Overview
- Description
- Walter Rauscher left for Manila from Marseille, France on February 3, 1939 aboard the Aramis SS ship. Street scene in Marseille under the Porte d'Aix Arc de Triomphe. Street scenes. Pan of the Cathedrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Marseille. Man reads the newspaper on a balcony overlooking the harbor and shipyard. Large boats on the water. People walk on the deck of the Aramis SS boat. (3:57) A young child faces the camera. People stand on the deck watching. Man dressed in a suit walks toward the camera smiling. (4:41) Walter Rauscher, the cameraman, walks towards the camera. (5:22) CUs of Walter. French flag flies on the ship.
(5:44) The SS Aramis in transit. The ports of call include Port Said (Egypt), Djibouti (horn of Africa), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Penang (Malaysia), Singapore, Saigon (Vietnam), Hong Kong, Shanghai (China), and Kobe (Japan). (6:17) Mansion and buildings along the shore, palm trees, possibly in Port Said, Egypt. (7:38) Cabanas, men and women at the top of a slide descending into the sea. (8:29) Market square in Djibouti, locals dressed in light-colored clothing and turbans. Three European tourists speak with a local boy. Wheelbarrows, men with Fez hats hold ropes tied around their waist and perform labor. European men pose for the camera beside a railway track. Large crowd of locals; camels. (10:17) Several well-dressed European passengers, including Walter at 10:25, gather by columns of a large building (possibly in Colombo, Sri Lanka or Penang, Malaysia). A female traveler smiles at the camera, holding the child seen earlier. Pan of men on a ship. (10:55) CUs, local Malaysian women on a boat.
(11:24) Visiting Chinatown in Singapore, busy street scene with shops, signs in Chinese. Sri Mariamman Temple, a Hindu temple. Street scenes. Oxen with carts. Shops in Singapore and locals. Crossing a bridge with rickshaws. Freight unloaded from shipping containers. HAS “Ford” “Chevrolet” shipping containers. (14:02) In Saigon, Vietnam, busy streets, shops, pedestrians. Temple. Local children sit on the sidewalk, looking at the camera. A tourist with a camera. French sign on awning “Savon La Liberte” and “Savon Vietnam”. More signs: “Dai Quang.” Busy street in Saigon, wagons, bicycles, trucks. The European couple with a child walk towards the camera. Pan, locals. (17:54) Walter with two men, sightseeing. An ornately decorated wagon. Views looking out a port window of the seashore from the SS Aramis ship, windy, one man smokes and waves to the camera. (18:59) Hong Kong port with palm trees. Pan, HAS overview of the large city in the hills. Walter and a couple of European ship passengers walk along a path on a hill overlooking the city. Harbor. Busy street, Walter is given a lift in a rickshaw. Congested street scene in Hong Kong with crowds and signs on buildings in Chinese and English. Police officer directs traffic. Shops. (24:13) Walter approaches from across a street with shops, including “Dr. KS Shin / V.D. Clinic” and “Dispensing Chemist.” Street scenes, shop signs in Chinese and English, local pedestrians. Shore from boat. MS, passenger.
(25:21) Walter plays a ring toss game and a boy rides a tricycle on board a new boat, presumably from Hong Kong to Manila. The boy’s father helps him down the stairs and he again plays the ring toss game. (27:35) In Manila, Philippines, pan of villa and gardens. Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila. Boat at sea, men fish on the rocks. Cars travel up and down the tree-lined street by the shoreline. Parked car with license plate 1-154. Film ends at 29:30. - Duration
- 00:29:31
- Date
-
Event:
1939 February 03
- Locale
-
Marseilles,
France
Egypt
Saigon, Vietnam
Hong Kong
Manila, Philippines
Singapore
- Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, gift of Eric Rauscher
- Contributor
-
Camera Operator:
Walter Rauscher
- Biography
-
Walter Rauscher (July 9, 1919 – December 1974) was born in Ošelín, Czechoslovakia to Oskar and Clementine (Schnurmacher) Rauscher. The family owned a general store in town and lived in the quarters above it. Oskar died in June 1936, leaving the business to his wife. Walter’s uncle, Leo Schnurmacher, was the Honorary Consul of Czechoslovakia in Manila, Philippines. In 1938, Leo connected Walter, who had been studying in Pilsen, with Marcel Blum, the president of Levy & Blum Inc. The company offered Walter a position in Manila and financial assistance for relocating. On December 8, 1938, Walter secured a visa along with thirteen other Jewish refugees in the third wave of the Open Doors immigration initiative. He left for Manila from Marseille, France on February 3, 1939 aboard the Aramis SS ship. Later that year, Walter’s mother Clementine, sister Irma, her husband Leo Eisner, their daughter Hanna, and Leo’s brother, Artur Eisner, found refuge in Manila. Walter worked for Levy & Blum, Inc. and the family lived together in Leo Schnurmacher’s diplomatic residence. The family left the Philippines for the United States on the SS President Taft arriving in San Francisco in October 7, 1940. They were sponsored by the Americans, Henry and Camilla Beck, from Cicero, IL. Walter Rauscher settled in Chicago, married Elaine Kraus in 1947, and had two sons, Russell (1950-1995) and Eric (1953-).
