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George and Lillian Friedman Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 7223

Scope and Content Note

Folder 1 contains Georg Friedmann's German passport a short account of the family's emigration by Lillian Friedmann, a biographical sketch of Lillian Friedman, her account of the S. S. St. Louis incident in Havana, photo of the Friedmans boarding the St. Louis, documents registering the addition of 'Israel' and 'Sara' to the Friedmans' names. Folder 2 contains documents related to the freezing of the Friedmanns' assets, forced contributions and emigration fees, bank books, income tax forms, declarations of property relative to contribution prior to emigration, and correspondence concerning Lillian Friedman's unsuccessful attempts to use frozen assets to secure passage for another cousin. The third folder contains a small amount of correspondence pertaining to restitution claims and disposition of German finances, including two letters sent to their lawyer in Germany in 1941. The other folders contain correspondence with the Hamburg-America line regarding booking passage on the Orinoco and the St. Louis and their immigration from Cuba to the United States. These latter folders also contain some financial documents, citizenship papers, official documents, and affidavits of support.

Dates

  • 1938-1983
  • Majority of material found within 1938-1941

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in German, English, Spanish.

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

Lillian née Bach and Georg Friedmann (later Friedman) married in 1930 and lived in Schwandorf, Bavaria, where they appear to have operated a clothing store. After the events of Kristallnacht Georg was temporarily sent to the Dachau camp, and Lillian and other family members were jailed for a short time. Afterwards, partially through the support of distant American relatives, they secured passage on the ship Orinoco, but decided to try to get a spot on the earlier S. S. St. Louis to Havana. Lillian and Georg Friedmann were among twenty-two Jewish refugees allowed to disembark from the ship S. S. St. Louis in Havana. Shortly thereafter they emigrated to the United States and settled in Louisville. Georg Friedmann died in 1950.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Abstract

Documents and correspondence related to the Friedmanns' emigration from Germany and Cuba via the famous S. S. St. Louis (they were the only family who disembarked in Cuba), as well as documents related to the freezing of their assets and Jewish forced contributions in Germany in 1939.

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the George and Lillian Friedman Collection, 1938-1983  AR 7223
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by LBI Staff and Timothy Ryan Mendenhall
Date
© 2009
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Revision Statements

  • November 22, 2011 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
  • March 25, 2014.: Biographical note edited.

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

https://www.lbi.org
Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States

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