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George Garrington Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 25819

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, personal documents, and photographs in this collection show the life of George Garrington from his youth in Berlin, through the war years spent in England, to his later life in the United States. These materials document his relationships with family and friends, as well as his education, immigration, military service, career, and organizations with which he was involved.

His relationships are shown most clearly through correspondence received from various friends, colleagues, and family members. In addition to cards, notes, and postcards, letters to Garrington update him about his friends and family members’ lives, and inquire about his own well-being, health, residences, and work in turn. Cards and letters in the first series were very often accompanied by family photographs, which have been removed to Series III.

The photographs in Series III show George Garrington, his family and friends, and the places that he lived and worked. Photographs of George date from his youth in Berlin through his later years in California. Additional photographs pertaining to Garrington chronicle his apartment and car in Santa Monica, California, as well as his military service and professional career. Garrington’s earlier homes of England and Germany are documented through pictures of scenery and landscapes, landmarks, and former residences. Garrington’s immediate and extended family are also documented both before and after the war, including his parents Erich and Wally Grünbaum, brother Emil (later Ephraim), and members of the related Callmann and Lehwess families.

The documents in this collection provide information regarding George Garrington’s education, immigration, military service, career, and organizations with which he was involved. Biographical information about Garrington can be found in the vital documents folder. Some information is available regarding the Grünbaum family, primarily in the restitution files.

The educational records date from Garrington’s primary schooling in Berlin, through his time at North Gloucestershire Technical School in England, to courses he took at the University of California Extension in the 1960s and 1970s. Professional records include résumés, professional correspondence, employer statements and letters of reference, job applications and offer letters, employee reviews, employee identification cards, business cards, and membership records for professional organizations. Membership cards for some of these organizations, as well as non-professional organizations, are also available. Garrington’s involvement with the Boy Scouts and Toc H is further documented by additional materials in Series II. Garrington’s immigration to England and military service there are also elucidated in Series II, as is his later immigration to the United States.

Restitution files document claims for restitution of property, bank accounts, jewelry, and valuables belonging to George’s maternal grandmother Lea Neumann, mother Wally Grünbaum, and paternal aunt Klara Rattner, all of whom perished in the Holocaust. Garrington also filed claims on his own behalf for damage to body and health, as well as a pension claim. A folder of Grünbaum family documents provides further information on the family.

Dates

  • undated, 1927-2018

Creator

Language of Materials

The collection is in English and German, with a small amount of Hebrew and Portuguese.

Access Restrictions

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 / Historical

Georg Grünbaum (later George Garrington) was born on August 1, 1923, in Berlin. His mother Wally Grünbaum née Neumann was born July 26, 1901, in Berlin to Leo Neumann and Lea Neumann née Zucker. George’s father Erich Grünbaum was born February 9, 1889, in Berlin to Emil and Theresa Grünbaum. Erich Grünbaum died July 22, 1934. Wally Grünbaum and her mother Lea Neumann both perished in the Holocaust. George had one brother Emil (later Ephraim), who was born on May 11, 1922, in Berlin.

After being arrested on Kristallnacht and escaping, George made his way via Kindertransport to England. He left Berlin on November 30, 1938, arriving at Dovercourt Bay on December 2. On December 16, he went to Swanage under the care of the Swanage Rotary Club, from where he moved to the Bournemouth Hostel. He was then transferred to a private home, living with Amy Brooks and her housekeeper in Canford Cliffs, Dorset. In September 1939, when the war broke out, the police evacuated the coast. He was then sent to the Manor Farm, Hampreston, Dorset, where he remained until May 1940. On May 27, 1940, he moved to work and live at James and Rayne Rowe’s Whalley Farm in Whittington, near Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire, after the Hampreston area was declared protected. He remained there until the end of 1942.

From 1943 until 1944, Garrington apprenticed for John Such and Sons in Cheltenham. In 1944, he left to join the British Army. He was released from the Army in 1948. From 1942 until 1944 and again from 1948 to 1954, Garrington attended North Gloucestershire Technical College, receiving a bachelor’s degree with majors in math and physics. He was employed by Gloster Aircraft starting in 1950 and worked there as a design engineer until 1954.

George Garrington emigrated to the United States in 1954, arriving March 28 of that year. He continued his long career in mechanical engineering, working in both the aerospace and commercial manufacturing industries. His career included employment as an engineer at Otis Elevator Company (1954-1955), Convair (1955-1959), General Atomics (1959-1962), Aerojet (1963-1968), TRW (1969), G&H Technology (1974-1976), and Temcom (1984-1987), as well as various contract positions. George Garrington died in California on February 18, 2014.

Extent

2.25 Linear Feet

Abstract

Correspondence, personal documents, and photographs in this collection show the life of George Garrington (Grünbaum) from his youth in Berlin, through the war years spent in England, to his later life in the United States. These materials document his relationships with family and friends, as well as his education, immigration, military service, career in engineering, and organizations with which he was involved.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by document type in three series:

Series I: Correspondence, undated, 1949-2018
Series II: Personal Documents, undated, 1929-2014
Series III: Photographs, undated, 1927-2006

Separated Materials

Publications have been removed to the LBI Library. A Scout pin has been removed to the LBI Art & Objects Collection.

Processing Information

Before processing, the collection lacked an initial arrangement; materials were arranged by document type. During processing, photocopies of documents found in the collection were discarded. Envelopes were also discarded when they did not contain additional information. All items in the collection were rehoused in archival folders and boxes.

Title
Guide to the George Garrington Collection
Author
Sarah Glover
Date
© 2021
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