Heddy Kulka Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection is arranged into three series in one box. Series I contains photocopies of financial documents from different administrative offices in Austria, almost all of them in Vienna. Series II also includes photocopied materials and documents the property ownership and transactions of Heddy Kulka’s parents, Fritz and Lily Spitzer; the possessions of Fritz’s sister, Olga Feitler; and the possessions of Fritz’s sister and brother-in-law, Grete and Albin Winkler. Series III includes information about Heddy Kulka’s restitution claims and the arbitration panels that followed.
Dates
- 1920-2006
Language of Materials
The collection is in English and German.
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact: Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011 email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org
Biographical Note
Heddy née Spitzer Kulka was born in Vienna in 1922 to Fritz and Lily Spitzer. Heddy’s father was a successful manufacturer of women’s clothes; Fritz’s father, Heinrich Spitzer, had started the business. With her two parents and younger brother, Heddy arrived in New York in April 1939, after spending the previous nine months in Switzerland and France. Her father transferred his business to New York and was able to provide for his family; he anglicized his name, unofficially, to Frank Spencer when he came to the United States.
Extent
2 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection documents the possessions of Heddy Kulka and her family members. Many of the materials are photocopies of 1930s and 1940s administrative paperwork from different official agencies in Vienna. All papers document business and property transactions and were the basis for all restitution claims.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series:
- Series I: Austrian Agencies and Offices, 1920-2011
- Series II: Fritz and Lily Spitzer; Albin and Grete Winkler; Olga Feitler, 1921-1968
- Series III: Restitution for Heddy Kulka, 1998-2006
Processing Information
This collection has been processed for the first and so far, only time; there are no previous inventories or finding aids describing the collection. The materials arrived in two boxes and four binders, with some materials outside those binders. Some of the original order from those binders remains, although materials have also been combined when they relate to the same topic. The items have been rearranged into three series, based on chronology and document types.
- Title
- Guide to the Heddy Kulka Collection
- Author
- Processed by Matthew Hauptman
- Date
- 2022
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
