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August 30, 1938

First day in America.
This picture was taken on August 30, 1938, the day that my father and his family arrived in America, in The Bronx where the Jacobsohn and Samenfeld families settled, 2710 Sedgwick Ave. My father Erich Samenfeld is on the far left. Oma Dina Samenfeld is third from the left. Tante Irma Jacobsohn is holding my cousin Peter, who was 6 months old. My Uncle Walter Jacobsohn took this picture.
Also in this picture are Oma's sister, Johanna and her husband Felix Fleischhaker, who lived on E 178th St, my father's cousin Mildred and her husband, Sydney Holmes, and my father's cousin, Harry Fleischhaker. Oma’s sister had come to New York in the late 1800’s. She married Uncle Felix in 1904, Mildred and Harry were born in New York.

The Westernland (ex-Regina)

This is the ship that my father's family took to America, leaving Germany on the 19th of August, 1938.

From Uncle Walter's story:

Peter was born on February 2, 1938, a very happy occasion, but dampened very much by what surrounded us. In March of 1938, my dealer’s license was revoked, so it was then that we made up our minds to leave and leave as fast as possible. Thousands of people had the same idea. The USA had a quota of 26,000 Germans per year. The fact that we were Jews did not alter our status. Luckily, we had made preparations a year earlier so we had a fairly high priority number. Uncle Louis had all the papers made out in advance, so finally after much harassment by Hitler’s henchmen, and after they searched our home for contraband, we left Germany on the 19th of August, 1938. Irma had her whole family with her, but I can still see my mother, my brother, and his wife, Hilde, standing on the platform in the Bremen railroad station as the train pulled away. It was a very heartbreaking experience which shall be with me for the rest of my life.

http://www.greatships.net/regina.html

Arrival In New York

This picture is basically the same as the other one titled, Arrival In New York. This one was taken by my father and shows Uncle Walter holding Peter. Also in this picture are, Oma's sister and her husband, Johanna and Felix Fleischhaker, my father's cousin and her husband, Mildred and Sydney Holmes, and my father's cousin, Harry Fleischhaker.