Austria

The bulk of the collection consists of Alfred Schirokauer writings in form of manuscripts novels and shorter works, and newspaper serializations. There is also a small amount of correspondence with publishers, as well as a few personal items.

The American Federation of Jews from Central Europe Collection consists of the Federation’s office files. This includes professional correspondence, by-laws, materials related to meetings and lectures, newspaper clippings, photographs, meeting minutes, reports, speeches, drafts, financial records, legal documents and forms, materials related to immigration and naturalization, newsletters and circulars, membership records, personnel files, restitution materials, oral history transcripts, and items of various related organizations and synagogues. There are also some personal documents sent to the AFJCE by members of the public.

The collection documents American Jewish Committee’s efforts to combat all forms of discrimination against the Jews in the United States. Additionally, there are materials pertaining to AJC’s work regarding other minority groups in the United States. The collection offers researchers a unique chance to see how and what was done prior to the changes in public opinion and civic and legal laws. The American Jewish Committee Records, Subject Files consists of materials created by executive offices, departments, local offices and chapters of the Committee concerning a variety of matters; foremost Jewish civil and religious rights, immigration, and the Holocaust.

Personal documents of Robert, Martha and Hertha Bergmann including diary of WWI, immigration papers, examples of currency from Austria, Hungary, Germany, Photographs, Correspondence

The Bernhard Bardach Collection describes mainly the career of a staff physician with the Austro-Hungarian army through educational and financial documents, photographs, and military decorations. Most importantly, Dr. Bardach kept a diary throughout his service in WW I. (see ME 1164)

The collection contains Questionnaire I + II of the Austrian Heritage Collection at the Leo Baeck Institute. Also included are various photocopied and original documents pertaining to Berta Scheiner’s experiences in Vienna, Austria and in wartime England.

Personal and family documents; family trees.

The Bunzl Group of Companies Collection documents the history of this company and its subsidiary divisions, especially its financial history. The collection includes articles and reports on the history of the company, restitution documents, correspondence relating to the sale, transfer or purchase of shares in the company, newspaper clippings, and extensive annual reports, directors' reports, and employee newsletters.

The Boschwitz papers are focused on Carl Boschwitz's efforts with the Prisoners of War Relief Committee during World War I. The Leubsdorf papers trace the lineage of the Leubsdorf Family, notably related to the family of Heinrich Heine, and also include an eighteenth-century prayer book.

Various decrees issued by rulers before emancipation to the Jewish communities of the towns and provinces of Alsace, Augsburg, Austria, Baden, Bamberg, Berlin, Bohemia, Brandenburg, Braunschweig, Breslau, Cassel, Cologne, Dresden, Eisenach, Frankfurt am Main, Hanau, Hanover, Helmstaedt, Hessen, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Nassau, Nuremberg, Palatinate, Potsdam, Prussia, Rawicz, Rheinfels, Saxony, Schleswig, Schwerin, Vienna, Weinheim, Wolfenbuettel, and Wuerzburg. The decrees concern many aspects of life, including economic activity and taxation, settlement rights, and the regulation of the internal life of the Jewish communities.

The collection is comprised of photographs of various provenances related to the lives of Jewish displaced persons (DPs) in the period immediately following the Second World War, from 1945 to 1952. The photographs pertain to DP camps and communities in the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Austria, and Italy, primarily those established by the American and British military, and administered by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and, later, the International Refugee Organization. Diverse aspects of daily life among the DPs are depicted, such as school, work, recreation, and vocational training, including many activities sponsored by Jewish voluntary organizations, especially World ORT and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Also depicted are cultural activities such as theater, children’s performances, Jewish holiday celebrations and parades, and commemorative events honoring those who died in the Holocaust. The photographs capture leaders of the Jewish DP zonal and camp committees, DP police, and Zionist living collectives (kibbutzim), as well as notable military, political, and cultural personalities of the period, such as Lucius D. Clay, Fiorello LaGuardia, David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Gruenbaum, and H. Leivick. The photographs also reflect political and historical developments, including the major congresses of the DP leaderships in Germany, Austria, and Italy; protest demonstrations concerning British policies regulating immigration to Palestine; and events held upon the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

This collection of posters includes approximately 1,000 rare or unique items pertaining to over 100 displaced persons (DP) camps and centers in Germany, Austria, and Italy, dating primarily from 1946 to 1952. Comprised of approximately 60% handpainted and 40% printed items, it includes posters produced by diverse Jewish groups within individual camps, such as administrative and cultural committees, sports clubs, Zionist and religious groups, and landsmanshaftn; as well as organizations active throughout the camps, including the Jewish central committees in the respective countries, the World ORT Union, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish National Fund, and the Jewish Agency. A small number of items also document activities of the revived Jewish communities in the city centers of Munich and Vienna. Many of the posters use not only language but also color, graphic design, and pictorial and figurative elements to engage their audience with calls to entertainment, lectures, protests, and commemorations.

The collection consists of various types of documents - education, professional, immigration, and vital -, a large amount of photographs, and some correspondence.

