Alzen family papers
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Overview
- Description
- The Alzen family papers include identity papers, correspondence, and court papers documenting a Catholic farming family’s life in Nazi Germany, August Alzen’s forced sterilization, Johann Alzen’s death at Dachau, and the family’s efforts to receive compensation after the war.
Documents include Agnes Alzen’s Arbeitsbuch; Albert Alzen’s Military Government questionnaire, Freie Deutsche Liga membership card, and statement about what happened to his father; August Alzen’s Deutsche Arbeitsfront membership book, military papers, court summons and sterilization decision; a certificate declaring Benedikt Alzen unfit for military service; Johann Alzen’s 1922 passport and letters he wrote to his family from the prison in Münster and from Neuengamme and Dachau; and Katharina Alzen’s Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes membership card and correspondence regarding her efforts to obtain compensation. - Date
-
inclusive:
1922-1953
- Collection Creator
- Alzen family
- Biography
-
Johann Alzen (1885-1945) and his wife, Katharina Baldus Alzen lived in Wieselstein, Germany (today Loučná, Czech Republic) with their four children: Benedikt, August, Agnes, and Albert. In May 1937, August Alzen was summoned to appear before the Hereditary Health Court who ordered his forced sterilization on the grounds of congenital feeblemindedness. In November 1941, Johann Alzen was convicted of undermining German morale and sentenced to ten years in prison. He was incarcerated in Münster, transferred to Neuengamme in May 1943, to Natzweiler, and then to Dachau in September 1944 where he died in January 1945.
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Extent
-
6 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The Alzen family papers are arranged as a single series: I. Alzen Family Papers, 1922-1953
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
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The collection was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum from Melcher de Wit in 2001.
- 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 14:03:27
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn509408
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
