Place of exile Canada: The Phillip family
Schneidemühl − Montreal: The Philipp family
Arthur Philipp (1890-1970) ran a large clothing shop in Schneidemühl (Piła), which today is part of Poland. The city was the seat of a significant Jewish community and had been the capital city of the Prussian province of Posen-West Prussia since 1920. Since 1900, anti-Semitism had steadily worsened, leading increasing numbers of Jewish families to leave Schneidemühl, especially after 1933.
Arthur Philipp also decided to emigrate, even before he was carried off
to Sachsenhausen in November 1938. The USA and Canada were options because a cousin of his lived in New York and was willing to provide the required affidavits. Philipp applied for entry papers for his family in early 1938.
In the late 1930s, Canada was strictly sealed off against refugees, especially against Jews. Exceptions were only made in individual cases, typically for wealthy people. The Canadian government requested that Philipp provide
in advance $ 20,000, to be deposited at a Canadian bank.
In Montreal, Philipp started his own textile company in 1939, which – according to his family’s recollections – may have been less fashionable than the former clothing business in Schneidemühl but was nonetheless very successful. Both sons were able to visit the university. Although the family still spoke German among themselves, they managed to acclimate quickly to their new homeland.
Arthur Philipp (middle row, right) with his siblings
About 1897, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Arthur Philipp was born onv April 25, 1890, in Filehne (Posen) as one of six children of a family that traded in spices and colonial wares. This photograph shows him with his siblings Fraenzel (rear), Leo (center left, died in 1909), Siegfried (center) and Hilde and Clara (front).
Military service in World War I
January 1918, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Philipp grew up in Schneidemühl (Posen-West Prussia). He learned the tailor’s trade after school. In July 1915, he was drafted into the military and, because he was unfit for frontline service, he was deployed in troop administration and as a nurse.
The Schneidemühl synagogue in Pomerania
Postcard, around 1900, Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum
Philipp later ran a respected clothing store in Schneidemühl, where there was a large Jewish community. The synagogue was set on fire in the November pogrom of 1938,
and more than 60 Jewish businesses and several homes were demolished and plundered.
Charlotte and Arthur Philipp on their honeymoon
1928, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Arthur Philipp married Charlotte Maass (1899-1961)
in March 1928. The well-to-do couple honeymooned in Italy. This photograph shows the couple in front of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
The Philipps with their second son, Rudolph
1933, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Their two sons Horst and Rudolph were born in late 1928 and early 1933.
The Philipp family
May 1938, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
In this photograph, Arthur Philipp (upper left) is proudly presenting a new car with his extended family. His son Rudolph is standing in front, and Charlotte Philipp is standing all the way to the right.
Prison letter from Arthur Philipp
with the postmark, “Summer holidays on the Lehnitz lake, large swimming pool”
With envelope, postmarked December 9, 1938, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
On November 9, 1938, Nazi hordes destroyed the Philipp family’s home. Arthur was taken to Sachsenhausen and had to haul sacks of sand in the brickworks on the Lehnitzsee. It seems cynical that the Oranienburg post office advertised for a “summer holiday on Lehnitzsee” on his prison letter.
Transkription Häftlingsbrief von Arthur Philipp
“The following prisoners are to be released on December 23, 1938”
Directive from the Political Department to the camp-command, December 23, 1938, Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum
Philipp was one of more than 40 Jewish men from Schneidemühl who were carried off to Sachsenhausen concentration camp after the pogrom. He was only released over six weeks later, on December 23, 1938. In the meantime, his family had received an entry permit for Canada.
State Council decision 2939 regarding the issuance of an entry permit for Canada
November 23, 1938, pages 1, 2 and 6, copies: www.orderincouncellists.com
Canada had a strict prohibition against immigration. A committee under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King made decisions regarding exceptions. At its session on November 23, 1938, the committee granted 28 families the right to immigrate, among them the Philipps. The documentation for the decision shows which conditions had been fulfilled. The required capital of $ 20,000 would today have the purchasing power of about $ 350,000.
