Richard Michel Collection
Scope and Content Note
The Richard Michel Collection consists of twenty-eight photocopied pages of a diary written by Richard Michel in March and April 1915, in which he describes events around his unit’s march from Germany into Belgium. The content of the diary primarily consists of the daily life of a soldier: marches, observations of wartime destruction, an observation of the anniversary of Otto von Bismarck’s 100th birthday, descriptions of quarters, and times of boredom. The diary also contains a farewell to his family in case he does not survive. Accompanying the diary are thirteen oversized maps of France and Belgium. Most of the maps were produced by German printers in German, however one map (dated 1917) is in French. The maps convey information about battle fronts, enemy positions, railroads, and topographical information. Some of the maps bear handwritten notes and marks.
Dates
- 1915-1918
Language of Materials
The collection is in German, French, 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
Richard Michel was a soldier who fought for the German army during World War I. He was a soldier in the 10th Bavarian Infantry, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Battery. He entered the war as a cavalry soldier, received a battlefield promotion, and was discharged as lieutenant without any physical injuries.
Extent
1 Folders (1 Oversize folder)
Abstract
The Richard Michel Collection contains twenty-eight photocopied pages of Richard Michel's World War I diary (March to April, 1915), accompanied by thirteen World War I maps displaying information such as enemy positions, terrain and railroads.
Processing Information
The collection was processed in May 2013 in preparation of the EAD finding aid.
- Title
- Guide to the Richard Michel Collection 1915-1918 AR 25481
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Michael O'Connor
- 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 RichardMichel.xml
Revision Statements
- April 02, 2015 : dao links added by Emily Andresini.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
