Items

• Passport of Walter Singer, 1938
  This is the passport of Walter Singer. It was issued September 6, 1938 by the "Deutsches Reich" or "The German Empire." Walter Singer was born in Vienna Austria on November 17, 1916. Singer fled Nazi Germany in 1939. Walter Singer was married in Vienna on July 31, 1938, the last day that Jews were allowed to marry in Austria after the Nazi invasion. This passport includes a physical description of Singer. He is described as having a medium build, with a long face, blue eyes and blond hair. His profession is listed, but indecipherable. Realizing that the Jews in Austria were in great danger, he and his wife Edith secured passports and booked passage to Latvia. The passport outlines Singer's travel plans. As is listed in the passport, Singer intended to travel to Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Australia, The United States of America, Latvia, or Great Britain. Latvia refused entrance to Singer and his wife, and they were forced to go back to German territory. There are a number of stamps in the passport showing Singer leaving Austria and returning, there is also a stamp from the Länderbank, Wien the country bank of Vienna. Singer was arrested by the Gestapo on November 9, 1938. Singer's wife, Edith, learning of his arrest, begged the officers for his release. Her request was granted on the condition that she could acquire two steamer ship tickets out of Europe. The couple went back to Vienna and received American visas on January 6, 1939. There is an Immigration Visa stamp on the final page of the passport that was processed February 13, 1939 at the American Consulate in Vienna Germany.
• Passport of Ernestine Rubin, 1939
  This is the passport of Ernestine Sara Rubin. It was issued December 30, 1939 by the "Deutsches Reich" or "The German Empire." Born in Vienna, Austria on March 17, 1889, Ernestine fled Nazi Germany in the summer of 1940. There is a physical description of Ernestine Rubin which describes her as being of medium build, with an oval face, brown eyes, and gray hair. Her profession is listed and loosely translates to "in household." There is an immigration visa stamp on the back page of the passport dated May 3, 1940 processed at the American Consulate in Vienna, Germany. She was approved to leave Germany July 1, 1940. There is a Lithuanian railway stamp dated July 11, 1940, and multiple Chinese stamps dating from late August 1940. There are a number of travel stamps from Lithuania and China. There are also many stamps from China which show the date on the traditional Chinese 60-year calendar. According to the passport her travel plans were to go through Lithuania, China and then the United States of America.
• Wehrpass of Gerhard Karhoff, 1940
  This Wehrpass or "Military Pass" was given to Gerhard Karhoff on August 19, 1940. Gerhard Karhoff was a German Catholic serving in the Germany military during WWII. He was stationed in Münster, Germany in 1940. His military occupation is listed but indecipherable. Gerhard Karhoff's father, Heinrich Karhoff, was a carpenter. Heinrich and his wife Anna lived in Osnabrück, Germany where their son, Gerhard, was born on November 30, 1890. According to the educational background section Gerhard Karhoff only completed primary school.
• Passport of Jacob Israel Rubin
  This is the passport of Jacob Israel Rubin who fled Nazi Germany in 1940. Jacob Rubin was born in Kolomea, Austria (modern day Kolomyia, Ukraine) on January 17, 1883. There is a physical description of Jacob Israel Rubin listed in the passport. He is described as being of medium build, with an oval face, brown eyes, gray hair and gray facial hair. He lived in Vienna when he applied for his passport. His occupation is listed as a commercial staff worker. The passport was issued December 17, 1939. Rubin was cleared to leave German on July 1, 1940. There are a number of Latvian Railway stamps for mid July 1940. He was cleared to travel through China July 27, 1940. There are a number of Chinese travel stamps dating from early August 1940, which show the original date in the Chinese 60-year-calendar. The final page of the passport contains an immigration Visa stamp that was processed May 7, 1940 at the American Consulate in Vienna, Germany.
• Passport of Herta Sara Rubin
  Herta Sara Rubin was born in Vienna, Austria on April 28, 1922. The passport was issued July 3, 1939. The passport states that her occupation was a teacher. There is a physical description of Herta Sara Rubin. She is described as being small, with a round face, brown eyes and brown hair. Herta Sara Rubin was approved to leave Germany on July 3, 1939. There are a number of travel stamps in the passport. There is a Luxembourg luggage stamp dated July 18, 1939. A German border patrol stamp from August 2, 1939. There is a French stamp for transit on the Cunard White Star Ocean Liner dated July 29, 1939. The final page has an immigration stamp dated July 19, 1939. It was processed at the American Consulate at Vienna, Germany.
• Passport of Alfred Israel Eisenstadler
  This is the passport of Alfred Israel Eisenstadler. Eisenstadler fled from Nazi Germany in 1941. Eisenstadler was born in Nuremberg, Germany on August 1, 1916. He lived in Berlin when this passport was issued. The passport was issued on March 17, 1940. There is a physical description of Eisenstadler given in the passport. He was of medium build, with an oval face, brown hair and brown eyes. There is also a note that he wore glasses. There are multiple transit stamps from Spain dated mid February 1941, and from Portugal dated early March 1941. There is an Immigration Visa stamp dated January 24, 1941 from the American Consulate in Berlin.
• The Plight of the Displaced Jews in Europe
  This report from Harrison to President Truman helped to bring to the attention of Americans the deplorable conditions of Jewish refugees, need for relief efforts in Europe, and the creation of a Jewish state.