Weiler, Carl

[From Stuttgart:] To: FRED OPPENHEIMER 804 W. 180 [Street], NEW YORK TRANSFER FOR PASSAGE [of] JULIUS [and] ELSE OPPENHEIM[ER] 300 DOLLARS TO BANCO LISBOA E ACORES LISBON [at] OUR DISPOSAL TRAVEL AGENCY VOCK

[WESTERN UNION CABLEGRAM header] R. B. WHITE, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB CARLTON, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD J. C. WILLEVER, FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT Received at 40 Broad Street (Central Cable Office), New York, N.Y. ALWAYS OPEN PCR/BF PR6890 STUTTGART 25 31 NLT RP$2.07 FRED OPPENHEIMER [crossed out: RJ] 804W 180 NEWYORK TRANSFERIERET FUER PASSAGE JULIUS ELSE OPPENHEIM 300 DOLLAR AN BANCO LISBOA E ACORES LISBON UNSERE VERFUEGUNG REISEBUERO VOCK THE QUICKEST, SUREST AND SAFEST WAY TO SEND MONEY IS BY TELEGRAPH OR CABLE

This cablegram reveals a parallel escape route being pursued simultaneously with the Cuba visa attempt: passage through Lisbon, Portugal — the last remaining neutral port in Western Europe. Reisebüro Vock, a Stuttgart travel agency, cabled Fred Oppenheimer at 804 West 180th Street in New York (the Washington Heights neighborhood, another center of German-Jewish refugee settlement) requesting that $300 be transferred to the Banco Lisboa e Açores in Lisbon to cover passage for Julius and Elsa. This is the same $300 referenced in Julius and Elsa's own telegram (0036). The involvement of Fred Oppenheimer — likely a relative (possibly Julius's nephew or cousin) living in Washington Heights — adds another member to the rescue network. The Lisbon route was the primary escape corridor for refugees in late 1941: Jews who could obtain transit visas through Spain and Portugal could potentially embark from Lisbon for the Americas. The Banco Lisboa e Açores was commonly used as a financial intermediary for refugee passage deposits. The Tausig Service Corporation (which had filed the original 1939 affidavits — see 0001) also became involved, querying Reisebüro Vock for details (see 0040).

[From Munich, October 25:] To: DOKTOR KAUFMANN 622 WEST 141 STREET APT 3D, NEW YORK CITY VOCK OFFER SEVENTH AUGUST REACHABLE IF YOU AGREE DEPOSIT HALF PASSAGE THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS ELSE [AND] JULIUS

[WESTERN UNION header] R. B. WHITE, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB CARLTON, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD J. C. WILLEVER, FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT The filing time shown in the date line on telegrams and day letters is STANDARD TIME at point of origin. Time of receipt is STANDARD TIME at point of destination. D36CC 4A VIA RCA CD MUENCHEN 25 10 NLT RP$3.87 DOKTOR KAUFMANN [handwritten: AW] 622 WEST 141 STREET APT 3D NEWYORKCITY VOCKANGEBOT SIEBTER AUGUST ERREICHBAR WENN DU EINVERSTANDEN EINZAHLET HALBE PASSAGE DREIHUNDERT DOLLARS ELSE JULIUS THE COMPANY WILL APPRECIATE SUGGESTIONS FROM ITS PATRONS CONCERNING ITS SERVICE

This telegram — one of the very few direct communications from Julius and Elsa Oppenheimer themselves in the entire collection — was sent from Munich, likely on October 25, 1941 (based on the routing code "MUENCHEN 25 10"). Julius and Elsa inform Mina ("Doktor Kaufmann") that a travel offer from Reisebüro Vock (a Stuttgart travel agency — see 0037 and 0040) is available, with a departure date reachable by August 7th [likely a reference to a ship sailing]. They ask Mina to deposit $300 — half the passage fare — if she agrees. The telegram was sent to Mina's new address at 622 West 141st Street, Apt. 3D, New York City (c/o Heller, as per the Zaro Tours documents). The fact that Julius and Elsa could still send international telegrams from Munich in late October 1941 indicates they had not yet been deported, but the window was closing rapidly. Deportations of Munich Jews to Kaunas (Lithuania) and Riga (Latvia) began on November 20, 1941. The telegram is signed "ELSE JULIUS" — Elsa's name first — suggesting she may have been the one managing the practical arrangements from the Munich end.