s employer Oscar Fastlich writes that his stay in Switzerland is necessary for business. In July, Leo moves to Zurich on a temporary stay visa, leaving his parents, Adolf and Hermine, and brother Paul, behind in Vienna.
Once established in Australia, Leo makes various applications to the Australian government for landing permits on behalf of his parents and Paul, all of which are denied. All three family members would eventually perish during WWII.
Leo wrote this letter to his brother Paul in 1941, yet it was returned to sender; the censorship notice attached to the envelope reads “direct communication with enemy occupied territory is not possible.” Leo writes that he does not plan on marrying his sweetheart Betty Woolf until he has managed to bring their mother to Australia.
Paul Steiner was previously stranded in Kladovo, a remote port in Yugoslavia, with his youth movement on the way to Palestine before being relocated to Sabac. Later in 1941, Paul would be shot along with most of the other men of the Kladovo Transport by fascist insurgents near Zasavica, Macva.
Production placeSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Production date 1941-03-10 - 1941-03-10
SubjectHolocaust, refugees, refugees, family life, Kladovo Transport, youth movements, aliyah, Zionism, Hechalutz, censorship, postal restrictions, refugee experiences in Australia
Object nameletters
Dimensions
- letter length: 247.00 mm
letter width: 197.00 mm
envelope length: 145.00 mm
envelope width: 90.00 mm
Language
- English N/A
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Pauline Shavit