Sydney Jewish Museum | Детали | Wartime Letters of Richard and Hilda Löbl 1939

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Инструменты Режимы отображения	Wartime Letters of Richard and Hilda Löbl 1939 Remove from selection Add to selection Номер объектаM2021/036:006 НазваниеWartime Letters of Richard and Hilda Löbl 1939 ОписаниеLetter from Richard Löbl, Berlin, to George and Dora Fekete (nee Löbl), 10 February 1939, Sydney. Part of a collection of letters written by Richard and Hilda Löbl (nee Gerstl) from Berlin and Shanghai to their daughter, Dora, their son-in-law, George Fekete, and their granddaughter, Susie, who were in Sydney, between 1939 and 1941. George Fekete was born in Hungary in 1901. Anti-Semitism at Budapest University forced him to study civil engineering in Berlin. There he met Dora Löbl, born in 1902. They married in 1927 and in 1932 their daughter Susie was born. According to the donor, "George did not want Susie to go to a Jewish ghetto school, nor did he want her to go to a school where they espoused Nazi principles, so they decided to emigrate". The Feketes fled to Budapest and later to Australia, arriving in Sydney on 10 February 1938. Although Dora's parents, Richard and Hilda Löbl, were booked to travel to Australia on the RMS Strathmore on 6 November 1939, their landing permits were cancelled with the outbreak of World War II. The 38 Berlin letters, written during 1939, are a record of correspondence between Richard and Hilda who were stranded in Nazi Germany, and the Fekete family who were newly settled in Sydney. Richard and Hilda managed to escape to Shanghai in April 1940. They were on the final voyage made by the SS Conte Rosso, one of four Italian ships which carried Jewish refugees from Trieste to Shanghai - prior to Italy joining the Axis alliance. The 53 Shanghai letters follow the narrative of the Löbl's lives in Hongkew between 11 July 1940 and 15 November 1941. They provide political commentary of the German-Jewish experience in the Shanghai ghetto during World War II. The letters also provide first-hand social commentary on the intersection between Eastern and Western cultures. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour, it became impossible for Richard and Hilda to send letters to Australia. Dora and George had no further correspondence until May 1945, when a note arrived from Richard via the Red Cross; "Since July 21 1942 am alone. Mama died of typhus without suffering. Her thoughts were always with you. Your good news is my only comfort." Richard arrived in Australia in 1946 and lived with the Feketes. He passed away on 2 August 1964. Dora and her parents were prolific correspondents, writing almost weekly. Dora wrote long letters, sometimes nine pages in length, detailing the lives of her family in Sydney. The letters that Dora wrote to her parents have not survived, however, the letters which they wrote to her mostly did. Richard and Hilda's letters were much shorter due to the 5-gram weight restriction, having to pay more if the letter exceeded that weight. As far as is possible, the English translations of these letters are an accurate record of the experiences shared between family members separated by long distances. Место изготовленияBerlin, Germany Дата 1939-02-10 Темаpre-World War II, signs of life, escape attempts, survivors, families Наименованиеletters Материалpaper Техникаtypewritten Язык German 10th February 1939 My dear children, Today is the big day when you step on Australian soil. The days and hours previous would have been somewhat anxious ones. But I hope that the immigration process was smooth. The longest stage is now behind you and what comes now will be child’s play compared to this big journey. It must be strange to read about things that, with the arrival of these letters, will be long behind you, but for us, who are with you in our thoughts, it plays out in the present tense and in the future. According to the information sheet, this letter will arrive in Sydney the same time as you do. In hindsight, we don’t come out in a positive light, that you didn’t get a letter from us in Aden. The description of Aden was very interesting, not the least being the purchase of the nightshirt. Now we are desirous to hear about the impression the rich Indians made on you. In any case, we can’t expect a letter from you before the end of February, a terribly long time. In the meantime, nothing is different with us. Only the lawyer from Prague wrote us the following: About the intervention matter of the Minister of the Interior, I have determined that the expert adviser is Dr Werner. Your query No 4606 was sent to the Embassy in Berlin on 3rd February. Do you want to intervene there? Send me your reply. Paul got the same letter, about Alfred, likewise Dr Kratochvil also received one. It is not known whether the application was accepted or rejected. There seems to be no reason for optimism and I have the impression that the lawyer himself does not know how the matter was finished. Apparently his whole activity consisted of determining the data, without being able to exert any influence. The outcome has not yet been reported, so I won’t let these things get to me. Paul feels the same way. In the meantime, Leon wrote that in Santiago the regime is not yet settled, but in any case, before the 15th February, there is no possibility in Chile of handling any immigration requests. In the meantime, I should write to Paris to ask why the request has not been addressed. Before I wrote, I received a letter from the local office indicating that the Chilean Embassy in Paris had received a notification, and that applications were being examined to see if they had any prospects of success, and then passed on. I am getting a lot of enjoyment from the Linguaphone records. I finished the first record a week ago, and today I exchanged it for the second. Each record has two lessons. The first had “The Browns at Home” and “A Visit.” The next two are “The Children” and “The Smiths’ Drawing Room.” I still have the difficulty of lessons from Fräulein Doktor. With this test I must continue. I just gave our friend Avizsus two suits. He required a lead time of four weeks, and now gets his job done quite well. Krenitze hasn’t gone forward with his plans, and so hasn’t been able to make the trip to London yet. As a result he is quite depressed, especially as the final registration may have still other obstacles. Sweet dreams in your first night in Sydney. Many kisses, Your Papa Кредитная линияSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Hazel Hillier In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this archival project.

