Overview
- Description
- The collection consists of photographs depicting Mini Chazen (born Mini Oppenheimer), originally of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and her family prior to their flight from Germany to France, her siblings and other children in hiding at Château Montintin and Marseille in France, and Mini’s brother Eli Oppenheimer.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1939-1942
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mini Chazen
- Collection Creator
- Mini Chazen
- Biography
-
Mini Chazen (1930-2009) was born Mini Oppenheimer in Bensheim, Germany, on 13 July 1930 to Hermann and Frieda Rosenberg Oppenheimer. She had three siblings: Myra (Miriam) (b. 1931), Karl (b. 1932), and Eli (b. 1938). Hermann worked as a salesman and Frieda was a homemaker. The family lived in Frankfurt am Main from 1930-1939. Mini attended the Jüdische Folkschule from 1936 to 1939. In 1938 the Gestapo arrested Mini’s uncle, Moritz Oppenheimer, who lived with the family. They initially also intended to arrest Hermann, but he was spared due to an illness that confined him to his bed.
In 1939, Mini, Myra, and Karl were sent by their parents to France to live with a Swiss family. The siblings stayed with the family until 1941 when Germany invaded France. They moved constantly throughout France, staying for a short period in an orphanage in Bergerac, and then relocating to Château Montintin with the assistance of Oeuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE). From Montintin, the Oppenheimer siblings departed for Marseille where they boarded a ship, the Marshal Petain, and sailed to Casablanca, Morocco. They waited for two weeks in Morocco before boarding the Serpa Pinto, a Portuguese ship bound for New York, along with two hundred other children.
Upon arrival in the United States, the siblings were sent to live with a foster family, the Freudenheims, in Buffalo, New York. Mini lived with the Freudenheims for six years. Myra and Karl lived with the family for five years and were then sent to live with the Lichtenstein family who later adopted Karl. The Oppenheimer siblings eventually learned that their parents and youngest brother, Eli, perished in a concentration camp in Minsk, Russia.
Mini married Boris Chazen in 1950 and they had two children: Barbara and David.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Photographs.
- Extent
-
1 folder
- System of Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as a single series.
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
- Geographic Name
- Frankfurt am Main (Germany) Marseille (France) France
- Personal Name
- Chazen, Mini. Oppenheimer family.
- Corporate Name
- World Union OSE
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 by Mini Chazen in 2002.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-28 09:14:57
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn510493
Download & Licensing
- In Copyright - Use Permitted
- Terms of Use
- This record is not digitized and cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Request 7 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
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Contact Us
Also in Mini Chazen collection
The collection consists of one oval metal pin, one charm featuring a Star of David, and photographs that depict members of the Chazen family before the Holocaust and three of the Chazen siblings at various locations throughout France. Some of these materials may be combined into a single collection in the future.
Date: 1939-1942
Brooch
Object
The oval-shaped brooch has three silver-colored filigree circles on either side of a larger circle with a Star of David design The brooch was given to Mini Chazen by her parents prior to her escape from Germany in 1939
Charm
Object
The charm depicts a Star of David with a central portion of blue enamel and Hebrew lettering The charm was given to Mini Chazen by her parents prior to her escape from Germany in 1939
Mini Chazen photographs
Document
The collection consists of copyprint photographs depicting Mini Chazen (born Mini Oppenheimer), originally of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and her family prior to fleeing Germany in 1939. Depictions include a group portrait, Mini’s sibling Eli, Mini and her siblings among other children in the Bergerac orphanage, and Mini with her siblings.