Letter

Held by

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

Dates

May 05, 1941 (indexed as 1941)

Level

item

Extent

Letter : Paper : Typewritten : Ink : Beige, black, red, yellow ; Ht: 20 cm x W: 17 cm

Scope & content

Page with two holes punched on left edge, yellow slip pasted to T.L. for inclusion with reply, creased vertically and horizontally, censor stamp T.R. entitled Jewish Refugees Committee. Addressed to Isaac Isselbaecher, letter informs him of the whereabouts of his luggage and includes a copy of a letter received regarding its shipping (see 1999.1.110). 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). Upon learning of his brother’s survival, Isaac 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

DocumentJewish CommunityLetterLetterheadMilitaryPostmarkPrintedSealSignatureStampTypewrittenTagged automatically by a vision model; may contain mistakes.

Text in the image

JEWISH REFUGEES COMMITTEEINTERNMENT DEPARTMENTTelephone : MUSeum 2900Cables : "Refugee, Westcent, London"BLOOMSBURY HOUSEBLOOMSBURY STREETLONDON, W.C.1Please attach this slip to your replyBitte legen Sie den AnhaengezettelIhrem Antwortschreiben bei.Ref. No. RF/SS.31578May 5th, 1941.Mr. Isak H. Isselbaecher,Internment Camp "N",c/o Base Army Post Office,OTTAWA, Canada.Dear Mr.Isselbaecher:Yours sincerely,encl:Joint SecretaryALL COMMUNICATIONS TO BE ADDRESSED TO THE DEPARTMENT AND NOT TO INDIVIDUALS.Bitte legen Sie den Anhangeszettel Ihrem Anschreiben bei.We have been asked to make enquiries as to the whereabouts of your Post Office Savings Book and in this connection I enclose herewith copy of a letter we have received from the War Office today.We trust that the document is already in your possession, and if not, we would suggest that you get in touch with the Commandant of your camp who, no doubt, will be able to make enquiries on your behalf.Read 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_111.jpg