Ernest R. Stiefel Family Collection

This collection represents a lifetime of genealogical research by Ernst R. Stiefel about his family history. Files about individuals and families contain documents that are almost entirely photocopies from various German archives. Various family trees and photocopies of articles about Jews in Germany are also found here.

Files in the Individuals section include photocopies of various official documents from German archives about Stiefel's family and relatives, including himself, concerning birth, marriage, death, inheritance, immigration, restitution, and Nazi-era foreign exchange matters. Some of Stiefel's correspondence with archives concerning these files is also found here.

Files in the Families section include photocopies of documents from German archives (registers; birth, marriage, and death information; business and military records; contracts and legal documents; articles; and a small amount of personal material (correspondence, photographs)). Individuals with narrative histories, and family names written on the envelope cover, are noted in the scope note.

The Family Trees section includes family narratives and genealogical tables, as well as some photocopies of supporting archival documents, for the following families: Stiefel (Usenborn, Oberhessen); Fleersheim (Floersheim) (Gedern, Oberhessen); Meyer (Gedern, Oberhessen); Strauss (Bad Homburg vor der Hoehe); Phillipsohn (Villmar, Herzogtum Nassau); Hachenburger (Darmstadt); Jonas (Kesselbach, Hessen); Strauss (Darmstadt, Frankfurt am Main, Brooklyn); Schellenberg (Goddelau, Hessen); Homberger (Homberg an der Ohm, Oberhessen; Darmstadt); Hayum (Fauerbach, Oberhessen); Vendig (Sembach, Rheinpfalz, Kaiserslautern Rheinpfalz); Vogel (Sembach, Rheinpfalz); Ehrenbach (Worms, Sembach, Kaiserslautern, Rheinpfalz); Stern (Sembach and Kaiserslautern, Rheinpfalz; Louisville, Kentucky); Wachenheim- Huettenbach (Worms); Weinschenk (Roth, Mittelfranken; Alsenz, Kaiserslautern); Bender (Gerbach, Lohnsfeld, Rheinpfalz); Lonsbach (Lohnsfeld, Rheinpfalz), Pintus (Graetz, Posen; Chmielno, Westpreussen; Aachen); Gottfeld (Berent, Westpreussen); Bernstein (Borgentreich, Westfalen); Ostheim (Brakel, Westfalen); Alsberg (Volkmarsen, Waldeck); Meyer (Brilon, Westfalen); Marcus (Volkmarsen, Waldeck); Dreyer (Rietberg, Neuenkirchen; Kaunitz, Westfalen); Meyerhoff (Leffmann) (Herstelle, Paderborn, Westfalen); Rosenstein (Beverungen, Westfalen); Ostwald (Paderborn, Westfalen), Wolfers (Minden, Westfalen; Diepenau, Hannover); Auerbach (Ahlen, Westfalen); Goldschmidt (Stolzenau, Hannover); Stern (Oestinghausen, Westfalen); Brueggeman (Schwerte and Ostinghausen, Westfalen).

Also found here are some narrative histories of families and individual family members written by Stiefel: the Strauss and Neugass families of Bad Homburg vor der Hohe; the Strauss – Homberger families; Amelie Strauss née Vendig; the Vendig family; Kaufman Stern; the Huettenbach and Wachenheim families; Boerlin Isaac Weinschenk; Hendelena Herz; and "From my parents letters, July 1940 to November 1941."

Other research materials include correspondence with German archives and with the Leo Baeck Institute, and photocopies of articles and other printed materials, primarily about Jews in certain geographic regions of Germany corresponding to Stiefel's genealogical research. These include: Beverungen, Borgentreich, Brakel, Kaiserslautern, Karthaus, Lohnsfeld, Mehlingen, Minden, Ortenberg, Rietberg, Roth, Sangerhausen, Sembach, Stolzenau, Ulmet, Wetzlar, Winnweiler, and Pfalz.