Overview
- Description
- The Sieraczek family papers include biographical material, correspondence, and photographs relating to Henryk Sieraczek and his son Jerzy Sieraczek’s (Jerome Sears) experience living in the Warsaw ghetto, going into hiding, and living in the Zeilsheim DP camp. The collection also includes papers relating to their immigrating to the United States.
Biographical materials include Henryk’s passport for stateless persons and identification card as well as Jerzy’s identification card for his school in Lodz.
Correspondence include letters from Henryk to his family about his experiences during the war, life in the DP camp, and attempts to obtain affidavits and visas to the Unites States as well as letters from other Sieraczek family members about daily life. This series also includes a letter from a Nazi officer regarding an investigation of the land at Auschwitz.
Immigration and emigration materials include papers relating to Henryk’s time at the DP camp, papers certifying his internment in the Warsaw ghetto, and papers from the Office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.) regarding his immigration to the United Stated.
Photographic materials include photographs the Sieraczek family at the Zeilsheim DP camp as well as prewar and postwar family photographs. - Date
-
inclusive:
1938-1953
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Jerome Sears This gift is made in memory of his parents Henryk Sieraczek and Leokadia Eizenberg Sieraczek
- Collection Creator
- Sieraczek family
- Biography
-
Jerzy Sieraczek (Jerome Sears) (b. 1936) was born in Warsaw, Poland to Henryk Sieraczek (1903-1982) and Leokadia Eizenberg. After the German invasion of Warsaw and the establishment of the Warsaw ghetto Henryk worked in the textile factory. In 1941 Leokadia was captured in a raid and taken to a concentration camp. In 1942, Henryk arranged for Jerzy to escape from the ghetto and live with the Bonczak’s family on a farm in Ozarow, Poland. Jerzy hid in an attic until 1945 when his father came for him after the Warsaw ghetto uprising. They fled temporarily to Łódź on their way to the American occupied zone in Germany where they lived in the Zeilsheim DP camp. After the camp was dissolved, they lived in Frankfurt, Germany until 1951 when Henryk and Jerzy received paperwork to immigrate to the United States.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Correspondence. Photographs.
- Extent
-
7 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The Sieraczek family papers are arranged as four series:
Series 1: Biographical materials, 1943-1950
Series 2: Correspondence, approximately 1944-1948
Series 3: Emigration and immigration material, 1945-1953
Series 4: Photographs, approximately 1938-1950
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
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Warsaw. Jewish families--Poland. Holocaust, Jewish (1939‐1945) Jewish Children in the Holocaust--Poland. Warsaw (Poland)--History--Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, 1943.
- Geographic Name
- Ozarow (Poland) Warsaw (Poland) Frankfurt am Main (Germany) New York (N.Y.) United States--Emigration and immigration--History.
- Personal Name
- Sieraczek, Henryk. Sieraczek, Jerzy (Jerome Sears)
- Corporate Name
- Zeilsheim (Displaced persons camp)
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Jerome Sears donated the Sieraczek family papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-02-24 14:25:50
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn526541
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD