Envelope

Held by

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

Dates

August 14, 1939 (indexed as 1939)

Level

item

Extent

Envelope : Paper : Handwritten : Ink : Blue, black, grey ; Ht: 11 cm x W: 16 cm

Scope & content

Envelope cut open on top edge, Deutsche Reich stamp value of 25 reichs pfennig, decorative crosshatching printed on exterior and interior, German postage stamp T.R., return town written on back without name. Used for a letter to Mr. Joseph Rosenthal, the Landlord of Isaac Herbert Isselbacher in London. 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, to Yitzkhak and Lina. Their mother was Mathilde Loewenstein Isselbacher, born 1893/7/28 to Feist and Rosa. Isaac and Herbert 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 he 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, it was discovered that their parents had been killed in Auschwitz, so 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 neighbors 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

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Genre / form

textual record

Format

Document

In the picture

DocumentEnvelopeHandwrittenLetterPostage StampPostmarkStampTypewrittenTagged automatically by a vision model; may contain mistakes.

Text in the image

Mr.Joseph Rosenthal60, Woodskip ParkLondon N.16.25Deutsches Reich60, Lordship ParkRead 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 ↗2011x_167_06a.jpg
• imageOpen original at source ↗2011x_167_06b.jpg