Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

The collection holds the professional and private documents of George Harry Asher. The emphasis is on correspondence, writings and official papers. Advertising proofs reflect Asher's work and career. Prominent among the material is an autobiographical sketch and correspondence between Asher and his mother, shortly before her deportation in 1941. The collection also holds material, such as correspondence, manuscripts and articles about Oskar Maria Graf, a close friend to Asher.

The personal papers of the professor for medieval history Gerard E. Caspary consist mainly of a typescript “From the edge of the Holocaust: Letters from my mother and grandmother 1940-1943”, composed by Caspary between 2005-2006 and the original letters on which it is based. Also included are photographs and additional family research documents.

The Germany (Vilna Archives) collection contains materials of diverse provenances pertaining to Jewish life in Germany and, to a much lesser extent, other German-speaking areas of central Europe (Austria, Bohemia, Moravia), from the 16th century until the beginning of the Second World War. It includes correspondence, financial records, official documents, business records, writings, minutes, reports, book catalogs, printed ephemera, occasional clippings, and a handful of photographs. A little more than 60% of the collection comprises personal and family papers, or individual items of correspondence (approximately 140 different name headings); and a little over 20%, portions of the records of the Jewish communities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt am Main, Filehne (Wieleń), Raschkow (Raszków), and Rybnik. The remainder of the collection consists of various printed ephemera and scattered records related to Jewish communities, organizations, or firms, including publishers and booksellers. Also included are some 15 individual older items dating from the mid 16th to the early decades of the 19th century, including Schutzbriefe (residence permits), petitions, and attestations, as well as a mohel book (registry of circumcisions). Especially noteworthy among the personal papers are those of art dealer Josef Sandel, comparative law scholar Ernst Rabel, the Henschel brothers (artists), writer and social activist Lina Morgenstern, engineer Erich Kempinski, and writer and editor Julius Rodenberg. The several rabbis represented include Josef Jona Horovitz, of Hunsdorf (Huncovce) and Frankfurt am Main; Salomon Breuer and Isidor Friedmann, both of Frankfurt am Main; and Wolf Landau, of Dresden.

This collection contains an abundance of legal correspondence documenting claims to the Bleichroeder heritage by various members of the family. Included are genealogical documents, testaments, restitution papers, birth and death certificates, juridical protocols, power of attorneys, certificates of inheritance, invoices, and several handwritten notes. A few translations are included, as well as some clippings and personal family documents such as photographs, wedding telegrams, etc.

Correspondence and some official documents pertaining to Gertrude Hammerschlag, her parents and others, from her forced emigration from Vienna in 1939 until after World War II.

The collection documents the family of Gertrude Kaplan. It includes vital, educational, and employment records related to her father, typesetter Raphael Haber (1889-? ), and mother, Dora née Seidler (1896- ?). Both were from the Bukovina province of the Austro-Hungarian empire and perished in the Holocaust. Gertrude Kaplan and her brother Manfred escaped to New York in 1939, and materials relating to the immigration are also found here, as are a few photographs.

The bulk of the collections consists of correspondence to Gertrude (Trude) Münzer (later Knopf) in Palestine from her parents, Moses and Lisa (Feige Liebe née Bien) Münzer and her siblings Nelly (married Herze, * 1917); Benno (* 1920); Elfriede (* 1925); and Siegfried (* 1927); all of them (except for Benno) perished in the Holocaust.

The centerpiece of this collection is Gertrude Schneider's manuscript describing daily life in the ghetto of Riga, including sections on education, Zionist activity, cultural activity, resistance, and the liquidation of the ghetto. Supplementary research materials include lists of Jews deported from Vienna and transcriptions of the trials of Viktor Bernhard Arajs and Kurt Maywald.

This collection primarily documents the professional life of the social worker Gertrude van Tijn, who worked with Jewish refugees in Amsterdam during the 1930s-1940s. Much of the material focuses on the experiences of Dutch Jewry along with the German-Jewish refugees who had fled to Holland. About half the collection relates to the manual training farm Werkdorp Nieuwesluis. Some reports on the postwar refugee situation in Shanghai and Australia and biographical material are also present. The collection includes reports, correspondence, official documents, newspaper clippings and articles and a few photographs.

Documents, correspondence and writings of Gisela Stein

This collection contains manuscripts on the history of the Gleiwitz community, with an emphasis on the period from 1933-1945, as well as some original programs and correspondence related to the local Bne Briss (B'nai Brith) lodge and deportation lists.

This collection documents the life and accomplishments of the Goldmark family, whose most famous members were the two composers Carl Goldmark (1830-1915), who embraced Viennese musical life with colleagues such as Brahms, Liszt, Wagner and Rubinstein, and his nephew Rubin Goldmark (1872-1936), who has been honored for his services to American music, as a prolific composer, and composition department chair at (amongst others) the newly created Juilliard School of Music. The collection contains a large amount of correspondence, but also includes newspaper clippings, musical journal articles, concert programmes and notes, a libretto, a citizenship certificate, obituaries, eulogies and photographs.

This collection documents the parental families of Peter Gomori – primarily pertaining to his mother, Charlotte née Nadas Gomori – and of Jannette Katz- Gomori – pertaining to her parents, Anne née Wolff Katz and Rudolf Katz; documents are from before, during, and after World War II and the Holocaust. The collection consists mostly of family photographs and includes one family album; two death certificates; travel documents; handwritten and typewritten correspondences; a handwritten will; inventories of wedding presents and furniture purchases; and a prayer book.

This collection comprises documents related to the Graf family from Offenbach, Germany. There are several photographs as well as official documents and letters.

