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Einzig-Field Family Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 25156

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains the personal papers of members of the Einzig and Biberfeld (Field) families.

Series I consists mainly of correspondence sent to Johanna Biberfeld (Joan Field) from family or friends starting in 1940. Some of the correspondents address Johanna with the name “Peter.” A few letters are addressed to Johanna’s mother Margaret Einzig. The letters in folder 1 are from Bernhard and Genia Einzig, Johanna’s uncle and aunt who were trying to procure visas to get out of Berlin in the early 1940s. Folder 2 contains letters from Else Margarete Einzig to Johanna Biberfeld. The correspondence in folder 3 is from Johanna’s cousin Rolf Einzig, who was held at an internment camp in Ottowa, Canada in 1941 at the time of the letters. Johanna’s cousin Susan Einzig fled Germany to London, where she became an artist. Her letters are accompanied by a list of her artistic accomplishments printed out in 2004. Johanna’s friend Hilde Mickley writes about hardships after the end of World War II. The letters in folder 6 are from various other relatives and friends.

Series II contains other personal papers of the Einzig and Field family members. The materials related to Heinrich Biberfeld (Henry Field) include records of his university studies from 1919-1923; letters of recommendation and other materials reflecting his career as a physician in Germany, Italy, and the United States; official records of his name change; legal records regarding the revocation of his medical license on the grounds of addiction to morphine and prescription fraud; and correspondence regarding his conversion to Catholicism in the early 1950s. The materials related to Henry Field’s second wife, Charlotte Biberfeld née Schweitzer, include correspondence with Henry, divorce papers, and a notice of her death in 1963. Materials in folder 8 include correspondence between Henry Field and the City of New York Department of Welfare as well as the Hebrew Home for the Aged regarding care for his elderly mother, Ella Biberfeld. Johanna Biberfeld née Einzig (Joan Field)’s materials include letters of recommendation and her death certificate. Her father Alfred Einzig’s World War I military records and death certificates are in folder 12. Her mother Else Margarete Einzig’s papers include her passports, will, and burial plot purchase receipts. The efforts of Bernhard, Genia, Rolf, and Susan Einzig to emigrate from Berlin, Germany are reflected in folder 12, particularly Bernhard and Genia’s efforts to procure passage to Cuba. Jack Field’s materials in folder 15 include education records from Italy, vital records, naturalization records, and records of his birth to Johanna Biberfeld née Hirsch, Heinrich Biberfeld (Henry Field)’s first wife. Folder 16 contains affidavits and other materials related to the immigration of Else Fraenkel, Margarete Einzig’s sister-in-law. A set of genealogical tables for the Fraenkel and Biberfeld families can be found in folder 17. The photographs in folder 18 consist of snapshots of family members at leisure and on trips as well as photographs of graves and picture postcards from the early 20th century. The primary identified subjects of the photographs are Alfred and Margarete Einzig, Joan Field, and Jack Field.

Dates

  • 1879-2004
  • Majority of material found within 1914-1959

Creator

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

The connection between the Einzig and Field families lies in the marriage of Else Margarete Fraenkel (alternatively Margarete, 1876-1963) and the manufacturer Alfred Einzig (1878-1935) on January 5, 1911. Their daughter Johanna Einzig was born on October 14, 1911. Johanna married Heinrich Biberfeld (1899-1982), a physician from Wandsbek.

Before this marriage, Heinrich had had a son, Hans (alternatively Giovanni or Jack) in 1927 with his first wife Johanna née Hirsch, a physician who died in 1928. Heinrich had then been married to a psychologist, Charlotte née Schweitzer, from 1930 until their divorce in 1933. He and Johanna née Einzig married in 1937 and had a son, Thomas.

In May 1940, Heinrich and Johanna Biberfeld née Einzig immigrated via Italy to the United States, where they took on the names Henry and Joan Field. Henry Field practiced medicine in Brooklyn, New York until 1950, when his license was revoked. Their son Jack Field served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Henry and Joan Field converted to Catholicism in 1952. Joan Field died in 1975, and Henry Field in 1982.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection contains the personal papers of members of the Einzig and Biberfeld (later Field) families. Physician Heinrich Biberfeld immigrated via Italy to New York City with his wife Johanna, two sons, and his mother-in-law in 1940. The collection includes personal correspondence with family members who had not been able to flee Germany, as well as vital records, education records, World War I military records, records of Henry Field’s medical career in Germany and New York, genealogical tables, and photographs.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into two series.

  1. Series I: Correspondence contains correspondence sent to Johanna Biberfeld (Joan Field) and her mother Else Margarete Einzig.
  2. Series II: Papers contains other personal papers of the Einzig and Field family.

Digitization Note

The collection was digitized and made accessible in its entirety with the exception of selected images from box 1 folder 10, which were restricted due to privacy concerns.

Separated Material

Iron cross medals awarded to Heinrich Biberfeld (Henry Field) for service in the German army during World War I were removed to the LBI Art and Objects Collection.

Processing Information

Materials were rehoused into acid-free folders. Photographs were placed in archival envelopes, and the notes in which they were wrapped were placed around these envelopes. An oversized diploma was placed in an oversized folder and box. Duplicates were removed. Plastic clips that had been on much of the material from previous handling were removed.

Title
Guide to the Einzig-Field Family Collection 1879-2004 (bulk 1914-1959) AR 25156
Author
Processed by Leanora Lange
Date
© 2014
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
Processing made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany. Digitization made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.

Revision Statements

  • June 2015: dao links and digitization information added by Leanora Lange.
  • October 2015: dao link added for box 1 folder 7 and digitization information updated by Leanora Lange.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States