Rosa and Ludwig Löwenthal Collection

Collection

Identifier: AR 25874

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Rosa and Ludwig Löwenthal Collection contains mainly official documents and some personal correspondence from Theresienstadt. It is arranged in two series. Series I comprises the official documents and personal correspondence of Ludwig Löwenthal during his exile in the Netherlands in the late 1930s and afterwards in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Series II holds the official and personal documents of Rosa and Willi Löwenthal and some official documents of Rosa’s parents. It is a small series focusing on Rosa’s time in Theresienstadt and ending with Willi’s death.

Dates

Creation: 1911-1947
Creation: 1930-1944

Creator

Lowell, Rose, 1901-2000 (Person)

Language of Materials

The collection is in German and Dutch, and some English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

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

Biographical Note

Ludwig Löwenthal was born March 20, 1898, in Bad Kissingen, Germany to the merchant William Löwenthal (died December 4, 1920, in Bad Kissingen) and his wife Amanda (née Bamberger), born 1868 and died on May 19, 1928, in Frankfurt am Main. He was a banker and had a brother Karl Löwenthal and a sister, Irma Lustig. Ludwig graduated from the royal secondary school in Stuttgart (K. Realgymnasium) in 1914 and went on to fight in the First World War. In 1917 Ludwig Löwenthal was awarded the Military Cross of Merit 2nd class with swords by the Bavarian King and he became a member of the Kyffhäuser League, a war veterans’ organization, in 1923.

Ludwig married Rosa Kohn on March 16, 1927, who was born August 13,1901, in Gerolzhofen, Germany, the daughter of the merchant Hermann Kohn and his wife Amalia Kohn, née Schwab. They had a son Willi, born January 6, 1928, in Bad Kissingen. The family emigrated to the Netherlands in the late 1930s and remained there until they were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, Ludwig in 1943 and Rosa and Willi on October 23, 1944. Their transport numbers were Ludwig: XXIV/1-199, Rosa: XXIV/1-200, and Willi: XXIV/1-201. Ludwig Löwenthal died on February 21, 1944, in Theresienstadt while Rosa was liberated in 1945. Their son Willi was sent to Bergen-Belsen, where he was killed.

Rosa Löwenthal emigrated to the United States and changed her name to Rose Kohn Lowell; she died in Sunrise, Florida on September 23, 2000.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection documents the lives of Ludwig Löwenthal and his wife Rosa (née Kohn) with their teenage son, Willi during their time in the Netherlands and subsequent deportation to Theresienstadt. The collection includes personal correspondence from the camp and official documents from Germany and the Netherlands.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series.

Series I: Ludwig Löwenthal: Official Documents and Personal Correspondence, 1911-1944
Series II: Rosa Löwenthal: Official Documents and Personal Correspondence, 1938-1947