Buttenwiesen (Germany)

The collection consists of numerous 18th and 19th century documents regarding the administration of the Jewish community of Buttenwiesen, a detailed inventory is included in folder 1. Folder 2 contains letters written by Bauer family members. The sisters Adele (whom Klimt painted) and Therese, who later married the brothers Bloch and thus both took on the name Bloch-Bauer, stem from this Bavarian family.

This collection contains diverse materials documenting Jewish life in Bavaria. Included are instructions issued by Staats Ministerium Munich for Jewish teachers (1828); copy of petition to Bavarian government against Augsburg Reform Jewish synod (1871); article about publication of Die jüdischen Friedhöfe in kriegshaber, Buttenwiesen und Binswangen by Louis Lamm (1912); typewritten list of Jews in Bayreuth with Schutzbriefe (letters of protection) listed by community and by date between 1709-1736 (circa 1920); notice (Bekanntmachung) of extra taxes levied on Jews (1936); handwritten history of Jews in Bavaria by Adolf Eckstein (circa 1912), which includes article excerpt about Munich Jewish communities in relation to government ministries, also circa 1912.

Joan Adams had researched intensively her Jewish family’s history. The collection presents her ancestors since the 18th century and shows the connections between several German Jewish families, which migrated to the United States.