With mounting persecution of the Jews in Germany and Austria, the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland, essentially a German Jewish aid committee, pressured the Anglo-Jewish community to receive refugees. Jewish refugees- many without their families- managed to flee Nazi Germany and Austria on transit visas, especially after Kristallnacht. In February 1939, they were given safe haven at a decrepit former British WWI army camp in Richborough, Kent. Kitchener Camp was organized as a collective, with some men engaged in rehabilitating the facilities, others working in various aspects of agriculture, while still others were involved in the numerous cultural activities that were plentiful: theatre groups, newspapers, English classes, etc. Approximately 3,000 of the refugees were to enlist in the Royal Pioneer Corps of the British Army to aid in the war effort against the Nazis. This grouping focuses on the personal odyssey of one such Jewish refugee from Vienna, Austria through a limited sample of a postal history which illustrates this historical period for many German and Austrian Jewish refugees.
Alexander Distler was born in Lemberg, Poland and moved to Vienna where he became a civil engineer (architect). He safely fled Nazi-occupied Austria in 1939 for sanctuary in England, where he was one of the Jewish refugees from Austria and Germany placed at Camp Kitchener in Richborough, Kent. However, with Britain’s fear of an invasion by Germany, Distler and fellow refugees were treated as possible “enemy aliens”. He carried a certificate describing him as a “Male Enemy Alien- Exemption From Internment”.* In Distler’s case this meant deportation to Canada on July 4,1940 (Britain had been able to prevail upon Canada to accept refugees) where he was confined to Camp “I”, one of eight refugee internment camps located throughout Canada. He was eventually transferred to another refugee camp known as “Camp 41” on Ile-aux-Voix in Quebec. He returned to the UK in 1943 and established residence in London. A chess player, Distler was known to frequent the Mandrake Chess Club in Soho on Meard Street, a room in the rear of a night club which attracted many famous European chess masters of the era. He had been married and divorced by the time he entered Netherne Hospital in June 1952. Netherne was a renowned psychiatric facility in Surrey, England, and Distler was an inpatient here for 15 months.
Throughout Distler’s odyssey as a refugee he received letters from friends and family, and especially from his mother Franziska, who continued to reside in Vienna after the Anschluss when Austria became part of Greater Germany. When Distler no longer heard from her, he contacted the Jewish Community Organization of Vienna and learned that she had been deported to Theresienstadt, (the ghetto/concentration camp currently located in the Czech Republic), in 1942 on Transport 29 and presumably perished there.
Since we do not have Distler’s own writings, we cannot establish his personal feelings relative to these critical events in his life. We do know that he had a coterie of friends and acquaintances that kept in touch with him. Indeed, one interesting piece of mail is an announcement of the marriage of his friend June Engel to Alexander Bramson in 1946. The latter was the Polish representative to the newly formed United Nations and member of the famous “Committee of 17” which played a crucial role in the Genocide Convention of 1948, essentially establishing for the first time a legal definition of genocide. Mr. Distler died at the age of 80 in 1978.
*Netherne Hospital Records: ref: Surrey Heritage/MP/1214/21 History Center Surrey CC
--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
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Postcard from Doctor in Nice, France to Alexander Distler, Engineer in Austria
2019.2.310
Postcard with red and green postage, “CARTE POSTALE” printed in red near top, addressed to Alexander Distler in blue. Back dated “14.VI.39” in upper right corner in blue. [Related items 2019.2.311ab - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Postcard, written in German, addressed to Alexander Distler, and Austrian engineer living in Vienna, just three weeks before he becomes a refugee fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria for Great Britain.
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Correspondence to Alexander Distler, an Austrian Internee of Camp Kitchener, from Richborough, Kent, United Kingdom
2019.2.311ab
a: Blue envelope addressed to Alexander Distler with red postage stamp in upper right corner, stamped with date “8 JAN 1940.” b: Blue letter, writing fills entire front and back page. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:This letter, written in German, was sent to Kitchener refugee Aleksander Distler by a Rose Engel, probably a London Jewish resident, as the letter was postmarked in Paddington.
