us-005578-irn723259-irn501928
identifier: irn501928
scope and content: Contains a false baptism certificate issued to Ellen Meth's father, a certificate issued by the Polish Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, stating that Mr. Szymon Wang, his wife, daughter, and brother are all Roman Catholics, a Red Cross message sent by Ellen T. Meth to Jacob Ungar inquiring about her mother, and a Red Cross message sent by Ellen T. Meth to her mother, Emilia Wang in Lvov. The certificate was signed by Wojciech Rychlewicz from the Polish consulate in Istanbul, Turkey who issued thousands of certificates to Jewish refugees enabling them to obtain visas and enter countries who limited the number of Jewish refugees.
has record set type: Item
title: Wang family papers
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn723259-irn501928/alternateIDs/1
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn723259-irn501928/acquisitions/1
has or had some members with language: lat
history: Ellen Meth (born Edwarda Tuska Wang) was born to Szymon and Emilia Wang in Kraków, Poland on January 27, 1923, but grew up in Rzeszow, Poland where her father was a wealthy landowner and lumber exporter. After the Polish government confiscated foreign currency reserves, in either 1937 or 1938, Szymon decided to illegally transfer some of his assets to the United States. To do this he needed to come to the United States to invest the money, and he decided to obtain tourist visas to the 1939 New York World's Fair as a cover. However, Emilia, believing America to be uncultured and crime-ridden, refused to go. Ellen, therefore, accompanied her father instead, and Emilia never obtained an American visa. Shortly after the start of the war in autumn 1939, the family moved to Lvov. Szymon searched for a way to leave the Soviet Union, and was able to obtain exit visas because the American tourist visas were still valid until June 14, 1940. Szymon did not want to travel without Emilia, but she convinced him to leave in order to get Ellen out of the country, and it would be easier for him to help Emilia once the rest of the family was living elsewhere. Emilia remained in Lvov, and with their American visas, Ellen and Szymon left for Turkey in July 1940. Szymon was determined do find a way to bring Emilia out of Europe as well and to find a final destination for himself and Ellen. By sheer coincidence, he ran into a Polish friend who told him that the Brazilian government was offering 10,000 visas to proven Polish Roman Catholics. He suggested that they obtain baptismal certificates, and that he would vouch for them at the Polish consulate. On the basis of a false affidavit of a Catholic friend, in July 1940 the Polish Consul in Istanbul issued the certificates stating the Ellen and her father were good Roman Catholics. Szymon, in turn, later vouched for other Jewish friends who also got certificates in this manner. Emilia, meanwhile, remained in Lvov and was forced to accept R…
record resource extent: folder 1
is or was included in: us-005578-irn723259
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1932-01-01
type: RecordSet
history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had some members with language: eng
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1942-12-31