Large black wardrobe trunk used by German Jewish refugees on the MS St. Louis

Egon Josef Salmon was born on June 4, 1924, in Rheydt, Germany, to Paul and Erna Weinberg Salmon. Egon had a sister, Edith, born on August 24, 1933. Paul was born July 26, 1898, in Odenkirchen, to Joseph and Emma Simson Salmon. Paul served in the German Army in World War I (1914-1918). He then became a merchant. Egon’s mother Erna was born on January 23, 1900, in Rheydt, to Carl and Bellwina Mayer Weinberg. Her father Carl owned a textile store in Rheydt. In January 1933, Hitler came to power and the Nazi regime began enacting anti-Jewish decrees. On December 4, 1934, Paul was awarded an Iron Cross for his World War I service. In June 1937, the family got passports marked with the letter J for Jew. On November 9 and 10, 1938, the Kristallnacht pogrom occurred. Egon’s father Paul was arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp. On November 20, Erna received a letter from him with this news. He was released from Dachau after he got a visa to leave Germany for Cuba. Paul went to Antwerp, Belgium, and sailed on the SS Gerolstein on January 21, 1939, arriving in New York on February 3. He was detained in New York, then went to Havana, Cuba. Paul arranged for the rest of family to come to Havana, so they could then get visas for the United States. On May 13, 1939, Egon, Erna, and Edith left Hamburg on the MS St. Louis. Egon's cousin Liesl Joseph, who was about the same age as Egon and Edith, was also on board with her parents, Josef and Lilly Salmon Joseph. When the ocean liner reached Havana harbor on May 27, only 28 of the 937 passengers were permitted to disembark. The ship's passenger committee and Jewish aid organization appealed to the US government for permission to land, but it was refused. On June 6, the ship was forced to return to Europe. Agreements had been reached with four governments, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. to accept the passengers so they would not have to return to Nazi dominated countries. Egon and his family disembarked in Antwerp, Belgium. They spent ten months in Belgium, seeking permits for the US. On April 12, 1940, Egon, Erna, and Edith left Antwerp on the SS Westernland, arriving in New York on April 25. They reunited with Paul, who had returned to New York in December 1939. The family settled in Staten Island. On December 8, 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US entered World War II. On July 26, 1943, Egon was drafted into the US Army. He served in North Africa and Italy. The war ended when Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. Egon was awarded three Bronze Stars for his service. Egon returned to Staten Island and joined his father’s import-export business. He married Marie Schiff (b. 1929). The couple had two sons. In 1956, Egon opened a real estate business. Egon’s father Paul, 78, died in February 1977. His mother Erna, 97, died on June 27, 1997.

The trunk was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1998 by Egon J. Salmon.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Egon J. Salmon, in memory of his parents Paul and Erna Salmon

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.