Summary

Envelope sent from Modling, Vienna, Austria on 3 June 1941, addressed to Kurt Baier, at Tatura Internment Camp in northern Victoria.

Kurt Baier, born in 1917, was a refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria who voyaged to Australia as an 'enemy alien' onboard the notorious ship 'Dunera'. He was interned at camps in Hay in New South Wales and Tatura in Victoria and became an Australian citizen. Kurt took Australian and overseas degrees in Philosophy and taught at Australian National University before chairing the Philosophy Department at the University of Pittsburgh. He married New Zealander Annette Stoop, also a Philosophy graduate, and they also lived in Dunedin and Queenstown. Kurt published his most famous work 'The Moral Point of View' in 1958 and over the decades won several honours and awards. Considered highly influential in the field of moral philosophy, he died at the age of 93 in New Zealand in 2010.

Physical Description

Grey air mail envelope made from thin tissue-paper like material. It has many inscriptions, censor's stickers and ink stamps. Torn in places.

Significance

This envelope enables the exploration of a number of important stories and themes relating to Australian wartime, migration and cultural histories. The central protagonist, internationally renowned moral philosopher Kurt Baier, was a World War II refugee, classified an 'enemy alien' and sent to Australia aboard the notorious ship the 'Dunera'. His internment at the historically significant Hay and Tatura camps and his subsequent education and career at key Australian universities demonstrate a migrant's perseverance and contribution to Australian military and cultural life before his pursuit of his teaching and writing career illustrate the ongoing nature of the migration experience which can cross countries throughout one person's life.

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