Overview
- Description
- The Hirschfeld family papers document the pre-war, wartime, and post-war experiences of Alfred, Maria, and Hans Hirschfeld of Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland). The collection contains biographical materials, correspondence, immigration papers, financial records, restitution claims, and photographs. The papers document Hans Hirschfeld’s pre-war life in Breslau, his experiences immigrating to Cuba and the United States in 1939, and his service in the United States Army during World War II. They also document Alfred and Maria’s wartime experience in Breslau, their difficulties immigrating to the United States after the war, and attempts to reclaim property in Poland.
The biographical material includes birth and marriage certificates, employment papers, school records, and Hans Hirschfeld’s United States Army papers.
The correspondence chiefly belongs to Alfred and Hans. Alfred’s correspondence includes letters from friends written during and after the war. There are also letters from a correspondence book organized alphabetically that are personal, professional, and financial in nature. Hans’s correspondence includes letters exchanged with friends who also fled Germany in 1939, as well as those who were still there. There is a large amount of correspondence with his parents from 1939-1947, but there are no letters from 1942-1944. There are also letters from his relatives Amanda and Ernestine Schwartzberg in Shreveport, Louisiana whom assisted him with immigrating to the United States. Additionally, there are letters from Alfred’s mother, Johanna, to Hans and Alfred from 1939-1940 before she died in the Warsaw ghetto in 1941.
The emigration and immigration papers include naturalization papers and correspondence. Much of correspondence is from Hans regarding his efforts to locate his parents after the war, and to assist them in their efforts to immigrate to the United States. Other papers regard his experiences immigrating to Cuba and the United States in 1939.
The financial records of Alfred Hirschberg primarily contain tax, income, business, and property bills and records. The financial records used for assessing contributions owed to the Breslau synagogue contain similar types of material, as well as letters and documents from the synagogue.
The restitution claims are for attempts by the Hirschfelds to reclaim property in Poland after the war.
The photograph album consists of pre-war photographs of Hans and his friends in Germany.
The printed material includes clippings and copies of Reichsgesetzblatt and Reichssteuerblatt from 1942. - Date
-
inclusive:
1894-1970
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Karen Hirschfeld Hendley
- Collection Creator
- Hirschfeld family
- Biography
-
Hans Hirschfeld (born Naumann Hans Horst Hirschfeld; 1919-1969) was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) to Alfred (1894-1953) and Maria (born Catherina Maria Elisabeth Kraushaar; 1893-1968) Hirschfeld. Alfred was a World War I veteran and an economist. Maria was a Protestant, but Hans was raised Jewish, and his parents were active in the Jewish community in Breslau. In April 1936, Hans began an apprenticeship at Albert Schaffer Company, but was fired in December 1937 because he was Jewish. He lost another job six months later when the Jewish firm, Felix Jacobowitz Co., was Aryanized. Hans began making preparations to leave Germany. He obtained a visa to Cuba and arrived there on the MS Orinoco in 1939. His great aunt, Ernestine Schwartzburg of Shreveport, Louisiana, sponsored him for a visa to the United States, and he arrived there in October 1939. He soon began attending Centenary College in Shreveport. In 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army, and on November 12, 1942 he became a naturalized citizen. Hans was a corporal in Company B of the 2nd Infantry Training Battalion at Camp Wheeler, Georgia. He then became a technical sergeant and participated in interrogation of POWs and acted as a translator. Hans had been able to correspond regularly with his parents for a few years after immigrating, but had heard nothing since 1941. He received a Red Cross telegram from his mother in 1945. Because Maria was not Jewish, she and Alfred were able to stay in Breslau for the duration of the war, although they had to move to a transit camp. Alfred and Maria immigrated to the United States in October 1947. Hans married Jane Lake Winning (1921-1969), in Houston, Texas and they had a daughter.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Photograph albums. Diaries.
