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Hans Schäffer Family Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 25556

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains a wide variety of materials by and about Hans Schäffer and his family.

Material about Hans Schäffer includes World War One correspondence; a few clippings; fragments of writings; employment papers from his work in the Weimar government (1919); and 80th birthday telegrams from Konrad Adenauer and German diplomat Gustav von Schmoller. Materials also include a certificate awarding the German Knight Commander's Cross (Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern), and various diplomas. Also found in the collection are obituaries and dozens of condolence cards and letters to Marianne Breslauer after Schäffer's death.

Photographs in the collection include six small, mounted photographs of members of a Jewish student dueling organization (schlagende Verbindung) in Breslau, circa 1904-1906, inscribed to Hans Schäffer; photo postcards and snapshots of Hans Schäffer during World War One (circa 1917-1918); Schäffer family photos (snapshots and portraits), 1903-1950, most well-labeled; and World War One era portrait photographs of Hans's brother Moritz Friedrich Schäffer in uniform.

Other materials relate to Renate Schäffer (obituaries, a memorial service program, a photocopy of a clipping about her career), Charlotte Schäffer (documents relating to her burial plot; an undated letter from her to Herbert Dom), Eva Schäffer (photocopies of obituaries, and a large collage of photos and poems made for her 80th birthday), and Adolf Heilberg (obituaries, a sketch, a typescript of a eulogy, a diploma from the University of Breslau, and a photocopy of volume 1, issue 1 of "Der Beobachter an der Weida," a newspaper founded by Heilberg's father).

The collection also contains typescripts of Schäffer family poems and plays made for various family occasions. The Various folder includes an essay about and photo of Cora Berliner and a death notice for Adda Curtius née Carp (1967).

Dates

  • Creation: 1849-2002
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1903-1967

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in German, Swedish, and English.

Access Restrictions

This collection is 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 "Request" button.

Biographical Note

Hans Schäffer (1886, Breslau - 1967, Sweden) was born to factory owner Julius Schäffer and Charlotte Schäffer. He had three brothers, Ernst, Moritz Friedrich, and Rudolf. All four brothers fought for the German Army in World War One; Moritz fell in 1917 at age 28.

Schäffer's wife, Eva née Heilberg, (1891-1977) was the daughter of renowned lawyer Adolf Heilberg (1858-1936) and his wife Rosa, née Frankenstein (born 1866), in Breslau.

Hans and Eva Schäffer had four daughters: Marianne (married Breslauer, born 1914), Renate (born 1917), Ruth (born 1920) and Eleonore Elisabet (born 1928).

Hans Schäffer studied law and obtained his doctorate in 1908. After working as a lawyer in Breslau, he became an influential statesman in the 1920s, respected for his work on reparation payments after World War One. He soon became state secretary in the finance ministry. He left the Weimar government in 1932 in order to become the managing director of the Ullstein publishing house, but was forced out of his job when the Nazis came to power. Schäffer and his family fled to Jönköping, Sweden, where Hans worked for Swedish Match Company (STAB).

Renate Schäffer (1917-2002) studied meteorology in Stockholm and is regarded as the first female meteorologist of Sweden.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection contains a wide variety of materials by and about statesman Hans Schäffer (1886-1967) and his family.

Arrangement Note

Folders are in alphabetical order.

Digitization Note

The collection was digitized in its entirety. Folders 5-7 are available onsite only due to copyright.

Related Material

The LBI Archives holds many related collections, including:

Marianne Breslauer Family Collection (AR 10174)

Eva Heilberg Schaeffer Family Collection (AR 25411)

Papers of Hans Schaeffer (AR 7177)

Hans Schaeffer-Eckhard Wandel Collection (AR 7023)

Bibliography

The LBI Library holds works by and about Hans Schäffer, including "Hans Schaeffer: Steuermann in wirtschaftlichen und politischen Krisen" by Eckhard Wandel (LBI HB 107 S33 W3).

Processing Information

Materials were refoldered. Duplicates were removed. Photos were rehoused. Envelopes with writing in which collection materials were provided were photocopied and discarded.

Title
Guide to the Hans Schäffer Family Collection undated, 1849-2002 , bulk 1903-1967 AR 25556
Author
Processed by Kevin Schlottmann
Date
© 2014
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
Processing made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany. Digitization made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Revision Statements

  • June 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