Chronological Index of Letters

Date	Author(s) / Origin of Letter	Recipient(s) / Relationship to Author(s) / Destination of Letter	Summary
Early July - Early August, 1938 (Est.)	Karl Jellinek Karla/Kreindel E. Jellinek [Vienna, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (niece of KJ and KEJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Karl warns Nadja of the dangers of close-minded and extreme views and of ‘in-fighting’ generally, in the “building up” of a Jewish state. Karl also writes that “Here in Vienna, it is not good, and I don’t think we can stay." Karla (in the only extant letter from her to Nadja) similarly chides Nadja about her expression of negative prejudice against Jews from Poland, especially at that time of the burgeoning in-gathering of Jews from all over the world.
July 26, 1938	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	In this earliest extant letter from Hugo to his eldest daughter, he writes lovingly and hopefully about their being spiritually “forever and inseparably connected,” and of his confidence in the entire family’s reunion in British Mandate Palestine by ca. 1940. Hugo tells his eldest daughter about the difficult housing, economic (and interpersonal) circumstances in Brünn with which he, his daughter, Berta, and other poor emigrés and refugees are coping. Despite these kinds of hardships, however, Hugo wishes the rest of his family could be with him in Brünn, rather than being subject to the frightening threats and persecution in Nazi-occupied Vienna. He notes that Willy, the son of Hugo’s first cousin, Oskar Jellinek, is imprisoned in Dachau, and that Oskar is virtuously trying to help and rescue Willy. Hugo shares his thoughts about the “…agonizing situation of the Jews,… ” the Jewish people’s failure to “… hear Herzl’s call 46 years ago… ” and the urgent current need for “… a country of our own… ” and a “… genius of a leader…” Hugo also writes about his daughter Berta’s job difficulties, his worry over her social life and over his daughter Anna’s plea to bring her to Brünn. Lastly, he writes about his inspiration from a new friend, Therese Spitz, and his enjoyment of Friday night services at a local synagogue.
August 5, 1938	Anna Jellinek [Hollabrunn, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (sister of AJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Fourteen year-old Anna’s writing is unevenly negative and positive, wise and naiive. She begins her letter with hearty congratulations to her sister as she celebrates her 18th birthday in the ‘Land of Israel.’ Anna ends with kisses and hopes to be together in the following year. But Anna also reports about the traumatic effects of Nazi persecution, such as the ruination of the leather goods in their uncle Leopold Schlesinger’s store, and the subsequent total loss of his store through its ‘aryanization.’ Anna prejudicially denigrates Arabs in Palestine, but advises Nadja that good and bad people exist everywhere and that Nadja should not be prejudiced about Jews of Polish background in her Betar group.
August 6, 1938	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Hollabrunn, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (niece of GJS) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	This letter reveals the persecution that Gisela, the rest of the extended Jellinek family and their Jewish friends are experiencing. The most significant disclosures are: that she and her husband received “nothing” for the forced sale of their store, that they had to pay 350 RM, that they and all of the family are now very poor, and that several relatives and friends have emigrated from Austria. Gisela also expresses strong fear for the safety of her niece, Gisella Nadja, in British Mandate Palestine.
August 8, 1938	Max Jellinek Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger Siegmund Jellinek Berta Schafer Jellinek [Oberhollabrunn, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (niece of MJ and GJS, granddaughter of SJ and BSJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Gisella Nadja’s Uncle Max and Aunt Gisela write brief, but strong, telling statements, such as “Everyone wants to leave but cannot.” Grandparents Siegmund and Berta wish Gisella Nadja God’s blessing and protection.
August 9, 1938	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger Karl Jellinek [Vienna, Austria] Hugo Jellinek - inserted brief comments in the margins of Gisela J. S.'s letter, before he passed it on to Gisella Nadja J. [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Hugo Jellinek (brother of GJS and KJ) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia] Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ, niece of GJS and KJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Gisela, her husband, Poldi, their family members and neighbors are struggling with the Nazi regime’s anti-Jewish persecution, such as the forced, demeaning take-overs of their businesses and apartments. In her long, detailed letter, we mainly read of Gisela’s anguished responses to events, as well as her practical efforts to help her nieces, siblings, cousins and parents cope with the new harsh reality. Gisela also reports on her attempts to maintain some semblance of the old order and values, such as her intent to obtain her old piano for daily practice with her young niece Anna. Karl’s shorter letter contains equally powerful, ominous signs concerning the “unsustainable” situation for him and relatives in Vienna. The significant good news in both of these letters is about Karl’s receipt of requisite affidavits from the USA, as well as a Merit Certificate for admission to Mandate Palestine, Gustav Jellinek and Miron Nadel’s emigration prospects, and the receipt of Gisella Nadja Jellinek’s letters from Mandate Palestine.