Physical Details
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
- Copyright
- Eric Rauscher
- Conditions on Use
- The Museum does not own the copyright for this material and does not have authority to authorize third party use. For permission, please contact the rights holder, Mr. Eric Rauscher.
- Copyright Holder
- Eric Rauscher
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Film Provenance
- Eric Rauscher donated his father's films to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in May 2021.
- Film Source
- Eric Rauscher
- Special Collection
-
Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 08:08:08
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn724583
Download & Licensing
- Request Copy
- See Rights and Restrictions
- Terms of Use
- This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
Contact Us
Also in This Collection
Business travel in Mindanao
Film
Walter Rauscher travels to Mindanao as the Manila representative for Levy & Blum, Inc.
Prewar Jewish family in Ošelín, Czechoslovakia
Film
Walter with his sister Irma Rauscher Eisner and their mother Clementine Schnurmacher walk towards the camera in Ošelín around 1937-1938. Walter opens a car door with Czechoslovak license plate. Irma’s husband, Leo Eisner, embraces her. Headstone for Oskar Rauscher in the Jewish cemetery in Stříbro [Mies]: “Oskar Rauscher Aus Oschelin” with the dates March 17, 1887 to June 4, 1936. Walter eats kumquat from tree. Irma with nurse holding baby girl, Hana Miriam Eisner (later Hanna Eaton, born March 23, 1937). Several family members across generations hold baby Hanna and smile at the camera in the garden of the Rauscher family home. Walter stands in a doorway with two men. They smoke cigarettes. Friends and family pose for the camera. A young boy unloads a wagon. CUs, baby Hanna with relatives. 01:03:43 The boy poses in front of the Oskar Rauscher general store, with Persil advertisement. Walter sits on a nearby bench with a small lap dog named Flucky. More closeups of baby Hanna, drinking from a bottle. Irma, Clementine, and unknown woman walk towards the camera in front of their store in Ošelín. Hana, now a toddler, sits on a horse in front of the Eisner family home in Ošelín, and waves at the camera. She practices walking on the sidewalk, and smiles while eating. “Kodak” End 01:05:21
Jewish refugees in Manila; Plaza Santa Cruz businesses
Film
The Rauscher and Eisner families in Manila. Pan, Manila harbor. Large ship arrives with passengers by the railing, waving. (01:11) Hanna Eisner sits in a small chair in a garden of their home in Manila, waving at the camera. She runs over to a water pump, washes her hands and drinks. Hanna plays with relatives who fled from Nazism, including mother Irma, uncle Walter, and grandmother Clementine. They dance, play with a guitar, and pose for the camera. (3:47) Leo Schnurmacher, the Honorary Consul of Czechoslovakia in Manila, Philippines, plays with his grand-niece Hanna. They hold hands. (04:29) The family poses and smiles in front of a straw house. (04:41) Long boats on a waterway, pan. (05:35) Family members gathered on the grass with Hanna. She wears a white dress and smiles, cars pass by. Group of men in a neighborhood, streetcar. Hanna plays with a stuffed bunny and on a swing. She explores in the yard and climbs stairs to a slide. (08:58) Field with men playing soccer. (09:06) Walter with Artur Eisner, the tall man with glasses. Street scenes with rickshaws and traffic, “San Juan Luneta” bus. Local children sitting with Hanna on a bench. Three women in dresses. Brief shot of Artur. (11:07) Cars line the front of a large white building with columns. Busy street in Manila with cars, horse-drawn carriages, and a street car. Boats go under an elaborate bridge. Circular pan of the city, Pasig river with boats, buildings, signs, pedestrians, and traffic. National Postal Museum. More boats, street scenes, “Nippon Bazar.” (13:33) Children’s “tea party” at the family villa. Adults swing. Walter and Artur sit beside a car with “Manila” license plate. CU, Hanna. The brothers Artur and Leo goof around for the camera. Hanna holds hands with a toddler and is tossed in the air by uncle Artur. CUs of Hanna. (17:44) Busy street with shop signs in English: “Ideal Bazar” “Muelle del Banco Nacional” “Hotel Great Eastern” “Plaza Lunch” “Tivoli” “Bata shoes” “Coca-Cola”. (19:22) At Plaza Santa Cruz, storefront of “Levy & Blum, Inc,” the business which employed Walter Rauscher. Irma sits on the swing and children tumble. Pan of the lush grounds at the Rauscher and Eisner family villa. Clementine poses and crosses a wooden bridge. Gardens, palm trees. (22:20) CUs, Clementine. Film ends at 22:50.
