F03_P08: Jewish Flight from Nazi Germany
1939 October 2, Front side - Post card to Herbert Schein in Shanghai, China.
White-yellow post card handwritten in German using black ink. The post card features printed German in green ink. To the right is the recipient address sent to Herbert Schein in Shanghai, China. At the top center is a purple stamp featuring the Reichsadler and text in German stating, "Von der Wehrmacht zugelaffen" or "Approved by the Wehrmacht". At the top right is a red 15-pfennig stamp depicting President Paul von Hindenburg facing to the left. Overtop, a cancellation stamp dated October 2, 1939 is present.
Name/Title
F03_P08: Jewish Flight from Nazi GermanyEntry/Object ID
2007.3.8Scope and Content
1939 October 2, post card from family who fled/hope to flee to Shanghai.Context
Many affluent German Jews emigrated during the early Nazi years. Less fortunate Jews gained an escape route to the east after Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression treaty in August of 1939. Those who preferred not to become Soviet citizens traveled across Siberia to China. Shanghai, the most cosmopolitan city in the Far East, became a natural haven for German Jews seeking refuge abroad, because no visas were required to enter or to reside there. In August of 1936 the Königsbergers of Frankfurt notified a relative that their belongings were packed and they would set sail soon to New York. Flown by airship Hindenburg. Post card postage 15 pfennigs plus 50 pfennigs air mail surcharge. An October 2, 1939, post card from Wartenburg, East Prussia, German Jewish family to friends and family members who had fled to Shanghai. Königsberg censor’s handstamp used only from September 6 to mid-November 1939, coinciding with the German conquest and subjugation of Poland.Collection
Nazi Scourge I: Primary ExhibitionCategory
Post Card
Philatelic Material