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Susi Cohn Podgurski papers

Document | Not Digitized | Accession Number: 1996.A.0045 | RG Number: RG-10.286

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    Overview

    Description
    The Susi Cohn Podgurski collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and other documents relating to Susi Cohn Podgurski, a Kindertransport child, and her family remaining in Berlin, Germany. All postcards and letters are addressed to Susi Cohn unless otherwise indicated. Letters are arranged in the order of receipt by Susi Cohn Podgurski. The collection also includes documents related to Martin Cohn’s dental practice.
    Date
    inclusive:  1927-1992
    bulk:  1938-1947
    Collection Creator
    Susi C. Podgurski
    Biography
    Martin Cohn (1884-1943) was born on June 6, 1884. His wife, Toni Scherk (d. 1943) was born to Heinrich Scherk and Margarethe Scherk (1872-1943). Martin and Toni Cohn married on January 20, 1919. They had two children: Hildelotte (Hilde) Cohn, born on June 14, 1921 and Susi Cohn, born on January 25, 1924 in Berlin, Germany. Martin Cohn was a dentist and served in World War I.

    Prior to June 1939, Eugen Hirschfeld lost his home. He moved in with the Cohn family and assisted with the rent after Martin Cohn’s business was destroyed. Hirschfeld became like an older brother to Susi Cohn, and a close family friend. His letters to Susi were often signed “dein großer Bruder.”

    On June 21, 1939, Susi Cohn was sent on a Kindertransport from Germany to England under the auspices of the Refugee Children’s Movement, Bloomsbury House, London. She lived with Sigismund Goldberg, a cousin of Martin Cohn, and his family for three days upon her arrival in London before traveling to guardians in North House. She attended a boarding school in Bournemouth and later attended Clark’s College in London.

    On December 12, 1941, Hilde Cohn married Helmut Gerson. Hilde worked as a registered nurse at the Jewish hospital in Berlin, Germany. It is unclear when Hilde and Helmut’s twin sons died. Hilde and Helmut Gerson were sent to Theresienstadt. Margarethe Scherk was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto on Transport 1/45 from Berlin, Germany on August 14, 1942. While in the ghetto, she was nursed by her granddaughter, Hilde Cohn Gerson. Margarethe died in December 1943.

    Helmut Gerson was eventually sent to work in the salt mines. Hilde contracted tuberculosis while imprisoned in Theresienstadt. Both survived. In 1946, both returned to the section of Berlin where they had previously resided, which was under Soviet authority. Contact with persons outside that sector was not allowed. In 1947, Helmut wrote to Susi that her sister was dying from tuberculosis and that they lacked food to aid her recovery. The Russians would not allow Susi Cohn to visit her sister, nor did they allow her care packages to be received. Hilde Gerson died on March 21, 1947. Nineteen of Susi’s packages were finally allowed to be delivered on the day that Hilde was buried.

    Their parents, Martin Cohn and Toni Cohn, were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp on March 12, 1943. They perished in Auschwitz, likely upon arrival.

    Susi Cohn married Joseph C. Podgurski on March 14, 1950. Their daughter Barbara married Sigvard Martensson.

    Physical Details

    Language
    German English
    Extent
    7 folders
    System of Arrangement
    The Susi Cohn Podgurski collection is arranged in five series.

    Series 1: Letters to Susi Cohn from her parents, sister, and family friends, 1939-1944
    Series 2: Correspondence from Hildelotte Cohn Gerson and Helmut Gerson (sister and brother-in-law of Susi Cohn Podgurski), 1939-1947
    Series 3: Miscellaneous legal and vital documents of Susi Cohn Podgurski, 1939-1947
    Series 4: Document regarding Martin Cohn’s dental practice, 1934-1994
    Series 5: Photographs, 1927-1992, undated

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    Susi Cohn Podgurski donated her collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in February 1996.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2023-08-25 13:00:29
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn519508

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