Hanni Sondheimer Vogelweid was born on October 5, 1923, in Berlin, Germany. Her family was living in Lithuania when World War II began, and fled to Japan in an attempt to emigrate to America where they had relatives. This did not work out, and the family was forced to move to Shanghai, as they had become officially stateless upon leaving Lithuania. Vogelweid lived in Shanghai from 1941 to 1946, and during the war was forced to live in the Hongkew ghetto with other Jewish refugees. The collection consists of personal documents Vogelweid used when she lived in Shanghai, including correspondence, vital records,  personal identification documents, and some publications.

Hanni Sondheimer Vogelweid was born on October 5, 1923, in Berlin, Germany, to Moritz and Setty Sondheimer. The family moved from Germany to Estonia to do business, and later settled in Kaunas, Lithuania. At the start of World War II, the family, who was Jewish, began to look for a way out of Lithuania, as anti-semitism was rising in Eastern Europe. They were issued a visa to Japan by Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese vice consul in Lithuania credited with saving thousands of Jews by providing transit visas, and left Lithuania in February of 1941 with money sent from American relatives.

0.21 linear feet

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