"The only refuge where I will be able to carry a normal and free life is my old native country Palestine." A rare letter from a Jewish refugee named Starker Estera in which he appeals to the UN Secretary General requesting assistance to immigrate to Eretz Israel from a refugee camp in Germany, after witnessing his entire family being murdered during the horrific Holocaust years. Stencil printed, filled with handwriting and signed by Estera. Enclosed is the original envelope in which the letter was sent. April 25, 1947.
"To Mr. Trygve Lie, Secretary General of the United Nations, Lake Success.
Dear Sir,
I, the signed underneath, inmate of the camp 1025 STARKER ESTERA in-HASENHECKE U.S.A. Occupation Zone in Germany, do apply to you to transmit - my following request to the meeting of the United Nations which will consider the problem. of Palestine.
During the World War II I have had suffered in the German Nazi camps. There the Nazis killed before my eyes all of my dearest and nearest. The victory over Nazi-Germany brought the liberation of all oppressed nations but for the Jewish people. 21 months after the victory I still am in a camp in Germany, among the murderers of my family.
The only refuge where I will be able to carry a normal and free life is my old native country Palestine.
From the deepness of my grievous and tortured soul I om applying to you, United Nations of the World, which has the task to bring freedom in the spirit of the Atlantic Charter as a result of the victory over the greatest tyranny in the history:
Take me away from the camp, let me join my brothers and sisters in Palestine, give me the possibility to begin a peaceable and normal life in my own country.
April, 25th, 1947
Yours respectfully
STARKER"
The name of Starker, Esthera appears in the records of the Holocaust Museum in Washington
(see record #12272). According to the information there, he is originally a Romanian Jewish citizen. A 16 page document appears there - a questionnaire that Starker filled in 1945 regarding the suffering of his family in the Holocaust. It has not been clarified whether he eventually succeeded in immigrating to Eretz Israel.
[1] Leaf. 31x21 cm. Fold marks. Very good condition.
