Overview
- Description
- The papers consist of documents, photographs, and letters documenting the prewar, wartime, and postwar experiences of the Greenbaum family, originally of Gąbin, Poland, including Henry Greenbaum’s prewar work as a physician in Poland, and his services as a wartime medic with the United States Army. Documents include a birth control calendar and pamphlet created by Henry. Correspondence consists of prewar, wartime, and postwar family correspondence in the United States and Poland. Photographs include prewar and wartime depictions of the Greenbaum family in Gąbin, including Henry, his wife Esther Stern, his parents Jakob and Hena, his siblings Stas (Stan), Rose, and Abram (Albert).
- Date
-
inclusive:
circa 1920-1949
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Anita Greenbaum Brush
- Collection Creator
- Greenbaum familiy
- Biography
-
Jakob Lieb Greenbaum (1882-1942, last name also listed as Grynbaum and Grinbaum) was born in 1882 to Abram Greenbaum (b. 1862) and Hinda Greenbaum (b. 1861, née Rosenberg). He had four siblings: Simon Greenbaum (1886-1957), Dawid Greenbaum (b. 1891), Joseph Greenbaum (1895-1955), and Joshua Greenbaum (1896-1942, Shiyah Greenbaum). Jakob married Hena Ryster (1884-1942). Hena was the daughter of Johathan Ryster (1861-1913) and Rifka Genendla (1859-). She had four siblings: Abraham Ryster, Haim Ryster, Hirsh Lieb Ryster, Teveh Ryster.
Jakob and Hena lived in Gąbin, Poland where he worked in agriculture, and also owned a movie theater. The couple had four children: Chaim Greenbaum (1907-1992, later Henry Greenbaum). Stas Greenbaum (1910-1942, also referred to as Stanislaw or Stan), Janek Greenbaum (1914-1985, later Albert Greenbaum), and Rozia Greenbaum (1918-2007, later Rose Greenbaum).
Henry moved to France in 1927 to study engineering, but later switched to medicine. He met his wife Esther Stern (1909-1989) while he was a medical student. Henry immigrated to the United States in June 1939, but Esther had to remain in Europe. He enlisted with the United States Army in 1941, and Esther joined him in the U.S. in June 1942. They married the same month and in 1944 Henry went overseas as a doctor in Normandy. During the war he was able to maintain correspondence with his family in Poland. Their daughter Anita was born in 1945.
In 1941 a ghetto was established in Gąbin. Jakob was sent to Liebenau work camp as a forced-laborer working on the autobahn. He was killed by a motorcycle driven by a German officer in 1941.
Albert was also a forced-laborer and fled the camp. He was hidden by Helena Grabarek and her family in Niedzieliska, Poland. Rose fled Gąbin and was first hidden in the home of Jan Sołdański, and then with Witold and Boleslawa Ostrowski in Budy Piaseczne. She lived under the false name of Jadwiga Maciejewska. On April 17, 1942 Hena, Stas, his wife Helene (1917-1942), and their son Izho (1941-1942) were all deported from Gąbin to Chelmno where they were murdered.
Albert and Rose were reunited after liberation in 1945. They first lived in Poland and then Paris. Albert married Suzanne Antonos (1917-2002), and they immigrated to the United States in 1950. Their daughter Arlene was born in 1955. Rose married Harry “Grisha” Dinerman (1915-2010), and they first immigrated to Australia, and then the United States in 1955. Their daughter Helena was born in 1949.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Photographs. Letters.
- Extent
-
5 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as five files.
1 of 5. Family correspondence, 1938-1949
2 of 5. Greenbaum, Henry: birth control calendar and pamphlet, pocket calendar, 1937
3 of 5. Bundist youth group photographs, 1927-1939
4 of 5. Greenbaum family photographs, circa 1920-1948
5 of 5. Greenbaum, Henry and Esther photographs, circa 1927-1940
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- The donor, source institution, or a third party has asserted copyright over some or all of the material(s) in this collection. 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. Anita Brush
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by Anita Greenbaum Brush, the daughter of Henry and Esther Greenbaum.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-09-15 09:28:30
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn712897
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- Terms of Use
- This record is not digitized and cannot be downloaded online.
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Also in Greenbaum family collection
The collection consists of books, a poster, a pamphlet, documents, photographs, and letters documenting the experiences of Henry Greenbaum, his family, and his wife, Esther Stern, in Gąbin, Poland, Romania, and France, before, during, and after the Holocaust.
Date: approximately 1925-approximately 1945
Children's book, Alef beys, entrusted to Esther Greenbaum
Object
Children's book, Alef beys, entrusted to Esther Greenbaum by her friend. The Yiddish language book was written by Eliezer Steinbarg and published by Ḳulṭur, Ṭshernovits in 1921. The book is part of a collection documenting the experiences of Henry Greenbaum, his family, and his wife, Esther Stern, in Gąbin, Poland, Romania, and France, before, during, and after the Holocaust. Henry, who was the eldest of four Greenbaum children, moved to France for medical school, where he met Esther, a fellow medical student from Romania. Henry’s parents, Jakob and Hena, along with his brother, Stas (Stan), sister-in-law, Helene, and nephew, Izho, were killed during the Holocaust. Henry's youngest siblings, Rosa and Abram (Albert), survived in hiding in Poland.
Children's book, ʼAlfon, entrusted to Esther Greenbaum
Object
Children's book, ʼAlfon, entrusted to Esther Greenbaum by her friend. The Hebrew language grammar book was written by ʼEliʻezer Shṭeynberg and published in Romania in 1921. The book is part of a collection documenting the experiences of Henry Greenbaum, his family, and his wife, Esther Stern, in Gąbin, Poland, Romania, and France, before, during, and after the Holocaust. Henry, who was the eldest of four Greenbaum children, moved to France for medical school, where he met Esther, a fellow medical student from Romania. Henry’s parents, Jakob and Hena, along with his brother, Stas (Stan), sister-in-law, Helene, and nephew, Izho, were killed during the Holocaust. Henry's youngest siblings, Rosa and Abram (Albert), survived in hiding in Poland.
Family planning pamphlet, Di bavustzinike shvangershaft, used by Dr. Henry Greenbaum
Object
Pamphlet about family planning likely used as part of Dr. Henry Greenbaum's medical practice. The Yiddish language pamphlet was published by M. Mauer in Warsaw, Poland, in 1936 or 1937. The book is part of a collection documenting the experiences of Henry Greenbaum, his family, and his wife, Esther Stern, in Gąbin, Poland, Romania, and France, before, during, and after the Holocaust. Henry, who was the eldest of four Greenbaum children, moved to France for medical school, where he met Esther, a fellow medical student from Romania. Henry’s parents, Jakob and Hena, along with his brother, Stas (Stan), sister-in-law, Helene, and nephew, Izho, were killed during the Holocaust. Henry's youngest siblings, Rosa and Abram (Albert), survived in hiding in Poland.
Family planning poster used by Dr. Henry Greenbaum
Object
Poster advertising a family planning lecture delivered by Dr. Henry Greenbaum in Gąbin, Poland, in 1937. The poster is part of a collection documenting the experiences of Henry Greenbaum, his family, and his wife, Esther Stern, in Gąbin, Poland, Romania, and France, before, during, and after the Holocaust. Henry, who was the eldest of four Greenbaum children, moved to France for medical school, where he met Esther, a fellow medical student from Romania. Henry’s parents, Jakob and Hena, along with his brother, Stas (Stan), sister-in-law, Helene, and nephew, Izho, were killed during the Holocaust. Henry's youngest siblings, Rosa and Abram (Albert), survived in hiding in Poland.
