Overview
- Description
- 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. - Date
-
inclusive:
1938-1947
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rudolf Abraham and family
- Collection Creator
- 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
- Genre/Form
- Correspondence. Passports. Certificates.
- Extent
-
13 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The Rudolf Abraham papers are arranged as two series: I. Correspondence, 1940-1947, II. Identification and personal items, 1938-1941
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jews--Germany. Jewish refugees--China--Shanghai.
- Geographic Name
- Shanghai (China) Hongkou Qu (Shanghai, China) China--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century. United States--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.
- Personal Name
- Abraham, Rudolf. Abraham, Maeta. Abraham, Siegfried. Abraham, Marcus. Abraham, Bertha. Friedlander, Anneliese. Kaufmann, Johanna. Spitzer, Trude. Kaufmann, Julius.
- Corporate Name
- Sachsenhausen (Concentration camp)
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The Rudolf Abraham papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Rudolf Abraham in 1993 and 1996. These donations were given two separate accession number: 1995.A.0335 and 1996.19 respectively. These collections have since been merged, and can be located under the accession number 1995.A.0335.1.
- Primary Number
- 1995.A.0335.1
- Record last modified:
- 2023-06-02 08:46:26
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn191792
Additional Resources
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-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
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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
Customs tag
Object
Postage stamp
Object
Stamp booklet with canceled Republic of China postage stamps
Object
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.
Postage stamp
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Postage stamp
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Postage stamp
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Postage stamp
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Suitcase
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Prayer book
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Prayer book
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Prayer book
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Prayer book
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Prayer book
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Prayer book
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Prayer book
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Prayer book
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Prayer book
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Book
Object
Book
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Book
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Book
Object
Book
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Book
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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
