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Uniformirungs-Vorschrift fur die Kaiserlich und Königlich effectiven Consular- Beamten
Uniformirungs-Vorschrift fur die Kaiserlich und Königlich effectiven Consular- Beamten

Uniformirungs-Vorschrift fur die Kaiserlich und Königlich effectiven Consular- Beamten

Date1900
Object number00015940
NameBook
MediumLithographic illustrations on paper
DimensionsOverall: 234 x 155 mm
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Walter and Jean Lederer Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
DescriptionThis book, printed in 1900, details dress regulations for members of the Austrian royal court, civil servants and consular officials. It was used by Arthur Lederer in his tailoring business, Franz Schlaf's Sohne, in Austria until 1938. The business allowed Lederer to establish contacts with many members of Austrian and international nobility. Arthur carried this book, along with other small personal papers, when he fled Europe with his family to escape Nazi persecution in 1939.HistoryBorn in Vienna, Austria in 1889, Arthur Lederer was a talented tailor who made gala uniforms for European royalty and high society. On the eve of Adolf Hitler’s march into Vienna in March 1938, Lederer was working on Archduke Otto of Austria’s crowning robes, believing that the exiled monarch would return. In November 1938 Arthur Lederer, his wife Valerie and their son Walter attempted to escape the escalating Jewish persecution in Nazi-occupied Austria. They travelled by taxi from Vienna to the Austria-Czechoslovakia border but were held up by the German Gestapo and thrown into jail. They were released after three days and returned home to Vienna. Four weeks later they made another attempt to escape. The family purchased passports in December 1938 and travelled by Austrian Airlines to Prague, Czechoslovakia. The League of Nations (forerunner to the United Nations) issued them with Nansen passports, an internationally recognised identity card provided to stateless refugees. Arthur then started appealing to his well-connected clients for help to escape Europe. Most clients did not respond, perhaps fearing they would be persecuted by the Nazis for assisting Jews. Eventually Lady Max Muller, wife of the British Ambassador to Spain, provided them with tickets to Australia and the £300 arrival money required by the Australian Government. The family travelled to Australia on the Orient liner SS ORAMA, which departed Toulon, France on 17 June 1939. ORAMA stopped at Naples, Italy, Port Said, Egypt, Aden, Yemen and Colombo, Ceylon before arriving in Fremantle, Western Australia. From Fremantle the Lederers sailed to Sydney, where they began their new life in Australia.SignificanceThe story of the Lederer family provides a glimpse into the experiences of the Jewish population of Vienna before World War II and illustrates the tortuous journey many emigrants were forced to endure in order to find safety. This book is significant in documenting the story of one migrant family's life and work before his flight from Nazi-occupied Europe to Australia.