Herta and Carl Mayer Collection
Scope and Content Note
The collection documents the life of Carl and Herta Mayer and especially her struggle for restitution after World War II. Closely connected are the documents that refer to the long-term effects of her incarceration in concentration camps.
The Herta and Carl Mayer Collection includes the documents of Herta Mayer. Most of the file on Herta Mayer holds official documents, such as certificates of birth; a Nazi-era certificate of being Jewish;, marriage and naturalization certificates; and identification papers. It also includes her will. Most of the official documents pertain to her restitution claims. Correspondences with physicians show some aspects of her physical and psychological condition after her incarceration in the concentration camps. The collection also holds the Mayer family correspondence and photographs; the photographs show family members, but are partly undated and it is uncertain which persons they portray. It includes a correspondence from the year 1945 between Herta Mayer and her relatives who lived in the United States, and discusses the general postwar situation in Germany and Herta Mayer's attempts to immigrate to the United States. Later correspondence from 1999 refers to the search for members of the Mayer family who were deported to the ghetto Lodz, Poland
The Carl Mayer folder contains mainly official documents that provide biographical information, such as passports, his driver's license, certificates of naturalization, affidavits of support in order to get a visa and restitution documents. A German labor book, issued in 1936, notes his apprenticeship as a salesman from 1928 to 1931 in Mayen and lists his employment as a driver. The invitation for his wedding is included in the Herta Mayer documents' folder and correspondence with his niece and nephew is included in folder 3.
The collection includes some documents on the Fuchs family, mainly birth and marriage certificates.
Hard to classify documents, namely brochures, are held in the folder 'Other'.
Dates
- 1912-2000
- Majority of material found within 1945-2000
Creator
- Mayer, Herta, 1923- (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German, English, Hungarian, Czech, and Slovak.
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: http://www.lbi.org/ask
Biographical Note
Herta Mayer, née Fuchs, was born in 1923 as one of three children in Trnava, today Slovakia. She was the daughter of Moric Fuchs, born in 1898, and Frieda Fuchs, born in 1899. After Herta Mayer left school, she worked as a self-employed corset-maker. In 1942 she was deported to Auschwitz, and afterwards to Ravensbrueck and Malchow. She immigrated to the United States in 1946, first to New York, later she moved to New Jersey. In 1949 she married Carl Mayer, and together they had two daughters: Alice Rosalinde Mayer and Ellen Michel Mayer. Herta Mayer was naturalized in 1950 and worked as a homemaker during that time.
Carl Mayer was born in 1913 in Masburg, Germany, the son of the cattle trader Eduard Mayer and Rosa Mayer. Carl Mayer was trained to become a salesman from 1928 to 1931, but also worked as a driver and car mechanic during the 1930s. He immigrated in 1937 to the United States. In New York he started to work as a chauffeur again, but soon trained to become a butcher. Carl Mayer was naturalized in 1944.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
The Herta and Carl Mayer Collection holds the assorted papers of Herta Mayer (Fuchs/ Fox) and her husband Carl (Karl) Mayer. Included in the collection are scattered documents of the Fuchs family members, Moric, Alice and Richard Fuchs. The collection primarily consists of Herta Mayer’s official documents and correspondence regarding immigration and restitution attempts after 1945. Photographs and family correspondence can be found as well.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in one series.
Separated Material
A prayer book has been separated from the collection and transferred to the LBI Library.
Processing Information
During processing of the collection in August 2015, the folders of the collection were organized into one series.
- Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
- Berlin (Germany)
- Brochures
- Certificates
- Correspondence
- Fuchs family
- Fuchs, Alice
- Fuchs, Moric
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Jewish families
- Malchow (Germany)
- Mayer, Carl, 1913-
- Mayer, Herta, 1923-
- Notes (documents)
- Official documents
- Photographs
- Ravensbrück (Concentration camp)
- Restitution -- Germany
- Trnava (Slovakia)
- United States -- Emigration and immigration
- Wills
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of Herta and Carl Mayer 1912-2000 AR 25616
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Sabine Hanke
- Date
- © 2015
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from Herta_and_CarlMayer.xml
Revision Statements
- January 2016:: dao links added by Emily Andresini.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository