Collection Full View
Alfred J. and Marjorie Marcus Collection of Holocaust-era Letters (1938 - 2003)
Collection ID5-93
Size1 box
Collection Description
The collection consists of original letters, with some transcripts, translations, and explanatory notes, from several families in Europe on the eve of the Holocaust to their relatives on the United States (most of them in Newark). The letters reflect the deepening crisis in Europe and the desperate efforts of Jewish families to escape. The letters were displayed in an exhibit presented by the Jewish Historical Society in 2003, and some exhibit materials (captions, publicity clippings) are included in the collection.
One group of letters in the exhibit related to the family of Drs. Friedrich and Charlotte Hahn, who were living in Prague in 1940, when their two children, Brigitta and Alfred, had been taken to relative safety in Stockholm, Sweden. The four letters were addressed to Charlotte Hahn's cousin, Benjamin Ginsberg, a Newark investor and real estate broker. One 1940 letter from Charlotte pleads for assistance in obtaining affidavits that would enable her family to come to the U.S., and for financial aid to her children. Two related letters are from a friend or relative of the Hahn's, Stella Korda, who has already reached the U.S. and is offering to help. A 1941 letter to Ginsberg from Isaac Asofsky of HIAS relates to plans for the immigration of Brigitta Hahn.
The second, larger, group of letters were addressed to August (Gus) Van Adam Doctor of 84 Weequahic Ave. and later of 25 Leo Place, Newark, a claims adjustor for the Railway Express Service. Some of these letters are in German (with accompanying translations) and some in English. They relate to the family of Gus Doctor's cousin Oscar Richter and other relatives living in Vienna in 1938-1939. One is from a nephew, Willie Klemm, who arrived in New York in 1938. Also included are two letters from Frederick Katz of New York to Wilhelm Richter of Vienna, regarding an unsuccessful effort to obtain an affidavit (1938). One letter from Wilhelm Richter (May 1939) announces that he is in Shanghai; Oscar Richter and his immediate family escaped to Shanghai at about the same time. This group of letters passed from Gus's daughters Miriam and Leoni to Miriam's son, Alfred Marcus.
One group of letters in the exhibit related to the family of Drs. Friedrich and Charlotte Hahn, who were living in Prague in 1940, when their two children, Brigitta and Alfred, had been taken to relative safety in Stockholm, Sweden. The four letters were addressed to Charlotte Hahn's cousin, Benjamin Ginsberg, a Newark investor and real estate broker. One 1940 letter from Charlotte pleads for assistance in obtaining affidavits that would enable her family to come to the U.S., and for financial aid to her children. Two related letters are from a friend or relative of the Hahn's, Stella Korda, who has already reached the U.S. and is offering to help. A 1941 letter to Ginsberg from Isaac Asofsky of HIAS relates to plans for the immigration of Brigitta Hahn.
The second, larger, group of letters were addressed to August (Gus) Van Adam Doctor of 84 Weequahic Ave. and later of 25 Leo Place, Newark, a claims adjustor for the Railway Express Service. Some of these letters are in German (with accompanying translations) and some in English. They relate to the family of Gus Doctor's cousin Oscar Richter and other relatives living in Vienna in 1938-1939. One is from a nephew, Willie Klemm, who arrived in New York in 1938. Also included are two letters from Frederick Katz of New York to Wilhelm Richter of Vienna, regarding an unsuccessful effort to obtain an affidavit (1938). One letter from Wilhelm Richter (May 1939) announces that he is in Shanghai; Oscar Richter and his immediate family escaped to Shanghai at about the same time. This group of letters passed from Gus's daughters Miriam and Leoni to Miriam's son, Alfred Marcus.
FormatTextual materials
SubjectsJewish-American History; World War II
Time Period20th Century
LanguageEnglish
Access policyOpen for research