Historical information

Georg Chodziesner made this chanukiah in Hay Camp in 1940. It was made to celebrate the Jewish festival of Chanukah. Georg was born in 1900 in Berlin to a prominent Jewish advocate Justizrat, Ludwig and wife Elise. Fearing arrest at the outbreak of war, Georg fled Germany to the United Kingdom. His wife, Dorothea, and son, Wolfgang Benno, emigrated to Chile. Like many German Jewish men, Georg found himself on board the HMT Dunera, bound for interment at Tatura. On release, Georg joined the Australian Army 8th Employment Company in which he served for the remainder of the war. Georg sought permission for his son to join him in Australia, and the pair were reunited in Melbourne in May 1945. Dorothea had passed away from illness in 1943. After settling in Australia, Georg worked as a Patent Attorney and remained working at the same firm until his death in 1981.

Physical description

This Chanukiah was cut from a kerosene tin using nail scissors and mounted on a wood block base.
Medium: Wood, tin and ink

Inscriptions & markings

The Chanukiah is embossed with a Magen David, the Star of David, and the wooden base has a poker work inscription: "Hay 5701 / 1940".