Paula, Josef and Frieda Fruchter: Letters from Shanghai Exile 1941–1949
Final Report Abstract
In April/May 1941, the pianist and speech teacher Paula Fruchter (1896–1983), the singer, singing teacher and cantor Josef Fruchter (1900–1976) and their daughter Frieda (1933–2020) fled to Shanghai. They were among the approximately 18,000 mostly Jewish refugees who sought refuge from Nazi persecution in a metropolis beset by war and colonial conflict. Supplemented by messages from her husband and daughter, Paula Fruchter wrote almost 70 letters, cards, telegrams and Red Cross messages to her mother and other relatives in Vienna between 1941 and 1949. The fact that the letters have survived is unusual and is due to the fact that her mother was not affected by anti- Semitic persecution. The Fruchters’ first messages were written during their flight from Vienna through occupied Poland, the Soviet Union and Manchukuo and give an impression of the circumstances of the journey, of people, cities and landscapes as well as the approach to foreign environments. The last messages are made up of four letters that were written during the voyage from Shanghai to Israel respectively in Israel. This is about hopes and fears about the future. The majority are letters from Shanghai. In addition to the professional situation (concerts, lessons, cantorship, competitive situation), they address everyday life in Shanghai (accommodation, nutrition, health, climate, education, contact networks, further migration and remigration in the post-war period). They reflect socio-historical aspects of life in the extreme situation of Shanghai, incorporating emotional sensitivities, private views and everyday moments. Against the background of the difficult situation (occupation, ghettoization, war, civil war, inflation) and concern for relatives in Vienna, the letters are characterized by omissions, indirect communications as well as strategies of calming and cheering up. The first chapter of the book project contains an introduction to the research and source context as well as the historical background of censorship and the conditions of self-censorship. The second chapter traces the lives of the three letter writers and places them in a historical context. It focuses on the background and circumstances of their flight and further migration, as well as on the Fruchters’ professional lives and the question of how Shanghai could offer opportunities for professional development despite all the difficulties. This account is combined with reflections on the specific forms of communication in exile. This is followed, thirdly, by the diplomatic edition of the letters, including commentaries and references. Furthermore, there is information on the guidelines for the edition and an index of letters. In addition to lists of abbreviations, literature and sources, the appendix contains an index of names in which all persons named in the letters are described biographically, as far as they can be identified.
Publications
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Josef Fruchter, in: Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit, Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, Sophie Fetthauer (Hg.), Hamburg: Universität Hamburg, 2016
Sophie Fetthauer
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Paula Fruchter, in: Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit, Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, Sophie Fetthauer, Friedrich Geiger (Hg.), Hamburg: Universität Hamburg, 2021
Sophie Fetthauer
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Creation of Jobs, Union Work and Cooperation: The Institutionalisation of Musical Life by the European Jewish Artist Society, the Shanghai Musicians Association, and the Association of Jewish Precentors in the Shanghai Exile, 1938–49. Music and Exile, 75-93. BRILL.
Fetthauer, Sophie
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Fritz Philippsborn, in: Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit, Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, Sophie Fetthauer, Friedrich Geiger (Hg.), Hamburg: Universität Hamburg, 2023
Sophie Fetthauer:
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Helene Fischer, in: Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit, Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, Sophie Fetthauer, Friedrich Geiger (Hg.), Hamburg: Universität Hamburg, 2023
Sophie Fetthauer
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„Alfred Büchler“. In: Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit, Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, Sophie Fetthauer, Friedrich Geiger (Hg.), Hamburg: Universität Hamburg, 2023
Sophie Fetthauer: & Alfred Büchler
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„Jewish Refugees from the Nazi State in Shanghai, 1938– 1949“, in: The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Music Studies, Tina Frühauf (Hg.), Übersetzung Tina Frühauf, New York (NY): Oxford University Press, 2023, S. 119–143
Fetthauer, Sophie
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Dittmar Stern, in: Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit, Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, Sophie Fetthauer, Friedrich Geiger (Hg.), Hamburg: Universität Hamburg, 2024
Sophie Fetthauer
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Ilse Stern, in: Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit, Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, Sophie Fetthauer, Friedrich Geiger (Hg.), Hamburg: Universität Hamburg, 2024
Sophie Fetthauer
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„Hier muß sich jeder allein helfen“: Paula, Josef und Frieda Fruchter: Briefe einer Wiener Musikerfamilie aus dem Shanghaier Exil 1941 –1949“ (= Musik im „Dritten Reich“ und im Exil, Bd. 22, Peter Petersen (Hg.)), Neumünster: von Bockel, erscheint Juni 2024, 332 Seiten, ISBN 978-3-95675-044-1
Fetthauer, Sophie
