Frank Shurman collection

Frank Shurman (1915-1999) was born Fritz Schürmann in Hildesheim, Germany to Willy and Alma Schürmann. His father owned a custom-tailoring business. After his completion of school, Frank apprenticed at various apprenticeships before working at his father’s firm. Frank joined the German-Jewish nationalist group, Deutscher Vortrupp, whose activities included volunteering for service in the German army. Frank enlisted in 1935, but was refused due to his Jewish background. In May of 1938, the Gestapo forced the liquidation of his father’s business. In August of the same year, Frank met Agusta Rahr Hamilton through a family friend. Despite barely knowing Frank or his family, she agreed to provide them with affidavits of support for visas to the United States. During the Kristallnacht, Frank and his father were arrested and sent to Buchenwald, where they were incarcerated for several weeks. In June of 1939, Frank moved to England where he volunteered at the Lord Kitchener transit camp while he waited for his American visa. He moved to the United States in May 1940, where he settled in Chicago while he assisted in arranging for his parents to immigrate. He succeeded in this in March 1941, and eventually joined the U.S. Army in 1943, where he served with the Intelligence Corps as a translator. In 1945, Frank married Margery Moses, who at the time was serving with the U.S. Coast Guard. Frank spent his years after the war as a clothing designer. He also established the Agusta Rahr Hamilton Fund of the Jewish Studies program at Wellesley College.