Overview
- Description
- The Korant and Schwalbe families papers include biographical material, correspondence, photographs, immigration documents, and writings relating to Ilse Schwalbe (née Korant), Herbert Schwalbe, and their relatives in Berlin, Teheran, and Palestine as well as their immigration and settlement in the United States.
Biographical material, correspondence, and writings relating to Georg Korant include a marriage announcement, wedding poem, renters documentation, police registration, and death announcement. Also included is correspondence and original and photocopies of writings.
Margarete (Grete) Korant’s biographical material includes a marriage license, program, and poem, a copy of her report card, and writings. Correspondence consists of originals and photocopies largely of letters from Grete to Ilse, Herbert, and Steffi. Immigration papers include correspondence with the United States Consulate, applications, affidavits of support, and letters of recommendation and reference relating to various attempts by Grete, Ilse, and Herbert to arrange for Grete’s immigration to Cuba and the United States. Photographs of family members include Grete, Ellen, and Hede. Also included is a biography about Rolf Apt.
Ilse Schwalbe’s biographical material includes a copy of her birth certificate, letters describing her family history, and a wedding announcement. Correspondence includes originals, photocopies, and transcripts of letters from Grete to Ilse, letters to Herbert while he was in Persia, and an inquiry to the Red Cross about Grete stating she was deported to Riga in 1942. Immigration material includes originals, photocopies, and translations of letters of support from Ilse’s brother-in-law Ludwig Schwalbe, requests for copies of documentation, letters of reference, and luggage and bank receipts. Writings include a book made for Herbert with photographs and poems of Reiner and Steffi when he was in Palestine, poems, various postwar writings about her experience, notes from presentations, responses to requests for interviews, and reflections after her return to Berlin in 1975. Also included are several photographs of Ilse and forms, correspondence, and receipts relating to restitution for education and property.
Biographical material relating to Herbert Schwalbe includes a copy of his birth certificate, an affidavit from Richard Simon, a health certificate for immigration, a personal narrative, and a biography written by Ilse. Professional records include receipt books, a curriculum vitae, a letter for the sale of his dental equipment, correspondence relating to attempts to practice dentistry outside of Germany, and certificates from the University of Santa Clara. Also included are letters from Herbert to Ilse while aboard the ship to the United States, a letter to Steffi for her birthday while he was in Persia, and original and photocopies of photographs of Herbert.
Schwalbe family papers include immigration and school records for Steffi, including a journal she kept while aboard the Holland ship to the United States, a certificate of naturalization, a copy of her birth certificates, a German report card, and a copy of an essay on leaving Germany. Also included is a portfolio assembled by Elsa Schwalbe (née Pick and Sabel) and German passports for Elsa, Wilhelm Pick, and Ludwig Schwalbe. Elsa and Wilhem married in Germany and immigrated to the United States. Wilhelm became sick and passed away. Elsa later married Ludwig Schwalbe. The series also includes photographs of Steffi, Reiner, Ludwig, Ilse, and Herbert, research into family history, an interview with Steffi, newspaper clippings, and correspondence with the Jewish Museum of Berlin relating to a donation. - Date
-
inclusive:
1888-2019
bulk: 1888-1988
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of the family of Herbert and Ilse (Korant) Schwalbe and Stephanie (Schwalbe) Dashiff Wells
- Collection Creator
- Herbert Schwalbe
Ilse Schwalbe - Biography
-
Herbert Schwalbe (1899-1963) was born in 1899 in Germany. At age 17, he volunteered and served in the German military in WWI and earned the Cross of Honor for his service. After the war, he became a dentist and established a practice in Berlin. In 1926, he married Ilse Korant (1904-1992) and they had two children: Reiner Max (1928-2007) and Stephanie “Steffi” (1931-2018). After the boycott of Jewish businesses in 1933, Schwalbe emigrated from Germany to establish a life for his family elsewhere. He first immigrated to Persia (currently Iran) in October 1933 and Ilse and the children remained in Berlin. He lived in Tehran and tried to open a dental practice before moving to Palestine in 1935. No longer having his dental equipment, he worked as a farm laborer. In December 1937, Herbert left Haifa for the United States with the help of his younger brother, Ludwig Schwalbe (1901-1980) who immigrated to the United States in 1927, and a distant cousin, Richard Simon. In 1939 Ilse, Reiner, and Steffi immigrated to the United States and joined Herbert in California.
Ilse Flora Schwalbe (née Korant, 1904-1992) was born in Cottbuss, Germany on July 14, 1904 to Georg Korant (1874-1937) and Margarete “Grete” Korant (née Apt, 1882-1942). Ilse married Herbert Schwalbe (1899-1963) in 1926 and they had two children: Reiner Max (1928-2007) and Stephanie “Steffi” (1931-2018). After Herbert emigrated from Germany to establish a new life for the family, Ilse, Steffi, and Reiner moved in with her parents. During this time, Ilse worked for a Jewish organization (Youth Aliyah) that arranged for the immigration of Jewish children to Palestine. Georg passed away in 1937 and in 1939 Ilse and her children immigrated to the United States to reunite with Herbert in California. Grete made several attempts to emigrate from Germany to the United States or Cuba with the help of her family. In 1941, Ilse obtained a ticket for Grete to travel by ship to Cuba and then to the United States, but after the US declared on Germany, Grete was unable to leave. In January 1942, Grete was deported to Riga where she was killed.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Photographs. Correspondence.
- Extent
-
3 boxes
7 oversize boxes
- System of Arrangement
- The Korant and Schwalbe families papers are arranged as five series:
Series 1: Georg Korant, 1888-1936
Series 2: Margarete Korant, circa 1890-1972
Series 3: Ilse Schwalbe, 1904-1988
Series 4: Herbert Schwalbe, 1920-2019
Series 5: Schwalbe family, 1920-2008
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.
- Copyright Holder
- Ms. Karen Gilovich
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The Korant and Schwalbe families papers was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by Karen Gilovich.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-04-23 14:30:07
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn709025
Additional Resources
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-
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Also in Schwalbe family collection
THe collection contains documents, correspondence (letters and postcards), journals, photographs, postwar writings, newspaper clippings, 2 metal disc recordings, ephemera and three dimensional artifacts to include a portfolio, eyeglass case and small notebook documenting the experiences of the Schwalbe family and their relatives in Berlin, Teheran, Palestine and their immigration and settlement in the United States.
Schwalbe children send greetings to their father
Recorded Sound
Notebook
Object
Small notebook documenting the experiences of the Schwalbe family and their relatives in Berlin, Teheran, Palestine and their immigration and settlement in the United States.
Eyeglass case
Object
Eyeglass case documenting the experiences of the Schwalbe family and their relatives in Berlin, Teheran, Palestine and their immigration and settlement in the United States.
Portfolio
Object
Portfolio documenting the experiences of the Schwalbe family and their relatives in Berlin, Teheran, Palestine and their immigration and settlement in the United States.
