Correspondence between Peter Hans Hofmann and his future wife Susanne Renée Schwatzer

MLMSS 11887

fonds

1937-1942

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Photographs

9669920

0.48 metres of textual material (3 boxes, includes photographs)

Peter Hans Hofmann and Susanne Renée Schwatzer met whilst Susanne was in secondary school and Peter was studying at the Technologisches Gewerbe Museum in Vienna, Austria.

Due to the increasing hostilities in Austria, they escaped Vienna in 1938, Susanne first going to Paris and eventually Australia with her family and Peter going to England.

In England Peter went to the Woolwich Polytechnic to study engineering. At the outbreak of war, he got a job in a factory making war machinery. Peter and most Jewish refugees were called friendly enemy aliens and were housed in a hostel. After the fall of France, the police arrived at the hostel and whoever was home was arrested. They were taken to the police and the next day transferred to an internment camp near Liverpool. After a few days they were asked if they would like to be interned overseas. As Peter was convinced that Germany would invade England, he and countless others volunteered.

Eventually they embarked on the ‘Dunera’ to be taken to Australia. They voyage, which lasted two months, has been well documented because of the ill treatment of the passengers. The internees were then taken to internment camps in Hay, NSW. Peter was then sent to another camp in Victoria, in Tatura, and then Loveday in South Australia.

At the end of March 1942, he was released and arrived in Sydney where him and Susanne were married in St Andrews Cathedral on 7 April 1942.

Peter and Susanne had two sons, one born in 1945 and the other in 1950.

Peter passed away in 1970 and Susanne later remarried Mark Pritchard. Susanne passed away in 2013.

Susanne was also known as Suse or Sussanah, later as Susan Seymour and once she married, Susanne Hofmann then Susanne Pritchard.

References:
Library acquisition file
Ryerson Index
Pritchard, Susanne. “My Life, My Family; An Autobiography.” Unpublished manuscript, 27 December 1998, typescript

Approximately 318 letters, postcards and telegrams primarily between Peter Hans Hofmann and his future wife Susanne Renée Schwatzer. The majority of the letters were written while Hofmann was interned in the United Kingdom and then Australia and are concerned with keeping the relationship alive. Most are written in German, but this changes to English when Hofmann arrives in Australia. Other locations where Hofmann writes from includes Paris and Cape Town.

The collection also contains 13 photographs of Susanne Renée Schwatzer and an unidentified friend and two studio portraits; one of Susanne Renée Schwatzer and the other of Mizzi Langalka.

BOX 1
Folder 1
Correspondence
21 July 1937-13 October 1938

Folder 2
Correspondence
14 October 1938-18 November 1938

Folder 3
Correspondence
10 January 1939-17 February 1939

Folder 4
Correspondence
19 February 1939-30 April 1939

Folder 5
Correspondence
1 May 1939-31 July 1939

BOX 2
Folder 1
Correspondence
18 August 1939-29 December 1939


Folder 2
Correspondence
5 January 1940-15 April 1940

Folder 3
Correspondence
20 April 1940-26 November 1940

Folder 4
Correspondence
10 January 1941-20 June 1941

Folder 5
Correspondence
1 July 1941-7 August 1941

BOX 3
Folder 1
Correspondence
11 August 1941-29 September 1941

Folder 2
Correspondence
7 October 1941-13 November 1941

Folder 3
Correspondence
16 November 1941-21 March 1942

Folder 4
13 photographs of Susanne Renée Schwatzer and an unidentified friend in the street in front of an apartment block
2 studio portraits; one of Susanne Renée Schwatzer and the other of Mizzi Langalka

German, English

Copyright restrictions may apply:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy copyright holder

Brief summaries of letters - content-lists.sl.nsw.gov.au/tabular-list/correspondence-between-peter-hans-hofmann-and-his-future-wife-susanne-renee-schwatzer

Brief summaries of the letters can be found under the Finding Aids section of this catalogue record. These summaries were created by a Library volunteer. A few letters were not summarized as they only contained discussion of the relationship between Peter Hans Hofmann and Susanne Renée Schwatzer.