United Restitution Organization

The Beigel Family Collection holds materials about the Beigel family members from Berlin. The collection consists of post-war personal correspondence between the various family members and documents on restitution claims. It includes original handwritten letters and papers from the time Liane Beigel (née Bick) was in Sweden, as well as official correspondence with the United Restitution Organization after she immigrated to the United States. Also included are her husband Horst Beigel’s restitution claims against Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG.

Bulk dates for Series III are 1927-1968.

The Photographs and Ephemera series contains the photographs that did not logically fall into any of the folders in Series I or II; other photographs may be found in Series I and II .

Folder 2/15 contains loose photographs, mostly identified, both before and after World War II. It includes members of Stein and Marcus families, and photographs of the exterior of the Stein’s home in London, 1939-1940. Pictured in color are photographs of the exterior of the Stein’s apartment while living in London, 1939-1940.

Folder 2/16 contains photographs that were removed from a binder album in their existing order within the binder sleeves. There are photographs of family members in Germany before WWII labeled “1939”; of the Stein family home interior before leaving Berlin in 1939; and of Stein family visits to Germany after the war of exteriors of former homes and cemeteries where family is buried. Folder 2/17 consists of a leather-bound photo album dated 1927-1928, in French, by an unknown creator.

Folder 2/18 holds stamps and first day covers, predominantly in Hebrew.

This collection documents the restitution efforts of Erich and Grete Baum. The materials consist of legal statements, court decisions, receipts, and correspondence.

About half of this collection covers the genealogy of the Braunthal family in France, Austria, Poland, the Ukraine, and the United States as documented by Gerard Braunthal. The other half is devoted the restitution claims made by Frieda Silbermann (later Frances Selby), one of the Braunthal family members. Materials include genealogical tables, vital documents, correspondence, legal documents, and financial records.

This collection contains documents and correspondence pertaining to Hans and Käthe Stroh's emigration to Shanghai and the United States, and materials for their restitution claims. There are also numerous family photos spanning the period roughly from 1900 to 1970.

The bulk of the collection consists of letters of recommendation for Hans Reichmann, including - among many others - Rabbi Leo Baeck and Thomas Mann (copy). Also included are clippings with articles by Hans Reichmann, as well as a copy of his Dr.jur thesis.

This collection contains post-World War Two restitution matters primarily sent from the Council of Jews from Germany. It includes meeting minutes as well as internal and external correspondence relating to Council for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Jews From Germany (later the Council of Jews from Germany), as well as other organizations including the American Federation of Jews from Central Europe, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference), the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO), the Leo Baeck Institute (LBI), and the United Restitution Organization (URO). Some documents have annotations from the German-Jewish attorney Hermann Simon.

The Hugo Fantl Collection provides a brief glimpse into the life of businessman Hugo Fantl as well as a more detailed view of his family's restitution claims. Included are papers of Hugo Fantil such as official, military, professional and financial documents, restitution correspondence and legal papers.

This collection contains correspondence and documents related to the liquidation of the Saenger family's assets, including those of their Jewish bookstore and publisher M. Poppelauer, as well as some materials on the related restitution claims.

This collection contains correspondence and family papers from the Mittler, Herzog, and Picard families, mostly from or concerning the time and events of the Holocaust.

Case files (containing correspondence, handwritten notes, application forms, documents, and affidavits) in addition to general correspondence, speeches, brochures, and newspaper clippings from the Immigration and Naturalization Office of the National Council of Jewish Women, Worcester Section, regarding assistance provided to Jewish immigrants and permanent residents seeking citizenship from the 1930s to the 1970s. Case files include office correspondence with individuals, Jewish social service agencies, lawyers in the United States and Germany, and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Some case files also contain correspondence and personal statements in support of reparations claims filed with the West German government.

The collection consists of 6 boxes and 46 folders.

This collection contains records of the New York office of the United Restitution Organization (URO). Materials include newsletters, reports, copies of laws concerning restitution, limited correspondence, and a few clippings.

Published articles by the lawyer and Jewish community leader Walter Breslauer on matters of interest for German Jewish refugees after World War Two, including legal matters; international law; questions concerning restitution for German refugees; articles about Jewish personalities; and articles about the Jewish community in Berlin.