Jewish Flight from Nazi Germany
Many affluent German Jews emigrated during the early Nazi years. Less fortunate Jews gained an escape route to the east after Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression treaty in August of 1939. Those who preferred not to become Soviet citizens traveled across Siberia to China. Shanghai, the most cosmopolitan city in the Far East, became a natural haven for German Jews seeking refuge abroad, because no visas were required to enter or to reside there.
Pictured Above: In August of 1936 the Königsbergers of Frankfurt notified a relative that their belongings were packed and they would set sail soon to New York.
Flown by airship Hindenberg. Post card postage 15 pfennigs plus 50 pfennigs air mail surcharge.
Pictured Above: An October 2, 1939, post card from Wartenburg, East Prussia, German Jewish family to friends and family members who had fled to Shanghai.
Königsberg censor’s handstamp used only from September 6 to mid-November 1939, coinciding with the German conquest and subjugation of Poland.
Additional Images
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