Western Union Cablegram from Reisebüro Vock (Stuttgart) to Fred Oppenheimer i...

[WESTERN UNION CABLEGRAM header]
R. B. WHITE, PRESIDENT     NEWCOMB CARLTON, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD     J. C. WILLEVER, FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT

Received at 40 Broad Street (Central Cable Office), New York, N.Y.  ALWAYS OPEN

PCR/BF  PR6890

STUTTGART  25  31

NLT  RP$2.07  FRED OPPENHEIMER
    [crossed out: RJ]     804W 180  NEWYORK

TRANSFERIERET FUER PASSAGE JULIUS ELSE OPPENHEIM 300
DOLLAR AN BANCO LISBOA E ACORES LISBON UNSERE VERFUEGUNG

                                            REISEBUERO VOCK

THE QUICKEST, SUREST AND SAFEST WAY TO SEND MONEY IS BY TELEGRAPH OR CABLE

This cablegram reveals a parallel escape route being pursued simultaneously with the Cuba visa attempt: passage through Lisbon, Portugal — the last remaining neutral port in Western Europe. Reisebüro Vock, a Stuttgart travel agency, cabled Fred Oppenheimer at 804 West 180th Street in New York (the Washington Heights neighborhood, another center of German-Jewish refugee settlement) requesting that $300 be transferred to the Banco Lisboa e Açores in Lisbon to cover passage for Julius and Elsa. This is the same $300 referenced in Julius and Elsa's own telegram (0036). The involvement of Fred Oppenheimer — likely a relative (possibly Julius's nephew or cousin) living in Washington Heights — adds another member to the rescue network. The Lisbon route was the primary escape corridor for refugees in late 1941: Jews who could obtain transit visas through Spain and Portugal could potentially embark from Lisbon for the Americas. The Banco Lisboa e Açores was commonly used as a financial intermediary for refugee passage deposits. The Tausig Service Corporation (which had filed the original 1939 affidavits — see 0001) also became involved, querying Reisebüro Vock for details (see 0040).