Wachtel Family Collection
Scope and Content Note
This collection reflects the experience of the Wachtel family members during the 1940s as well as some of their restitution efforts and the investigation into the disappearance and supposed murder of Arnold Wachtel in later decades. The bulk of the collection is correspondence, either personal correspondence to Leo Wachtel from his mother and brother or official correspondence regarding restitution and the death of Arnold Wachtel. A few official papers belonging to Arnold Wachtel are also included, such as residency forms and a few items related to his possible emigration.
Dates
- Creation: 1939-2004
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1939-1946
Creator
- Wachtel, Minnie (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German and English.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to researchers.
Access Information
Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Request" button.
Biographical Note
Markus Wachtel (born 1898) and his wife, Regina née Guttenberg (born 1898), were born in Poland and later lived in Berlin, Germany. Markus Wachtel was arrested by Nazi forces and deported in 1939. He died in 1940. Regina Wachtel was arrested at the Jewish hospital in Berlin in 1941. She was deported and perished in the Holocaust. Her younger son Arnold (born 1921) survived six years in concentration camps in Germany including concentration camps at Sachsenhausen, Ausschwitz, Warsaw, Dachau, and Bebra. After the end of the war, he rebuilt his life in Markt Schwaben near Munich, although he considered immigrating to the United States. In July of 1946, Arnold Wachtel and his friend Heinz Karliner hoped to become trustees of a department store, Kaufhaus Müller, alongside its then owner, Fritz Müller, a former Nazi party member. On the night of July 10, 1946, Arnold disappeared and seems to have been murdered. His older brother Leo (born 1919) fled Nazi Germany to Manchester, England and then immigrated to the United States in 1948. Leo died in 1995 in San Diego, California.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection consists mainly of correspondence among the Wachtel family members in the 1940s. Regina and Markus Wachtel were both deported and perished in the Holocaust. Their older son Leo immigrated via England to the United States. Their younger son Arnold survived imprisonment in several concentration camps, but disappeared in 1946, seemingly murdered. In addition to correspondence, a few official documents and restitution materials are included.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by document type.
Digitization Note
The collection was digitized and made accessible in its entirety.
Processing Information
Photocopies of letters that were likely made during a previous box inventory were removed. Materials were placed in archival envelopes where necessary, and a spacer was placed in the box.
Subject
- Wachtel, Regina, 1898- (Person)
- Wachtel, Markus, 1898-1940 (Person)
- Wachtel, Leo, 1919-1995 (Person)
- Wachtel, Arnold, 1921-1946 (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
- Bavaria (Germany)
- Berlin (Germany)
- Great Britain -- Emigration and immigration
- United States -- Emigration and immigration
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Wachtel Family Collection 1939-circa 2004 (bulk 1939-1946) AR 25174
- Author
- Processed by Leanora Lange
- Date
- © 2014
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Sponsor
- Processing made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany. Digitization made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