August 9, 1938	Anna Jellinek Siegmund Jellinek [Hollabrunn, Austria] Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Hugo Jellinek (Anna’s father, Siegmund’s son) Berta Jellinek (Anna’s sister, and Siegmund’s grandaughter) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia] Siegmund Jellinek (Hugo’s father) [Hollabrunn, Austria]	Believing that she has a choice, 14 year-old Anna asks her father whether it is better to immigrate to America or to England. Anna criticizes Gisella Nadja’s idealistic Zionism and Betar activism and wants her to abandon Palestine for America. Siegmund believes that Hugo can and will come back to Hollabrunn and be able to sell boxes of merchandise that he left behind when he fled to Czechoslovakia. In a more realistic vein, Siegmund signs off as “worried” and admits that Gisela has been travelling recently between Stockerau, Vienna and Hollabrunn. However, he omits the dire reasons. Anna perceives zero prospects for future peace in Mandatory Palestine, and also lovingly urges her father to spend more money on himself in order to be better nourished and healthier.
August 12, 1938	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella/Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo shares his worries about his sixteen year-old daughter, Berta, spending time with Socialist political emigrants. He wishes Berta would identify more strongly as a Jew. Hugo also reports that he is well, but that he is troubled by the stressful upheaval that his parents and siblings, still in Hollabrunn and Vienna, are experiencing.
August 21, 1938	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella/Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo begins this long letter to his eighteen-year-old daughter, Nadja Gisella, with strong praise of her and loving birthday wishes. The remainder of the eight pages is mostly full of bitter, poignantly perceptive, prescient, political, intertwined with personal observations and predictions; e.g., a.) foretelling the doom of the Jews of Czechoslovakia if Hitler invaded the country successfully, b.) recognizing that many of the local Czech Jews were not aware that they were in the same imminent danger as the Jewish refugees from Austria, Germany and the Czech Sudeten region, and c.) being alert to both K. Henlein and J. Streicher’s powerful and dangerous influences. Only Hugo’s strongly expressed belief that the Czech nation would fight Hitler “to the last drop of blood” was tragically not borne out.
August 28 - 29, 1938 (Est.)	Berta Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (sister of BJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Berta writes lofty, idealistic 18th birthday wishes for her older sister Gisella Nadja, and for herself too. Berta also gives a spirited report of her recent bicycle accident, symbolic resistance, work and studies.
September 5, 1938	Siegmud Jellinek Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Hollabrunn, Austria]	Hugo Jellinek (son of SJ, sister of GJS) Berta Jellinek (grandaughter of SJ, niece of GJS) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Siegmund received a document from his son, Hugo, that grants him permission to enter a town (likely, his birthplace of Kanitz) in Czechoslovakia. He hopes to obtain a doctor's certificate that may increase his chances of procuring a permit to exit from Austria. Siegmund also considers a questionable offer of assistance and hopes for the transfer of his pension to Kanitz. Lastly, Siegmund reports on having managed the sale of Hugo's merchandise and that Anna will bring the sale proceeds with her when she reunites with her father, (Hugo) in Brünn. Gisela feels that she is losing her calm, courage, ability to pray and her belief in being rescued. Gisela, her husband and her parents are being expelled from her parents' long-standing home/synagogue in Hollabrunn, and Gisela is in the midst of difficult preparations for their forced move to Vienna. Gisela describes strong emotional reactions by neighbors in the face of their evictions.
September 9, 1938	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Hugo Jellinek (brother of GJS) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisela reveals the toll of Nazi anti-Jewish persecution on the Jelinek family, their friends and neighbors. Some examples she reports are: the take-over of her husband Leopold’s business, the confiscation of every Jewish person’s home, including their own, in Stockerau and the need to support her young cousin, Willy Jellinek, who is imprisoned in Dachau. In addition, she, her husband, her parents and all Jewish residents of Hollabrunn are being forcibly expelled to Vienna. Gisela must prepare everything for her family’s rushed move, as well as help Hugo’s youngest daughter/her niece, Anna, move from Hollabrunn to Brünn to join Hugo.
October 14, 1938	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo expresses outrage and despair re: the disastrous betrayals and appeasement at the Munich Conference, and the ensuing brutal persecution of Jewish and non-Jewish Czechs in the ceded Sudeten region. Hugo strongly commends Nadja for her heroic “heroic fight for the freedom of Palestine” from British rule. He concludes this long letter with positive, personal family news, including praise of his new friend, Therese Spitz.
October 18, 1938	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger Max Jellinek [Vienna, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (niece of GJS and MJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Gisela first gives mostly positive details about the family, such as the improved circumstances of her brother Hugo and Hugo’s younger daughters (Nadja’s father and sisters, resp.) in Brno, Czechoslovakia, Gisela’s brother Karl’s receipt of an affidavit and the satisfactory adjustment to living in an apartment in Vienna by Gisela’s parents as well as by herself. It is only in the second half of this letter that Gisela voices personal complaints at having had to move ‘three times already since March’ and about the ‘terrible’ most recent forced move out of Hollabrunn. Still, Gisela voices hope for an eventual family reunion and for the continued good health of everyone in the family. The overall adapting, coping and almost accepting tone and contents of this letter may reflect Gisela’s personal optimism and faith, as well as her lack of knowledge of and ability to grasp what the current persecution portended for even worse conditions to come. Gisela’s fear of the Nazi censors and her desire to shield Nadja from the entire dire truth may also have influenced her writing. Max’s pithy greeting is one of encouragement and inspiration for Nadja and her comrades’ Zionist endeavors.
