Application form

Held by

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

Dates

April 04, 1946 (indexed as 1946)

Level

item

Extent

Application form : Paper : Printed : Ink : Beige, black, white ; Ht: 26 cm x W: 20 cm

Scope & content

Page with two holes punched on left edge, portrait of applicant B.L., American Foreign Service header. Application for a non-immigrant Visa for Isaac Isselbacher to visit his brother, arriving from Europe, in New York, U.S.A.. Narrative: Isaac Herbert Isselbacher was born 1919-11-20 in Isselbach, Germany. His brother was Helmut Isselbacher, born 1921-12-20. Their father was Jacob Isselbacher, born 1883-08-05. They had an uncle and aunt, David and Betty Loewenstein, who lived in New York City with their two children. Isaac left Germany on 1939-07-29, hoping to join his relatives in NYC. He only had the time to get to London, England before the war broke out and started working in a factory. He was arrested at his workplace as an ‘enemy alien’ and sent to Canada for internment in 1940. Isaac was interned in Camp N in Sherbrooke, Quebec. He was drafted into the Works Program Division for woodworking and net-making. In 1940, he received a last letter from his parents which suggested their imminent deportation. After his release, circa November 1942, Isaac worked as a locksmith. He married Fanny Azeff on 1943-12-26 at the Bnai Jacob synagogue in Montreal. Fanny was born on 1921-12-23 in Canada, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Azeff. Isaac was naturalized as a Canadian citizen on 1946-06-08. Fanny was naturalized on 1946-08-30 (she had lost her citizenship by marrying Isaac). Isaac’s brother, Helmut Isselbacher, was deported with Transport XXII A from Dossin casern in Mechelen (Malines), Belgium to Auschwitz Birkenau, Poland on 1943-09-20. Of the 2,450 people on the transport, 100 men were selected to work –including Helmut- and the remainder prisoners were gassed. Helmut was made to work as a welder, and was soon fitting new pipes for the gas chamber. He suffered a nervous breakdown as a result. As he was a valued welder, he was transferred to a labour camp in Upper Silesia (Poland) where he remained for two years. As the Russian army advanced, the 6,000 prisoners of this camp were evacuated by train. Helmut remembered being forced to march as the other prisoners died from exhaustion. When liberation was announced, the survivors travelled by ship from Luebeck, Germany, to Sweden with the aid of the Red Cross. After recovery, Helmut decided to remain in Sweden as a welder. Upon learning of his brother’s survival, Helmut travelled to New York in April 1946 to meet with him and their Loewenstein relatives. Afterwards, Helmut travelled to Canada bringing with him a washing machine and bras as late wedding presents for his brother and Fanny. By 1946-08-12, their parents were presumed dead and the two sons inquired into their estate. They received a deed for the land and travelled to the estate to discover that the current owner of their house was their old maid and her son had become the town mayor. Various disputes arose with the current ‘owners’ who believed the Isselbacher family dead. Isaac wished to discuss a settlement, but the mayor’s mother –not realizing Fanny understood German- called the neighbours at work to warn them not to come home as the Isselbacher sons had resurfaced. Payment for the land had reportedly been sent to Israel, though no documentation could be provided.

Location

No place found in this description yet.

Locate this photo

Genre / form

textual record

In the picture

Application FormDocumentGovernmentHandwrittenImmigrationPortraitPrintedSealSignatureTypewrittenTagged automatically by a vision model; may contain mistakes.

Text in the image

Foreign Service Form No. 257Reg. & fg. this office todayApplication No. 904AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICEAPPLICATION FOR NONIMMIGRANT VISAAt Montreal, Quebec. Date April 4, 1946I declare that the following statements are true and correct:Name Isac Herbert ISSELBACHERPlace of birth Isselbach, GermanyDate of birth Nov. 20, 1919Nationality STATELESS Race: HebrewTravel document Affidavit in lieu of valid passport issued Apr. 4, 1946 by Samuel Caplan, Commissioner of Superior Court, Montreal.Accompanied by nilPresent legal residence 4657 Clarke St., Montreal, Quebec.(Street, city, and country)Address (if any) in the United States 1247 Grant Ave. David Lowenstein, Bronx, New York.Purpose of entry to visit brother, Helmut, who is arriving from Europe.Length of stay not more than ten days.I have not previously been refused a visa, deported, or excluded from admission into the United States.Isac Herbert Isselbacher(Signature of applicant)Subscribed and sworn to before me this 4th day of April, 1946Harold T. PepinVice Consulof the United States of America.904Nonimmigration visa No. Issued April 4, 1946 under Section 6 of the Immigration Act of 1924. Service numbersVJNISSELBACHER, IsacRead automatically; may contain mistakes.

Language

English

Harvested

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

Digital objects at the source

• imageOpen original at source ↗1999_1_981.jpg