The Edna Ehrlich Papers, dating from 1898-2014, document the personal and professional life of Edna Ehrlich, an economist with the Federal Reserve of New York for 43 years. The collection focuses on her work as an economist expert in Asian markets and her relationships with her husband Otto Ehrlich, an economy professor, and her friend Jin Xiang, a Chinese composer. The collection contains personal documents and images relating to the Gottesman and Ehrlich families; Otto Ehrlich's interests in art and musical history; photographs, slides, albums, and other vacation documents from Ehrlich's travels; interviews, writings, and correspondence from her work as a consultant and economist at the Federal Reserve; administrative and concert planning documents for the East-West Music Exchange Association; and Jin Xiang's compositions, concert programs and reviews, and correspondence relating to royalties, organizations, other musicians, and professional opportunities.

Various articles, excerpts, maps, and books related to the Jewish community in Posen/Poznan, collected by Edward Luft.

Editorial and personal correspondence of Efraim Frisch and his wife, Fega Frisch, with individuals and institutions.



Personal documents, manuscripts of Frisch's novels, short stories, essays, and book reviews; clippings by and about Ephraim and Fega Frisch and their work, including an essay by Alfred Vagts on Der Neue Merkur.

Eliyahu Guttmacher was a rabbi, Talmudic scholar, mystic, communal leader, and early Zionist. During his lifetime he was known as the Tsadik of Grätz and thousands of Jews flocked to him for blessings and advice. Guttmacher was also known for his support of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, an early Zionist, and for his extensive collection of funds for institutions in Palestine. The bulk of the collection consists of several thousand kvitlekh (written requests to a rabbi asking for a blessing or advice). The kvitlekh were received from Jews residing in Poland and other, mostly European, countries. They reflect the social history of European Jews in the mid-19th century and relate to financial, medical, and family problems. In addition, the collection contains the following: general correspondence, including inquiries relating to religious matters, family correspondence, legal documents such as court and government papers, bills, certifications by unidentified authors, discussions on Jewish law by unknown authors, amulets, business documents, and receipts for contributions to charitable institutions in Palestine.

Emigration 1864-1952: This collection - encompassing about 90 years - contains papers about the situation and persecution of Jews in Eastern European countries (Russia, Poland, Roumania, Bulgaria, Lithuania). Papers describe the activities of various relief organizations. There are more than 170 papers (ca.900 pages), about half of them written in German, about 30 each in French or English, over 20 in Yiddish and some in Polish. A printed appeal of the Reichsausschuss fuer Russisch-Juedische Fluechtlingshilfe, Berlin (1929) carries among others the signatures of Leo Baeck and ALbert Einstein. (VI, 16).

This collection contains the genealogical research of Ernst Oppenheim, and includes his investigations into the Oppenheim, Pasch, Breit, Altschul, Sirkis and Jaffe families. Included are his extensive correspondence, family trees and copies of original documentation, as well as interview transcripts and notes.

The bulk of the collection consists of letters to Esriel Hildesheimer\ and others from various individuals, mostly rabbis in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Palestine, Eastern Europe, and the United States, and institutions, including Akiba Lehren, David Neimann, Simcha Bunem Sofer, Yeshiva Etz-Hayyim, Adolf Jellinek, and the Oesterreichisch- Ungarisch- Israelitische Gemeinde, Jerusalem. Approximately one-half of the correspondence is transcribed.

This collection documents the appropriation of the business and property of the Langfelder family, most prominently the D. Langfelder shoe factory. Eve Cholmar née Langfelder and her nephew Steven Goldner applied for restitution for damages in 2003. The materials in the collection consist of correspondence, legal documents, government files, a detailed exposé of the D. Langfelder shoe factory, a family tree with inheritance and property ownership tables, and applications for restitution.

Personal documents of various family members of the Fischl family,: certificates, emigration papers, photos; correspondence between Anna Fischl and her daughter Nelly Wilder (1930s); collection of maps from World War I; 4 poetry books; 1 cookbook; 1 prayer book.

Four printed documents imposing restrictions on Jewish social and economic life in Brunswick and in Austria.

This collection holds the papers of the Czech journalist Friedrich Bill. Focusing primarily on his writing, the records include numerous newspaper clippings of his published work. In addition, the collection contains articles on the cities of Brno and Prague and the country of Ecuador. There are also postcards, a small amount of personal correspondence, and a Masonic medal from Prague.

The Gabrielle Glueckselig Collection centers on the personal and professional lives of Gaby and her husband Fritz Glueckselig. This collection documents many facets of the couple's lives, including their professional work, friendships, and families. A large focus is on the literary work of Fritz Glueckselig, Gaby's hosting of the German-language Stammtisch (originally founded by Oskar Maria Graf and George Harry Asher), and their families, but many other aspects of their lives are also documented here. The bulk of the collection consists of their correspondence, drafts of Fritz Glueckselig's writing, and a large amount of photographs and photo albums. Other documents include official documents of Gaby, Fritz and some family members; sketches including of Gaby's jewelry designs; a few scrapbooks; drafts of other authors' works; and other materials.

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.

The collection consists of papers of the members of the Gersuny family form Teplitz, Bohemia (now Teplice, Czech Republic). It documents the history of the family, their involvement with real estate, trading, and other types of business. Included here are business records, financial records, personal and business correspondence, vital documents, and personal documents.

The collection contains Questionnaire I + II of the Austrian Heritage Collection at the Leo Baeck Institute. Also included are photocopies of various documents pertaining to Gerta Spiegel Freeman and her family in Vienna, Austria, such as education certificates, emigration documents, photographs, and others. Typescripts include Gerta Freeman’s autobiographical manuscript after her arrival in the United States in May 1938, and the transcript of an interview with her brother Harry Spiegel.

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.