Heartache
Young lovers face separation
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“I say it is a good thing not to see each other for a longer period, for only then can one see how much or how little people have changed.”
Hamburg/Merano
By 1938, the Hirsch family from Hamburg had emigrated to Italy. In light of the volatile situation in Europe, members of the family began to look into options for emigration to the United States or South America. Julius Hirsch had met Elisabeth Schiff on a visit to Belgium in 1935 and fallen in love with her. The Schiff family had no plans to leave Europe, and when visas for El Salvador were procured for Julius and other members of his family, he must have been pained at the prospect of being so distant from his beloved. This letter from a friend in Hamburg reassures him that a temporary separation is not such a bad thing. Forced to remain in Italy because the US denied him the necessary transit visa, Julius ultimately reunited with Elisabeth in England.
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SOURCE
Institution:
Leo Baeck Institute – New York | Berlin
Collection:
Julius and Elisabeth Hirsch Collection, AR 25585
Original:
Box 1, folder 14
