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Fischer Family Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 25524

Scope and Content Note

The Fischer Family Collection documents the family history and lives of several children of Felix (Feivel) and Clara (Chaya) Fischer. Prominent are Fanny (Frima or Frime), Laura (Libe) and Max Fischer. The collection includes photographs, notebooks, official documents and a cookbook.

Information on the family in general will be found in the first folder of the collection, which contains copies of scanned photographs of the family, all identified, and a narrative history of the family. Fanny Fischer Skaletzky's papers include official documents such as a passport, Heimatschein (residence certificate), naturalization and marriage certificates and also certificates that document her professional training. Another folder holds similar official documents for her sister Laura; her papers also include a handwritten cookbook, featuring recipes of all sorts, such as for meat dishes, desserts, breads and many cakes, and an autograph books with poetry and greetings by friends and siblings in German, Polish and Hebrew.

Two folders hold texts of then Corporal Max Fischer on the use of telegraphs and telephones in the Austrian infantry. One of these is a bound notebook containing a handwritten manual from a 1907-1908 telegraph course in Tulln, Austria. It covers the use of the telegraph in detail, with mentions of wired telegraphs, radiotelegraphs and the telephone and instructions on usage of the telegraph and telephone in the field in wartime. This manual contains many illustrations, some colored, of the parts, construction and use of the telegraph as well as a listing of Austrian infantry telegraph codes and description of the organization of the telegraph network. Several smaller notebooks contain similar texts a decade later during World War I. Later material on Max Fischer relates to his life in New York, including an identification card, photo, letter from a former colleague at Lazard Frères & Co., naturalization certificate and a certificate relating to cooperation with the U.S. Treasury Department during World War II. Joseph Fischer's papers document his death in 1917 and gravesite.

Dates

  • 1903-1964; 2013

Creator

Language of Materials

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

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.

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 Note<extptr actuate="onload" altrender="Family Photograph of the Fischer Family" href="http://digital.cjh.org/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=1661621" show="embed" title="Family Photograph of the Fischer Family"/>

Felix (Feivel) Fischer (born Scheiner) and Clara (Chaya) Fischer had six children: Regina; Max; Laura (Libe, born 1887); Joseph; David; and Fanny (Frima or Frime, born 1896). Feivel and Chaya immigrated to New York City in 1923; Chaya died in 1925, Felix in 1933.

Regina Fischer married Cassel Hartenstein in Austria and immigrated to the United States with their daughter Antoinette (Toni), around 1920. Max Fischer served in the Austrian Infantry from 1907-1908 and later in World War I, where he was part of the telegraph division. Laura Fischer trained as a tailor. Joseph Fischer fought in World War I and was killed in 1917 as a result of wounds at the age of 26.

David Fischer and Fanny Fischer immigrated to the United States in October 1921, joining their sister Regina. They all settled in New York, but David died soon after from a brain tumor. Fanny Fischer, a milliner, married Julius Skaletzky in 1926; they had two daughters, Claire (later Glasser) and Diana. Regina died in 1973. Fanny became legally blind and died in 1991 in New Jersey.

Max and Laura Fischer, together with their parents, joined their sisters Regina and Fanny in New York in 1923. Max and Laura never married but lived together in New York City. Laura Fischer worked as a dressmaker; among her clients was Edith Lehman, wife of Governor Herbert Lehman of New York. Max died in 1958. Laura then joined her niece Claire in New Jersey, where she lived until 1970.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection documents the lives of Fanny, Max and Laura Fischer and their family members. It contains the siblings' official documents, notebooks and a cookbook as well as photographs of family members and a family history.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in one series.

Separated Material

A prayerbook was removed to the LBI Library.

Processing Information

During processing folders were retitled and placed in alphabetical order to bring together materials by the same individual.

Title
Guide to the Papers of the Fischer Family 1903-1964, 2013 AR 25524
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by LBI Staff and Dianne Ritchey
Date
© 2013
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Edition statement
This version was derived from FischerFamily.xml

Revision Statements

  • May 2015:: dao links added by Emily Andresini.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

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