Georg and Hedwig Hirschfeld Letter

Authors

Object ID

2012.1.510

Object Name

Letter

Date

2-18-1940

Files

Content Warning

The Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection consists of images, documents, and artifacts related to the Holocaust. The collection contains materials that depict a number of topics that may be difficult for viewers to engage with, including: antisemitic descriptions, caricatures, and representation of Jewish people; Nazi imagery and ideology; descriptions and images of German ghettos; graphic images of the violence of the Holocaust; and the creation of the State of Israel. For more information, see our policy page.

Description

White letter with title, "Gemeinnükige Kleingärtner = Genossenschaft m. b. h., Quedlinburg a Harz." Includes a typewritten message.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

One of two documents (2012.1.510 & 2012.1.511) relating to German Jewish couple Georg and Hedwig Hirschfeld. Georg Hirschfeld was a well-known author who lived in Munich. The couple sold their house to a German named Gottschalk. After the house was sold, the Hirschfelds were unable to find a flat due to the Nazi law involving "tenancies with Jews." Mrs. Hirschfeld tried everything to get an accommodation for herself and her husband. She finally tried to get an accommodation in a summer house through a German allotment club.

This first letter is a very kind response by a German to Mrs. Hirschfeld. A translation follows: "Dear Mrs. Hirschfeld! We received your letter from 12.2.1940 and unfortunately have to inform you that we are not able to bestow upon you an accommodation in our allotment club. Due to the law Tenancies with Jews from 30.4.1939 it is against the law for German nationals to live together with Jews. The common housing shortage and actual war situation make it impossible to accommodate you and your husband in a Jewish house. Perhaps you should seek to talk again with SS-Hauptsturmführer Berg and ask him if there is a possibility to accommodate you at the newly established Ghetto at Litzmannstadt. Dear Mrs. Hirschfeld, we are so sorry that we cannot give you a more positive response. With best regards and Heil Hitler.”

Dimensions

11 1/2 x 8 1/4"

Keywords

Georg Hirschfeld, Hedwig Gottschalk Hirschfeld, Munich, Tenacies, Jews, Ghetto, Litzmannstadt

Subcollection

Early, Personal

Recommended Citation

"Georg and Hedwig Hirschfeld Letter" (1940). Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection. 2012.1.510.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/1225