Media Essay
Polish Jews in Lithuania: Escape to Japan - Artifact/Document
Wool Bedcover
Following the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the Lifszyc family began to search for ways to leave the country. David Lifszyc obtained a Curacao visa from the Dutch consulate. He also obtained an American visa because he was included on a list of distinguished rabbis submitted to the State Department by the Agudat Israel of America. After obtaining Soviet exit visas, the Lifszycs purchased tickets for Vladivostok on February 5, 1941. They started for Moscow, where they received Japanese transit visas. This embroidered black wool bedcover was carried across the Soviet Union and Japan to the United States by the Lifszyc family. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewPostcard of Moscow
A Jewish refugee purchased this postcard of the Lenin Library during a stopover in Moscow. Soviet Union, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewTrans-Siberian Railroad ticket
A train ticket for travel on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewIntourist service voucher for the Trans-Siberian Railroad
Voucher for travel on the Trans-Siberian Railroad purchased at the "Intourist Travel Company of the USSR" in England for Joseph and Ruth Schaffer. Thousands of Jewish refugees fled Nazi Europe on the Trans-Siberian Railroad through the Soviet Union to Japan with the help of Japanese visas provided by Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewReceipt for items confiscated from Moshe Zupnik
Soviet authorities issued this receipt, in Russian, to Moshe Zupnik for the rubles they confiscated from him before he left the Soviet Union. Soviet authorities routinely confiscated most rubles and other valuables from Jewish refugees before they boarded steamers bound for Japan and left the Soviet Union. Vladivostok, Soviet Union, January 22, 1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewPage 17 of passport issued to Setty Sondheimer
A page in a passport belonging to Setty Sondheimer containing stamps from Ecuador. These stamps are marked in red with the word "Anulado," the Spanish word for "canceled." The stamps were canceled when Setty's visa for Ecuador expired because she was unable to travel across the Pacific due to fighting in that theater. Setty remained in Japan for the duration of the war and emigrated to the United States in 1947. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewNorth-China Daily News photo showing Jewish Refugees in Shanghai, China
An illustration in the North-China Daily News following the arrival of a group of Jewish refugees in Shanghai, in Japanese-occupied China. August 24, 1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewTourist pamphlet about Kobe, Japan
The Municipal Tourist Office in Kobe issued this folded English-language tourist guide to the city. One side shows photographs and descriptions of Kobe's historic and scenic sites and the other provides a tourist map of Kobe. Jewish refugees in Kobe used such pieces of information. Kobe, Japan, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewIllustration from tourist guide to Kobe and its environs
The Kobe Municipal Office issued an English-language tourist guide to Kobe and its environs. This illustration comes from the interior pages of the guide. Jewish refugees in Kobe used such pieces of information. Kobe, Japan, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewCover of a Japanese-German phrase book
German Jewish refugees purchased this Japanese-German phrase book shortly after their arrival in Japan. Japan, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewPermit for stay in Japan
Most Polish Jewish refugees stayed in Japan much longer than their 10-day transit visas allowed. Many feared the day when Japanese authorities would no longer extend their stay with permits like the one shown here. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewPermit for stay in Japan
Japanese authorities issued this "Permit for stay in Japan" to Ruth Segal (Rys Berkowicz). After several unsuccessful attempts to obtain visas for the United States, Ruth's father was able to secure a visa for her to go to New Zealand, in the British Commonwealth of Nations. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewSuitcase label for Trans-Siberian Express
The Soviet travel agency Intourist issued this type of luggage tag, showing a route map, to passengers on the Trans-Siberian Express. Some Jewish refugees traveled on the Trans-Siberian Express as they fled eastward. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewPage 12 of passport issued to Setty Sondheimer
Transit visa in a passport issued to Setty Sondheimer, a German citizen. This visa, issued on August 6, 1940, enabled her to travel through Japan en route to Surinam, Curacao, or other Dutch colonies in the Americas. These plans were disrupted when travel across the Pacific Ocean was forbidden following U.S. entry into World War II. Setty remained in Japan until she was able to emigrate to the United States in 1947. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewEmbroidered matzah cover
