Link to Family Tree to understand family relationships.
This is a copy of a letter from Eva and Harry to the American Consulate General. I assume it was written by Eva — her English is fairly good, but not as fluent as it would become.
Istanbul 26 June 1939
EVA & HARRY KOHEN
From Vienna III Seidlgasse 25
at present living in Istanbul Sisli Bomonti Sagdic Sokak 14To the American Consul General in Istanbul
“Concerns the emigration of the above-mentioned Eva and Harry Kohen to the U.S.A.”
We recently received from the American consul General in Vienna a summons to the physical inquiry for July 20th 1939. We are enregistered on June 7th 1938 with the German Quota 28475-76
As we are at present in Turkey and do not want to return to Vienna, we beg you to communicate to the American Consulate in Vienna in order to get the permission that the physical inquiry should take place at the American Consulate in Istanbul and that you should be authorized to give out the visum.
We beg you to write as quick as possible to Vienna, as the physical inquiry must take place on July 20th 1939, otherwise it is possible that our emigration to the U.S.A. would be much delayed.
Please write us before long, to the above-mentioned address if it is possible to get here the visa.
Awaiting your quickest answer we remain, yours sincerely
Apple maps took me to Sağdıç Sk. No:14 in Istanbul:
The German quota appears to refer to US immigration quotas for Germany and Austria. It looks like Eva and Harry had visa numbers #28475 and 28476. According to the USHMM, only 27,370 visas were available, so they must have been added from the waiting list.
We see again the number of hoops there were to jump to escape an awful situation when no one wants you – neither the country or countries (both Austria/Germany and Turkey) eager to see you go (but perhaps more eager to torture you), nor your desired destination. Unlike their parents, Eva and Harry’s story had a happy ending.