Kurt Rosenfeld Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection deals with the lives of members of the Rosenfeld family, most prominently Kurt Rosenfeld. It includes newspaper clippings, official documents, notes, and biographical sources which provide information on the private lives of individual family members, their possessions before the war, and their professional and political careers.
Series I is concerned with the life of Kurt Rosenfeld. It includes biographical information, such as a draft of his biography, his written Curriculum Vitae, and obituaries. Lastly, there are official documents relating to Kurt and Alice Rosenfeld, such as their naturalization documents.
Series II houses information on the Rosenfeld family. It includes certificates of inheritance and certificates of death of individual family members. Furthermore, there is information on the private life of Arnold Rosenfeld – Kurt Rosenfeld’s father – through his diary. Lastly, the collection includes information on the possessions of the family, such as a house on Kastanienallee 79 in Berlin.
Dates
- 1839-2019
- 1914-1957
Creator
- Rosenfeld, Kurt, 1877-1943 (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German and English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
Folder 1 is restricted.
Biographical Note
Kurt Rosenfeld was born on February 1st, 1877, in Marienwerder, Germany (today: Kwidzyn, Poland) to Arnold and Ida Rosenfeld. Kurt was the first of four children. In 1886, the family moved to Berlin where Arnold established a factory for wooden objects.
Kurt Rosenfeld studied law and, in 1902, married Alice, née Kristeller. Kurt became an active and committed social democrat and co-founder of the Socialist Workers' Party in Germany. His law practice was largely occupied with defending left-wing clients. Among his most known clients were social revolutionaries in the USSR in 1922, and Rosa Luxemburg in Germany. Rosenfeld functioned as a city councilor in Berlin from 1910 to 1920 and was then elected member of the German Reichstag until 1932.
He and Alice immigrated to New York in 1935 and became American citizens in 1941. Kurt continued to practice law, advising German refugees on matters of immigration. He died in New York on September 26th, 1943.
Alice Rosenfeld was born on October 10th, 1878, in Berlin. She was the daughter of Moritz Kristeller, a fur dealer, and Anna Rosenbaum. Alice died on November 22nd, 1978, in Westchester County, New York.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
The collection deals with the lives of members of the Rosenfeld family, most prominently Kurt Rosenfeld. It includes newspaper clippings, official documents, notes, and biographical sources which provide information on the private lives of individual family members, their possessions before the war, and their professional and political careers.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series.
- Series I: Kurt Rosenfeld, 1935-2019
- Series II: Rosenfeld Family, 1839-2013
Processing Information
Materials were rehoused into acid-free boxes and folders during the processing of the archival collection. The collection has been divided into two series.
- Title
- Processed by Marlene Wulf
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
