Manfred H. Hecht Family Collection

This collection contains correspondence between Manfred Hecht in New York and his parents in Vienna. There is also correspondence with the American Consulate and overseas transportation companies relating to Hecht's attempts to arrange for his parents to emigrate. Manfred and his parents primarily discuss family news, the deprivations of life in Vienna, and the adjustment to living and working in New York City. In addition, Folder 1 contains a letter from Terezin in 1945 confirming the death of Maximilian and Ada Hecht, as well as a 2002 email from a researcher also confirming the date of their deaths. Folder 2 includes a letter from Manfred's parents that relates in some detail the restrictions imposed on them by the Nazis, such as having been forced to live in one room in their own house. Folder 3 includes correspondence between Manfred and his mother about suitable operatic pieces for him to perform and her joy at his marriage and a new daughter-in-law. Most of the correspondence in Folder 1 is typewritten in English, while almost all of the correspondence in Folders 2, 3, 4, and 5 is handwritten in German. Folders 4 and 5 each contain a few dozen detailed postcards. Among the papers of Folder 6 are a handwritten letter to Manfred from his wife, Marie, photocopies of a section of his memoir, and a copy of the first page of Manfred's Austrian Heritage Collection questionnaire, each of which is in English.