Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Booklet filled with 216 canceled Republic of China postage stamps that belonged to Rudolf Abraham. After the Nazi regime took power in Germany in 1933, laws were passed to persecute the Jewish population. The family butcher shop struggled when Jewish businesses were boycotted and Jews were forbidden from practicing certain trades. Rudolf was arrested during Kristallnacht in November 1938. His family got him released in December, but he had to leave the country. Rudolf left for Shanghai, China, and in August 1940, he reached the United States.
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rudolf Abraham and family
- Markings
- fastener, stamped : SPEEDWAY PAT USA & FOREIGN
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Rudolf Abraham
- Biography
-
Rudolf Abraham was born in 1908 in Durboslar, Germany, to Marcus and Bertha Kaufmann Abraham. Marcus owned a successful butcher shop. In 1933, the Nazi regime came to power in Germany. Jewish businesses were boycotted and anti-Jewish legislation was passed to persecute the Jewish populace. Some family members were able to flee the country, but Rudolf was unable to obtain a visa. During the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938, Rudolf was arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. His family was able to get him released in December, on the condition that he leave Germany. Rudolf stayed in Cologne and worked with a travel agency to obtain passage to Shanghai, China. While in Shanghai, he worked as a butcher. Rudolf managed to obtain a visa for the United States, where he arrived in August 1940. He moved to New York to join his cousin, Siegfried Abraham, who had immigrated to the US in 1936. Soon after his arrival, he met and married Meta Goldman. Rudolf, 97, passed away in 2003.
Physical Details
- Language
- Chinese
- Classification
-
Exchange Media
- Category
-
Postage stamps
- Object Type
-
Postage stamps--China (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Red paper booklet bound with a metal prong fastener with 18 pages with 16 preprinted squares in 3 rows of 4 on which to attach stamps. Sixteen pages have a canceled Republic of China stamp attached by nonadhesive tape in each square, except for 3 stamps which are not canceled.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 6.500 inches (16.51 cm) | Width: 5.500 inches (13.97 cm)
- Inscription
- back inside cover, pencil : 0 / T2
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The postage stamp album was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1996 by Rudolf Abraham.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-07-16 14:42:43
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn11408
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- By Appointment
- Request 21 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
- Request to See This Object
Contact Us
Also in Rudolf Abraham collection
The collection consists of a Leica camera, postage stamps, correspondence, documents, and publications related to the experiences of Rudolf Abraham before and during the Holocaust in Germany, and in Shanghai, China, and the United States, where he immigrated in 1940.
Date: 1938-1947
Rudolf Abraham papers
Document
The Rudolf Abraham papers contain correspondence and other items related to Rudolf Abraham. A Jewish man from Germany, he was arrested and taken to Sachsenhausen before being freed and fleeing to Shanghai, where he eventually procured a visa to travel to the United States. Included in the collection are primarily correspondence from family and friends, as well as identification papers including a passport, identity cards, and citizenship certificate. The Rudolph Abraham papers contain primarily correspondence from family and friends to Rudolph Abraham and his wife, Maeta. The letters from family come from both Rudolph and Maeta’s parents, and Rudolph’s grandmother Johanna Kaufmann. Other letters come from friends living in Shanghai after Rudolph left, and some relate to a stamp collection that Rudolph was entrusted to sell. Additional items in the collection include various identification documents such as identity cards, passport, and a citizenship certificate. Also included are a Jewish calendar and two small notes.
Customs tag
Object
Postage stamp
Object
Postage stamp
Object
Postage stamp
Object
Postage stamp
Object
Postage stamp
Object
Suitcase
Object
Prayer book
Object
Prayer book
Object
Prayer book
Object
Prayer book
Object
Prayer book
Object
Prayer book
Object
Prayer book
Object
Prayer book
Object
Prayer book
Object
Book
Object
Book
Object
Book
Object
Book
Object
Book
Object
Book
Object
Prayer Book owned by Rudolf Abraham
Object
The prayer book is part of a collection consisting of a Leica camera, postage stamps, correspondence, documents, and publications related to the experiences of Rudolf Abraham before and during the Holocaust in Germany, and in Shanghai, China, and the United States, where he immigrated in 1940.
Book
Object
