John L. Englander Family Collection
Scope and Content Note
The John L. Englander Family Collection mostly contains correspondence between the family members. These letters are written in German and English and describe the daily life of the family members in America and Germany. A family tree and genealogical information are included in the letters of Series I.
Series I contains correspondence among the family members during the Holocaust. The first section consists of letters written by Lisl Husserl between 1937 and 1938 after her emigration to her family and friends in Augsburg. It is followed by letters written by Hans (John) Englander and his grandparents Hugo and Lina Steinfeld in Augsburg to Lisl in New York. The next section consists of correspondence of the Sturm family. Finally, there are letters written by Paul and Hedwig Englander, many written to Lisl as well. A separate section of correspondence contains the farewell letters written by Paul and Hedwig Englaender and Hugo and Lina Steinfeld. The series also contains farewell letters that express the desperation and the need for relief the parents and grandparents felt.
Series II contains photographs and other memorabilia of the family. Two poetry books include photographs of family members during the 1930s, while another folder holds later photographs. A few newspaper clippings on various subjects are also present.
Dates
- 1879-2004
- Majority of material found within 1937-1943
Creator
- Englander, John L. (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German and English.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
Use Restrictions
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
Hugo and Lina Steinfeld (née Heilbronner) lived in Augsburg. They had twin daughters: Hedwig, who married Paul Englander and had two children, Hans (John) and Lisl (Elisabeth) Husserl; and Anna, who married Max Sturm, and had three children, Walter, Ilse (Felgran), and Guenther (George).
Lisl Husserl (née Englaender), was the first family member to immigrate to the U.S. in 1937. Her brother Hans (John) followed a year later, in 1938. He was drafted into the army in 1941, and served until the end of 1945, the last two years in Europe. The Sturm family came to the U.S. in 1939.
Hugo and Lina Steinfeld remained in Augsburg. Not wanting to be deported, they committed suicide in 1941. Their daughter Hedwig and her husband, Dr. Paul Englaender, survived in Augsburg until March of 1943, when they also committed suicide on the eve of deportation.
After coming to America, the family changed the original form of their name “Engländer” to Englander. They discussed that change in a letter too.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
The John L. Englander Family Collection describes the life of John L. Englander's mother and her family members. From 1937 to 1943 they corresponded between America, where John’s sister Elisabeth lived, and Augsburg. The letters describe their growing desperation and the need to send the children (Elisabeth and Hans, Elisabeth's twin sister stayed in Germany) out of Germany. The correspondence is the largest part of the collection. It furthermore contains poetry books and some photographs.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series:
- Albums (books)
- Augsburg (Germany)
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Englander, John L.
- Engländer, Hedwig, -1943
- Engländer, Paul, -1943
- Felgran, Ilse, 1922-2001
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Husserl, Elisabeth, 1915-1980
- New York (N.Y.)
- Notes (documents)
- Photographs
- Steinfeld, Hugo
- Steinfeld, Lina
- Sturm, Anna
- Sturm, George
- Sturm, Max
- Sturm, Walter
- Suicide
- United States -- Emigration and immigration -- History -- 20th century
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of the John L. Englander Family 1879-2004 AR 25170
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Marie-Theres Kohn and 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 JohnEnglander.xml
Revision Statements
- April 08, 2015 : dao links added by Emily Andresini.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
