Envelope

Held by

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

Dates

1939-November 21, 1950 (indexed as 1939–1950)

Level

item

Extent

Envelope : Paper : Handwritten : Ink : Beige, Black, Blue, Green ; Ht: 4 3/8 in. x W: 5 3/4 in.

Scope & content

1 envelope. Two postage stamps affixed at top right corner: one b&w 50 franc stamp and one blue and white 40 franc stamp next to it, both with scenes of mountainous landscapes. At bottom left, two identical green-and-white 2 franc stamps affixed vertically, one on top of the other. Ink stamps at bottom left and top placed over postal stamps. Envelope addressed in blue ink to Mr. and Mrs. Berkowicz in Montreal. Sender's name and address, also in blue ink, along top edge of verso. Sent by Miss Leumartin in Bernac-Dessus, France. Narrative: Tuwja (Tuwyas, Tuwia, Tuvia, Tobias) Bercowicz (Berkowicz) was the father of the donor, Jack (Jacques) Berkowicz. Born in Vilna, Tuwyas immigrated to Belgium in 1933 and when Belgium fell to Nazi Germany in 1940, he fled to France, hoping to reach Morocco by boat from Marseilles. The donor's mother, Chana (Chane, Annie) (Trompeter) Berkowicz, born in Mielec, Poland, was living in Vienna, Austria with her parents and two sisters. In 1938, after the German annexation of Austria, the family fled, driving to France via Belgium. Tuwyas and Chana met in Lyon, France in 1941 and married. Their daughter Dorothée was born in 1942. The family attempted to flee France by boat in Marseilles, but were stopped by Vichy police. They fled Marseilles and went south, into the Pyrenees region, living in various small vilages. Their son Jack was born in Bernac-Dessus in 1944. The family survived the war and returned to Brussels from 1945-1948, and then immigrated to Canada with the help of the American Joint Distribution Committee. They were sponsored by Tuwyas' sister Luba, who was already living in Halifax. The Berkowicz family settled in Montreal.

Location

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Genre / form

textual record

In the picture

DocumentEnvelopeHandwrittenLandscapeLetterMountainPostage StampPostmarkSpeechTagged automatically by a vision model; may contain mistakes.

Text in the image

REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISEPOSTESBERNAC DEBATMonsieur et Madame Berkovriez4301, rue St Urbain,Montréal P.Q.Canada.Monsieur et Madame Berkovrèz50c40f21-11 19502FRead automatically; may contain mistakes.

Language

French

Harvested

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

Digital objects at the source

• imageOpen original at source ↗2005_1_13.jpg
• imageOpen original at source ↗2005_1_13b.jpg