Overview
- Description
- The Roman Haar collection contains documents from Roman’s childhood, growing up in Poland. The photographs in the collection are mainly of Roman, but some show him posing with his father Salo, and his mother Erna, and his half-brother Joachim Fritsche. The larger photograph taken in 1943 is of Roman while he was hiding in Rzeszow, and one photograph from 1946 is of Roman, Erna, and Joachim. Another photo is from a children’s Purim holiday play put on while at Foehrenwald displaced persons (DP) camp. Also within the collection is a document ordering Roman to be separated from his mother and to live in the Rzeszow ghetto, and Salo’s passport. In addition, the collection includes report cards and a published journal from Roman’s stay at the Foehrenwald DP camp.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1939-1949
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Roman Haar. In memory of my mother Erna Haar who saved me.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Roman Haar - Collection Creator
- Roman A. Haar
- Biography
-
Roman Haar was born in 1935 to Salo and Erna Haar, in the free city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland). Erna had another son from a previous marriage, Joachim Fritsche, as well. Salo was Jewish, but Erna was born into a Christian family. When the Jews were forced to leave Danzig in 1939, the Haar family moved to Rzeszow, leaving Joachim with Erna’s father. The family lived in an apartment until 1941, when all Jews were required to live in the newly formed ghetto in Rzeszow. Salo and Roman moved, but Erna stayed in the apartment, as she claimed she was German and unaffected by the law. Erna smuggled Roman into the apartment, but was unable to rescue Salo, who would later be killed in a roundup of Jews to be sent to the Belzec death camp. Erna appealed to the German government to allow Roman to live with her, claiming he was the illegitimate son of a German citizen, but was rejected. Rather than follow the order to send Roman to the ghetto, Erna hid Roman in her apartment until 1944, when they returned to Danzig. After the Russians liberated Danzig, Erna and Roman moved to the Foehrenwald displaced persons camp, where they remained until they immigrated to the United States in 1949.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Passport. Photographs. Report cards.
- Extent
-
5 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The Roman Haar 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
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The letter was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Roman Haar in 1997
Received by Erna Haar (donor's mother), November 1942, Rzeszow, Poland. Inherited by Roman Haar upon the death of his mother, 1987. Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1997 by Roman Haar. - Primary Number
- 1997.104
- Record last modified:
- 2023-04-11 09:38:12
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn518232
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD