Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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Nathan Kann, and her cousin, Silas Adelsheim, dispatched affidavits to the
American Consulate in Berlin in support of the immigration of the Zadek family. 10
On 25 February 1941, the Zadeks received confirmation from ‘Palestine and
Orient Lloyd’ of their third-class passage aboard the Serpa Pinto departing Lisbon
24 May 1941 and bound for New York. 11 On 10 March 1941, Siegfried Zadek
forwarded on the booking confirmation, together with further affidavits from his
wife’s American relatives, to the American Consulate in Berlin. Zadek sought
their urgent attention to his family’s case. 12 Nevertheless, the family did not
receive the necessary visas. Subsequently, the family of four remained in Berlin,
up until the time of their deportation on 2 April 1942 to Trawniki, where they all
perished. 13 With the commencement of war and the continued reluctance of
countries to accept Jewish immigrants, there was little chance of escaping
Germany. One interviewee recalled his feelings and that of his family when war
was declared:
I remember when the war started. I think it was a rather gloomy time for us.
We then realised that we were going to be stuck there for a long time. I
remember Dad became very worried about our future and because he felt there
was no escape for us anymore. 14
This family, however, was one of the very fortunate few to survive in Magdeburg
and eventually emigrated to Australia in 1947.
By the end of 1939 the majority of the Jewish population had been evicted
from their homes and were allocated rooms or apartments in designated
10
Correspondence and affidavits from Nathan Kann and Silas Adelsheim to the
American Consulate, Berlin, 31 October 1939 – 2 November 1939, Bestand 1, 75E,
Signatur Nr. 631, CJA, pp. 94, 160.
11
Buchungsbescheinigung, 25. Februar 1941, ibid., p. 152.
12
Betr.: Reg. No. 43170-71-72-73 Deutsche Warteliste, 10. März 1941, ibid., p. 155.
13
Zentralinstitut für sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung, Freie Universität Berlin, ed.,
op. cit., p. 1385.
14
Name withheld, op. cit., 18 June 1999.