Abridged Prayer Book for Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States [Book]

Isidor Gross papers

Document

The Isidor Gross papers consist of documents and photographs that concern the family, immigration, and United States Army service of German born Jewish man, Isidor Gross. After being arrested by the Gestapo in 1938, Isidor and his father Markus fled Aachen, Germany for the United States and successfully rescued his mother and two younger siblings from a holding camp. Included in this collection are several documents from Isidor’s childhood in Germany, among them, his birth certificate, school report card, and employment workbook. Also included are papers documenting Isidor’s naturalization as a United States citizen, his enlistment, assignments, coursework, and discharge from the US Army, and some material related to restitution claims. Photographs of the Gross family in Aachen and Brooklyn are also comprised in this collection. The Isidor Gross papers are comprised of documents and photographs pertaining to Isidor Gross, his family, immigration to the United States from Germany, and service in the United States Army. Included in this collection are several documents from Isidor’s childhood in Germany, among them, his birth certificate, school report card, and the employment book he received upon his forced introduction into the workforce in 1936 after he completed the 8th grade. Documentation of Isidor’s immigration and naturalization include a letter from the Committee for Aid for Jews in Germany confirming his progress in leaving the country, his passage information for the SS Bergenfjord, paperwork declaring intent to seek United States citizenship, affidavits of his employment, and his naturalization certificate from 1943. Also comprised in this collection is a letter Markus wrote to the Morning Journal, a daily Jewish newspaper, seeking job advice as a recent immigrant to the country, though the letter is signed “Isidor G.” These papers also document coursework in English composition and mechanics that Isidor took while enlisted with the United States Army. Information regarding his enlistment and discharge are also included. Some material related to Isidor’s restitution claims and attempts to locate family members is also contained in this collection. Several photographs of Isidor, his parents, siblings, and paternal aunts and uncles are also comprised here within. Most of the photographs depict the Gross family in Brooklyn shortly after the war, though some are of the family in Aachen.

Maccabi sports club patch with a blue Star of David and Aachen worn by a Jewish youth

Object

White sleeve badge worn by Isidore (later Edward) Gross as a teenager when he played soccer with the Maccabi Sports Club in Aachen, Germany. He lived with his parents, Markus and Ida, and two younger siblings in Aachen, Germany. His parents had been born in Poland, but had lived in Aachen since 1920. Since the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in1933, Jew were increasingly persecuted in Germany. In fall 1938, Markus was deported back to Poland by the German authorities. Following Kristallnacht on November 9-10. Isidore, age 17, and his maternal uncle Jacob were arrested. Isidore was released because he could prove he was planning to leave Germany. Jacob was sent to Sachenhausen concentration camp where he died in late 1939 or early 1940. Markus was released from Zbaszyn holding camp in Poland once his family got him a US visa. In 1939, Edward and Markus immigrated to New York. Edward’s mother and siblings, Ida, Lena, and Morris, were held in Gruener Weg camp in Aachen but, in 1941, arrived in the US via Portugal. In 1943, Edward was drafted into the US Army. He served with the 703rd Engineer Petroleum Distributing Company in campaigns in North Africa and Italy. Most of the extended Gross and Reiter families in Europe perished in the Holocaust.

Book

Object