Ella Bloch Requests an Affidavit, 1938

In March 1938 Germany annexed Austria, and Adolph Hitler appointed a Nazi government in Austria. Eight months later, Vienna resident Ella Bloch wrote to three families in Cincinnati who shared her last name; although they were not related to her. Having no family in the United States, she hoped that one of these families would provide her with an affidavit that would permit her and her husband, who had been placed in a concentration camp, to emigrate to the United States. It is not known whether any of her letters were answered. 

Bloch's letter is part of the American Jewish Archives digital exhibit on the American Jewish Experience: http://americanjewisharchives.org/exhibits/aje/details.php?id=618

Questions to Think About and Discuss
  1. How does Bloch appeal to her correspondents?  How does she describe herself and her husband? What characteristics does she hope the recipients of her letters will have?
  2. How would you describe Bloch’s state of mind?
  3. Why would someone who received such a letter respond positively or negatively?

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