- Extent
-
5 boxes
4 oversize folder
1 oversize box
- System of Arrangement
- The Hirschfeld family papers are arranged as seven series: All series arranged alphabetically. Series 1: Biographical materials, 1894-1969; Series 2: Correspondence, 1903-1953; Series 3: Emigration and immigration papers, 1938-1948; Series 4: Financial records, 1934-circa 1947; Series 5: Restitution claims, 1946-1970; Series 6: Photograph album, 1935-1938; Series 7: Printed material, 1935-1944.
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
- Jewish families--Germany--Breslau. Emigration & immigration--United States. Restitution and indemnification claims (1933-)
- Geographic Name
- Breslau (Germany) Cuba. Shreveport (La.)
- Personal Name
- Hirschfeld, Hans, 1919-1969. Hirschfeld, Alfred, 1894-1953. Hirschfeld, Maria, 1893-1968.
- Corporate Name
- United States. Army
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Karen Hendley donated her father and grandparents' papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on March 16, 2011.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-25 18:19:04
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn42951
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Also in Alfred Hirschfeld family collection
The collection consists of five German cap badges, correspondence, documents, and a photograph album relating to the pre-war, wartime, and post-war experiences of Alfred, Maria, and Hans Hirschfeld, originally of Breslau, Germany.
Date: 1920-1955
Pressed aluminum cap badge with Nazi insignia acquired by a German Jewish refugee and US soldier
Object
SS cap badge with an eagle and oak wreath owned by Hans Hirschfeld, who left Germany at age twenty in 1939 for the US and later served in the US Army. From 1936 to 1945, this type of cap badge was worn by the SS-Ordnungspolizei, or order police, the regular uniformed police force in Germany, which included municipal and rural police, firemen, and the coast guard. When Hitler came to power in January 1933, Hans and his parents, Alfred and Maria, lived in Breslau, Germany, where Alfred was Director of the Chamber of Commerce. Maria was Protestant and Alfred was Jewish and Hans identified himself as Jewish. Under the Nazi government, Jews were persecuted and increasingly banned from areas of German society. In December 1937, Hans was fired from his job because he was Jewish. He lost another job six months later when the Jewish firm where he worked was Aryanized. He spent a year obtaining the permits needed to leave Germany and emigrated to Havana, Cuba, in March 1939, and then to Louisiana that October where he had a paternal aunt. He was drafted into the US Army in 1941 and served as a translator and interrogator of German prisoners of war in the US. Because Maria was not Jewish, she and Alfred were able to stay in Breslau, although they were placed in a local internment camp for several months. Alfred and Maria left Germany for America in 1947.
Pressed aluminum cap badge with Nazi insignia acquired by a German Jewish refugee and US soldier
Object
SS cap badge with an eagle and oak wreath owned by Hans Hirschfeld, who left Germany at age twenty in 1939 for the US and later served in the US Army. From 1936 to 1945, this type of cap badge was worn by the SS-Ordnungspolizei, or order police, the regular uniformed police force in Germany, which included municipal and rural police, firemen, and the coast guard. When Hitler came to power in January 1933, Hans and his parents, Alfred and Maria, lived in Breslau, Germany, where Alfred was Director of the Chamber of Commerce. Maria was Protestant and Alfred was Jewish and Hans identified himself as Jewish. Under the Nazi government, Jews were persecuted and increasingly banned from areas of German society. In December 1937, Hans was fired from his job because he was Jewish. He lost another job six months later when the Jewish firm where he worked was Aryanized. He spent a year obtaining the permits needed to leave Germany and emigrated to Havana, Cuba, in March 1939, and then to Louisiana that October where he had a paternal aunt. He was drafted into the US Army in 1941 and served as a translator and interrogator of German prisoners of war in the US. Because Maria was not Jewish, she and Alfred were able to stay in Breslau, although they were placed in a local internment camp for several months. Alfred and Maria left Germany for America in 1947.