November 4, 1938	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Hugo Jellinek (brother of GJS) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisela urges Hugo to register for an “illegal transport” to Mandate Palestine to join his daughter, Gisella Nadja and “. . . bring us all to Palestine.” She gives him detailed advice on how to succeed in getting on the next boat, such as using their brother, Karl and other Zionist leaders as references, and stating that he has agricultural skills, as well as being musical and well educated. Gisela hopes for a reunion of the family in Palestine, — one that was tragically never to happen.
November 17, 1938	Anna Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (sister of AJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Fifteen-year-old Anna humorously describes her new, somewhat onerous job as a live-in servant in Brünn. She also writes about the “irresponsible” behavior of her sister, Berta, and requests that Nadja write to her, but not worry about her.
November 24, 1938	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo shares prescient, mostly gloomy thoughts with his eldest daughter, writing that humans can be made into beasts much more easily than the other way around, and that Nazis are casually, and merrily “… robbing, burning murdering [and] fighting - …” just as the criminal band of outlaws did in Friedrich Schiller's 1781 play The Robbers. Hugo also worries about Czechoslovakia's new president, Dr. Hácha and about Czechoslovakia's granting of asylum and citizenship to Jewish refugees. Hugo begs Gisella Nadja to write to her sixteen-year-old sister, Berta, detailing her life in Mandate Palestine and urging Berta to register with the Betar Zionist youth organization. Hugo also includes news of the good health and spirits of Gisella Nadja's two younger sisters, their kind and generous new friend, Therese Spitz, and the robbing of a group of young Jewish Betar members on their way to Mandate Palestine.

1939

Date	Author(s) / Origin of Letter	Recipient(s) / Relationship to Author(s) / Destination of Letter	Summary
January 12, 1939	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (his eldest daughter, b. 1920) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	After expressing gratitude for 50th birthday greetings from Gisella Nadja and from other close family and special friends, Hugo bitterly predicts the further conquest of Czechoslovakia by the Nazis and their ability to “eliminate and strangle” the Jews in Europe, with the “applause and approval of the rest of the ‘civilized’ world.” Hugo denounces the Nazi “beasts in human form,” who, after taking over Sudentenland a few months earlier, had begun to oppress and frighten all Czech Jews. He also condemns the betrayal by Jewish communists and other “assimilation-socialists” against their own (Jewish) people. He extols members of the Zionist group Betar, (of which Gisella Nadja was an active member) for their great courage, organization and discipline as they fight for an independent Jewish homeland in [British Mandate] Palestine. Lastly, Hugo praises and provides some news about Bertha and Anna, his younger daughters, whom he still believes will be able to get to Palestine.
January 12, 1939	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger Berta Jellinek (additional hand-written greetings) [Vienna, Austria]	Hugo Jellinek (brother of GJS) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisela writes mostly about her close family members’ emigration, including applications for passports, affidavits, visas and “illegal” transports to Mandate Palestine. She also describes her efforts to help her nephew, Willy Jellinek get out of Dachau, as well as her attempts to settle unjust claims in regard to vandalism during the Kristallnacht pogrom. Although Gisela expresses strong worry about her siblings, nieces and nephews, she does not even hint at her actions or concerns for her own, her spouse’s or her parents’ emigration.
March 5, 1939 (Typed copy of Karl Jellinek’s speech delivered on board the Dutch ship “Veendam”)	Karl Jellinek [on ship to US from Holland] (Probably typed by Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger) [Vienna, Austria] Therese (Resl) Spitz (additional hand-written greetings) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Hugo Jellinek (brother of KJ) Therese (Resl) Spitz (friend of HJ) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia] Gisella Nadja Jellinek (niece of KJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Karl Jellinek’s impassioned speech opening a Purim celebration held on board a ship to the US from Holland. Karl expresses strong belief in the eventual rescue of all of his relatives and of all persecuted Jews in Europe, and in the need for unity and cooperation of all Jews in the building of the Jewish homeland in Palestine. Hand-written greetings were added after the text of Karl’s speech, by Hugo’s friend, 'Resl' Spitz.
March 1939 - May 6, 1939	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (niece of GJS) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Loving, worried, long letter, giving personal news of herself, close family and friends, written over an almost two-month period. News of others’ departures/escapes, Gisela’s own optimistic start of English lessons, her sending of clothing and photo mementos. Expressions of despair: “Prisoners forever???”, “Why were we all ripped apart? This disaster will never be undone.”
March 23, 1939 - early May 1939 (Est.)	Hugo Jellinek Fritzi Fränkel [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ, future stepdaughter of FF) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo expresses great admiration and burgeoning love for Fritzi Fränkel, but anger and pain re: Brünn’s recent occupation by the Nazis, and the change in his personal situation from distinguished, brave WWI Austrian soldier, who impartially helped all of his fellow soldiers, to persecuted and reviled Jew. Also, details of Hugo’s as well as Berta and Anna’s daily life in Brünn, and Fritzi expresses warm interest in Gisella Nadja.
