Case and paper insert owned by a former German Jewish forced laborer

Julius Löwenstein (later Loewenstein, 1913-1995) was born in Ortenberg, Germany, to Siegmund (1876-1942) and Sophie (1885-1942) Zimmermann Löwenstein. He had one brother, Alfred (later Fred Loy, 1910-1999). Siegmund worked as a businessman and merchant and had previously fought for Germany in World War I (1914-1918). Siegmund and Sophie later settled in Frankfurt am Main, and it is likely that Julius lived there as well. On January 30, 1933, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, and the Nazi regime passed legislation to disenfranchise the Jewish population. Julius made his way to Switzerland as a refugee in August 1938. In early November 1938, during the Kristallnacht pogrom, Siegmund was arrested and transported to Buchenwald concentration camp. He was released and allowed to return home after several weeks. After the war began in September 1939, Julius spent several years in a labor camp for emigrants in Nuovo Locarno, Switzerland, near Lake Maggiore and the Italian border. He worked for Losinger & Co. A.G. in 1941 and 1942, and received some monetary support from Jewish aide societies. In January 1943, Julius became a labor camp facility manager. By early 1945, Julius received a work visa from the Canton’s Alien Police to reside in the canton of Zurich, rather than the labor camp. He began working as an office assistant and accountant for Schweizerischer Jüdische Flüchtlingshilfe, Zurich [S.J.F., Swiss Jewish Aid to Refugees, Zurich]. Originally, his visa was through the end of April, but he was able to apply for an extension and also granted permission to continue working until early July. In early 1939, Julius’ brother, Alfred, was living in Cologne, where he worked as a businessman and merchant. He was issued a Reisepass [passport] in January 1939. Alfred and his friend, Bernd Nathan, decided to immigrate to Japanese-controlled Shanghai, China. At the end of April, Alfred and Bernd, boarded the MS Victoria, in Genoa, Italy, and set sail for China. The journey, via the Suez Canal, took roughly four weeks and stopped at many ports along the way. Most of the other passengers were also Jews trying to flee from Europe. In Shanghai, Alfred’s ship was met by American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC or Joint) representatives, who helped the refugees settle in. At first, most refugees lived in shelters in Hongkew, an industrial area of the International Settlement section of the city, where they received supplies and food. The Jewish community in the city included 20,000 refugees. Alfred found work as a representative for the Argo Company, which sold liqueurs, brandy, rum, whiskey, gin, vodka, fruit juice, and stomachicum. After the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese also bombed the British ships docked in the Shanghai harbor and occupied the city. On May 18, 1943, prompted by Nazi Germany, the Japanese forced the stateless refugees into a ghetto in Hongkew. In May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies, ending the war in Europe. However, the war in the Pacific continued until August. In Switzerland, Julius’ work visa was extended again, and he continued to work in the S.J.F. office through September 1945. During the summer, Julius’ maternal cousin, Sam Zimmermann, who lived in the United States promised to send him an affidavit to support his immigration. In the fall, Julius’ request to extend the work visa was difficult to secure, but he was able to continue in the office until the end of December 1945. The visa was again extended in 1946, and Julius remained in Zurich. He received a visa to immigrate to the US in July, and sailed from France in August. He lived in New York City with a relative, Richard Wolf (possibly a cousin). A recommendation secured him a position at Natural Nydegger Transport Corporation, an international freight forwarder and licensed customhouse broker. At the end of June 1947, Julius’ brother, Alfred, immigrated to the United States, arriving in San Francisco, California, on July 14, 1947, aboard the SS General W. H. Gordon. Alfred Americanized his name to Fred Loy, and settled in Cleveland, Ohio. The brothers later learned that their father, Siegmund, was on transport II/2, as prisoner number 315, and was deported to Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp in German-occupied Czechoslovakia on June 5, 1942. Their mother, Sophie, was also deported to Theresienstadt on September 2, as prisoner number 316 on transport XII/2. Siegmund perished in the camp on January 17, 1943. Sophie was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland on January 29, 1943, as number CT 225. She perished there. In November 1948, Fred married Lola Stern (born Irma Karola, 1923-2003) in Cleveland, where they settled. She was another German Jewish refugee that had lived in Shanghai, and an acquaintance from his time there. They had one child. Julius became a US citizen in NYC in March 1952. Fred and Lola became citizens in 1953. Fred and Lola later move to San Diego, California, where their son had settled, as did Julius.

The document case and insert were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017 by Gary Loy, the nephew of Julius Loewenstein.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Gary Loy.