Pressed aluminum cap badge with Nazi insignia acquired by a German Jewish refugee and US soldier
Object
SS cap badge with an eagle and oak wreath owned by Hans Hirschfeld, who left Germany at age twenty in 1939 for the US and later served in the US Army. From 1936 to 1945, this type of cap badge was worn by the SS-Ordnungspolizei, or order police, the regular uniformed police force in Germany, which included municipal and rural police, firemen, and the coast guard. When Hitler came to power in January 1933, Hans and his parents, Alfred and Maria, lived in Breslau, Germany, where Alfred was Director of the Chamber of Commerce. Maria was Protestant and Alfred was Jewish and Hans identified himself as Jewish. Under the Nazi government, Jews were persecuted and increasingly banned from areas of German society. In December 1937, Hans was fired from his job because he was Jewish. He lost another job six months later when the Jewish firm where he worked was Aryanized. He spent a year obtaining the permits needed to leave Germany and emigrated to Havana, Cuba, in March 1939, and then to Louisiana that October where he had a paternal aunt. He was drafted into the US Army in 1941 and served as a translator and interrogator of German prisoners of war in the US. Because Maria was not Jewish, she and Alfred were able to stay in Breslau, although they were placed in a local internment camp for several months. Alfred and Maria left Germany for America in 1947.
Pressed aluminum cap badge with Nazi insignia acquired by a German Jewish refugee and US soldier
Object
SS cap badge with an eagle and oak wreath owned by Hans Hirschfeld, who left Germany at age twenty in 1939 for the US and, from 1941-1945, served in the US Army. From 1936 to 1945, this type of cap badge was worn by the SS-Ordnungspolizei, or order police, the regular uniformed police force in Germany, which included municipal and rural police, firemen, and the coast guard. When Hitler came to power in January 1933, Hans and his parents, Alfred and Maria, lived in Breslau, Germany, where Alfred was Director of the Chamber of Commerce. Maria was Protestant and Alfred was Jewish and Hans identified himself as Jewish. Under the Nazi government, Jews were persecuted and banned from areas of German society. In December 1937, Hans was fired from his job because he was Jewish. He lost another job six months later when the Jewish firm where he worked was Aryanized. He spent a year obtaining the permits needed to leave Germany and sailed to Havana, Cuba, in March 1939, and then to Louisiana that October where he had a paternal great-aunt. He was drafted into the US Army in 1941 and served as a translator and interrogator of German prisoners of war in the US. Because Maria was not Jewish, she and Alfred were able to stay in Breslau, although they were placed in a local internment camp. Alfred and Maria left Germany for America in 1947.
Pressed aluminum cap badge with Nazi insignia acquired by a German Jewish refugee and US soldier
Object
SS cap badge with an eagle and oak wreath owned by Hans Hirschfeld, who left Germany at age twenty in 1939 for the US and later served in the US Army. From 1936 to 1945, this type of cap badge was worn by the SS-Ordnungspolizei, or order police, the regular uniformed police force in Germany, which included municipal and rural police, firemen, and the coast guard. When Hitler came to power in January 1933, Hans and his parents, Alfred and Maria, lived in Breslau, Germany, where Alfred was Director of the Chamber of Commerce. Maria was Protestant and Alfred was Jewish and Hans identified himself as Jewish. Under the Nazi government, Jews were persecuted and increasingly banned from areas of German society. In December 1937, Hans was fired from his job because he was Jewish. He lost another job six months later when the Jewish firm where he worked was Aryanized. He spent a year obtaining the permits needed to leave Germany and emigrated to Havana, Cuba, in March 1939, and then to Louisiana that October where he had a paternal aunt. He was drafted into the US Army in 1941 and served as a translator and interrogator of German prisoners of war in the US. Because Maria was not Jewish, she and Alfred were able to stay in Breslau, although they were placed in a local internment camp for several months. Alfred and Maria left Germany for America in 1947.
