Inside the AJHS Archives – The Personal Papers of Hugo Klein

The Australian Jewish History Society (AJHS) archives preserve an extraordinary breadth of material documenting the lives of the Australian Jewish Community, including those who fled Europe pre-war. Among these stories is that of Mr. Hugo Klein, born in 1891 Vienna, who first emigrated to Mukden (now Shenyang), China, before ultimately arriving in Australia as a refugee. He was formally granted permission to reside in Australia on the 30^th of May 1951, when he received his Certificate of Authority to Remain in Australia.

As gleaned from the documents within this donation box, which features birth certificates, school reports, employee reference letters, typed poetry, and an assortment of photographs featuring aspects of Klein’s life including his family, friends, pets and time spent in China and Australia.

His employment record is vast, but he mainly spent his professional career working within fur manufacturers in a multitude of positions including warehouse clerk, manager, and skin storeman. In Klein’s very first professional role as a clerk at Julius Freund furs, from 1905 to 1908, his manager described his work ethic as one with ‘zeal, seriousness, and diligence’, noting he was regarded as an ‘honest’ employee. He continued to move between jobs in Austria, China, and Australia, up until his retirement in Australia, in 1963, prompted by age and declining health. 

One of the most striking artefacts in the collection is a certified document from the Registrar’s Office of the Israelite Religious Community of Vienna, dated the 9^th of August 1938. This certificate affirmed Klein’s Jewish heritage and was presented to the military authorities to facilitate approved emigration. The document bears two official stamps: one from the Israelite Community of Vienna, and another a Nazi stamp featuring the Reichsadler symbol (spread eagle and swastika). Upon further research, this stamp belonged to a local military district, specifically one of the administrative territorial units who oversaw administrative tasks of such matters. The juxtaposition of these stamps on a single page underscores the bureaucratic control that governed Jewish lives during this period.

Klein’s story also extends into cultural and personal expression. The files contain typed poetry, written by Klein, which feature the subjects of birthdays quite frequently. This suggests that writing was a creative or perhaps, celebratory outlet for him during his life of travel and furrier employment. Furthermore, military records indicate that Klein also served in a final reserve unit called Landstrum, with a signed leave certificate dated the 22 August 1918 included in this donation. This document acts as a reminder that before Klein became a refugee, he was also a citizen called upon for national duty. Considered together, these fragments complicate and enrich our understanding of Hugo Klein’s life beyond the labels of refugee or migrant.

The provenance of this collection is also significant. Many small, individual donations arrive at the AJHS through distant descendants of Jewish figures in Australia. In Klein’s case, however, the box of personal papers came to the archive via Mr. Kurt Schiller, who inherited it from his mother. She, in turn, had received it from Klein’s sister, Mrs. Irma Kretz. The Schiller and Klein families shared a relationship best described as one of ‘intermediary’ purposes, as Hugo and Irma Klein had actively assisted the Schillers in their own migration to Australia, from Vienna, following the Red Army’s invasion.

Finally, it should also be noted, that upon collection of these papers the AJHS were told that this modest box represented Hugo Klein’s only remaining possessions. Today, the AJHS archives are honoured to safeguard these items. They serve not only as a record of Klein’s remarkable personal journey but also as a testament to the resilience and interconnectedness of the Jewish diaspora.

Katie Allison, 17/09/2025