Eliane and Roger Herz-Fischler Family Collection
Scope and Content Note
The Eliane and Roger Herz-Fischler Family Collection holds papers of the family members of this couple, especially documentation of members of the Fischler (spelled Fischleiber or Fischleber prior to immigration), Holländer, Sommer, Katzenstein and Furcht families, among others. Encompassed are many official documents, correspondence, photographs, educational certificates, a small painting and a few sketches of branches of the family tree. Some of the family papers consist of scans of images and documents.
Series I gives an overview of the family, providing a short essay on the connection of the two major branches of the Holländer/ Sommer family and the Fischler family. A CD-ROM (removed to the LBI Audiovisual Collection) provides some context of family members' papers in addition to scanned images of documents from this series. In addition this series includes letters from Else Sommer to her cousin Ruth Holländer and material related to the attempted immigration of Abraham Sommer and his family.
The second series provides further material on the Holländer and Sommer families. Documentation focuses on their lives and property in Germany as well as their emigration or deportation. Particularly prominent are the papers of Selma Holländer and her husband Freddy (Fritz) Furcht. About half of this series consists of prints of scanned photographs or documents.
The life of Sigmund Fischler (Fischleiber/ Fischleber), father of Roger Herz-Fischler, comprises the bulk of Series III. These papers focus on his education in Germany or relate to his American citizenship and also hold photographs of Fischleiber family members.
Dates
- Creation: 1891-2011
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1937-1998
Creator
- Herz-Fischler, Roger, 1940- (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is primarily in English and German, with a small amount in French.
Access Restrictions
Original materials are not available. Digitized materials are open to researchers.
Use Restrictions
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
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
Sigmund Fischleiber (alternately spelled Fischleber) was born in Leipzig on August 6, 1899, the son of the salesman Isaak Fischleiber and his wife Regina (also called Riwa, née Reinhertz). He studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig, but after immigrating to the United States in 1925 he became a salesman in the fur industry. He returned to Europe during the 1930s, spending much of the decade there, with two extended stays in Poland, France and Germany. Following his naturalization in the United States his surname was changed to Fischler.
The butcher Joseph Holländer and his wife Julie (née Sommer) of Elsoff and later Hilchenbach (both Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany) had three children: Ruth, Selma and Artur. Ruth Holländer was born on January 9, 1915. She worked for a textile manufacturer and in a clothing store prior to her immigration. On November 1, 1937 she left Germany, staying for a day with her cousin Albert Herz in Paris before being taken to the boat train the following day. From November 3 through November 9 she sailed on the S.S. Aquitania to the United States, where she met Sigmund Fischler. On March 19, 1939 they were married and in February 1940 had a son, Roger. The Fischlers settled in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.
Joseph and Julie Holländer's younger daughter Selma was born in 1920 in Hilchenbach. On July 4, 1939 she arrived in England. She worked as domestic help and in childcare in various households until her departure for the United States in November 1947. In September 1955 she met Freddy (born Fritz) Furcht. Fritz Furcht came from Frankfurt am Main, where his parents owned a feather store; in 1939 he fled Germany for Shanghai, where he stayed until the end of the Second World War. Freddy and Selma Furcht also lived in Washington Heights.
Albert Herz from Haiger, Hessen, had fled to France in early September 1935. There he met Coralie Weill; they married on February 3, 1936 and lived in Paris. Albert Herz had been part of the French Foreign Legion. In 1941 they had a daughter, Eliane, and in 1958 the Herz family immigrated to the United States.
Shortly following the arrival of the Herzes in the United States, Albert Herz took his family to visit his cousin, Ruth (Holländer) Fischler. On April 12, 1964 Eliane Herz married Roger Fischler.
Extent
0.75 Linear Feet
Abstract
The Eliane and Roger Herz-Fischler Family collection contains the papers of their ancestors, including members of the Holländer, Sommer, Fischler (formerly Fischleiber or Fischleber), Furcht, Katzenstein and other related families. The collection focuses on documentation of their lives in Germany and the emigration of some family members and consists of official documents such as birth, death, and naturalization certificates, photographs, correspondence, educational papers, some genealogical notes, and a painting.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series:
Separated Material
A CD-ROM with scans of documents, photographs and other material was removed from Series I to the LBI Audiovisual Collection. This CD-ROM includes subfolders of material on the following: the Abraham Sommer family; Julie Sommer; the ancestors of Koppel Sommer; maps of Heinebach and Binsfoerth; the Rosa Sommer family; Sarah Katzenstein; texts with genealogical information or outlines on some branches of the family; and information on the town and Jewish Community of Heinebach. Each of the subfolders that pertain to an individual or family includes an html document that provides further context on the scans included in the subfolder.
Processing Information
Much of the collection was observed to have some original order including indication of series and folder titles in Series II, which were retained during processing of the collection. Folders in Series III were retitled to indicate the papers of Sigmund Fischler and within each series folders were rearranged alphabetically. Folders originally in binders or large envelopes were refoldered in archival folders and photographs in acid-free photo enclosures. A CD-ROM in Series I was removed to the LBI Audiovisual Collection.
Subject
- Fischler, Sigmund, 1899-1972 (Person)
- Herz-Fischler, Roger, 1940- (Person)
- Fischler family (Family)
- Fischleiber family (Family)
- Holländer family (Family)
- Sommer family (Family)
- Title
- Guide to the Eliane and Roger Herz-Fischler Family Collection 1891-2011 AR 25550
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Dianne Ritchey
- Date
- © 2013
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from Eliane_and_Roger_Herz-FischlerFamily.xml
Revision Statements
- February 2014:: Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
