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Julian Spiegel Family Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 7235

Scope and Content Note

The Julian Spiegel Family Collection predominantly consists of family correspondence and documents. Also included are papers about the professional life of engineer Julian Spiegel, restitution for the family losses under Nazi Germany, the family's emigration and genealogy. The collection contains photocopies of personal, legal and official correspondence, official documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates, educational and professional papers and various other personal papers.

Series I consists of the family's correspondence, especially personal letters to and from Julian and Kaethe Spiegel with family news and greetings and including letters regarding their emigration to the United States. Some legal correspondence about restitution and financial matters is also present.

The second series holds the family's papers, including documentation of Julian Spiegel's education as a mechanical engineer in Berlin and references from employers in Germany and the United States. In this series are also family trees that show the relationships between the Spiegel, Placzek, Ohlmann and other families. Another folder contains an assortment of family documents for members of all these families, including biographical dates for many family members.

Users of the collection should note that it consists entirely of photocopies.

Dates

  • 1883-1961

Creator

Language of Materials

The collection is in German and English.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Information

Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Reserve" button.

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 or Historical here] Note

Julian Spiegel was born in Bradford, England in 1883 to the German Jewish merchant Felix Spiegel and his wife Sophie Spiegel (née Ohlmann). The Spiegels returned to Germany before 1893. In 1907 Julius Spiegel received his degree in engineering from the Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Berlin. He worked for various firms in Germany and specialized in automotive and aeronautical engineering, especially with their construction as well as the construction of combustion engines; among his employers was the company Rumpler-Werke. In 1919 he married Kaethe Placzek; they had one child, Walter, born in 1922.

In 1931 the family immigrated to the United States, with Julian arriving first and Kaethe and Walter following in May 1931. Julian first found a position with Fokker Aircraft Corporation before the family moved to Philadelphia. Julian Spiegel died in 1963.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection contains the family correspondence and papers of the engineer Julian Spiegel. About half the collection consists of copies of the family's letters to Julian and Kaethe Spiegel. In addition the collection includes copies of legal and official correspondence, official documents, family trees, educational and professional papers and various other personal papers.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series:

Other Finding Aid

A 2-page earlier inventory lists each folder in the collection.

Digitization Note

The collection was digitized and made accessible in its entirety.

Related Material

The LBI Archives includes two related collections:

  1. Kaethe Placzek Collection (AR 25308)
  2. Section of letter to Julian and Kaethe Spiegel (AR 10762)

Processing Information

The collection was first processed by Alan Divack on October 12, 1983, when an inventory was created.

The collection was reprocessed in November 2013 in preparation of the online finding aid. At this time, folders were organized into series and given shorter titles.

Title
Guide to the Papers of the Julian Spiegel Family 1883-1961 AR 7235
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Dianne Ritchey and LBI Staff
Date
© 2013
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
Digitization made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.

Revision Statements

  • April 2015: dao links and digitization information added by Leanora Lange.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States