Albert Rapp postcard

Albert (1879-1949) and Matilde Rapp (1884-1955) lived in Gross-Umstadt, Germany when the Nazis rose to power. Following Kristallnach in November 1938, Albert Rapp, president of the Jewish community in Gross-Umstadt, was arrested and incarcerated in Buchenwald. After about two months, he was released due to the efforts of his wife, Matilde, as well as their Gentile physicain, Dr. Gefe. They soon fled to the Netherlands where they stayed in a transit camp until they received permission to join their son, Eric Rapp, who had immigrated to the United States in 1935. Albert and Matilde Rapp arrived in the United States in 1939. The postcard was written by Albert Rapp in Buchenwald concentration camp to his wife, Matilde Rapp, in Frankfurt, Germany. In the postcard, he asks his wife not to worry and assures her that he is fine. He asks her to send him a package containing stockings, handkerchiefs, an undershirt, a jacket, a piece of soap, a toothbrush, and various other supplies for himself and his brother, Arthur, who was also incarcerated. Last, he asks for information regarding their dealings with the United States consulate in Stuttgart, Germany.