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Red Cross Correspondence from Franziska Distler in Nazi-Occupied Vienna to Alexander Distler, Interned in Camp I, Ottawa, Canada
2019.2.312ab
a: Envelope “COMITÉ INTERNATIONAL DE LA CROIX-ROUGE-GENÈVE” addressed to “Mr. Alexander DISLER.” B: Document with Red Cross symbol in upper left corner, marked “Deutsches Rotes Kreuz,” stamped with date “10 AUG 1940” near top. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Franziska Distler sent this message to her son Aleksander assuming he was still at Camp Kitchener in Great Britain, not realizing that he had already been deported to Canada as an “illegal alien” where he was interned in Camp I (blue circled “I” on cover). Mrs. Distler expresses her sadness at not hearing from her son and hopes he is well. She reports she is doing well and asks him to be lighthearted. The Red Cross mediated the exchange of messages between civilians in Germany, France, and Great Britain. Messages were sent to Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, and then forwarded to their respective destinations. They were also censored, as can be seen from the red-stamped Canadian censorship markings and censorship tape on back of cover.
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Correspondence from Franziska Distler in Vienna to Alexander Distler, Interned in Camp I, Ottawa, Canada
2019.2.313ab
a: Green envelope labeled “EXAMINED BY” on front and “CENSOR” on back, addressed to “Aleksander Distler”, large “I” written and circled in blue in center, “BRITISCH AMERIKA” written and underlined at bottom. b: Letter stamped with “CENSORED CANADA IN.T.O.P. 26” near top left, dated “1. November 940” in upper right corner. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Mrs. Distler, Alexander Distler’s mother, living in Vienna, at this time part of the “Greater Germany” subsequent to the Anschluss of March 12, 1938, which is indicated in her return address. Her letter to Alexander is postmarked in Vienna with a double-ring cancellation and censored in Austria and Canada with sealing tape and a red hand stamp.
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Correspondence from Franziska Distler in Vienna to Alexander Distler, Interned in Camp I, Ottawa, Canada
2019.2.314ab
a: Envelope addressed to “Aleksander Distler No. 234,” “Internment Camp “I” written in center, “internment underlined twice, “I” circled in blue. b: Small letter dated “22. 12. 940” in upper right corner, stamped with “CENSORED CANADA IN.T.O.P. 27” in red in upper left corner. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Mrs. Franziska Distler, Aleksander’s mother, living in Vienna, at this time part of the “Greater Germany” subsequent to the Anschluss of March 12, 1938 which is indicated in her return address. Her letter to Aleksander, internee number 234 at Camp “I” is postmarked in Vienna with a double-ring cancellation and censored in Austria and Canada with sealing tape and red hand stamp.
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Correspondence from Franziska "Sara" Distler in Vienna to Alexander Distler, Interned in Camp I, Ottawa, Canada
2019.2.315ab
a: Envelope labelled “EXAMINER 3902” on right side, “MIT LUFTPOST” printed in blue box in bottom left corner, “OTTAWA CANADA” underlined and written in blue. b: Letter on thin, translucent paper, green writing on both sides, “CENSORED CANADA IN.T.O.P. 27” stamped in red in each corner. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:In accordance with the Nuremberg laws, which also apply in Austria, Mrs. Franziska Distler, as a Jew, must use the name “Sara” in her correspondence, as is indicated in her return address. In this letter we can see that inserting the name “Sara” is an afterthought. Her letter to Aleksander is sent airmail, censored in Austria and Canada with sealing tape and red and stamp. Another man whose signature is difficult to read appears to share the same address as Mrs. Distler, who signs his name on the return address with the obligatory “Israel” for male Jews.
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Correspondence from Franziska "Sara" Distler in Vienna to Alexander Distler, Interned in Camp I, Ottawa, Canada
2019.2.316ab
a: Blue envelope addressed to “Aleksander Distler No. 234,” “NORDAMERIKA” written in bottom left corner under “MIT LUFTPOST” printed in blue box, “OTTAWA CANADA” underlined and written in blue in bottom right corner. Letter on thin, translucent paper, green writing on one side, date “17. September 941” written in top right corner. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:In accordance with the Nuremberg laws, which also apply in Austria, Mrs. Franziska Distler, as a Jew, must use the name “Sara” in her correspondence, as is indicated in her return address. In this letter we can see that inserting the name “Sara” is an afterthought. Her letter to Aleksander is sent airmail, censored in Austria and Canada with sealing tape and red and stamp. Another man whose signature is difficult to read appears to share the same address as Mrs. Distler, who signs his name on the return address with the obligatory “Israel” for male Jews.
