Letter from George Lederer to Susi Benedikt in Sweden, 1941

MLMSS 9423

fonds

1941

1094423

0.01 metres of textual material (1 folder)

George Lederer was a Dunera deportee, one of the group of German and Austrian Jewish refugees sent from England to Australia in World War II and interned at the camp in Orange.

Reference:
Douglas Stewart Fine Books brochure

George Lederer arrived in Australia in September 1940 aboard HMT Dunera.
The letter was approved by the censor and sent to Susi Benedikt in Sweden via Siberia. It did not reach its destination. The letter was undeliverable as Germany and the Soviet Union were at war and the Transiberian Railway connection was no longer available for regular mail service. In March 1942 the letter arrived in Melbourne at the dead letter office. By this time the camp at Orange, where Lederer had been held, had been closed. The letter was finally returned to the sender at the Tatura Internment Camp in Victoria. The letter gives some insight into what life was like in internment camps in Australia during World War II.

Copyright status:: In copyright