Transpotrundschreiben für die Chawerim der Gruppe Ajelet Haschachar ["Traveler's Information Sheets for Members of the Ayelet HaShachar Group"], document containing detailed information for immigrants to Palestine, issued by the "Jüdische Jugendhilfe" [Youth Aliyah; in Hebrew, "Aliyat HaNo'ar"] organization. Berlin, [1939]. German.
Ten-page document (mimeographed), dated July 5 (year not indicated), issued by the Youth Aliyah organization. The name of the immigrant to whom the document is addressed – Heinz Freundlich – is written in pencil at the top of the first page; apparently, he belonged to the "Ayelet HaShachar" group which was scheduled to set sail from Trieste to Haifa on board the ship "Palestine" on August 9. The document gives a detailed list of all the things the prospective immigrant must know before embarking, namely what documents are required by the authorities, payment schedules, train schedules, the ship's departure time, regulations regarding visas and baggage, travel costs, equipment needed for the journey, and more. All stages of the journey had been planned out by the "Palestine Office" of the Jewish Agency.
Heinz Freundlich's name appears on the "List of Immigrants Arriving in Palestine" of the Aliyah Office in Haifa (available for viewing on the Israel State Archives website), dated August 14, 1939.
With the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Germany, in 1932 Recha Freier (1892-1984) initiated and founded the Youth Aliyah ("Aliyat Hano'ar") organization. The purpose of the organization was to assist young Jewish individuals with vocational training and prepare them for immigration to Palestine, where they would hopefully receive a Zionist education and put their skills and national values to work in the building of the future Jewish country. Initially, Freier operated independently, but eventually the organization she founded won the support of the Jewish Agency, and Henriette Szold (1860-1945) was entrusted with leading it. The Youth Aliyah organization sought to promote and advance the cause of Zionism among German Jewry; it brought together groups of young men and women, took responsibility for their education and training, facilitated applications for immigration certificates to Palestine, partially funded their immigration, and assigned the various groups for placement on specific kibbutzim and moshavim in Palestine, such as Ein Harod, Nahalal, Sde Eliyahu, and Ayelet HaShachar. Up until the outbreak of World War II, the organization helped roughly 5,000 young men and women – mostly from Western Europe – immigrate to Palestine.
The "Palestine Office, " in all its dealings, was subordinate to the immigration department of the Jewish Agency for Palestine in Jerusalem. It represented the executive branch of the Jewish Agency, assuming responsibility on its behalf for all aspects of the process of immigration to Palestine, including the submission of requests for exit permits from Germany and the issuing of British certificates. Throughout the 1930s and in the early 1940s, it facilitated the immigration – and, for all intents and purposes, rescue – of tens of thousands of immigrants from Germany.
10 ff., approx. 29 cm. Fair-poor condition. Stains. Closed and open tears, causing minor damage to text. Leaves torn in half (along fold line; mended with adhesive tape on back). Several leaves held together with a staple.