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Postcard to "Ingenieur" Alexander Distler in Jewish Refugee Camp 41 Ile-Aux Noix, Quebec from Carl Radlmesser in Toronto
2019.2.317
Postcard with color image of city street, labelled “FRONT STREET, POST OFFICE, UNION DEPOT AND ROYAL HOTEL, TORONTO, CAN.” Back has two green postage stamps in upper right corner. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Alexander Distler, had been sent to an internment camp in Canada. At some point after 1940 the name of Camp “I” was changed to Camp 41, on Ile-aux-Noix, an island in Quebec. Distler is referred to in this 1943 postcard as an Engineer. As well his name has been anglicized. Distler may have known Radlmesser from Austria.
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Correspondence from Montreal to Alexander Distler in Refugee Camp 41, Isle-aux-Noix, Quebec
2019.2.318ab
a: Envelope with address “Mr. A Distler, Refugee Camp 41, Isle aux Noix, St Paul, Que.” Written in blue, includes red postage stamp, stamped in black with “MONTREAL FEB 26 11 PM 1943.” b: Letter with writing on front and back, “Dear Mr. Distler:” written in top left corner. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Cancelled in Montreal February 26, 1943, Canadian hand stamp censor marks ( Commission for Refugee Camps censored refugee mail circular C.R.C. and numbered handstamp) on cover and on letter, and Isle-aux-Noix censor mark cover verso. Distler receives this letter written in English while continuing to reside at the Isle-aux-Noix camp for “illegal aliens” in Canada. The camp closed the end of December 1943.
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Correspondence from Dr. Alexander Bramson in Paris, France to Alexander Distler in London, England
2019.2.319ab
a: Envelope with two green postage stamps along right side, stamped twice with “POUR PARTS METTEZ LEN DE LARRONDISSEMENT,” addressed to “Mr. A. Distler.” b: Four-page letter dated “28. 7. 46” [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Alexander Distler has returned to England post-internment and at war’s end is living in London. Distler was one of the more than 2,000 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria who, forcibly removed from Britain as possible “enemy aliens,” were placed in internment camps in Canada. While the Jews were eventually treated as refugees and not as enemies, many were not allowed to leave until 1944.
Dr. Alexander Bramson was the Polish representative to the Committee on the Progressive Development of International Law and Its Codification – the so-called “Committee of 17” – in the recently formed United Nations. This committee played a critical role in the Genocide Convention of 1948 which essentially established a legal definition of genocide.
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Correspondence Sent to Alexander Distler in London Announcing Wedding of June Engel to Dr. Alexander Bramson of the United Nations
2019.2.320ab
a: Envelope with red postage stamp of airplane in upper right corner, addressed to “Alexander Distler,” stamped with “NEW YORK, N.Y. DEC 17 7 PM 1946” near top. b: Card announcing “June Engle and Dr. Alexander Bramson married.”[Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Distler received this announcement of the marriage of his friend June Engel to Dr. Alexander Bramson on December 17, 1946. Dr. Bramson was the Polish representative to the recently formed United Nations and member of the famous “Committee of 17” which played a crucial role in the Genocide Convention of 1948. This convention established for the first time a legal definition of genocide.
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Israel Kultusgemeinde WienResponse Concerning Fate of Mrs. Franziska Distler, Mother of Alexander Distler
2019.2.321ab
a: Green envelope with a purple ink stamp in the center with “508” and a purple purple stamp in the top right corner. b: Typed letter dated “18. Februar 1948” in the top right corner and the same purple “508” ink stamp as the envelope. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: An official reply from the Israel Kultusgemeinde Wien (Jewish Community Organization of Vienna) to an enquiry by Alexander Distler, now living in London, about his mother Mrs. Franziska Distler of Vienna, Austria. The agency reports that Mrs. Distler was deported to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia on June 28, 1942 “and to our greatest regret” does not appear to have returned. Records indicate that Mrs. Distler was born in 1864 and had been deported on Transport 29. Signed with official hand stamp of organization.
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Letter Sent to Dr. Alexander Distler at Neterne Hospital in Surrey, England from June Engel in Atlantic City, New Jersey
2019.2.322
Blue folding letter/envelope, black handwriting, with a blue and red striped border around the address panel. Addressed to “Mr Alexander Distler” and stamped with the date “August 8 1952”. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Letter written in German to Engineer Dr. Alexander Distler, who may have been working at Neterne Hospital, a renowned psychiatric facility in Surrey, England at the time this letter was written.
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Postcard to Alexander Distler in London from Flushing, New York
2019.2.323
Recto: black and white image of an ocean liner with a black hull. Verso: blue ink handwriting with “London” written and underlined in the lower right corner. [Related items 2019.2.310 - 2019.2.323]