April 15, 1939	Berta Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (sister of BJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Seventeen year-old Berta writes in a familiar, sisterly tone to Gisella Nadja, expressing concern for Nadja’s health, as well as chiding, criticism, sarcasm, humor and advice for Nadja not to work so hard and to think more about herself and her future. Berta reports on her hopeful plan to return to Vienna, complete professional studies there and then emmigrate to England. Berta continues with news that Anna (the youngest of the three sisters) is likely headed to a boarding school, also in England. Berta’s not having been able to know that her hopes were naiive and futile, nor that that she, and the rest of her family in Brno, would be trapped, and within three years, deported from there to their murders, is one of many poignant examples of what Saul Friedländer referrred to when he wrote “For it is their [Jewish victims’] voices that reveal what was known and what could be known [as Nazi policies were evolving].” (Please see fuller citation at the end of the Introduction on this website.)
April 23, 1939	Max Jellinek [Shanghai, China]	Siegmund and Berta S Jellinek (his parents of MJ) Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger (his sister of MJ) Leopold (Poldi) Schlesinger (brother-in-law of MJ) Siegfried Jellinek (brother of MJ) Martha Hirschensohn Jellinek (sister-in-law of MJ) Karl Jellinek (brother of MJ) [New York City, USA]	Max writes of his struggle and angst regarding many issues. These include: his separation from his wife, Stella, geting out of Shanghai and to Mandate Palestine, his poor health, earning a living, the increasingly deteriorating living conditions in Shanghai, as well as his disorientiation and that of many other Viennese refugees. Towards the end, Max describes how much he misses his parents and wants their forgiveness and approval.
May 16, 1939	Max Jellinek [Shanghai, China]	Karl and Kreindel/Karla E. Jellinek (brother/sister-in-law of MJ) [New York City, USA]	Max describes the poverty, hunger, unsanitary living conditions, illness, theft, fraud and official corruption in Shanghai. He despairs over the dim prospect of seeing his loved ones again, getting to British Mandate Palestine, and improving his economic situation or his health.
May-June, 1939	Anna Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (sister of AJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Sixteen year-old Anna writes with optimism and excitement about her and her cousin Erich’s prospects of getting to Palestine and reuniting with Gisella Nadja there. Anna also writes of the positive effects on the family of her father’s new relationship with the generous, sophisticated Mrs. Fränkel. The reader of Anna’s letter, who knows about the 1942 Nazi murders of Anna, her sister, Berta, her father, Hugo, and Mrs. Fränkel, will also find all of the other statements in Anna’s letter heartbreakingly poignant, including her statements of pride about her getting used to her work as a maid, her newfound strength and appearance and her thanking God for not being hungry anymore.
June 3, 1939	Gisella Nadja Jellinek [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo Jellinek (father of G/NJ) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja lovingly advises and entreats her father and sisters regarding urgent plans for them (and Aunt Gisela) to emigrate to British Mandate Palestine, despite the severe British restrictions. Gisella Nadja longs for them all to join her in Rishon Le Zion, where she has already been living for a year.
June 12, 1939	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Praise for Gisella Nadja’s and other Betar group members’ ongoing heroic work to build a Jewish homeland, contrasted with European Jewry’s humiliated status as “unwilling martyrs.” Positive personal news including Hugo’s deepening relationship with Fritzi Fränkel, and fatherly pride in Berta and Anna’s work and well-being.
June 12, 1939	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	The following four examples, among many in this letter’s varied news briefs and admonitions, reveal a lot about what Gisela could not know nor fully understand about the circumstances of her family members who had escaped and were refugees around the world, nor of her own and her trapped family members’ imminent, murderous futures: a) Gisela worries about the shipping to her brother-in-law (who is now safely residing in Australia) of his photographic machines that were seized when his Viennese photo studio was attacked in the November Kristallnacht pogrom; b) she is also anxious about how she will find the means to pay the portion of the huge “Jew Tax” imposed by the Nazi regime after this pogrom; c) she rejects the idea of emigration to Australia because “. . .it is too far away;” and d) she warns Gisella Nadja of (unnamed) perils, most likely involved with continuation of her niece’s underground resistance activities against British control. It is interesting to compare this letter that Gisela wrote in Vienna, with the letter that contains a powerful ideological and political statement, written by her brother, Hugo Jellinek in Brünn, on the exact same day in June 1939.
June 21, 1939	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Anna Jellinek Nadel (sister of GJS) [Sydney, Australia]	Gisela worrries over her father’s angry confrontational response to a Viennese office clerk who had disrespectfully addressed him. Gisela also writes of other family and indicative news, e.g., a) Jews now prohibited from entering the main park in Vienna; b) she and others taking baking classes to help prepare for their immigration.
July 10, 1939	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo expresses his deep bitterness and pessimism about the plight of Jews who are being persecuted by the Nazis and are also being barred by the British from finding refuge in Mandate Palestine. He bemoans the past failure of most Jews to heed Theodor Herzl’s warnings about the urgent need for a Jewish state. However, Hugo also cites Herzl’s declaration that with sufficient determination by the Jewish people, there could still be a way to overcome the obstacles and establish a Jewish state, as well as his own belief that the “ethical principle” will eventually prevail. The letter ends with Hugo’s hope and intimation that his two younger daughters and his new fiancée could get to Gisella Nadja in Mandate Palestine.
