Antwerp (Belgium)

This collection contains materials collected by David Trotsky relating to the Jewish community of Belgium in the inter-war period. Materials include printed documents, posters, reports, meeting minutes, and newspaper clippings, mainly pertaining to the Jews of Brussels and Antwerp.

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence to the siblings Elisabeth and Margaret Jonas in Kent, England from their parents Julie and Julius Jonas and others in Hamburg, 1938-1939. Also included is the guestbook of the Melamid family in Antwerp and in New York, 1933-1949, containing signatures, drawings and photographs.

The collection contains documentation of the Erna Weingold Kleinermann family, including vital records, identity cards and passports, school certificates, and correspondence.

The Ferdinand and Emmy Lichter Family collection holds documents and personal as well as official correspondence of family members, friends, acquaintances, and public and private institutions. Prominent topics include refuge and refugee relief for the Lichters and the communication between family members describing their health, environment etc. in various refugee camps. The collection comprises vital documents, official certificates, emigration papers, correspondence, postcards, and some notes.

The collection contains diverse personal documents relating to Gertrude Pollatschek nee Maisel's war-time experiences including documents related to emigration including card from Antwerpsch Comiteit voor Joodsche Vluchtelingen, personal correspondence sent through German Red Cross, correspondence with American Consulate regarding visa, affadavits, photograph of actress Hilde Wegener and actor Otto Tessler, medical and tax certificates, ice cream recipes from Dr. Oetker.

The collection contains the correspondence between Jakob Katz and his fiancée Gerti Birnbaum, and comprises 195 letters in seven folders. Katz's letters were written in Frankfurt, in Magyargencs (Hungary), and in London; Birnbaum's' letters were written in Kissingen, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Kreuznach, Berlin, Jerusalem, London, Frankfurt, and Tel Aviv. The earliest letter is dated July 1, 1933, and the last was written on February 18, 1936. Some letters are undated or appear to have been written by a third person.

The collection holds the correspondence of Emil Lederer to his family and friends in Czechoslovakia. Emil had emigrated to Canada and tried to establish his own farm. The collection also holds manuscripts for a book and several plays written by Emil’s mother Paula Lederer, who published under the name Paul Lederer.

The collection documents the immigration to New York City of Sophie and Fritz Herrmann, her parents Chaim and Pauline Mandel, and his mother Gertrud Herrmann, which had led them through Belgium, France, Cuba, and Venezuela. Documents include passports and other identity records, as well as various official documents and a few photographs.

Official, legal and personal correspondence documenting Erich Lipmann's (also known as Eric Lipman?) attempts for securing an immigration visa to the United States or Cuba for his mother Martha Lipmann in Germany.

This collection describes the professional life of the writer Salamon Dembitzer, who is best known as a Yiddish poet and the author of Visas for America, a novel on the situation of Jewish refugees during World War II. Included in these papers are manuscripts of his poetry, newspaper articles, and novels as well as reviews of his work, correspondence, and biographical information on him.

The Salomons-Fox family collection documents the lives of various family members of the extended Salomons-Fox family. Topics of the collection are the education; the emigration or attempted emigration to the United States, the establishment of a new life in America; and the professional career of the individuals represented in the collection. An extensive amount of the collection focusses on the artistic career and life of Dave Fox. Also included are papers pertaining to the circus artist and actor, Jackie (Leo) Gerlich, who appeared in the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz."

The Edmund and Berta Wachs Collection consists of documents of Edmund, his wife, and their daughter, and correspondence from official authorities, friends, and relatives. Prominent topics are the emigration from Europe, the imprisonment of Edmund Wachs in 1938, and his job applications. The documents include official certificates, taxation papers, a student registration book, and identification papers.