Rachel Doron Family Collection

The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence between Joachim Leser and Hendele bat Itzig. There are 30 letters present, 29 of which are dated between the couple’s engagement in October 1803 and their marriage in August 1804. All of the letters are written in Judeo-German. The majority of the correspondence is love letters between Joachim and Hendele, although letters written in the summer of 1804 also include discussions of arrangements for the upcoming wedding. The final letter, which is dated August 1806, is a letter from Hendele in Niederwerrn to Joachim, who is away on business. Also included with the letters is the engagement contract of Joachim and Hendele, which is dated October 19, 1803. The original Judeo-German letters are accompanied by German transcripts, which were created by Rachel Doron, great-great-granddaughter of Joachim and Hendele.

Also included in the collection is documentation of the history of Jews in Niederwerrn, including a timeline of significant dates pertaining to Jewish residents of the city; a list of Jewish families who lived in Niederwerrn from 1811 to 1936, including birth, death and marriage dates; and a photocopied excerpt on the history of Jews in Niederwerrn.

The final folder in the collection contains miscellaneous items, including two undated photocopied and transcribed poems; a receipt (1872); programs from Jewish youth theater in Berlin (1938); and a photocopy of a German-Yiddish newspaper about World War I.