Rudolf Abraham papers
Extent and Medium
folders
13
Creator(s)
- Rudolf Abraham
Biographical History
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.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rudolf Abraham and family
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rudolf Abraham and family
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.
Scope and Content
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.
System of Arrangement
The Rudolf Abraham papers are arranged as two series: I. Correspondence, 1940-1947, II. Identification and personal items, 1938-1941
People
- Abraham, Rudolf.
- Spitzer, Trude.
- Abraham, Bertha.
- Abraham, Maeta.
- Abraham, Siegfried.
- Kaufmann, Julius.
- Friedlander, Anneliese.
- Abraham, Marcus.
- Kaufmann, Johanna.
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
- Shanghai (China)
- China--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.
- Hongkou Qu (Shanghai, China)
- United States--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.
- Jewish refugees--China--Shanghai.
- Jews--Germany.
Genre
- Document
- Passports.
- Certificates.
- Correspondence.