Documents and letters regarding Gusta Snyde's claims for compensation following the Holocaust
InventarnummerM2021/021:005
TitelDocuments and letters regarding Gusta Snyde's claims for compensation following the Holocaust
BeschreibungCollection of documents and correspondence related to Gusta Snyde's (nee Teiber) claims for compensation following the Holocaust, dated between 1960 and 2005.
Gusta had to provide multiple medical certificates and testimonies to prove that the trauma of her experience was worthy of compensation. This collection demonstrates the extent to which Holocaust survivors had to fight, sometimes unsuccessfully, for restitution.
Gusta Snyde (nee Teiber) was born in Tarnopol, Poland on 24 December 1915 to Simon (Shimon) and Anna (nee Eeling) Teiber. Gusta had three siblings; Sabena (Sabinka) born in 1927, Yanka born in 1913, and Reuben (Romek) born in 1921. Though Gusta had aspired to become a surgeon, anti-Jewish laws prevented her from studying medicine. Instead, she studied nursing at a private Jewish Hospital in Krakow, Poland. In 1939, she began to work at the hospital and became an Operating Room Sister. Whilst working, she recalled watching the walls be built for Krakow Ghetto.
Gusta was forced into Krakow Ghetto c. 1941 where she continued to work as a nurse at the ghetto hospital. In 1943, she was forced to march to Plaszow concentration camp, leaving all sick patients behind at the ghetto hospital. At Plaszow, Gusta used her skills as a nurse to help as many interns as possible. She regularly treated interns who were randomly attacked by commandant Amon Göth. When travelling to another camp to operate, Gusta risked her life to carry small notes from other interns to give to their loved ones.
In 1944, Gusta was forced onto an overcrowded truck for four days of travel in which many died of starvation and suffocation – she arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Upon arriving, Gusta recalled that she was beaten, stripped and forced to stand for 48 hours without food or water for Josef Mengele to decide who would live and who would die. She recalled, “He was playing God”.
When Gusta was spared, her hair was unevenly cut and she was issued ill-fitting clothing and wooden clogs. She was tattooed with the number “A27538” and was forced to take part in a medical experiment in which an unknown substance was injected into her upper arm. Whilst at the camp, Gusta believed that the sun had disappeared due to the consistent smoke in the sky. Gusta stated in an interview in 1996, “When I wake up now every morning and I can see the sun, I am the happiest person in the world”.
At Auschwitz-Birkenau, Gusta joined an all-female Underground resistance group. With this group, she assisted with blowing up a gas chamber by collecting gunpowder underneath her fingernails. In November 1944, Gusta was sent to participate in forced labour at a thread factory in Lichtewerden. She was liberated there on 6 May 1945 by the Soviets.
Gusta walked back to Krakow to discover that her entire family had murdered during the Holocaust. She then spent the next four years rehabilitating and caring for 100 Jewish orphans. She aided with establishing a home for them in Rabka. Following a string of violent acts towards the orphanage by Polish fascists, Gusta used a food truck to sneak the children to Zakopane. Eventually the children moved to a house in Paris. The children were finally transported to the State of Israel in 1949. She remained in contact with some of the children and staff of the orphanage throughout her life.
Gusta chose to travel with a close friend to Australia, arriving in Melbourne in May 1949. She met William (Bill) Francis Snyde (formerly Ladislaus Franza Schneid) who had served in the Polish Forces in Great Britain during World War II. Gusta and William were married on 27 November 1953. Following the death of her husband on 20 August 1996, Gusta was cared for by Marie Young who documented her day-to-day life and recollections of the Holocaust. Gusta Snyde passed away on 11 April 2006.
In this collection:
M2021/021:005a Typewritten medical certificate for Gusta Snde (nee Teiber) written by Dr. Noel Ingster in Melbourne, Australia, dated 16 November 1960. This medical certificate states that Dr. Ingster has known Gusta since 1949 and that "her present low state of health is a direct reflection of the times spent in Concentration Camp". This medical certificate was likely used as evidence to support Gusta's future compensation claims following the Holocaust.
