Oppenheimer, Fritz

None

THE BOWERY SAVINGS BANK CHARTERED 1834 110 EAST 42ND STREET NEW YORK SAFE DEPOSIT DEPARTMENT April 20, 1940 Mr. Fritz Hausmann 6299 Elwell Crescent Forest Hills, Long Island Dear Mr. Hausmann: When you consider that you may keep all of your valuables together in a safe place for as little as $5 [a year plus] [text cut off]

This letter from The Bowery Savings Bank to Fritz Hausmann at 6299 Elwell Crescent, Forest Hills, Long Island, appears to be a marketing letter promoting safe deposit box services. While not directly related to the Oppenheimer immigration, it was preserved in the correspondence file and establishes the Hausmann family's address — the same location where Fanny Hausmann stored Julius Oppenheimer's luggage (see receipt in 0019). Fritz and Fanny Hausmann were evidently part of the German-Jewish refugee community in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, which had become a significant settlement area for Central European immigrants. Their willingness to store nearly a ton of the Oppenheimers' household goods in their home for months speaks to the communal solidarity among refugees and their supporters.

[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).