July 1939 (Est.)	Fritzi Fränkel [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Hugo Jellinek (soon-to-be fiancée and husband of FF) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	These two poems are replete with Fritzi Frankel’s wisdom, wit, playful sense of humor and love for Hugo Jellinek. These poems, along with the five photos in the Image Gallery, of her engagement and wedding to Hugo, are tragically, the main ways the world can know of Fritzi’s existence. Fritzi and Hugo’s romance and marriage in the midst of Nazi occupation and World War, mark them as remarkably courageous, resilient and hopeful. Fritzi’s feelings and circumstances as she composed these rhyming couplets, contrast painfully with her and Hugo’s murder in Auschwitz and Sobibor respectively, less than three years later.
July 23, 1939	Berta Jellinek Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ, sister of BJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Berta berates Gisella Nadja for working too hard in her Betar Zionist group and advises her to think more about herself and her own future. She also warmly congratulates her older sister on her forthcoming 19th birthday. Berta then reports on all of the wonderful and versatile qualities possessed by their father's wife-to-be, Fritzi Fränkel, but Berta exclaims that Fritzi can never replace their mother. Hugo inserts positive information about Fritzi and some joking negative criticism of Berta into this letter.
July 25-27, 1939	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Anna Jellinek Nadel (sister of GJS) Miron Nadel (brother-in-law) [Sydney, Australia]	Gisela tells of her heavy sadness, as well as the intense frustration, stress and disappointment that she experienced in dealing with the Nazi tax authorities. She had made arduous efforts on behalf of her sister, Anna and her brother-in-law, Miron, to avoid paying the “Jew Tax” that had been levied by the Nazi regime on Miron, along with all of the other Jewish victims of the November 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom. She had also sought compensation for Miron’s looted photographic equipment. Gisela writes about her husband, Leopold’s attempt to console her after her failed ordeal. Finally, Gisela transmits the heartening news about Hugo’s new relationship with Fritzi Fränkel and provides Anna with seven varied recipes, that include quick yeast dough, Hunter’s Roast and Nut Cake.
July 27, 1939	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (niece of GJS) (via Marianne Robicek) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Gisela expresses loving 19th birthday wishes to her niece and longing to be together when the “sun will shine for us again.” Gisela also writes about possibilities for her own, as well as for her brother Siegfried’s emigration from Vienna. In addition, Gisela provides positive news about her siblings, Karl and Anna, but negative news about her brother Max, all of whom have managed to escape from Europe. Lastly, Gisela reports at length on the letters she has received from her brother, Hugo (Gisella Nadja’s father), in which he wrote about his happiness stemming from his relationship with Fritzi Fränkel. He described Fritzi as loving, competent, caring and generous, even to his daughter Berta. Hugo has moved into Fritzi’s apartment in Brünn and will be engaged to her on August 15.
July 29, 1939	Karl Jellinek [New York City, USA]	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger (sister of KJ) Leopold (Poldi) Schlesinger (brother-in-law of KJ) Siegmund Jellinek (father of KJ) Berta S. Jellinek (mother of KJ) Siegfried Jellinek (brother of KJ) Martha H. Jellinek (sister-in-law of KJ) [Vienna, Austria]	Karl is still optimistic about the rescue of his family from Nazi-Austria and the family’s eventual reunion in New York. Details of marvelous amenities built-in and bargain purchases for his New York apartment, housework, Karl’s sending family members affidavits, resumed Zionist organization activities, visits from relatives, new friends, former Zionist fraternity brothers, and to his “sunchild” infant daughter.
July 30, 1939	Hugo Jellinek Fritzi Fränkel Anna Luchia Jellinek (Hugo's youngest daughter) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ and sister of ALJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo expresses his feelings of deep closeness with his eldest daughter Gisella Nadja, and his pride in her heroic participation in the fight for an independent Jewish state. He goes on to describe his happinesss and the reciprocal love with his soon-to-be fiancée, Fritzi Fränkel. He writes that she is wonderful in all respects, including her devotion to Judaism and Zionism, her being the descendant of a renowned Moravian Rabbi, and her compassionate and all-around, superior personal qualities and skills. Hugo also assures Gisella Nadja that Fritzi will be a “wonderful mother” to her, and that Fritzi is already acting motherly towards teenaged Berta and Anny. Anny and Fritzi ’s messages at the end of the letter, confirm Hugo’s belief that Fritzi would have been a wise and loving mother to Hugo’s three young daughters.
August 11, 1939	Siegmund Jellinek Berta Schafer Jellinek [Vienna, Austria]	Karl and Kreindel/Karla E. Jellinek (son/daughter-in-law of SJ and BSJ) [New York City, USA]	Siegmund and Berta are each reassured by news that Karl, his wife and daughter have settled into a new apartment. Siegmund prints the Hebrew letters of the blessing for affixing a mezzuzah and for expressing gratitude for having reached this moment of security. He expresses longing to be together again and hopes that “eventual overriding righteousness” will allow him to “live through these times.” Berta adds her concerns for three of her other children: Max, Siegfried and Anna. She also encourages Karla, who is pregnant, and writes of Siegmund’s and her own good health and of her feeling warmly towards Karla’s mother.
