Max Kreutzberger Collection

The Max Kreutzberger collection is made up of research materials, correspondence, and a few personal documents. The research material focuses on Jews in Germany and German-Jewish history, especially under National Socialism.

The most prominent type of material found in this collection is research material. A large amount of this material deals with the treatment of Jews after the Nazis rose to power as well as the situation of refugees and aid given to them. Many of the documents here, especially in Series I, consist of photocopies of documents on these topics. The research material in Series I is comprised of photocopies of documents from various archives, in particular the Foreign Office of London, the Wiener Library, the Bundesarchiv Koblenz, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. These documents include such items as records of German government offices and records of refugee aid organizations. In addition, several folders in Series II and the Subject Files in Subseries 5 of Series III also contain research materials on specific works, individuals, and topics.

Another topic often encountered in this collection is the development of the Leo Baeck Institute. Information on the LBI will be found among Max Kreutzberger's correspondence as well as one folder in Subseries 1: Personal of Series III. Subseries 4 of Series III also holds material on the Institute, especially clippings and articles, as well as some material concerning LBI publications.

The correspondence of Max Kreutzberger is located in Subseries 2 of Series III. It includes letters to and from Kreutzberger from friends and acquaintances during the later part of his life. The correspondence also provides some insight into the growth of the Leo Baeck Institute.

Personal documents will mainly be found in Subseries 1 of Series III. Series II also holds a few folders of material on the seventieth birthday and death of Max Kreutzberger. Personal documents in Series III include items with information on Max Kreutzberger, such as clippings on his death, copies of his citizenship certificate, and a transcript of a lengthy interview with him. Other personal information may be gleaned from the correspondence in Series III. This collection contains very little material on Max Kreutzberger's family.

The collection has been arranged using the order of the original arrangement provided by Irmgard Foerg, Max Kreutzberger's secretary. Series I comprised the original collection, and is described in the original paper finding aid for the collection. Series II and III consist of addenda added to the original collection. A numbered inventory list was available in the collection for Series III. The folders of photocopies of research material found in Subseries 1 of Series I have been rearranged so that materials originating from the same repository are grouped together. Numbers in parentheses correspond to the "Foerg catalog numbers" designated by Max Kreutzberger's secretary. Documents concerning similar topics in Series II have been placed together. Series III has also retained the "catalog numbers" given to sections of the series.