Lotte Urbach Collection

Lotte and Rudolf Urbach's personal papers and photographs, primarily letters of recommendation for Rudolf's work in the financial sector and family photographs streching back to the turn of the 20th century.

The bulk of the collection consists of letters of recommendation written for Rudolf Urbach for employment at various Berlin financial institutions, and one letter to the Mendelssohn firm in New York in advent of the Urbach's emigration in the 1930s. Urbach, Kreslawsky, and Jaffe family photographs from the early 20th century form the next largest group of materials, and include mostly posed studio portraits as well as pictures from family events. In addition, there are photographs of Franz Boas and a group portrait with Herbert Marcuse, as well as a couple of photographs of the B'nai B'rith Leo Baeck Lodge, founded by German-Jewish refugees in the United States. Remaining materials consist of a few vital records (birth, marriage) for the Urbachs, a letter from the ethnographer Franz Boas, and a genealogical manuscript and notes on the Boas and Jaffe families.