August 17, 1939	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo writes lovingly of Fritz Fränkel, whom he is plalnning to marry soon. The fact that Fritzi has already acted in a generous and motherly way towards his 17 year-old daughter, Berta, is just one among many of Fritzi’s personal qualities and deeds that Hugo extols. Hugo writes of his anticipation of the family’s reunification in Palestine, in response to the plans and instructions for this reunification that Gisella Nadja’ described in her June letter. Hugo also optimistically tells Nadja that she and her sisters will have a noble “. . . mother again on earth” worthy of succeeding their deceased mother, Natasha. There are a lot more emotionally and poetically written hopes in this letter, that were heartbreaking to read by Gisella Nadja for many years after she found out about the murders by the Nazis in 1942 of her father, her “future-mama,” Fritzi, her two sisters, her aunt Gisela and other family members. Gisella Nadja was able to feel proud however, that she followed her father’s inspirational advice to “stay true to her golden heart” and to her courageous endeavors for the establishment and development of an independent state of Israel.
September 2-5, 1939 (Est.)	Karl Jellinek [New York City, USA]	Siegmund Jellinek (father of KJ) Berta S. Jellinek (mother of KJ) Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger (sister of KJ) [Vienna, Austria]	Karl has read about the outbreak of war in the New York Times, but he maintains his hope for his family’s reunion in America. He is studying English and hopes to earn more money soon and be able to take better care of his second child. He chides Gisela for her inappropriate sentimentality during “this worldwide inferno.” Also, family news, including re: Max’s affidavit and Michaela’s good development.
October 7, 1939	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger Martha H. Jellinek [New York City, USA]	Karl Jellinek (brother of GJS and brother-in-law of MHJ) [New York City, USA]	Gisela’s letter describes how she and the Jellinek family members still in Vienna are continuing to cope with the increasingly difficult circumstances, including: the struggle to live with the Nazi’s anti-Jewish persecutory measures and deprivations, as well as the efforts required to overcome all of the barriers to emigration, such as securing affidavits and the money for ship tickets. The opening lines beseeching Karl to write to her, show the importance that correspondence with her siblings and nieces has for Gisela. Gisela’s concern with relatives continues throughout the letter, e.g., her passing on to Karl, news of their brother Hugo’s forthcoming wedding.
November 1939 - January 1940 (Est.)	Hugo Jellinek Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger Fritzi Fränkel (Hugo’s new wife) Anna Jellinek (Hugo’s youngest daughter) Heinz Rosenzweig (Fritzi’s nephew) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisela Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ, niece of GJS, sister of AJ, stepdaughter of FF, cousin of HR, by marriage of HJ to FF) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine, via Marianne Robicek in Yugoslavia.]	This letter corroborates that the persecution of Jews in Brünn had still not progressed far by late 1939 or early 1940. Among the optimistic statements that are especially poignant in light of the writers’ tragic fates, are: Hugo’s praise of the good life Fritzi is providing him and of the blossoming of his daughters, Berta and Anna, his citation of what God said to Mephistofeles in Goethe’s Faust, news of Berta’s preparations to join Gisella Nadja soon in Mandate Palestine and the plans for Anna, Hugo and Fritzi to come later. Hugo and Anna also express deep love for Gisella Nadja and great joy at having received mail from her.
December 17, 1939	Hugo Jellinek Fritzi Fränkel Anny Jellinek Heinz Rosenzweig Aunt Else (aunt of Fritzi) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Karl Jellinek (brother of HJ and brother-in-law of FF, uncle of AJ) Kreindel/Karla E. Jellinek (sister-in-law of HJ and FF, aunt of AJ) [New York City, USA]	In one of the few extant letters to his siblings, Hugo tells of the difficult, but not yet mortally dangerous circumstances he is experiencing in Brünn. Hugo lovingly praises the character of his new wife, Fritzi Fränkel. He recounts her altruism and devotion to caring for her late husband, to Hugo himself, and to her late good friend, Maria Mayer. Hugo feels very fortunate that Fritzi has chosen him over suitors who have higher social status.

Date	Author(s) / Origin of Letter	Recipient(s) / Relationship to Author(s) / Destination of Letter	Summary
January 8, 1940	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisela Nadja Jellinek (daughter of HJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Hugo praises his new wife, Fritzi, and his eldest daughter, Gisela Nadja, for each of their good deeds, strong spirit, values and idealism. Hugo states that he shares Gisela Nadja’s Betar Zionist movement ideals and major goal of “. . . the establishment of a Jewish national home in Erez.” He also writes about how Fritzi is making him very happy, as well as generously, kindly and wisely helping Gisela Nadja’s two younger sisters. In addition to Hugo’s closing, fatherly pleas and wishes for his 19 year-old eldest daughter, Hugo optimistically asks Gisela Nadja to wait to get married until he, his new wife/Nadja’s new mother and her two sisters arrive in Mandate Palestine.