Номер объектаM2021/036:006

НазваниеWartime Letters of Richard and Hilda Löbl 1939

ОписаниеLetter from Richard Löbl, Berlin, to George and Dora Fekete (nee Löbl), 10 February 1939, Sydney.

Part of a collection of letters written by Richard and Hilda Löbl (nee Gerstl) from Berlin and Shanghai to their daughter, Dora, their son-in-law, George Fekete, and their granddaughter, Susie, who were in Sydney, between 1939 and 1941.

George Fekete was born in Hungary in 1901. Anti-Semitism at Budapest University forced him to study civil engineering in Berlin. There he met Dora Löbl, born in 1902. They married in 1927 and in 1932 their daughter Susie was born.

According to the donor, "George did not want Susie to go to a Jewish ghetto school, nor did he want her to go to a school where they espoused Nazi principles, so they decided to emigrate". The Feketes fled to Budapest and later to Australia, arriving in Sydney on 10 February 1938.

Although Dora's parents, Richard and Hilda Löbl, were booked to travel to Australia on the RMS Strathmore on 6 November 1939, their landing permits were cancelled with the outbreak of World War II.

The 38 Berlin letters, written during 1939, are a record of correspondence between Richard and Hilda who were stranded in Nazi Germany, and the Fekete family who were newly settled in Sydney.

Richard and Hilda managed to escape to Shanghai in April 1940. They were on the final voyage made by the SS Conte Rosso, one of four Italian ships which carried Jewish refugees from Trieste to Shanghai - prior to Italy joining the Axis alliance.

The 53 Shanghai letters follow the narrative of the Löbl's lives in Hongkew between 11 July 1940 and 15 November 1941. They provide political commentary of the German-Jewish experience in the Shanghai ghetto during World War II. The letters also provide first-hand social commentary on the intersection between Eastern and Western cultures. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour, it became impossible for Richard and Hilda to send letters to Australia.

Dora and George had no further correspondence until May 1945, when a note arrived from Richard via the Red Cross; "Since July 21 1942 am alone. Mama died of typhus without suffering. Her thoughts were always with you. Your good news is my only comfort."

Richard arrived in Australia in 1946 and lived with the Feketes. He passed away on 2 August 1964.

Dora and her parents were prolific correspondents, writing almost weekly. Dora wrote long letters, sometimes nine pages in length, detailing the lives of her family in Sydney. The letters that Dora wrote to her parents have not survived, however, the letters which they wrote to her mostly did. Richard and Hilda's letters were much shorter due to the 5-gram weight restriction, having to pay more if the letter exceeded that weight.

As far as is possible, the English translations of these letters are an accurate record of the experiences shared between family members separated by long distances.

Место изготовленияBerlin, Germany

Дата 1939-02-10

Темаpre-World War II, signs of life, escape attempts, survivors, families

Наименованиеletters

Материалpaper

Техникаtypewritten

Язык

Кредитная линияSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Hazel Hillier In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this archival project.

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