Transkription Staatsrats-Beschluss 2939 über die Erteilung der Einreiseerlaubnis nach Kanada
Arrival in Halifax (Canada) on the Duchess of Bedford on March 11, 1939
Immigration pass for Arthur Philipp, March 1939, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp,
Toronto (Canada)
The Philipp family had to enter Canada within five months after receiving their permit. The required capital of $ 20,000 had been provided by a relative living in the USA whose Canadian cousin had deposited the sum with the Bank of Canada.
Rudy, Aunt Hildegard and Horace Philipp (from left to right) in Canada
New Year’s Day 1941, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
This photograph shows both sons Rudolph and Horst, who now called themselves Rudy and Horace, with their Aunt Hildegard in the Canadian winter. The unmarried sister of Arthur Philipp had come to Canada with the family of four.
Horace Philipp on the day of his Bar Mitzvah
1941/42, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
In the early 1940s, only 0.01% of the Canadian population was Jewish. Most Canadian Jews lived in the eastern provinces of Québec and Ontario. Montreal had the country’s largest Jewish community, and the Philipp family belonged to it.
Arthur Philipp (front left) with the employees of his new company, PHIMACO Underwear
About 1945, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Arthur Philipp established a textile company in Montreal that specialized in underwear. This photograph shows him as the proud company owner with his sons, his sisters Clara and Hildegard, and all of the employees. Clara had initially emigrated to Brazil, but Arthur managed to bring her to Canada.
Reunion with the Philipp sisters in Canada
From left to right: Clara, Hildegard, Rudy with mother Charlotte and Fraenzel Philipp, August 1945, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
All three of Arthur Philipp’s sisters were able to emigrate to the Americas: Clara to Brazil, Hildegard to Canada, and Fraenzel with her husband Hugo Anschel to the USA. Arthur’s brother Siegfried fell victim to the Holocaust; he was deported to the Krasniczyn ghetto in 1942 and died there.
Rudy Philipp at B'nai Brith Summer Camp in Montreal
1947, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Rudy spent the summer of 1947 in a summer camp with the Jewish organization B’nai Brith. The experience of camping was meant to encourage the social and intellectual development of young people. Rudy was transformed in the camp from the son of immigrants to a “Canadian boy.”
Horace and Rudy Philipp cross-country skiing
About 1948, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Horace also went to these kinds of summer camps. As early as his first summer in Canada, in 1939, his parents had sent him to a summer camp. When he returned, according to family recollections, he spoke fluent English and played all of the ball games typical of the country.
Arthur Philipp in the garden behind his house in Montreal
1950/51, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Rudy Philipp with horse and dogs
March 1955, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
The wedding of Rudy and Eva Philipp
1958, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Arthur’s younger son Rudy married in 1958. His wife Eva had survived the Holocaust in Budapest and had only come to Canada, with her parents, in 1951.
Arthur Philipp in his office at PHIMACO Underwear
May 1959, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
The company’s name, PHIMACO, stood for Philipp Manufacturing Company.
Charlotte and Arthur Philipp
About 1958, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Although the Philipps continued to speak German exclusively at home and at work, they had settled in well to living in Canada. The family business, which was small at the beginning, had grown into a prosperous enterprise.
Arthur Philipp on his 70th birthday
April 25, 1960, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
Arthur Philipp reached his 70th birthday in April 1960 in Montreal. He died on July 19, 1970, at the age of 80
in Montreal.
Arthur’s daughter-in-law Eva Philipp with children and grandchildren
2016, Dr. Diane Philipp and Ron Philipp, Toronto (Canada)
This photograph shows Eva Philipp (fourth from right) with her daughter Diane (at outer left, with husband Robert) and their son Ron (at outer right, with wife Mirah), as well as grandchildren Noah, Aviva, Aaron, Amélie and Clara (from left to right). Eva’s husband Rudy died in 2008, as did her brother-in-law Horace in 2003.