January 12, 1940	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Gisela Nadja Jellinek (niece of GJS) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Gisela expresses joy at receiving a letter from her niece, Gisella Nadja, and discusses how much she values incoming letters from her dispersed siblings and nieces, as well as the letters that she wants to write. Gisela also reports varied good and bad news of her refugee and displaced family members and of former and current neighbors. Most significant and poignant, are her news of a) the late October forced deportation of her brother and Gisella Nadja’s uncle, Siegfried Jellinek, to the Lublin area of Poland and Siegfried’s subsequent removal to Lviv in the Soviet zone, b) the new, happy marriage in Brünn, of her brother and Gisella Nadja’s father, Hugo Jellinek, and c) the birth of a son, Bernhard, to her brother and sister-in law/Nadja’s especially beloved, uncle and aunt, Karl and Karla Jellinek in New York City. Gisela admits to struggling alone with difficult errands and housework. She notes that she gave away her piano and that it is “. . . not quiet enough for [playing] that anyway.” Still, she writes that she and her parents remain well and retain hope for “better times” and for all of the extended family to “see each other again.”
January 31, 1940	Hugo Jellinek [Brünn, Czechoslovakia] Short greetings added by Fritzi Fränkel (Hugo’s new wife) Aunt Else (may be Hugo’s cousin or aunt, unknown to us) Heinz Rosenzweig (Fritzi’s nephew) Anna Jellinek (Hugo’s youngest daughter) [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Siegmund Jellinek (father of HJ, father-in-law of FF, grandfather of AJ) Berta Schafer Jellinek (mother of HJ, mother-in-law of FF, grandmother of AJ) Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger (sister of HJ, sister-in-law of FF, aunt of AJ) *Leopold (aka Poldi) Schlesinger* (brother-in-law of HJ, and FF, uncle of AJ) [Vienna, Austria]	This is the sole, extant example of Hugo’s writing as a son, rather than as a father. Though limited in writing space, this postcard still shows a son challenging his father’s judgement, as well as seeming to desire his father’s approbation. Hugo reports on family problems, as well as praiseworthy characteristics of his youngest daughter, Anna/Lussinka, and of Heinz, his new nephew by his marriage to Fritzi. All of the above, combined with Hugo’s coded, cryptic and metaphoric references, e.g., “Bolavan,” “appropriate season,” also reveal Hugo’s current bitter political understanding, as well as his strained and constrained life as a Jewish refugee under Nazi rule.
February 2-4, 1940	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger Leopold Schlesinger Martha H. Jellinek [Vienna, Austria]	Karl Jellinek (brother of GJS, brother-in-law of LS and MHJ) Kreindel/Karla E. Jellinek (sister-in-law of GJS, LS, and MHJ) [New York City, USA]	Gisela is deeply conficted about escaping to the US with her husband, Leopold, and leaving her elderly parents behind in Vienna. Gisela also describes being weary of all the hard work involved in caring for her parents and keeping up with the family correspondence. Leopold writes of the joy and gratitude he feels for the "redemptive" news of a forthcoming affidavit (and possibly, ship tickets) from Karl and Karla. Leopold continues his somewhat resigned, philiosophical and cryptic writing concerning his own emigration, as well as the emigration struggles and hopes of his brother, brothers and sisters-in-law, and members of Karla's family. Martha H. Jellinek's hurried letter requests specific assistance from Karl regarding payment and receipt of ship tickets for her family's escape from Austria. Martha explains the urgency of having the ship tickets in her possession.
March 1940	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (niece of GJS) (via Marianne Robicek) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	This letter gives detailed personal news of Gisela’s and her parents’ difficult circumstances during the previous harsh winter, as well as updated information garnered from intra-family correspondence about the varied situations of her then globally dispersed siblings and friends. Some of the letters that Gisela received led her to believe that several of her close relatives could soon escape to America, revealing that Gisela did not and could not know that she and almost all of these same relatives would be murdered in the near future.
April 1, 1940	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (sister of BJ) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine] via secret conduit: Marianne Robiček in Yugoslavia	Much of this letter is concerned with Gisela’s unhappiness about not receiving news and items in the mail, which included mainly affidavits not yet received from Karl Jellinek in New York City, as well as missed vital news from family members who escaped Europe to different countries and continents, especially longed for from niece, Gisella Nadja in then - Mandate Palestine. There is some optimistic family news however, about the expected arrival of the affidavits for the family of Siegfried Jellinek, as well as for Gisela’s husband Poldi. Gisela also reports, that to her surprise, Karl Jellinek is doing well at a job selling costume jewelry and belts, Karla Jellinek is continuing to work at ‘her uncle’s’ bank and that Karla’s sister, Clara Anna E. Bertisch and her family have recently arrived in the US from Vienna.
November 30, 1940	Siegfried Jellinek [Lwów, Poland]	Karl and Karla E. Jellinek (brother/sister-in-law of SJ) [New York City, USA]	Siegfried pleads with his brother, Karl, to try to save his wife, Martha and their 16 year-old son, Erich, from increasing Nazi persecution. He asks Karl to try to bring Martha and Erich to New York, or at least, to obtain ship’s passage for them. Although Siegfried expresses resignation at his own precarious ‘stateless’, dependent and isolated situation in Lwów, he also maintains “the fervent wish to hold out” and that ‘spring’ will return. Siegfried also conveys concerned and loving greetings to the entire family.

