Rabbi Leo Baeck (1873-1956) Postcard from Berlin to Helmut Bradt in Zurich

Authors

Object ID

2019.2.74

Object Name

Postcard

Date

11-18-1942

Files

Description

Postcard with handwriting in green on both front and back. “Postkarte” in maroon printed on front with a stamp of the same color in the top right corner. A circular back stamp that read “Berlin” is above a circular pink stamp are on the right side of the page.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Rabbi Baeck, author of The Essence of Judaism, was an important spokesperson for the Jewish community after the Nazi rise to power in 1933 in his role as president of the Jewish umbrella organization Reichsvertretung. When the latter was summarily disbanded by the Nazis and replaced with the Reichsvereinigung, Rabbi Baeck remained president. On January 27, 1943, two months after this postcard was written, Rabbi Baeck was deported toTheresienstadt. Here he held a prominent place as honorary head of the Judenrat, which afforded him privileges unattainable by other inmates; yet he continued to serve the ghetto community, and refused to abandon it, opportunities to emigrate to the U.S. notwithstanding. While Rabbi Baek survived Theresienstadt, three sisters perished. When it was finally liberated, Rabbi Baek continued to attend to the sick and dying.

Postcard sent to Helmut Bradt, a young, highly regarded professor of atomic physics from Berlin who was able to leave Germany and thus escape the Holocaust, with the help of Albert Einstein.

Dimensions

4 1/8 x 5 7/8 "

Keywords

Rabbi Leo Baeck, Reichsvereinigung, Theresienstadt, Judenrat, Helmut Bradt, Albert Einstein

Subcollection

Ghettos

Recommended Citation

"Rabbi Leo Baeck (1873-1956) Postcard from Berlin to Helmut Bradt in Zurich" (1942). Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection. 2019.2.74.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/1451