M2021/021:005b Typewritten medical certificate for Gusta Snyde (nee Teiber) written by Prof. Dr. Julian Aleksandrowicz Krakow, Poland, dated 27 December 1960. In this letter, Dr. Aleksandrowicz states that Gusta's low state of physical and mental health is a direct result of being interned in concentration camps during the Holocaust. This certificate has been translated from Polish to German by the Continental Translation Service and sent by the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Melbourne on 1 March 1962.
M2021/021:005c Typewritten letter from Dr. Gustav Goldberg in Melbourne, Australia to Gusta Snyde (nee Teiber) in Melbourne, Australia, dated 18 September 1962. In this letter, Gusta is informed that she will be awarded compensation and reimbursement for the medical treatment she received for mental and physical ailments that were the result of Nazi persecution.
M2021/021:005d Letter to Gusta Snyde (nee Tieber) in North Melbourne from the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Melbourne responding to her request for compensation, dated 1 March 1962. In this letter, it is requested that Gusta be examined by the consulate's medical officer and that she provide them with a detailed report on the damage to her health caused by Nazi persecution.
M2021/021:005e Handwritten letter by Gusta Snyde (nee Teiber) in Sangate, Queensland to the Communal Committee for Distribution of Funds for Survivors of Shoah in Australia, dated 15 May 1999. In it, she details her experience during and after the Holocaust, and requests that an application form and further information be sent to her address in Sandgate, Queensland.
M2021/021:005f Photocopy of a completed document from the Office for Reparation in Saarbug, Germany, dated 9 June 2005. This document is related to Gusta Snyde's (nee Teiber) claim for compensation following the Holocaust.
Gusta had to provide multiple medical certificates and testimonies to prove that the trauma of her experience was worthy of compensation. This collection demonstrates the extent to which Holocaust survivors had to fight, sometimes unsuccessfully, for restitution.
Gusta Snyde (nee Teiber) was born in Tarnopol, Poland on 24 December 1915 to Simon (Shimon) and Anna (nee Eeling) Teiber. Gusta had three siblings; Sabena (Sabinka) born in 1927, Yanka born in 1913, and Reuben (Romek) born in 1921. Though Gusta had aspired to become a surgeon, anti-Jewish laws prevented her from studying medicine. Instead, she studied nursing at a private Jewish Hospital in Krakow, Poland. In 1939, she began to work at the hospital and became an Operating Room Sister. Whilst working, she recalled watching the walls be built for Krakow Ghetto.
Gusta was forced into Krakow Ghetto c. 1941 where she continued to work as a nurse at the ghetto hospital. In 1943, she was forced to march to Plaszow concentration camp, leaving all sick patients behind at the ghetto hospital. At Plaszow, Gusta used her skills as a nurse to help as many interns as possible. She regularly treated interns who were randomly attacked by commandant Amon Göth. When travelling to another camp to operate, Gusta risked her life to carry small notes from other interns to give to their loved ones.
In 1944, Gusta was forced onto an overcrowded truck for four days of travel in which many died of starvation and suffocation – she arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Upon arriving, Gusta recalled that she was beaten, stripped and forced to stand for 48 hours without food or water for Josef Mengele to decide who would live and who would die. She recalled, “He was playing God”.
When Gusta was spared, her hair was unevenly cut and she was issued ill-fitting clothing and wooden clogs. She was tattooed with the number “A27538” and was forced to take part in a medical experiment in which an unknown substance was injected into her upper arm. Whilst at the camp, Gusta believed that the sun had disappeared due to the consistent smoke in the sky. Gusta stated in an interview in 1996, “When I wake up now every morning and I can see the sun, I am the happiest person in the world”.