Date	Author(s) / Origin of Letter	Recipient(s) / Relationship to Author(s) / Destination of Letter	Summary
January 1941 (Est.)	Mathilde/Manzie E. Eckstein [Vienna, Austria]	Kreindel/Karla E. Jellinek (daughter of ME) [New York City]	Mathilde/Manzie, having just learned of the death of her infant grandson/her daughter, Kreindel/Karla’s son, expresses her deep sympathy, empathy, love and compassion, as well as motherly urging for her daughter to remain courageous and strong. Regarding her own escape from the Nazis and reunification in the US, Mathilde reveals only her intense, but patient hope and longing, along with her impatience with learning English. Finally, Mathilde reports on key family members’ changed living arrangements.
January 18, 1941	Siegfried Jellinek [Lwów, Poland]	Karl Jellinek (brother of SJ) [New York City, USA]	Deep sympathy and empathy for the death of Karl and Karla’s infant son, Bernhard. Information on longed-for correspondence received (or not) from family. Entreaties re: Karl’s bringing Siegfried, and/or his wife, Martha, and their son Erich to the US.
March 28, 1941	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Karl Jellinek (brother of GJS) Kreindel/Karla E. Jellinek (sister-in-law of GJS) [New York City, USA]	This letter shows how Gisela’s current life, that of her husband, Leopold, and of friends and relatives are preoccupied with emigration out of Nazi-ruled Austria. Amid reports of telegrams from the US and Lwów, and of visits to her parents, cousins, friends and an overcrowded temple, Gisela writes of her and Leopold’s upcoming medical examinations. One must pass the exam and also show possession of a ship ticket for emigration, in order to be granted a visa. Gisela demonstrates her awareness of Nazi censorship by her use of abbreviations and obscure references, but at this late time, she still seems to have hope and expectations of escape.
May 2, 1941	Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger [Vienna, Austria]	Karl and Karla Jellinek (brother/sister-in-law of GJS) [New York City, USA]	Gisela continues to write about details of family correspondence and about dealing with a ‘machine matter,’ which is likely connected with the theft of her brother-in-law, Miron Nadel’s photographic printer on the night of the November 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom. There is news of the successful surgery her brother, Hugo, had in Brünn, and a description of the worries that she and Hugo’s two younger daughters had about the surgery. The postcard reports that Mathilde, Karla’s mother, is urgently learning English and that Hugo longs for good news from his eldest daughter, Gisella Nadja. There is a loving greeting from Mathilde.
June 1-5, 1941 (Est.)	Berta Schafer Jellinek Gisela Jellinek Schlesinger Leopold Schlesinger Siegmund Jellinek [Vienna, Austria] Hugo Jellinek Fritzi Fränkel [Brünn, Czechoslovakia]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek (granddaughter of BSJ and SJ, niece of GJS and LS, daughter of HJ, stepdaughter of FF) [Rishon Le Zion, British Mandate Palestine]	Sad, final messages from each of the letter writers, including from Gisella Nadja's own father. Each close relative seems to try to reassure him/herself and Gisella Nadja of his/her fate and expresses love and yearning to be together again.

Date	Author(s) / Origin of Letter	Recipient(s) / Relationship to Author(s) / Destination of Letter	Summary
May, 10 1946	Max Jellinek [Shanghai, China]	Karl Jellinek (brother) [New York City, USA]	Max bitterly describes the conspiracies against him that claimed that he collaborated with the Japanese when he was a radio reporter in Shanghai during the war. His anger and hurt is intense because he actually took frequent risks of severe punishment by the Japanese and German authorities to do just the opposite; he gleaned the truth of what was really happening in the war from a shortwave radio, and then informed his thousands of refugee listeners by “using various trick translations.” The defamers’ additional, patently false accusations that Max had managed to earn enough from his ‘collaborationist’ radio work, to live in luxury, eventually led to people’s disbelief in the slander. Max also writes about his poor health, his concerns over reuniting with his wife, Stella, and obtaining a visa and ship passage to emigrate to Australia.
July 6, 1946	Max Jellinek [Shanghai, China]	Karl Jellinek (brother) [New York City, USA]	Max does not write as lengthily and with as much anguish here about the calumny against him by unknown slanderers in Shanghai, as in his May 1946 letter. However, he is still concerned with finding the source of the false 'collaborationist' defamation and with the possiblilty of the ruinous lies following him to Australia. Max has less energy to deal with the treachery against him because of his latest attack of dysentery, and less time because of his anticipated departure from Shanghai for Sydney. Max also notes that the deteriorating and precarious conditions in Shanghai, as well as the extreme difficulties of gaining admission to the USA or "Eretz" (then British Mandate Palestine) have caused almost half of the despairing Jewish refugees in Shanghai to try to return to Austria.
Late December, 1946 (Est.)	Karl Jellinek [New York City, USA]	Gisella Nadja Jellinek Gal (niece of KJ) [Rishon Le Zion, Mandatory Palestine]	Karl begins with concern about his brother-in-law, Markus, and the upcoming arrival into the USA of his sister-in-law, Regina, who had survived the war in England. Karl goes on to tell of plans, hopes and progress in his new work and of his family in New York City. He proceeds to report on deaths, doubts, imprisonment and other varied news of Holocaust survivor friends, acquaintances and relatives. Karl asks about Gisella Nadja and her husband, Latsi’s, life. Lastly, he expresses his “burning interest” in and his view of current events in Mandate Palestine.