Below are images of the letter Sigmund sent to the President of Austria. It is not signed as these are carbon copies found in his papers. Click on each image to enlarge.
Translation of Letter:
To the Federal President of the Republic of Austria
I, the undersigned, SIEGMUND LICHTENTHAL, residing at 485 Central Park West, New York City, hereby take the liberty to bring the following facts to your attention with the request for remedy or granting of my application.
I am almost 80 years old and live with my wife, Rosa Lichtenthal, in very modest circumstances in New York. My only son, Paul Lichtenthal, is sick and suffering as a result of his internment in the Nazi concentration camp Dachau.
I was the owner of the Viennese hat factory “Lital” which marketed the internationally known hats of the brand “Lital” at home and abroad. This brand became an asset in Austria’s foreign trade balance. The company won awards for the quality of its products at two international exhibitions, in Belgium in 1907 and in Paris. Copies of these diplomas are enclosed.
Due to the importance of the company, I was appointed to the board of directors of the hatters’ cooperative and the Reichsverband der Hutmacher Oesterreichs, respectively, and was also active as a teacher and examiner at the industrial training school in Vienna, department of hatters. Enclosed is a photostatic copy of a confirmation of the Gewerbliche Fortbildunhsschule from which the aforementioned can be seen.
I was also appointed to the Vienna Chamber of Commerce as well as the Customs Advisory Board and have always held all these offices on an honorary basis. In addition, however, I have had the opportunity to do service not only to the millinery trade but also to the general welfare of Austria: When the Austrian goods turnover tax was being discussed and introduced at the beginning of the twenties of this century, I was consulted by the experts involved in the planning and drafting of the legal regulations. The former Minister of Finance, Dr. Eugen Margaretha, if asked, will certainly be able to recall my collaboration on the goods sales tax regulation.
The blood of the company ” Lital* came to an end when Austria was occupied by the Nazis in March 1938, because I am a Jew and as such was subjected to the German Legislation for Jews. No sooner had the Anschluss taken place than three men appeared in my office and produced a letter from the district leadership of the NSDAP stating that the company “Lital. The “gentlemen” were in SA uniforms and declared that they were “Commissaer”, “Kreisleiter” and “Ariseur”.
I had the courage to ask if they were willing to pay for the old company. I was told that this would be the case, but first of all my name would have to be deleted from the Commercial Register of the Commercial Court of Vienna.
Thus my company became an “Aryan” company overnight; the Jewish employees were thrown out on the street without any compensation. Those of them who thought they had employee rights under Austrian social legislation were arrested and had to leave the country within 30 days. My son Paul was also arrested and sent to Dachau, where he stayed for two years and was permanently damaged.
I did not receive a penny of compensation and had to live on alms from my friends until my departure. The new owners did everything to drive me and my wife to suicide. They did everything to rob, steal and legally expropriate the store. As an example I mention that once at night time 4000 pairs of shoes were taken to Ottakring-Hernals to a Nazi. On this occasion 169 pairs of shoes were distributed among the employees to gain their tacit approval. On Hitler’s birthday, April 1939, all metal objects of the company were dismantled and “offered” to the Fuehrer as a birthday present.
After two years of this kind of activity, the liquidation of the company was ordered by “Kommissaer” and within six more months the old company, which had been a pride of Austria for 40 years, was finished. Then, finally, our passports were released, tickets were procured for us and, without having seen a cruiser*, I, 65 years old, left the country I had served to face an uncertain “future” – at an age when happier Austrians were retiring.
After the war it turned out that the Nazi commissar had no cruiser* again, just like all those who had taken part in the murder of the company, according to information of my Viennese lawyer Dr. Robert Janowitz. It turned out that by “fire” all documents, books, correspondence and records had been lost. According to the current state of Austrian restitution legislation, I could not claim anything.
My loss, however, amounts to $686,000 or about $30,000 according to the enclosed list.
I hereby authorize myself to submit my case to the President of the Republic of Austria for urgent redress by granting my request.
According to the enclosed medical report, I am not only over 79 years old, but also ill.
According to the state of Austrian restitution legislation, I am without any legal remedy, since my company can no longer be restituted to me, as it was first destroyed and then liquidated thanks to Nazi activities, ten years after the liberation of Austria.
At my age, I can hardly be expected to live to see the enactment of legal reparation regulations, which also concern my case, thanks to my illness.
It cannot benefit the Austrian reputation in the world if such cases as mine are assigned to the charity of third persons.
I take the liberty of pointing out that in Germany, even before the enactment of the individual state laws, at present, if people are over 60 years old, or more than 50% disabled or needy due to illness, a non-interest-bearing loan of 50% is given on your claim for compensation. I am all that: over 60 years old, needy and ill.
I turn to a dear Mr. Federal President of the Republic of Austria with the
request:
I ask him to intervene in any way he deems appropriate and to grant me monetary compensation for the Nazi damage I have suffered.
With sincere and humble respect
*My Note: Sigmund used the German word “Kreuzer” which translates to the English word “cruiser,” but it makes not real sense in this context.
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