Bidspirit auction | (HOLOCAUST). Group of Holocaust-era documents

(HOLOCAUST). Group of Holocaust-era documents issued and relating to a Czech Jew, RUDOLF SEIDLER. Includes: * 1. Yellow Star patch belonging to Rudolf Seidler of Prague. Forcibly worn following the September 1st 1941 order mandating such to all Jews in Czechoslovakia. * 2. Summons for Rudolf Seidler to forced labor, cleaning the streets of Prague’s Old City. The assignment was daily 7am until 6pm. The work was unpaid and the Jewish Star must be worn at all times. With stamp of Prague’s Altestenrat (Jewish Elder Council). April 8th, 1943. * 3. Letter to Rudolf Seidler from his brother, Josef Seidler. Theresienstadt, July 7th, 1943 (see free translation below). * 4. Altestenrat-issued ID for Rudolf Seidler. With stamps from October 1943 to February 1944. Enabled Seidler to reach locations required for city forced labor. * 5. Work Certificate for Rudolf Seidler. “Required for work until midnight and therefore cannot comply with the curfew.” With stamp of Prague’s Jewish Altestenrat. May 5th, 1944. * 6. Altestenrat Confirmation (Czech) that Rudolf Seidler must forcibly relocate his residence on October 3rd. On verso, permission (German) from one Kamus on behalf of the Aerial Defense of Prague granting one day’s leave of absence to enable Seidler’s relocation (signed). September 30th, 1944. * 7. Two Illness / Employment certificates of Rudolf Seidler, dated September 26th, 1944 and October 2nd, 1944. “The bearer of this card is authorized as ill and thus entitled to use public transportation in Prague, unless otherwise specified.” (The previous day, Seidler had been ordered to clean the streets of Bulowka. Perhaps the incident is related to his subsequent illness. Seidler was subsequently ordered again to report for work on September 28th, despite his poor health. See https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/172/ and https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/405/. * 8. Two Summons for Seidler to meet in the offices of the Prague Altestenrat; one with with a Mr. Erich Jucker and the other with Mr. Rudolfa Neumanna (no date). Prague, 1943-44.     Rudolf Seidler was born in 1891 in Miřetice, Czechoslovakia and later moved to Prague. On October 8th, 1942 his entire family - parents, siblings and child - were deported to Theresienstadt, leaving him alone in Prague. Despite his failing health, Seidler was drafted into a forced labor group compelled to clean and maintain the city’s streets.     By the time the family letter from Theresienstadt reached him, Seidler’s father and sister had already perished in the camp. Brother Josef, as well as mother Berta would not survive the war, sent to their deaths in Auschwitz some time in 1944.     The paperwork attests that Seidler’s untenable position came to a head in the Autumn of 1944. His increasing weakness, repeated slave labor orders, and the upholding of a mandated eviction edict he had tried to resist, are the last pieces of documentation of Seidler’s survival. By the end of 1944, fewer than 7,000 Jews were still alive in Prague, less than 6% of its prewar Jewish population of 120,000.     No record is found of either Josef’s unnamed child who is described in the letter here as “Doing poorly and struggling to cope;” nor of Rudolf’s son Paul, who “Will be a tall, handsome man.” Free translation of Josef’s letter: “My beloved! Warmest greetings to you. We thank you deeply for your wonderful parcels and receive such a joy from them. How are you? Are you healthy? Your Paul is becoming a big, handsome young man. Our little one is doing poorly and is still struggling to cope. Let us hear from you soon and best regards from the Seidler family. I am with our dear mother every day. She is healthy and is always happy with your letters.” See www.geni.com/people/Rudolf-Seidler/6000000185385761884 and https://www.geni.com/people/Josef-Seidler/6000000019494065774 THE PRESENT DOCUMENTS PERSONALIZE ONE OF COUNTLESS HOLOCAUST EXPERIENCES, FROM DAY-TO-DAY BUREAUCRACY TO FINAL WORDS EXCHANGED WITHIN A DOOMED FAMILY.