Chess set

A chess set that belonged to Holocaust survivor Julie Weiss. Julie regularly participated in chess tournaments, and her father ran the local chess club in Graz, Austria. Also in the collection are her chess club medals and photographs, these were among the precious possessions Julie brought over to England in 1939, aged 27, when she escaped Nazi persecution in Austria.

Julie was born on 31st January 1911 in Graz, Austria, to a Jewish family. Her father, Samuel, had a successful carpet shop in a thriving part of the town. The family were well known and enjoyed a relatively well-off lifestyle, although they dealt with an increasing level of antisemitism. The Nazi invasion of Austria and subsequent persecution led the family to decide that Julie should try to get to safety in London. She was to live with her elder brother Oswald, who already owned another carpet business there. Arrangements were hastily made and Julie packed her bags. In them, she made sure to take treasured items reminding her of the life she was leaving behind, including of her favourite hobby playing chess.