Susman-Rothschild Family Collection

This collection traces the descendents of Masele (Moses) and Hanne Schott of Randegg, many of whom settled in northern Italy in the 19th and early 20th century.

The first folder contains a brief family chronicle, which presents family history in a narrative format. Much of the information is duplicated in the tables in folder four, as well as in the the poster-sized family trees, although each of these latter groups of materials offer additional information on the family. The bulk of the collection, however, is concentrated in folders two and three, which contain memoirs of the lives of German Jews in Milan and Varese during the Second World War. Folder two features a shorter manuscript, which recounts how the Susman family escaped from Milan to Brenno Useria, and eventually to Switzerland with the help of Italian villagers. Willy Schwartz's manuscript in folder three is actually a lengthy letter composed during the war, narrating the hardships he and his family faced in Milan and Arcisate under the fascist regime and German occupation.

The following families are mentioned in this collection: Bellotti, Cattaneo, Colorni, Crivelli, Galigo, Guadagni, Hill, Jung, Kostoris, Leppmann, Mazza, Padoa, Piria, Pontecorvo, Randegger, Rothschild, Schaftenaar, Schioppa, Schlockow, Schwartz, Vigevani, Wassermann, and Westerhof.