Josef Oppenheimer Stuttgart-Lederberg Neuwiesenstr. 239 Stuttgart, October 30, 1946 To: Mrs. Mina Kaufmann, 2914 Norfolk Ave. Baltimore 15, Md. U.S.A. Dear Cousin Mina! I hope that you have received my first letter in the meantime, in which I wrote to you about where our relatives ended up and that no one came back! I am writing to you today through the American Joint [Distribution Committee] in Stuttgart, as the letters arrive faster and more safely from there. As I already told you in my last letter, I would like to emigrate to America and have asked you for an affidavit. I hope that you can provide me with an affidavit. If I have an affidavit, I can emigrate soon. Almost all German Jews and many of my concentration camp comrades who survived have already emigrated to the U.S.A., or intend to do so in the near future. I will certainly not be a burden to you in America, as I am used to working. Please write to the American Joint (American Joint Distribution Committee) whether you are in a position to provide me with an affidavit and whether your financial circumstances allow it. Below is the exact address of the American Joint: American Joint, Stuttgart-West, Reinsburgstrasse Nr. 26, Waihinhaus, Germany. Now I want to close for today. I hope you and your family are well. With the warmest regards to all of you, I remain Your cousin Jo. [Josef] Oppenheimer [Handwritten postscript:] In case the first letter was lost, I am sending it again.
Typed letter
Typed letter to Mina Kaufmann requesting affidavit
Josef Oppenheimer Stuttgart-Lederberg Neuwiesenstr. 239 Stuttgart, den 30. Oktober 1946 To: Mrs. Mina Kaufmann, 2914 Norfolk Ave. Baltimore 15, Md. U.S.A. Liebe Cousine Mina! Ich hoffe, dass Du meinen ersten Brief inzwischen erhalten hast, in welchem ich Dir geschrieben habe, wohin unsere Verwandten gekommen sind und dass niemand mehr zuruckkam! Ich werde Dir heute uber den American Joint in Stuttgart schreiben, da die Briefe von dort schneller und sicherer bei Dir ankommen. Wie ich Dir schon in meinem letzten Brief mitgeteilt habe, mochte ich gerne nach Amerika auswandern und habe Dich um ein Affidavit gebeten. Ich hoffe, dass Du mir ein Affidavit stellen kannst. Wenn ich ein Affidavit habe, kann ich bald auswandern. Fast alle deutschen Juden u. viele meiner K.Z. Kameraden, die es uberlebt haben, sind schon nach U.S.A. ausgewandert, bezw. wollen es in nachster Zeit tun. Ich werde Dir bestimmt in Amerika nicht zur Last fallen, da ich gewohnt bin zu arbeiten. Schreibe bitte an den amerikanischen Joint (American Joint), ob Du in der Lage bist, mir ein Affidavit zu stellen und ob es Dir Deine finanziellen Verhaltnisse erlauben. Nachstehend die genaue Adresse des American Joint: American Joint, Stuttgart-West, Reinsburgstrasse Nr. 26, Waihinhaus, Germany. Nun will ich fur heute schliessen. Hoffentlich geht es Dir und Deiner Familie gut. Mit den herzlichsten Grussen an Euch Alle, verbleibe ich Dein Cousin Jo. Oppenheimer [Handwritten postscript:] Falls der erste Brief verloren ging schicke ich denselben nochmals.
Josef Oppenheimer (born 1924) was the son of Moses Oppenheimer. After surviving Theresienstadt concentration camp and subsequent imprisonment, he wrote this typed letter to his cousin Mina Kaufmann in Baltimore, requesting an affidavit (sponsorship document) to emigrate to the United States. The letter was sent via the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC/"Joint") office in Stuttgart, which assisted Holocaust survivors with mail and emigration. Josef eventually emigrated to Florida on August 17, 1949.