Erich and Grete Baum Collection
Scope and Content Note
This collection focuses on the restitution efforts of Erich and Grete Baum. The materials consist of legal statements, court decisions, receipts, and correspondence, particularly with the Baum’s lawyer, Adolf Hamburger.
Erich Baum successfully claimed damages to his career advancement in the 1950s and claimed his retirement benefits from the German government in the late 1960s and 1970s with some assistance from the United Restitution Organization. Correspondence, receipts, and legal documents regarding these cases can be found in this collection.
Grete Baum successfully claimed restitution for stolen property, including money, household items, and jewelry, on behalf of her mother, Paula Dublon. She also later filed a suit against the German Federal Insurance Institution for Employees (Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte) to receive benefits for the time she worked in Germany.
Dates
- 1939-1974
Creator
- Baum, Erich, 1892- (Person)
- Baum, Grete, 1896- (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German and English.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to researchers.
Access Information
Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Request" button.
Biographical Note
Erich Baum was born on July 29, 1892 in Oberhausen (Rheinland, Germany) to Wilhelm Baum and his wife Mina née Collin. He studied business at a trade school and worked in various businesses before joining the German army in 1915. After the end of World War I, he opened a men’s clothing store in Rheine (Westphalia, Germany). In 1924, he married Grete Dublon, the daughter of a teacher David Dublon and his wife Paula née Goldschmidt. When Germany came under Nazi control, Erich Baum was forced to sell his business. He immigrated to the United States in September of 1938 and settled in New York City.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Erich and Grete Baum claimed restitution for the cost of immigration, special expenses, damages to career, and stolen property. They also successfully claimed retirement benefits from the German government.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection documents the restitution efforts of Erich and Grete Baum. The materials consist of legal statements, court decisions, receipts, and correspondence.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by the individual to whom the papers pertain and then ordered chronologically.
Digitization Note
This collection was digitized and made accessible in its entirety.
Separated Material
A copy of the “Wiedergutmachung” section of Aufbau from August 23, 1974 (No. 399) was removed. This item can be accessed online: Aufbau, August 23, 1974.
Processing Information
Duplicates were removed. Materials were rehoused into acid-free archival folders.
- Title
- Guide to the Erich and Grete Baum Collection 1939-1974 AR 10782
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Leanora Lange
- Date
- © 2013
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Sponsor
- Described, encoded, and digitized as part of the CJH Holocaust Resource Initiative, made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
