Letter

Held by

Montreal Holocaust Museum via Canadian Jewish Heritage Network (incl. Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives)

Dates

February 25, 1943 (indexed as 1943)

Level

item

Extent

Letter : Paper : Beige, black ; Ht: 25,5 cm x W: 20,5 cm

Scope & content

Two page. One side. Narrative: In the 1920’s Serge and Sophie Philipson (nee Orbach) left Berlin for Paris due to rising antisemitism. On July 15, 1930 their daughter Rachel was born. Serge, Sophie and Rachel were Polish citizen, they never got either the German or the French citizenship. In Paris, Serge worked for Les Modes Modernes, the hat factory of his brother-in-law, Henri. When an opportunity to expand the business in Ireland arose, Serge moved to Galway. The new factory opened in July 1938. In August 1939, Sophie, Rachel, and 4 other family members (Rachel’s cousin Stéphane, his maternal grandmother Néné, Serge’s sister Esther and Serge’s sister-in-law Choura) left for Cabourg, in Normandy. After the winter 1939-1940 it became difficult to communicate with Ireland but Rachel and Sophie could still send and receive letter from Serge. At the end of winter 1940, the group moved to Néris and in July 1940, after the occupation of France by Germany, they settled in the zone libre in the village of Cauterets, on the border with Spain. They were reunited with Robert, Serge’s brother. In August 1942, 4 family members (Sophie’s sister Ella and her husband Ernest, their daughter Ruth, Serge’s siblings Robert and Esther) were arrested by local police and deported. They were not seen again. At the beginning of 1943, Sophie, her mother Augusta and Rachel moved to Maubourguet. In April 1943, they moved to Cannes in Hotel Victoria with Henri, Stéphane and Néné. Henri, Sophie and Augusta went into hiding together while cousins Stéphane and Rachel were taken care of by Néné and returned to Maubourguet. In January 1944, Henri, Sophie and Augusta were denounced and arrested. They were transferred to Marseille before being sent by train to Drancy transit camp from where they were deported. It is believed they were killed in a Polish killing centre. In 1944, Rachel moved from one place to another – under a non-Jewish identity - and continued to correspond with her father. In June 1945, she reunited with her father Ireland. They had not seen each other for 6 years. In 1951, Rachel got married. In 1954, she immigrated to Montreal.

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textual record

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DiplomacyDocumentFactoryGovernmentGovernment BuildingHatImmigrationJewish CommunityLetterLetterheadSignatureTaxationTypewrittenTagged automatically by a vision model; may contain mistakes.

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Reference No. 202/285.Department of External Affairs. Dublin.25. 2. 1943A Chara,With reference to previous correspondence, regarding the welfare and present situation of Messrs. Henri and Stephen Orbach, and Mrs. and Miss Philipson, in France, I am directed by the Minister for External Affairs to inform you that a recent report from the Legation at Vichy dated 15th January states that Mrs. Philipson, in a letter to the Legation, says that she is very unhappy in not having succeeded in re-joining her husband in Galway in spite of having aeroplane tickets from Lisbon. She continues "At the last moment I was unable to obtain an exit visa from France, and I am living in anxiety of being deprived of my freedom one day or even of being deported seeing that I am a foreigner and a Jew, as also my daughter."A letter dated 6th January was also received by the Legation at Vichy from Mr. Orbach from which the following is an extract:-"I did not leave France to get to Galway, (I am technical director of the hat factory (Les Modes modernes) at Galway) because I was waiting for the visas of my sister and daughter (sic) Madame Philipsohn, of Polish nationality, whose husband is at present managing the Galway factory. Seeing that Polish subjects are in an unenviable position, I thought that I might be able to help my sister for whom the French Legation at Dublin intervened at Vichy with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for our factory is the only French establishment in Eire. Do you think we have still got a prospect of leaving seeing that the Spanish frontier has again been opened and that our places on the 'plane from Lisbon are reserved and paid for? Can you advise us?"You will appreciate that, in the circumstances, it is very difficult for the Irish Minister at Vichy to assist either Messrs. Orbach or Mrs. Philipson, seeing that the Orbachs are French citizens and that Mrs. Philipson and her daughter are Polish citizens. The Irish Minister would, accordingly, have no locus standi to intervene on their behalf, and he observes that it was a great pity that Mrs. Philipson did not leave France while she had time.The matter of granting visas to Mrs. and Miss Philipson on their expired polish passports has been under consideration in this Department and, in view of the representations made on her behalf and the statement of the Polish Consul-General accredited to Ireland that he sees no objection to the extension of the validity of their passports by the Polish authorities, it has been decided that the Legation at Vichy may be authorised to extend the visas even though the passports are expired. It will be expected, of course, that, if Mrs. PhilipsonRead automatically; may contain mistakes.

Language

English

Harvested

2026-10-19T03:21:16Z · source datestamp n/a · andornot

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