Overview
- Description
- The Susie Greenbaum Schwarz papers consist of a diary, false identification papers, and photographs documenting Susie Schwarz and her parents’ experiences in hiding on Christian farms in the Netherlands during the Holocaust as well as tracing correspondence documenting the deportations of Carolina Pagrach and her husband Mozes Levisson from Westerbork to Sobibor and their deaths.
Susie wrote her diary in hiding in the form of a cookbook. In it, she complains of boredom and intersperses recipes with personal observations about her experience in hiding and news she hears about the war’s progression. The back of the diary includes a brief handwritten Dutch‐English dictionary.
False identification papers include papers for Susie’s parents in the names of Gerrit Marinus van der Vegte, and Johanna van der Laar and two additional papers in the names of Bernhard Post and Bertha Pauwels used by members of the Pagrach family, a Dutch family who had persuaded the Grünbaum family to settle in Dinxperlo.
Two photographs depict Susie and her mother in their hiding place in the Harteminks’ barn around the time of liberation.
Tracing correspondence consists of letters from the Dutch Central Registration for Jews and the Dutch Red Cross tracing the Holocaust fates of Mozes Levisson and Carolina Pagrach Levisson explaining that they were deported from Westerbork to Sobibor and killed. - Date
-
inclusive:
1941-1946
- Collection Creator
- Susie Schwarz
- Biography
-
Susie Schwarz was born Suse Grünbaum in 1931 in Schlüchtern, Germany to Max Grünbaum and Kate Kahn. Her family moved to the Netherlands in 1933 to escape Nazi oppression and settled in Dinxperlo at the recommendation of the Pagrach family. They were restricted from conducting business and attending school after the German invasion in May 1940, and in April 1943 they went into hiding to avoid deportation. Max was hidden on the farm of Gerrit and Geertruida Jolink while Susie and Kate were hidden on the farm of Bernard and Mina Hartemink, first in a bedroom, then in an underground space, and finally in a loft over the barn. They were liberated by Canadian troops on April 1, 1945. Susie immigrated to the United States in 1947, and her parents joined her in 1950.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Photographs. Diaries.
- Extent
-
4 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The Susie Greenbaum Schwarz papers are arranged as a single series: I. Susie Greenbaum Schwarz papers, 1941-1946
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--Schlüchtern. Jewish refugees--Netherlands--Dinxperlo. Hidden children (Holocaust)--Netherlands. Jewish children in the Holocaust--Netherlands--Diaries. Hiding places--Netherlands. Identification cards--Forgeries--Netherlands.
- Geographic Name
- Schlüchtern (Germany) Dinxperlo (Netherlands) Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945.
- Corporate Name
- Westerbork (Concentration camp) Sobibór (Concentration camp)
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Susie Greenbaum Schwarz donated the Susie Greenbaum Schwarz papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990, 1993, and 2011. The accession previously cataloged as 1993.129 has been incorporated into this collection.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
The accessibility of this collection was made possible by the generous donors to our crowdfunded Save Their Stories campaign. - Primary Number
- 1990.30.10
- Record last modified:
- 2023-04-11 10:03:28
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn521564
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD