Skip to main content

Flora Morstadt Collection

 Collection
Identifier: DM 348

Scope and Contents

The Flora Morstadt Collection includes materials that pertain to the life of Flora Morstadt. The bulk of the collection is made up of wartime correspondence between Flora and her family, including her grandmother, Sophie Andorn, and her sister, Hilde Hessanthaler. Included in the collection are also materials related to the emigration efforts of the Andorn and Morstadt familes out of Germany, as well as post war identification cards and documents. The series also contains the Morstadt/Andorn Familienstammbuch (family register), and Flora Morstadt’s handwritten recipe book. Also included is an off-print from the theology journal “Die religiöse Welt”, Sep.-Dec. 1945, Lausanne: Granchamp, containing an article by Hans Klee, Wir Juden und die deutsche Schuld.

The collection is arranged into three series and includes correspondence, official documents, newspaper clippings, articles, and manuscripts. The arrangement preserves the original order of the materials as organized by the creator.

Dates

  • 1929-1987
  • Majority of material found within 1939-1945

Language of Materials

The collection is in German, English, and French.

Access Restrictions:

Open to researchers.

Use Restrictions:

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection.

Biographical Note:

Flora Morstadt (July 9th, 1895- January 11th, 1969) was born to Salomon and Sophie Andorn in Krefeld, Germany. She married Valentin Emil Morstadt, a Protestant, on October 30th, 1929. They had two daughters, Edith (1931) and Inge (1934). In the lead up to World War II, Flora and her family tried to escape, however only her sister, Hilde, managed to do so. With some outside help, Flora and her husband survived the war. They spent the rest of their life in Germany, though they were unable to reclaim her parents’ valuables, nor the cinema Valentin owned before the war. Flora’s parents were deported to Theresienstadt on July 25th, 1942 and perished during the Holocaust. Flora remained in contact with her sister, who had settled in the United States. Flora Morstadt passed away in 1969.

Extent

163 Digital Files (163 pages: digital files)

Abstract

The Flora Morstadt Collection documents the life of Flora Morstadt and her family mainly through the years 1938-1944. The bulk of the collection is comprised of letters from Flora Morstadt to her family during World War II. Other materials include documents relating to emigration, post-war identification cards, and Flora Morstadt’s recipe book.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series:

  1. Emigration and World War II, 1938-1944
  2. Post- War, 1945-1987
  3. Manuscripts and Books, 1929-1987
Title
Guide to the Papers of Flora Morstadt
Date
2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States