Markus Family Collection

This collection consists of personal papers, restitution records, and genealogical materials related to the family of Jakob Markus of Lohr am Main. The collection is separated into three small series based on document type: Personal papers, Restitution and financial records, and Genealogy.

The personal papers focus mainly on Jakob Markus and his immediate family. Apartment leases, education records, official records, and official correspondence related to Jakob Markus and his family reflect their immigration experience and the career and health challenges Jakob faced in the United States. The correspondence in folders 12-13 is personal in nature and includes letters signed Max Allmann, Frieda, Else, Sigmund, Lotte, and Selma. The official records relating to the Goldbach and Stern families include official correspondence related to their emigration attempts as well as Red Cross tracing service papers showing that Lotte Stern and Erich Goldbach, a niece and nephew of Jakob Markus, were likely killed at Auschwitz. The folder containing the emigration papers of other family members covers the emigration of Selma Markus née Bernheimer’s mother Lisette Bernheimer as well as others. The photographs in this series depict Jakob Markus and his family before their emigration from Germany.

The restitution materials included in the collection focus mainly on Selma Markus’ restitution claims, particularly her successful claim of damages to her career. She eventually received a monthly pension from the German government for this and other family claims. Claims made by Jakob Markus for damages to his career and for emigration costs can be found in folders 1-2. Several failed attempts at restitution can also be found throughout the series. Also included in this series are Jakob and Selma Markus’ investment records as well as Selma Markus’ correspondence with the Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte, the German federal agency responsible for retirement pensions.

The genealogical materials relate to both Jakob and Selma Markus’ sides of the family. The family trees mention the following family names: Bacharach, Bernheimer, Fold, Foldner, Gold, Goldschmidt, Gutmann, Heineimann, Kirchhausen, Levi, Markus, Nussbaum, Rothschild, Schloss, and Stern. The Markus family folder primarily includes vital records of Leopold, Lazarus, and Marianne Markus, alongside others with the same last name. The Schloss family folder contains vital records for Sara, Joseph, Jakob, and Terese Schloss as well as education records for Terese Schloss. The materials related to Laupheim, Lohr, and Buttenhausen include speeches, clippings, greeting cards, and flyers. Selma Markus née Bernheimer was born in Buttenhausen, where the Bernheimer family was well established, and she lived in Laupheim before marrying Jakob Markus of Lohr.