Isaac Bitton (1926- ) was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He immigrated to Palestine in the early 1940s where he would go on to serve in the Jewish Brigade of the British Army and later the Israeli Defense Force. He and his family moved to the US in 1959, eventually settling in Woodstock, Illinois. He was a successful executive and philanthropist. This collection contains correspondence and addresses related to the efforts of Isaac Bitton in the restoration of the Jewish cemetery in Faro, Portugal and the recognition of Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes in the aid given to Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. The collection also contains some material related to his work with the US government, in particular the Small Business Administration.

The collection consists primarily of the author's unpublished manuscripts and songs (set to music); printed texts of plays, short stories, essays and other literary works; material relating to several organized attempts to ban The merchant of Venice from the NYC public school curriculum; personal documents and correspondence; newspaper clippings; and other material utilized as sources for his writings. The correspondence is primarily with publishers and Emanuel Neumann and relating to Zionism in general.

It also contains a detailed record, consisting of letters, a dated handwritten account, and news clippings, of the 1927 Zionist Convention in Atlantic City, centering on an internal schism as to the competence of the Lipsky administration, as well as some follow-up material in 1928. Prominent in these papers is correspondence with Louis D. Brandeis; also represented are Henrietta Szold and Chaim Weizmann.

These records detail the history of the displaced person camps in the American zone in Austria. They include the records of the individual camps as well as political and cultural groups that operated within the camps. The collection primarily consists of administrative records such as reports, correspondence, and lists as well as cultural materials from political, vocational, and cultural groups, as well as personal papers. There are also records of the U.S. Army, UNRRA, and IRO’s actions in the camps.

These records detail the history of the displaced person camps in Germany, primarily in the American zone. They include the records of the individual camps as well as political and cultural groups that operated within the camps. The collection primarily consists of administrative records such as reports, correspondence, and lists as well as cultural materials from political, theatrical, and literary groups. There are also a large number of records of court proceedings, centering on accounting for actions taken during the Holocaust as well as the formation of new families in the DP camps.

These records detail the history of the Displaced Person camps in Italy. They include the records of the individual camps as well as political and cultural groups that operated within the camps. The collection primarily consists of administrative records such as reports, correspondence, and lists as well as cultural materials from political, theatrical, and literary groups. There are also a large number of records of court proceedings, centering on accounting for actions taken during the Holocaust as well as the formation of new families in the DP camps.

The Gundersheimer Siegel Family Collection holds papers of the art historian and professor Hermann S. Gundersheimer as well as papers of members of the Gundersheimer and Siegel families. With a focus on the professional work of Hermann Gundersheimer and the family's emigration, the collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, lecture texts and notes, official documents, articles, certificates, genealogical research and family trees.

This is a constructed collection of items related to the internment and concentration camps in France in operation during World War II. The bulk of the materials relate to the Gurs camp and stem from 1940-1942. Other camps mentioned are St. Cyprien and Vichy. Materials include correspondence, photographs, personal accounts, lists of prisoners, a death certificate, clippings, reports and minutes of relief organizations, poems and songs, and reproductions (photographs, photocopies, and slides) of artwork depicting Gurs.

The Gustav Beck Collection includes materials documenting Gustav Beck's genealogical efforts, personal correspondence, documents, memoirs, and a large amount of photo albums.

Clippings, book reviews and published commentaries concerning Hannah Arendt’s book "Eichmann in Jerusalem" and the controversy that it caused, in particular regarding the question of collaboration by Jewish communal organizations, notably the Reichsvertretung der deutschen Juden, and the role of such leaders as Leo Baeck.

The bulk of the collection consists of published materials from the 1980s describing the former Jewish community in Krefeld and its fate during the Holocaust. Also included are genealogical tables of the extended Neuberg family.

The Hans and Eleonore Jonas Collection provides documentation of the personal lives of Hans and Eleonore Jonas, better known as Lore Jonas, along with papers relating to the professional work and achievements of the philosopher and scholar Hans Jonas. In addition, the collection contains papers of members of the Jonas and Weiner families. The collection includes correspondence; photographs; articles and unpublished writings, including personal reminiscences and poetry; official documents; notes; sketches; speeches; and family trees.

This collection contains a wide variety of materials by and about statesman Hans Schäffer (1886-1967) and his family.

The Harry Kranner Fiss Collection documents the life of Harry Kranner Fiss, especially highlighting his life in Vienna, Austria, in the 1930s, as a translator for the American military's prosecution team at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945, and his professional career. A smaller amount of material relates to the Kranner/ Fiss family and to the related Römer, Singer, and other families. The collection contains many manuscripts and drafts of articles, novels, and poetry; diaries; extensive photographs and photograph albums; correspondence; notes; official documents; programs; and other materials.

This collection documents the life and career of Harvey P. Newton, including life during Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Personal papers include correspondence, family history, school, military, and work-related documents. Papers about Nazi Germany include documents concerning World War II, concentration camps, and war veterans.

This collection documents the experience of Hedwig Geng née Berg (1891-1981) as a Jewish woman living in Munich during the Nazi regime and her survival of Theresienstadt. Materials include personal correspondence, official correspondence and directives, ephemera from Theresienstadt, identification papers, poems, notes, clippings, and a few photographs.

This collection holds materials relating to the life of Hedwig Strauss, a Jewish woman who perished during the Shoah. Although it is primarily composed of letters and postcards to her son Walter dealing with her life in Germany between 1939 to 1941 and her attempts to escape, it also includes further correspondence with and between family members as well as personal and official documents on Hedwig Strauss and her son Walter.