At Auschwitz-Birkenau, Gusta joined an all-female Underground resistance group. With this group, she assisted with blowing up a gas chamber by collecting gunpowder underneath her fingernails. In November 1944, Gusta was sent to participate in forced labour at a thread factory in Lichtewerden. She was liberated there on 6 May 1945 by the Soviets.
Gusta walked back to Krakow to discover that her entire family had murdered during the Holocaust. She then spent the next four years rehabilitating and caring for 100 Jewish orphans. She aided with establishing a home for them in Rabka. Following a string of violent acts towards the orphanage by Polish fascists, Gusta used a food truck to sneak the children to Zakopane. Eventually the children moved to a house in Paris. The children were finally transported to the State of Israel in 1949. She remained in contact with some of the children and staff of the orphanage throughout her life.
Gusta chose to travel with a close friend to Australia, arriving in Melbourne in May 1949. She met William (Bill) Francis Snyde (formerly Ladislaus Franza Schneid) who had served in the Polish Forces in Great Britain during World War II. Gusta and William were married on 27 November 1953. Following the death of her husband on 20 August 1996, Gusta was cared for by Marie Young who documented her day-to-day life and recollections of the Holocaust. Gusta Snyde passed away on 11 April 2006.
In this collection:
M2021/021:005a Typewritten medical certificate for Gusta Snde (nee Teiber) written by Dr. Noel Ingster in Melbourne, Australia, dated 16 November 1960. This medical certificate states that Dr. Ingster has known Gusta since 1949 and that "her present low state of health is a direct reflection of the times spent in Concentration Camp". This medical certificate was likely used as evidence to support Gusta's future compensation claims following the Holocaust.
M2021/021:005b Typewritten medical certificate for Gusta Snyde (nee Teiber) written by Prof. Dr. Julian Aleksandrowicz Krakow, Poland, dated 27 December 1960. In this letter, Dr. Aleksandrowicz states that Gusta's low state of physical and mental health is a direct result of being interned in concentration camps during the Holocaust. This certificate has been translated from Polish to German by the Continental Translation Service and sent by the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Melbourne on 1 March 1962.
M2021/021:005c Typewritten letter from Dr. Gustav Goldberg in Melbourne, Australia to Gusta Snyde (nee Teiber) in Melbourne, Australia, dated 18 September 1962. In this letter, Gusta is informed that she will be awarded compensation and reimbursement for the medical treatment she received for mental and physical ailments that were the result of Nazi persecution.
M2021/021:005d Letter to Gusta Snyde (nee Tieber) in North Melbourne from the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Melbourne responding to her request for compensation, dated 1 March 1962. In this letter, it is requested that Gusta be examined by the consulate's medical officer and that she provide them with a detailed report on the damage to her health caused by Nazi persecution.
M2021/021:005e Handwritten letter by Gusta Snyde (nee Teiber) in Sangate, Queensland to the Communal Committee for Distribution of Funds for Survivors of Shoah in Australia, dated 15 May 1999. In it, she details her experience during and after the Holocaust, and requests that an application form and further information be sent to her address in Sandgate, Queensland.
M2021/021:005f Photocopy of a completed document from the Office for Reparation in Saarbug, Germany, dated 9 June 2005. This document is related to Gusta Snyde's (nee Teiber) claim for compensation following the Holocaust.
EntstehungsortKraków, Poland, Germany, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Datum 1960-11-16 - 2005-06-09
Schlagwortpost-World War II, restitution, post-liberation recovery
Objektbezeichnungofficial correspondence
Materialpaper
Techniktypewritten, handwritten
Format
- a width: 144.00 mm
a height: 187.00 mm
b-c width: 203.00 mm
b-c height: 254.00 mm
d,f width: 210.00 mm
d,f height: 292.00 mm
e width: 200.00 mm
e height: 251.00 mm
Sprache
- Polish
German Hart, Rachel (via Google Translate)
English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Marie Young
In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this archival project.