- Description
- The Elsa and Selmar Biener papers consists of immigration documents, correspondence, photographs, and financial materials related to the emigration of Elsa and Selmar Biener aboard the MS St. Louis, their disembarkation in England, and their internment on the Isle of Man.
The correspondence includes letters and telegrams to / from Selmar and Elsa Biener, their family, and various Jewish aid societies, dated 1929-1968, and undated. The papers also includes receipts for sending registered postal packages, 1940, and a collection of messages written and received by members of the Friedler family. These messages were written on British Red Cross stationary and delivered via the British Red Cross, 1942-1943.
The biographical materials series includes genealogy materials relating to the Weissmann family and Rostholder family, as well as an address list of family members and friends, undated.
The immigration materials series consists of immigration documents for Selmar and Elsa Biener. The documents include Selmar and Elsa Biener’s marriage certificate, 1936; Elsa Biener’s German driver’s license, 1938; an application for and notification of a receiving an immigration number from the American consulate in Berlin, Germany, 1939; a vaccination document, May 4, 1939; a certificate regarding the export of materials to Cuba, May 10, 1939; certificates of good conduct, 1939; a transcript of the “Emigration case of Selmar Beiner, at present A.I.C. Lingfield-Racecourse, Surrey, Hut 7,” 1940; a questionnaire regarding the experiences of Selmar Biener, 1941; and a United States Affidavit of Support for Selmar and Elsa Biener submitted by Siegmund Chusit, 1940. The papers also includes immigration documents for Eugen Biener, Siegmund Biener, Fischel Biener (1870-?), and Siefried Mannheimer. Also included are a travel pass, undated; printed instructions for consignments to internees, June 18, 1940; a document relating to luggage insurance, May 10, 1939; a “Circular to Refugees from Germany and Austria,” undated; a printed immigration document from the American consulate in Berlin, undated; a printed immigration document regarding immigration to Australia from an aid society for Jews in Germany, undated; and a blank application for a permit to enter Australia.
The financial materials relate to Philip Biener’s property transfers, 1927, 1936; various receipts; a tax document, May 8, 1939; a receipt for an advertisement The Times, July 14, 1939; and railroad and shipping documents, 1938-1940. Various lists include items purchased for immigration, April 1939; a list of gold and jewelry to be placed in a bank safe, 1940; and lists of household goods, 1939-1941.
The miscellaneous series include handwritten notes from various family members, circa 1930s-1956; a partial set of blank binder dividers; a copy of the “Auszug aus der Reichsmeldeldeordnung vom Januar 1938;” instructions for building basement air raid shelters, 1940; instructions for cooking with a Siemens-Kochplatte; instructions for using a Frigidaire; instructions for using a typewriter, a map of the European airmail lines, 1938; and a partial architectural blueprint of an unidentified building, August 23, 1940.
The papers also include a pen and ink drawing of a menorah with barbed wire, 1940.
The Biener family photographs include fourteen photographs taken aboard the MS St. Louis, 1939, as well as photographs of Elsa and Selmar Biener, 1939. Five negatives are storage separately for preservation purposes.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1927-1968
bulk:
1936-1941
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Diana Barzilay and Evelyn Hill
- Collection Creator
- Selmar Biener
Elsa F. Biener
- Biography
-
Selmar Biener (1906-1988) was born on May 15, 1906 in Magdeburg, Germany to Philip Biener (b. 1870) and Regina Biener (née Sternberg, b. 1876). He had three brothers, David Biener, Sigmund Biener, and Eugen Biener. Elsa Biener (née Friedler, 1915-1958) was born on September 24, 1915 in Magdeburg, Germany to Abraham Friedler (b. 1887) and Frieda Miriam Friedler (b. 1895). Selmar and Elsa married in 1936. On May 13, 1939, Selmar and Elsa Biener sailed from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba aboard the MS St. Louis. After being denied entry to Cuba and the United States, they disembarked in England where they were interned in a camp on the Isle of Man. They were eventually released. In England, they were reunited with Elsa’s siblings, Alexander, Jetti, and Hanni (Honey) Friedler. Selmar and Elsa Biener had two daughters, Evelyn Hill (b. 1943) and Diana Barzilay (b. 1947). Elsa Biener died in London, England, on November 20, 1958. Selmar Biener died on January 30, 1988 in Bournemouth, England.
Among their extended families several members perished in the Holocaust including Philip Fischel Biener at Theresienstadt concentration camp, Regina Biener and Abraham Friedler at Auschwitz concentration camp, and Eugen Biener at Dachau concentration camp. Frieda Friedler is also believed to have perished in the Holocaust. David Biener immigrated to Palestine.
Elsa Biener (née Friedler, 1915-1958) was born on September 24, 1915 in Magdeburg, Germany to Abraham Friedler (b. 1887) and Frieda Miriam Friedler (b. 1895). Selmar Biener (1906-1988) and Elsa married in 1936. On May 13, 1939, Selmar and Elsa Biener sailed from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba aboard the MS St. Louis. After being denied entry to Cuba and the United States, they disembarked in England where they were interned in a camp on the Isle of Man. They were eventually released. In England, they were reunited with Elsa’s siblings, Alexander, Jetti, and Hanni (Honey) Friedler. Selmar and Elsa Biener had two daughters, Evelyn Hill (b. 1943) and Diana Barzilay (b. 1947). Elsa Biener died in London, England, on November 20, 1958. Selmar Biener died on January 30, 1988 in Bournemouth, England.
Among their extended families several members perished in the Holocaust including Philip Fischel Biener at Theresienstadt concentration camp, Regina Biener and Abraham Friedler at Auschwitz concentration camp, and Eugen Biener at Dachau concentration camp. Frieda Friedler is also believed to have perished in the Holocaust. David Biener immigrated to Palestine.
