Alicia Latzer Family Collection
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains correspondence, vital records, and other materials pertaining to restitution claims against Austria by Alicia Latzer on behalf of herself, her sister, Renata Latzer de Davids, aka Renée Latzer, and their parents Aladár and Elsa Latzer. It also contains a small amount of personal material and genealogical materials about the descendents of Moses Latzer (1810-1905) and Albert Löwy (1836-1902).
More specifically, these materials include photocopies of legal documents, such as birth, death, property, and registration records and Nazi-era wealth summaries. Documents include financial and legal documents concerning the "Aryanization" of A. Löwy and Sons, manufacturer and leather merchant in Gross Petersdorf, Austria; correspondence to Alicia Latzer from Austrian organizations, regarding restitution, including the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism (Allgemeiner Entschädigungsfonds für Opfer des Nationalsozialismus), the Holocaust Victims Information and Support Center, the archives of the states of Vienna and of Styria (Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv and Steiermärkisches Landesarchiv -- the enclosed photocopies of archival documents are in separate folders), and the insurance company Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A; documents from Alicia Latzer's sister, Renée Latzer de Davids, including an Austrian passport, certified copies of Austrian birth and residence certificates, a Spanish translation of her birth certificate, an obituary and a photocopy her death certificate, and correspondence with the Bundesverband der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinden Oesterreichs (Union of Jewish Communities of Austria), the Pensionsversicherungsamt (Social security office) of Vienna, the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism, and the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims; documents relating to Arnold and Henriette Engel, including Austrian residence certificates and post-war declarations of legal death; and photocopies of documents relating to Leopold and Ilona (Helene) Latzer, including a Verzeichnis über das Vermögen von Juden, a list of Jews from Güssing, and residence registrations. The collection also contains materials regarding Aladár and Elsa Latzer, Alicia Latzer's parents, including documents concerning the successful return of artwork originally owned by Aladár Latzer, from the Landesmuseum Joanneum (Universalmuseum Joanneum) to Alicia Latzer, including two research reports about potentially stolen Jewish art at Landesmuseum Joanneum; documents concerning property owned by Aladár Latzer, including photocopies of official land registers dating back to 1868, photocopies of Güssing phonebook entries, a Verzeichnis über das Vermögen von Juden, a 1947 lease between Latzer and Hedwig Zach, and photocopied pages about Jewish property from a 1994 book, "Fuerstenfeld und Umgebung, 1930-1950" by Franz Timischl. Vital documents of Aladár and Elsa Latzer include certified copies, photocopies, and Spanish translations of birth, marriage, and Austrian residence certificates for Aladár and Elsa Latzer, and Argentine identification card, a photocopy of a 1916 imperial commendation for military service, and an original identification paper from 1919 for Aladár Latzer. Most of these documents dated prior to the 2000s are photocopies.
The collection also contains some personal material relating to the family of Alicia Latzer. It includes two letters from Elsa and Aladár Latzer, to Hedwig Zach of Güssing, and to "Miki"; two genealogical tables for Alicia Latzer's great-grandfathers, Moses Latzer (1810-1905) of Güssing and Albert Löwy (1836-1902) of Grosspetersdorf, as well as a list of Latzer family addresses worldwide from 1991, and a small badge for the "Hungary, First General Insurance Company, Budapest" (in Czech). Also included are notes and letters from students and their teacher pertaining to her participation in "Letters to the Stars", when Austrian students corresponded with Holocaust survivors. The Photographs folder contains a Latzer family portrait (Margit Hanser née Latzer, Henriette (Etta) née Latzer and Arnold Engel, Ilona née Loeffler and Leopold Latzer, and Aladár Latzer), an unidentified portrait of a small girl (possibly Alicia or Renata Latzer), a photo postcard of the castle in Güssing, a copy of a photo of emigrants from Suedbuergenland in Buenos Aires in the 1940s, and clipped passport photographs of Aladár Latzer and Renata Latzer de Davids.
Dates
- 1868-2008
Language of Materials
This collection is in German and English, with some Hungarian and Spanish and a tiny amount of Czech.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to researchers.
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
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 "Request" button.
Biographical Note<extptr actuate="onload" altrender="Portrait of Latzer Family" href="http://digital.cjh.org/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=1443702" linktype="simple" show="embed" title="Portrait of Latzer Family"/>
Alicia Anna Latzer (1928- ) and Renata Latzer de Davids (1926-2005) (aka Renée (Renie) Latzer) were born in Güssing, Austria to Aladár Latzer (1892-1979) and Elsa née Löwy (1903-1994). Aladár and Elsa were married in 1924 in Grosspetersdorf, Austria. The family emigrated to Argentina in 1938. Aladár, Elsa, and Renée remained in Buenos Aires, but Alicia Latzer immigrated to the United States in November 1962. She settled in New York City, working as a licensed New York City Guide, a tour manager, and a translator.
Aladár Latzer’s parents were Leopold Latzer (1857-1940?) and Ilona (Helene) née Loeffler (1868-1942). Leopold apparently died around 1940, while Ilona was deported to Riga in 1942. Aladár's sister Henriette (Etta) (1890-1941) and her husband Arnold Engel (1878-1941) were deported from Austria to the Lodz ghetto and declared legally dead in 1948.
Elsa Latzer was the daughter of Siegmund Löwy and Gisella née Wuerzburger.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection contains correspondence, vital records, and other materials pertaining to restitution claims against Austria by Alicia Latzer on behalf of herself, her sister, Renata Latzer de Davids, aka Renée Latzer, and their parents Aladár and Elsa Latzer. Also included are Hungarian land ownership records and Spanish translations of various vital documents. It also contains a small amount of personal material, and genealogical materials about the descendents of Moses Latzer (1810-1905) and Albert Löwy (1836-1902).
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into two series, with folders in each series arranged alphabetically by title.
Processing Information
Duplicate photocopies were removed. Material was rearranged. A power of attorney from Alicia Latzer to an art shipping company, which contained Latzer's social security number, was removed and destroyed.
- Allgemeiner Entschädigungsfonds für Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (Austria)
- Argentina
- Buenos Aires (Argentina)
- Correspondence
- Genealogical tables
- Güssing (Austria)
- Latzer, Aladár, 1892-1979
- Latzer, Alicia Anna, 1928-
- Latzer, Moses, 1810-1905
- Löwy, Albert, 1836-1902
- New York (N.Y.)
- Restitution
- Vital records (document genre)
- Title
- Guide to the Alicia Latzer Family Collection Undated, 1868-2008 AR 25471
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Kevin Schlottmann
- Date
- © 2012
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Sponsor
- as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation
Revision Statements
- July 23, 2012 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository