Cup From SS Drottningholm - the Ship on Which the Rayatz Escaped Occupied Europe - With Certificate of Authenticity ...

Cup From SS Drottningholm - the Ship on Which the Rayatz Escaped Occupied Europe - With Certificate of Authenticity Signed by His Daughter Rebbetzin Chana Gurary – "My Father Would Drink a L'Chaim Every Year on 9th Adar to Commemorate the Miracle of His Salvation"

Cup from SS Drottningholm, the Ship on Which the Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson – Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch, Escaped Occupied Europe on Adr 1940.
Silver-plated cup, engraved: "T/S Drottningholm" / "Swedish American Line" (the cup was originally used for serving ice-cream, and was possibly given as a souvenir to the passengers).
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chana Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz: "I hereby gift... the cup inscribed with the words Drottingholm, the name of the boat on which we arrived in 1940. My father would drink a Lechaim every year on Tes Adar to commerate being saved. It would be at a family dinner not a public event because it was bittersweet – we lost our sister [Rebbetzin Sheina] and brother-in-law [Rebbe Menachem Mendel Horenstein] in the war". The letter is dated 5th November, 1989.

After the death of the Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch, his son Rebbe Rayatz succeeded him in leading the Chabad movement with utmost devotion, during the devastating years of religious persecution in Russia after the Communist revolution. In 1927, he left Russia for Riga, Latvia and in 1933, moved to Poland, residing in Warsaw and later in Otwock.
In 1939, with the outbreak of WWII, Rebbe Rayatz, his mother Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, his wife Rebbetzin Nechama Dina and his daughter Rebbetzin Chana and her husband, R. Shemaryahu Gurary were stranded in Warsaw under German occupation, their lives in great danger. During these perilous times, the Rayatz was forced to flee from house to house, seeking shelter from the bombings, and rumors spread that he was caught and executed by the Germans. After the intervention of the US government, and with the assistance of several German officers, the Rayatz succeeded in fleeing Warsaw, together with an entourage of about 20 family members and friends. After several months of travail and wandering, they left occupied Europe in Adar I, 1940 and sailed to the US on board the SS Drottningholm.
On Monday, 8th Adar II 1940, after sailing the seas for 12 days, Rebbe Rayatz arrived in New York. On 9th Adar II, following a short reception at the port, the Rayatz arrived at his temporary quarters – Room 609 at the Greystone Hotel on Broadway and 91st Street in Manhattan NY.

Based on the enclosed letter of authenticity, every year on 9th Adar, Rebbe Rayatz used to celebrate his arrival in the US by saying a "l'chaim" at a family dinner. He did not celebrate the event publicly with his Chassidim because the joy was diluted with the sadness felt by the family over the death of the third and youngest daughter of the Rayatz, Rebbetzin Sheina (Sonya) and her husband R. Menachem Mendel Horenstein in the Holocaust (the outbreak of WWII caught Rebbetzin Sheina and her husband in Poland. In spite of urgent and intensive efforts of Rebbe Rayatz, they were not able to escape Europe. Both were murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp in 1942. To spare the Rayatz heartbreak, the painful news of their death was concealed from him until his death in 1950).

Height: Approx. 7.5 cm. Good condition. Silver plating worn off.