Elisabeth Freund Collection
Scope and Content Note
The collection is organized in four series. Series I contains writings and publications by and about Elisabeth Freund about her personal life as well her work for the blind. There are several version of her manuscript "Zwangsarbeit Berlin 1941", which was published in 1996. She also wrote about her great-great-uncle, Julius R. Friedlaender, and published a book on home improvement for women in 1930. The series also contains her extensive writings, published and unpublished, on working with the blind, as well as publications and clippings about her and her work at the Overbrook School for the Blind. There are also several legal publications by Rudolf Freund. Series II: Correspondence contains both personal and professional correspondence by Elisabeth Freund, correspondence of her daughters Clare Freund and Ursula Goebel regarding her mother's work, and correspondence with the Leo Baeck Institute regarding the donation of Elisabeth Freund's papers. Series III: Photographs contains mainly images used in Elisabeth Freund's professional publications. The collection also contains a longhand writing device and workbooks developed by Elisabeth Freund (Series IV).
The following individuals are mentioned in this collection: Freund, Elisabeth D.; Freund, Clare; Goebel, Ursula (Freund); Freund, Rudolf.
Dates
- 1920-1996
Language of Materials
This collection is in German.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
Collection is microfilmed (MF 972).
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.
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
Elisabeth Freund was born in Breslau in 1898. Her father was the neurologist Carl Freund. She studied political and economic sciences at the universities of Breslau, Wuerzburg, and Berlin. During her studies, she lived with her uncle, the chemist and Nobel Prize Laureate Fritz Haber (1868-1934). In 1922 she married her cousin Rudolf Freund who had a leading position in the Flick concern. She did forced labor in a laundry and an ammunition factory, before she and her husband were able to emigrate to Cuba in 1941. In 1938, the couple had decided to send their daughters Clare (1926-1996) and Ursula with the "Kindertransport" abroad to saftey. They emigrated to the US in 1944. She started working at the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, which was founded by Julius Friedlaender, a brother of her great-grandfather's. There, she founded a touch and learn center. She became an authority on blind students, developing teaching manuals and kits for sharpening the taste and smell of blind students. She also lectured and published on these topics. She died in 1982.
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
The collection is organized in four series. Series I contains writings and publications by and about Elisabeth Freund about her personal life as well her work for the blind. There are several version of her manuscript "Zwangsarbeit Berlin 1941", which was published in 1996. She also wrote about her great-great-uncle, Julius R. Friedlaender, and published a book on home improvement for women in 1930. The series also contains her extensive writings, published and unpublished, on working with the blind, as well as publications and clippings about her and her work at the Overbrook School for the Blind. There are also several legal publications by Rudolf Freund. Series II: Correspondence contains both personal and professional correspondence by Elisabeth Freund, correspondence of her daughters Clare Freund and Ursula Goebel regarding her mother's work, and correspondence with the Leo Baeck Institute regarding the donation of Elisabeth Freund's papers. Series III: Photographs contains mainly images used in Elisabeth Freund's professional publications. The collection also contains a longhand writing device and workbooks developed by Elisabeth Freund (Series IV).
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 4 series.
Microfilm
Collection is available on 3 reels of microfilm (MF 972).
- Reel 1: 1/1-1/3c
- Reel 2: 1/3d-1/3c
- Reel 3: 1/7-1/11
Bibliography
Three manuscripts by Elisabeth Freund's husband, Rudolf Freund, are cataloged in the memoir collection (ME 156)
See also Elisabeth Freund's memoirs "Zwangsarbeit fuer Hitler; Forced Labor for Hitler" (ME 153), the published version is available in the LBI library (DS 135 G4 B4 F7 1996)
A published version of Elisabeth Freund's biography of Julius Friedlaender "Crusader for light: Julius R. Friedlander, founder of the Overbrook School for the Blind, 1832" is also available in the LBI library (HV 1624 F74 F7)
- Title
- Guide to the Elisabeth Freund Collection, 1920-1996 AR 25099 / MF 972
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by LBI Staff
- Date
- © 2010
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
Revision Statements
- June 05, 2012 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
- July 24, 2012 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
- November 26, 2012.: Biographical inoformation edited.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