Following the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the Lifszyc family began to search for ways to leave the country. David Lifszyc obtained a Curacao visa from the Dutch consulate. He also obtained an American visa because he was included on a list of distinguished rabbis submitted to the State Department by the Agudat Israel of America. After obtaining Soviet exit visas, the Lifszycs purchased tickets for Vladivostok on February 5, 1941. They started for Moscow, where they received Japanese transit visas. This embroidered matzah cover, dated 1931, was a family heirloom used by the Lifszyc family. The inscription reads "Cloth for Passover 1931," while the embroidery on the reverse reads "Presented by M. and M. Lifszyc." [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewTrans-Siberian Express brochure (cover)
Front cover of a brochure from the Soviet travel agency Intourist, describing the amenities of the Trans-Siberian Express. Despite their anxieties, most of the Jewish refugees traveling on the train felt like tourists. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewTourist guide to Kobe, Japan (cover)
The Kobe Municipal Office issued this English-language tourist guide to Kobe and its environs. Jewish refugees in Kobe used such pieces of information. Kobe, Japan, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewMap of Kobe, Japan, from tourist guide to Kobe
The Kobe Municipal Office issued an English-language tourist guide to Kobe and its environs. The tourist map of Kobe pictured here was included with the guide. Jewish refugees in Kobe used such pieces of information. Kobe, Japan, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewSouvenir stamp book
A souvenir stamp book that belonged to a Jewish refugee. The book contains multicolored stamps inscribed with dates and place names. May 1941, Kobe, Japan. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewJapanese-German phrase book (interior)
The table of contents from a Japanese-German phrase book purchased by German Jewish refugees shortly after their arrival in Japan. The phrase book offers useful expressions in Japanese relating to travel, hotel stays, eating, and shopping in Japan. Japan, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewSuitcase belonging to a Polish Jewish refugee (exterior)
A few Polish Jewish refugees left Japan to join a small Jewish community in Harbin, Manchuria, in Japanese-occupied China. One of them carried this suitcase, covered with stickers from various shipping firms and hotels, on the journey to Harbin. China, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewSuitcase belonging to a Polish-Jewish refugee
A small group of Jewish refugees left Japan to join a small Jewish community in Harbin, Manchuria, in Japanese-occupied China. This image shows the interior of a leather suitcase carried by one of them to Harbin, China, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewCertificate of Polish citizenship (inside)
Many refugees had difficulties replacing lost or invalidated personal identification documents. The certificate of Polish citizenship shown here was valid in place of a passport. A Polish Jewish refugee used this certificate to travel legally from Lithuania, through the Soviet Union, to Japan. It contains the Curacao notation needed to obtain Soviet and Japanese visas. The bearer of this certificate aimed to reach Palestine, but ended up spending most of the war in Calcutta, India, part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewPage 2 of passport issued to Setty Sondheimer
Setty and Moritz Sondheimer and their two children fled Nazi Germany for Kovno, Lithuania, in 1934. There, Moritz opened a small factory manufacturing buttons and combs.
This image shows page 2, containing an identification photograph, of a passport issued to Setty Sondheimer by the German Consulate in Kovno on January 29, 1938. With aid from Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara in obtaining Japanese transit visas, Setty and her family emigrated from Kovno in February 1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewPage 5 of passport issued to Setty Sondheimer
Page 5 of a passport issued to Setty Sondheimer by the German Consulate in Kovno on January 29, 1938. This page contains three visas: (1) visa for Kovno valid from August 27, 1940, until December 31, 1940 (2) a second visa for Kovno valid until June 30, 1941, and (3) first visa for Yokohama, Japan, valid from June 7, 1941, until June 30, 1942. Unable to emigrate from Japan, Setty remained there until she was able to emigrate to the United States in 1947. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item ViewPostcard sent to Ruth Segal (back)
Family and friends of Ruth Segal (Rys Berkowicz) sent this postcard to her in Kobe, Japan. They sent the postcard from Warsaw, in German-occupied Poland, on June 20, 1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
Item View