The collection documents the pre-war, wartime, and post-war experiences of Siegmund Sobel, originally of Vienna, Austria, and his wife Gertrude Sobel, including their emigrations from Vienna to Shanghai, China in 1939, Shanghai to Israel in 1949, and Israel to the United States in 1951. Included is biographical material, immigration paperwork, photographs, and 141 homemade photograph albums made by Siegmund chronicling his life before, during, and after the Holocaust. Biographical material includes pre-war, wartime, and post-war documents of Siegmund and Gertrude, as well as material relating to Gertrude’s mother Viktoria Wertheimer, and other relatives in the Sobel and Wertheimer families. Papers of Siegmund include report cards, documents related to his medical practices in Austria, Shanghai, and the United States, birth certificates, identification papers, restitution, papers regarding his death in 1963, and an essay describing the bookbinding process he used for making his photograph albums. Gertrude’s biographical material includes identification papers, birth certificates, report cards, medical papers, notes, and documents regarding her Austrian pension. Other material includes Siegmund and Gertrude’s marriage certificate, some identification papers of Viktoria and other relatives, a small amount of correspondence, and various receipts. Immigration papers include paperwork documenting Siegmund and Gertrude’s immigration to Shanghai in 1939, Israel in 1950, and the United States in 1951. Shanghai documents include the itinerary of the SS Giulio Cesare, identification cards, receipts and documents from several Jewish organizations Siegmund belonged to in Shanghai. Israel documents consist of identification cards, inventories, and their ticket from Haifa to Marseille, France as part of the first leg of their journey to the United States. Immigration papers related to the United States documents their attempts to get visas while in Austria in 1938 and during the war in Shanghai. Included are Affidavits of Support, tickets, medical forms, and Declaration of Intention forms. Miscellaneous material consists of an Ärzte-Jahrbuch cardboard box, a Sine Calsum Tablet binder used in Shanghai with Siegmund’s last name printed on the cover, and a folded poster entitled The Synagogue: it’s holy objects and their significance. Photographs include pre-war, wartime, and post-war depictions of Siegmund and Gertrude including portraits and travel photographs. Also included are depictions of Gertrude’s mother Viktoria and unidentified friends and family and a Jewish wedding. The photograph albums consist of 141 homemade photograph albums (57 small albums and 84 large albums) constructed by Siegmund. The albums contain cloth covers in various patterns, and most are numbered and annotated in English or German. Both the small and large albums have roman number sequences as well as other albums without. The albums have been arranged as two subseries according to the respective numbering sequences for the large and small albums. Albums without roman numerals have been placed at the end of each subseries. Subseries 5.1 small albums document pre-war life in Austria, Siegmund and Gertrude’s emigration from Vienna in 1939 to Shanghai, life in Shanghai from 1939-1948, daily life in Israel, 1949-1950, and daily life in the United States in the 1950s. Subseries 5.1 large albums document various day trips and vacations in Shanghai, Israel, United States, Buenos Aires, and Europe. Albums VIII and IX contain a lengthy narrative describing the Sobel’s last weeks in Shanghai and their attempts to emigrate due to the growing Chinese Communist Revolution. Albums after 1950 primarily document various vacations and daytrips taken in the eastern United States and elsewhere. Negatives include glass negatives and film negatives with several different formats. Glass negatives are likely all pre-war depictions from Vienna, including Siegmund, his parents’ gravestone, a group portrait, and an apartment interior. Other negatives are unprocessed, but likely consist of images used in the photograph albums. Please note that negatives are not digitized or accessible at this time.
Siegmund Sobel (1900-1963) was born on 24 May 1900 in Bielitz, Poland (now Bielsko-Biała, Poland) to Wilhelm and Emma Sobel. He had two sisters, Rosa (later Rosa Guttmann) and Stefanie (later Stefanie Hirsch). Siegmund studied medicine at the University of Vienna and graduated in 1925, specializing in urology. In 1928 Siegmund married Gertrude Theresia Wertheimer in Vienna. Gertrude (1898-1997) was born on 30 December 1898 in Vienna to Viktoria (née Langer, 1870-1942) and Sigmund (b. 1862) Wertheimer. From 1926-1927 Siegmund lived in Merano, Italy where he was a physician in a private hospital. He returned to Vienna in 1927 to work at the Hospital of the Jewish Community. In 1931 he opened a private practice in Essling near Vienna. Antisemetic laws forced Siegmund to close his private practice in 1938 and he returned to the Hospital of the Jewish Community. In July 1939 Siegmund and his wife Gertrude emigrated from Austria to Shanghai, China aboard the SS Giulio Cesare. He set up a private practice in Shanghai, primarily treating fellow refugees. He also served as a consulting urologist with the Shanghai Refugee Hospital. Gertrude’s mother, Viktoria, also joined them in Shanghai, but died there in 1942. Both of Siegmund’s sisters survived the Holocaust in Buenos Aires. In 1948, Siegmund and Gertrude began planning to emigrate from Shanghai. The Chinese Communist Revolution expedited their need to leave the country, and on 1 January 1949 they sailed to Israel aboard the SS Castelbianco. They settled in Tel Aviv, but began applying for visas for the United States. They left Israel on 18 October 1950 and after a brief stay in Austria, immigrated to the United States in January 1951, settling in New York. Siegmund continued to practice medicine until his death in 1963. Gertrude died in 1997.
boxes oversize boxes oversize folders book enclosures 2 5 6 138
The collection is arranged as six series. Series 1. Biographical material, 1873-1965 Series 2. Immigration, 1938-1958 Series 3. Miscellaneous, 1934-1963 Series 4. Photographs, circa 1900-1961 Series 5. Photograph albums, circa 1930s-1962 Subseries 5.1. Small albums, circa 1930s-1962 Subseries 5.2. Large albums, 1947-1962 Series 6. Negatives
Siegmund Sobel papers
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum