Overview
- Description
- The collection documents the experiences of the Weil family of Mannheim, Germany during the Holocaust. Included is wartime correspondence from Max, Elfriede, Arno, and Ilse Weil in the Rivesaltes internment camp to Anne Weil (later Anne Wascou), who immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1938 on the MS. St. Louis; wartime and post-war correspondence of Anne trying to locate and learn the fate of her family; and restitution paperwork. The photographs depict pre-war family life, Anne Weil onboard the MS. St. Louis, and a photograph album of Anne’s that depicts life in Mannheim and the United States.
- Date
-
inclusive:
circa 1928-1981
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Anne Wascou
- Collection Creator
- Weil family
- Biography
-
Annelise Franziska Weil (later Anne Wascou, 1921-2011) was born on 23 August 1921 in Karlsruhe, Germany to Elfriede (née Meyer, born in Mannheim, Germany, 1886-1942) and Max (born in Eichstätten, Germany, 1888-1942) Weil. She had one brother, Arno (1923-1945) and one sister, Ilse (1922-1942), both of whom were born in Mannheim. On 17 September 1938, Anne sailed from Hamburg to New York on board the MS St. Louis. On 22 October 1940 Anne’s parents were arrested in Mannheim and sent to the Gurs concentration camp in France, and transferred to the Rivesaltes internment camp by 1941. On 11 August 1942 they were transferred to the Drancy transit camp and then deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp where they perished. Anne’s brother Arno was deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp where he perished on 19 February 1945. Anne’s sister Ilse was arrested in Berlin on 14 December 1942 and deported to Auschwitz where she perished. Anne met and married Albert Wascou (d. 1980) and they settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They had two daughters, Marilyn and Ellen. Anne died at age 90 on 13 November 2011.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Photograph albums. Photographs. Correspondence.
- Extent
-
1 box
- System of Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as one 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
- Topical Term
- Jews--Germany--Mannheim--1920-1940. World War, 1939-1945--Confiscations and contributions--Germany. Restitution and indemnification claims (1933-) Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Reparations. Holocaust survivors--United States. Refugees, Jewish. Germany--Emigration and immigration--History--1933-1945.
- Geographic Name
- Karlsruhe (Germany) Mannheim (Germany)
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 Anne Wascou in 2005.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-05-30 10:26:55
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn517567
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-
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Also in Anne Weil Wascou family collection
The collection consists of two suitcases, correspondence, documents, photographs, and a photograph album relating to the experiences of Anne Weil Wascou and her family during the Holocaust and to the postwar efforts of Anne Wascou to obtain restitution.
Date: 1938-1982
Carry-on suitcase used by a young German Jewish woman
Object
Patterned canvas carry-on suitcase used by 16 year old Anneliese Weil when she left Hamburg, Germany for the United States on board the MS St. Louis on September 17,1938. She was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust. Her parents, brother, and sister were arrested by the Germans for being Jewish and deported to concentration camps where they perished.
Brown textured suitcase used by a young German Jewish woman
Object
Small brown suitcase used by 16 year old Anneliese Weil when she left Hamburg, Germany, for the United States on board the MS St. Louis on September 17,1938. She was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust. Her parents, brother, and sister were arrested by the Germans for being Jewish and deported to concentration camps where they perished.