Adler Family Collection

The Adler Family Collection tells the story of the lives of Thekla (née Grünebaum) and Leopold Adler and their children Bennie, Rose, Irma, and Berthold. It especially focuses on the death of Leopold Adler in 1906 and the changes it wrought on the family that led to the eventual emigration to New York of Bennie, Rose, Berthold, and Thekla Adler. The collection includes a large amount of their correspondence, especially of Berthold Adler, in addition to various sorts of family papers, including official documents, school records, immigration documentation, documentation relating to the careers of family members, and genealogical and historical research. In addition, the collection contains family photographs and one photo album.

One prominent subject of the collection is the death of Leopold Adler and the lives of his widow and children following his death; documentation of this will be found throughout Series I and Series II. Series I includes material relating to Leopold's early death in 1906, such as legal documents on the inheritance of Thekla and their children along with many documents that pertain to Leopold's property and debts, and that relate to their transfer to Thekla. Notable is the autobiography of Berthold Adler in this series, which provides many details on the family's difficult financial situation. Documents that pertain to the early work experiences of Bennie, Rose, Irma, and Berthold Adler will also be found in Series I. Correspondence related to their employment may also be found in Series II. Irma Adler's death in 1919 is documented in Series I.

Another frequent subject of the collection is the emigration of family members to New York, including the earlier emigrations of Bennie and Rose, and Berthold and Thekla Adler's move to join Bennie and Rose Adler in New York in 1925; documentation of these topics will be found in each series of the collection. The papers of Berthold and Thekla Adler in Series I in particular contain documents assembled for their emigration, and the papers of both Rose Adler and Berthold Adler include lists of passengers for the ships they took to America. Discussion of Berthold and Thekla Adler's emigration is a frequent topic among the correspondence of Series II, including much advice from Rose, and to a lesser extent Bennie Adler. Letters from Rose also mention her opinions on Americans or life in America. Series III, which holds photographs, includes an unidentified photo of the arrival of one of the siblings in America among a crowd of immigrants.

Some of the correspondence of Berthold Adler in Series II provides a few details of the situation of the Israelitische Waisenanstalt (Jewish Orphan Asylum) in Frankfurt am Main in the 1930s. Some of his other correspondence with friends gives details of others' attempts to leave Germany in the 1930s.

Series I additionally contains several folders relating to the family's genealogy and research into their situation and lifestyle in the village of Hintersteinau, Germany, including photocopies of photographs that depict the family's home. In addition there is a small amount of papers relating to more distant family members in both the documentation of Series I and the correspondence of Series II.

Only a small amount of documentation is present on the family members' later lives in the United States. Such documentation includes material in Series I on Berthold Adler's marriage to Ruth Jackel and the deaths of Thekla, Bennie, Rose, and Berthold, as well as a few letters regarding trips taken by family members in Series II. Many of the photographs of Series III date from their lives in New York.