Jenny Pelz Collection
Scope and Content Note
The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence sent from Jenny Pelz in Berlin to her children and grandchildren in the United States during the second World War.
The majority of the correspondence was sent by Jenny Pelz to her daughter Erna Summerfeld and grandchildren in the United States, letters to a few other recipients are also present. Most of the correspondence was sent from her residence in Berlin, with the exception of a postcard sent from Theresienstadt to a friend. Folder four contains letters sent after the war to members of Pelz's surviving family by family friends and acquaintances in Germany. Some of these letters contain accounts of Jenny Pelz's final days before deportation, of Pelz's time in Theresienstadt, and of conditions in Berlin after the war.
Two additional folders contain a small amount of handwritten poetry and some documents. The poetry was for the most part written by Erna Meier-Pelz (Erna Summerfeld), Jenny Pelz's daughter, during the 1910s. There is also a poem written by Erich Meier Pelz. The final folder contains photocopied documents related to Pelz's deportation in 1943, as well as postwar documents relating to restitution claims. Also included in this folder is a transcription of a letter, likely from 1943, in which Pelz lists her possessions and the friends with whom she left them before deportation.
Dates
- 1908-1966
Creator
- Pelz, Jenny, 1874-1943 (Person)
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.
Use Restrictions
Publication of materials only with permission of donor
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
Jenny Pelz, née Grünberg, was born in Schönlanke (today Trzcianka, Poland), married first to Hermann Meier, then to Adolf Pelz after Meier's death. From the materials in the collection, she appears to have spend most of her life in Berlin. She was deported in 1943 to Theresienstadt and then to Auschwitz, where she was murdered.
Extent
5 Folders
Abstract
The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence sent from Jenny Pelz in Berlin to her children and grandchildren in the United States during the second World War.
Other Finding Aid
A list of correspondents is available in folder 2.
- Title
- Guide to the Jenny Pelz Collection, 1908-1966 AR 6568
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Timothy Ryan Mendenhall
- Date
- © 2012
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- July 16, 2013 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository