Gretl Schwabe Collection

The Gretl Schwabe Collection focuses on the family history of Gretl Schwabe née Spanier, and especially of the Spanier and related families. The collection contains official documents of family members, genealogical notes and family trees, notes, correspondence, articles, a few photographs, and publications. Many items, including a significant amount of Judaica books, as well as photographs and objects have been removed from the archival collection.

This collection largely centers around the genealogy and family history of members of the Spanier family, which is located in Series I. Included are not only family trees and notes accumulated in the compilation of the family trees, but also official papers of family members. Such papers include copies of marriage contracts, identification papers, and financial and religious papers. Some documentation is from members of related families, including the Weinbach, Gump, and Weiskopf families. Some material is available on the Bankhaus Weiskopf. Papers of Gretl Schwabe parents, Jakob and Bella Spanier, contain documentation of Jakob Spanier's civil service and Bella Spanier's reminiscences of Kristallnacht. Many of the notes of books from Series II, which have been removed to the LBI Library, include genealogical notes in Hebrew, such as lists of family members.

Some material on Jewish communities where family members resided is also present in this collection. Series I contains some material on the Jewish communities of Krumbach, where the Spaniers lived, and Harburg. Additional material on Krumbach, including articles on anti-Semitism and the events of the Holocaust, will be found among the published material of Series III.