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Henry and Hilda Gottfried collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 25742

Scope and Content Note

The Henry and Hilda Gottfried Collection includes personal and official documents belonging to them.

The first folder contains documents belonging to Henry Gottfried. These include documents concerning his immigration to the United States, such as the Declaration of Intention and the Certificate of Naturalization. Additionally there are documents of the Army, like certificates and letters of recommendation from his superiors to other army officers, for example about setting up a radio station in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Furthermore there is a newspaper clipping, the declarations of death of his parents Elsa and Jacob Gottfried, and photographs of his parents, himself and a picture of Gerda Gottfried at her wedding to Otto Glaser. The second folder consists of medals and a Jewish Veteran cap from the United States Army with an insignia.

The third folder contains documents of Hilda Gottfried. There is, for example, a passport, her certificate of birth, photographs and also official documents of her immigration to the United States. There are also two letters of her father Emil Breier, addressed to his "children", Hilda and Henry. In one letter he told them that he wanted to rent his house and give the proceeds to them. He also congratulated Hilda on her birthday and wrote about the very cold weather, his business and everyday life. Unfortunately the letters are undated. The fourth folder holds several photographs. Many of these photographs were taken during Henry's time in the army, for example in Paris, Germany and Ethiopia. There are also photographs of Hilda and Henry Gottfried's wedding.

The last folder consists of photocopies of the covers of different prayer books. There is a Hebrew-German prayer book, printed in Vienna in 1882. It was Emil Breier's prayer book, which (according to family lore) he brought back with him from Auschwitz (provenance unknown). It has a decorative cover that may be ivory and copper. Also included are "Der babylonische Talmud", which was printed in Berlin 1919-1923, and a prayer book, which was given to Henry Gottfried on his Bar Mitzvah from the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde, Wien (Jewish Community). The books were given to the LBI library.

Dates

  • 1882-2005
  • Majority of material found within 1938-1954

Creator

Language of Materials

The collection is in English, German and Hebrew.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:

Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org

Biographical Note<extptr actuate="onload" altrender="Photograph of Hilda and Henry Gottfried dancing on their wedding day" href="http://digital.cjh.org/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=5153296" show="embed" title="Photograph of Hilda and Henry Gottfried dancing on their wedding day"/>

Henry Burton Gottfried, formerly Heinz Gottfried, was born in 1919 in Vienna, Austria, the son of Elsa and Jacob Gottfried. He immigrated to the United States in 1938 and served in the Army from 1941 to 1945. He was naturalized in 1942. Henry Gottfried died in 2006.

Hilda Gottfried (née Breier), the daughter of Karolina and Emil Breier, was born in 1926 in Vienna, Austria. She was sent to England on a Kindertransport in 1938. She returned to Vienna for one year after World War II and came to the United States in 1947. Hilda and Henry Gottfried married in 1948 in the United States and had two daughters, Judith and Ellen.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection mainly consists of documents pertaining to Hilda and Henry Gottfried from Vienna, Austria. There are, for example, several photographs as well as official documents and letters.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in one series.

Related Material

There is an Austrian Heritage Collection interview with Henry Burton Gottfried, AHC 2115.

Separated Material

Books were separated and given to the LBI library.

Title
Guide to the Papers of the Henry and Hilda Gottfried Collection 1882-2005 AR 25742
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Maria Jäger
Date
© 2017
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Edition statement
This version was derived from Hilda_and_Henry_Gottfried.xml

Revision Statements

  • April 3, 2018 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States