Emil Herz Collection

The Emil Herz Collection contains papers of Emil Herz's extended family, especially of members of the Grünewald, Oppenheim, and Steg families. Much of the collection consists of family correspondence. In addition there is a sermon, copies of pages of a prayer book, and a note and clipping related to the family genealogy.

Prominent in the collection are family members' correspondence, especially that of Jacob Grünewald and Walther Oppenheim. Their correspondence includes the original handwritten letters along with typed transcriptions of them. Grünewald's letters date from the 1860s-1870s and center on his life as a university student, and later, as a member of the medical corps during the Franco-Prussian war. His letters from the 1860s home to his parents tell of his studies in Berlin, including his lengthy letter of May 7, 1867 which describe his short time as private tutor for a family; the letter details not only his own situation and responsibilities in caring for the children but also the daily routine of household servants who cared for them. A later letter, from December 15, 1867 mentions his preference toward living in Germany rather than America. At the end of July 1870 he entered the medical corps of the Order of Saint John (Johanniterorden) of the army of Prince Friedrich Karl. Later letters mention his time working in the hospital as part of the medical corps. On September 28, 1870 he describes his attendance at Rosh Hashanah services in Nancy, France and on November 28, 1870 he details his work in the hospital and the layout of the barracks. By December 1871 he resided once again in Berlin.

The letters of Walther (also spelled Walter) Oppenheim relate to his time away from home as a volunteer in World War I on the West Front. Nearly all of his letters are from Arras, France or the nearby Beaurains, where his letters discuss his life in the trenches. On November 2 he mentions the destroyed towns he had seen as well as his company's arrival in Beaurains, where they resided in wine cellars. A letter from November 7 discusses the outfitting of his company's trenches. Some letters from him relate to the items the troops lacked, such as butter, coffee, or spices; his family often sent parcels. Letters from December 1914 portray his dismay at being away from his family. Oppenheim's letter of February 19, 1915 relates the unsuccessful but protracted French attempt against the German trenches, which lasted from early in the morning until nightfall; the attack left him optimistic about further attacks on the trenches. He died shortly thereafter.

The final folder of the collection contains letters, a note, and a newspaper clipping about Emil Herz's researches into the family, which includes a note that shows the interconnectedness of the Grünewald-Oppenheim-Herz family, related via Caecilie Steg-Oppenheim, whose first marriage was to Josef Grünewald and second was to Judah Oppenheim. One letter by a family member tells of the lives of Reike Steeg and her husband Manasse Steeg. The newspaper article provides an overview of various family members and the family history, mentioning among them Rabbi Samuel Steg and Caecilie Steg-Oppenheim.

The remaining two folders of the collection contain family papers: a copy of a sermon for Rosh Hashanah by Judah Oppenheim and a copy of the pages of Caecilie Steg-Oppenheim's prayer book, with its handwritten notations and inscriptions by family members. Among these inscriptions is one by her son, Jacob Grünewald, prior to leaving home in Warburg for his university studies. This prayer book has been removed to the LBI Library.