Cecilia Ruberl Correspondence

The Cecilia Ruberl Correspondence Collection primarily contains letters between Cecilia Ruberl, an Austrian émigré in Rome, Italy during World War II, and Stefan Taussig, the son of an Austrian émigré in New York. Taussig had borrowed money from Ruberl in order to buy a farm outside of Ithaca, New York. His repayment installments were of great help to Cecilia Ruberl as well as to her sister Eugenie and her children. In addition to letters, the collection holds a few copies of Stefan Taussig's stock transaction forms and of the financial claims made by and awarded Cecilia Ruberl's family members against her Swiss bank.

Most of the collection consists of Cecilia Ruberl and Stefan Taussig's correspondence. In addition to their letters to each other, there are letters of Hugo Schwarz, Cecilia's brother who lived in Ithaca, as well as letters from other family members, especially her sister Eugenie ("Jenny") and her friend Wilhelm Löw, who came to Oswego, New York in 1944. In the latest folder of correspondence there are a few letters from and to Stefan Taussig's lawyer, Victor Ross. The bulk of the letters focus on Ruberl and Taussig's financial relationship, documenting payments and debts; many letters include calculations of the principal amount and the interest generated by its loan over time. In spite of the financial nature of many letters, it is clear that they were often on friendly terms. A few letters in early 1939 describe the farm and its capabilities, while a letter in October 1945 discusses some of its problems. In November 1949 Taussig decided to sell it. Letters in the intervening years mention in passing its situation. There is a gap in correspondence from spring 1941 until July 1944. Starting in 1944 and continuing through 1945 Ruberl requested that Taussig send food and other supplies rather than money because of the lack of their availability in Italy. A letter of July 1944, sent after Cecilia Ruberl's six-month stay in the Vatican, updates Taussig on the situation in Italy and with her family members. One folder contains unmatched partial letters, mostly second or half-pages, along with a few notes.

Aside from correspondence, one folder holds receipts for stock bought and sold by Stefan Taussig. These stocks are mentioned in the correspondence and their value was included in the funds loaned to him by Cecilia Ruberl. The initial folder of this collection contains the proceedings and determination of the claims made by Cecilia Ruberl's family upon a Swiss bank in which she had maintained an account. A few facts of her life may be found in the documentation.