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Evelyn Benson Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 25433

Scope and Content Note

The Evelyn Benson Collection consists of documents pertaining to the research of Evelyn Benson on German Jewish nurses during the Third Reich. Folders one, two and seven include brief correspondence between Benson, Ilse Beck, Doris Grey and Hilda Westenberg. Folder three includes various documents on Ruth Knopp, including photographs from Knopp's time at the Jewish hospital in Berlin, a short biography, and correspondence between Knopp and Benson. Folder four includes an interview with Frieda Lefeber, correspondence between Lefeber and Benson, and a newspaper clipping on Lefeber’s life story.

Folders five and six include various documents pertaining to Thea Levinsohn (née Wolf). Folder five contains extensive correspondence between Levinsohn and Benson on the history of Jewish women in nursing and on Levinsohn’s work in Egypt and Israel during and after World War II. Some other correspondence related to the writings of Levinsohn and scholarly work of Benson is also included. Folder six contains various documents pertaining to the life and work of Levinsohn, including photographs and photocopies of official documents from the Jewish hospital in Frankfurt am Main, essays written by Levinsohn on her experience as a nurse, photocopies of newspaper clippings and reviews of the book Not in Vain: An Extraordinary Life by Ada Aharoni on Levinsohn's life.

Dates

  • 1926-1942, 1987-2010
  • Majority of material found within 1987-2001

Language of Materials

The collection is in German and English.

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 "Reserve" button.

Use Restrictions

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 Notes

Evelyn R. Benson was born in 1924 and lived in Havertown, Pennsylvania, and Boston. After retiring from nursing, she turned her attention to scholarship with a particular focus on the history of Jewish women in nursing. Her publications include the book As We See Ourselves: Jewish Women in Nursing (Sigma Theta Tau Intl, 2001).

Ilse Beck was born in Berlin in 1916(?). She was prevented from studying medicine in a university during the Third Reich, but was able to work and train as a student nurse in the Jewish hospital in Berlin from 1935-1937. She then emigrated from Germany to the United States.

Doris Grey worked as a nurse in the Jewish hospital in Berlin from 1933-1940. She then emigrated from Germany to Shanghai.

Ruth Knopp (née Lebram) was born in Lower Silesia in 1922 and educated in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). She started working and training as a student nurse at the Jewish hospital in Berlin in April 1939, graduating in 1941. In 1943, she was deported to Theresienstadt, where she was put to work as a nurse. She was rescued by the Swedish Red Cross and lived in Denmark and Sweden before immigrating to the United States.

Frieda Lefeber was born in Poznań, Poland, in 1915. She worked and trained as a student nurse at the Jewish hospital in Berlin starting in 1935. She emigrated from Germany to the United States in April 1939.

Thea Levinsohn (née Wolf) was born in Essen in 1907. She trained and worked as a nurse at the Jewish hospital in Frankfurt am Main; she later worked as a nurse in Alexandria, Egypt, during World War II and in Israel. She died in 2005.

Hilda Westenberg was born in Upper Silesia. She started training and working as a student nurse at the Jewish hospital in Berlin in 1936. She emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1939.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet

Abstract

The Evelyn Benson Collection consists of documents on six German Jewish nurses that were compiled for Benson's research on the history of Jewish women in nursing. Documents include correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, photocopies of official documents, and clippings.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in one series:

Digitization Note

The collection was digitized and made accessible in its entirety.

Related Material

The LBI Archives and Library contain books and archival material pertaining to the life and work of Thea Levinsohn (née Wolf), including

  1. From Essen to Jerusalem via Alexandria: The biography of Thea Levinsohn, née Wolf (MS 754)
  2. Thea Levinsohn's Der Stammbaum der Wölfe (AR 4637)
  3. Thea (Wolf) Levinsohn's Von Essen nach Jerusalem – ueber Alexandrien; eine Essener Juedin erinnert sich (DS 135 G5 L475)
  4. Ada Aharoni's Thea; to Alexandria, Jerusalem and freedom (DS 135 G5 W55 A4)

Separated Material

Two audiocassettes of interviews with Doris Grey and Frieda Lefeber were removed to the LBI Audiovisual Collection.

Title
Guide to the Evelyn Benson Collection 1926-1942, 1987-2010 AR 25433
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Matthew Johnson
Date
© 2013
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
Digitized as part of the CJH Holocaust Resource Initiative, made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.
Edition statement
This version was derived from EvelynBenson.xml

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

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