Erwin Bensdorf papers
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Overview
- Description
- The Erwin Bensdorf papers consist of manuscripts and photographs documenting German and Austrian child refugees including Bensdorf who escaped to England on Kindertransports and benefited from appeals for aid such as former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin’s and from the assistance and friendship of English people such as Max Haybrook.
The manuscripts were written by Max Haybrook and document his work with child refugees supported by the Lord Baldwin Fund. They describe the arrival of the refugee children in England, the conditions of their housing, and their pastimes. One includes handwritten messages of thanks from some of the children.
The photographs include a photo album compiled by Max Haybrook and portraits of Max Haybrook, Stanley Baldwin, and Bensdorf’s mother’s family. The photo album includes snapshots documenting Haybrook’s work with Jewish refugee children at St. Felix School, Dovercourt, Westcliff, Barham House, Linton Road in Oxford, and Wallingford. The album includes at least one photograph of Erwin Bensdorf. - Date
-
inclusive:
circa 1910-1941
bulk: 1938-1941
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Erwin Bensdorf
- Collection Creator
- Erwin Bensdorf
- Biography
-
Erwin Bensdorf (1928-2009) was born in Mannheim to Johanna (nee Ohnhaus, 1897-1986) and Paul Bensdorf (1891-1968). He was sent on a Kindertransport to the United Kingdom in July 1939. He lived at Barham House in Claydon (near Ipswich), at a boys’ home in High Newcombe run by Protestant priest Mr. Bolton, at a boys’ home on Linton Road in Oxford, and then in private dwellings. He was befriended by Max Haybrook, a school teacher and aid worker for German and Austrian child refugees. Bensdorf immigrated to the United States in January 1945 via Liverpool and Halifax. His parents had escaped from Mannheim to France, were interned at Gurs, escaped to Casablanca, and immigrated to the United States in 1942.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Photographs.
- Extent
-
6 folders
1 oversize box
- System of Arrangement
- The Erwin Bensdorf papers are arranged as two series: I. Manuscripts, 1938-1941, II. Photographs, approximately 1910s-1941 (bulk 1938-1941)
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
- Topical Term
- Jews--Germany--Mannheim. Jewish refugees--England. Kindertransports (Rescue operations)--England. Jewish children in the Holocaust--England.
- Geographic Name
- Ipswich (England) Oxford (England) Southwold (England) Westcliff-on-Sea (Southend-on-Sea, England) Dovercourt (England) Wallingford (England)
- Personal Name
- Baldwin, Stanley Baldwin, Earl, 1867-1947.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Erwin Bensdorf donated the Erwin Bensdorf papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2000.
- 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:
- 2023-02-24 14:19:55
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn520289
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
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Also in Erwin Bensdorf collection
Brown leather-like pencil case with 3 graphite pencils, 2 fountain pens, 4 colored pencils and 1 eraser recieved by Erwin Bensdorf in Germany before he emigrated to England in 1939 and used in England. One photogragh album compiled by Max Haybrook, who assisted children from Nazi-occuped Europe through the Kindertransport (4 loose photos inside), 3 photographs (one framed), one document with compilation of notes written in gratitude from KT to Max Haybrook and one typed report compiled by Haybrook concerning events surrounding arrival and care of refugee children in England.
Pencil box
Object
Brown leather-like pencil case with 3 graphite pencils, 2 fountain pens, 4 colored pencils and 1 eraser received by Erwin Bensdorf in Germany before he emigrated to England in 1939 and used in England.
