My First 6701 Days : July 31 1921 to December 1939 /

The memoirs contain photocopies of documents and photos as well as extracts from letters and were written in October 1989 in the United States. Description of life in Baden, a famous health resort near Vienna. The family lived in Vienna in the second district (Leopoldstadt). Recollections of schoolteachers and childhood friends. Occasional Friday night services in the Leopoldstadt temple. Theater and opera visits and cultural life in Vienna. Private piano and music lessons. Description of the family apartment and Jewish life in the Leopoldstadt. The family celebrated Christmas and observed the high Jewish holidays. Recollections of the author's bar mitzvah celebration. His mother Charlotte, nee Schwadron, was an artistic woman, who studied painting at the Frauenakademie with Tina Blau. Walter's father Leo Schaffir was born in Byalistock, Russia and studied in Berlin. He was a travelling businessmen. His family lived in Lemberg, Galicia. Leo and Charlotte Schaffir got married in 1919 in Vienna by rabbi Dr. Grunwald. Recollections of a family trip to Poland and to the World Fair in Posen in 1930. Suicide of the author's father due to business failure in 1930. Schaffir and Schwadron family history. Both families originated in Galicia, Poland. Family and social life. Summer vacation at the Semmering. Austrian politics in the 1930's and rising National Socialism. Life in Vienna after the "Anschluss" in 1938. Walter had to leave school and took lessons in graphic arts with the artist Heinrich Koerner. Preparations to emigrate. Walter was picked up in the streets in the days after Kristallnacht and released due to his mother's intervention. He was sent with his brother Kurt on a "Kindertransport" to Holland. They were sent to a quarantine camp at Heyplaat. Reunition with their mother in the United States in December 1939. Reflections on life as an emigre.

Jewish Agency Commemorative Medal

Obverse: A fractional reproduction of the Star of David made out of line of immigrants disembarking from a ship. Reverse: To the left, the emblem of the Jewish Agency

Medal of Keren Hayesod 60th Anniversary

Obverse: In the center, a stylized form of globe, upon it the figure "60" inscription. Reverse: A stylized form of key within which there is the emblem of Keren Hayesod and a Star of David, inscription.

Medal of the 11th Hapoel Games

Obverse: Emblem of the games, inscription. Reverse: Figures of four athletes engaged in various sports.

Israel Railways Commemorative Medal

Obverse: Israel Railroad emblem and a stretch of rail, inscription. Reverse: On the left, old steam engine; on the right, modern engine.

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Commemorative Medal

Obverse: Portrait of Ze'ev Jabotinsky. Reverse: Betar emblem, quotation from Jabotinsky.

Canada Park Official Award Commemorative Medal

Obverse: Canada state emblem, a maple leaf, within the leaf there is a group of trees. Reverse: The area abounds in tree tops, all of them bending toward the center of the medal.

2nd Arthur Rubinstein Commemorative Medal

Obverse: Portrait of Arthur Rubinstein by Pablo Picasso. Reverse: Inscription

Jerusalem Rotary Jubilee Commemorative Medal

Obverse: Stylized number 50, 5 is created by olive branch, 0 by the rotary wheel. Reverse: Stylized design of Jerusalem.

The Knesset Commemorative Medal

Obverse: Picture of the building of the Knesset. Reverse: Stylized design of Jerusalem.

Albert Einstein Commemorative Medal

Obverse: A likeness of Einstein according to the sculpture seen in the entrance to the Mathematics Institute of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Reverse: A mathematical formula in Einstein's handwriting.

Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty Commemorative Medal

Obverse: Sun glows above Mt. Sinai. Reverse: Stylized inscription.

"Hear O Israel" Commemorative Medal

Obverse: Stylized inscription in Hebrew. Reverse: Inscription in English.

Israel-Mexico Commemorative Medal

Obverse: The emblem of the Israel Government Coins and Medal Corporation. Reverse: A figure of a serpent from the sculptures appearing in the Temple-fortress of Quetzalcoatl in Tiotixuaguan.

3rd Arthur Rubinstein Commemorative Medal

Obverse: A portrait of Arthur Rubinstein by Pablo Picasso. Reverse: Inscription.