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Carl Heinz Rosner papers

Document

The collection documents the Holocaust experiences of Carl Heinz Rosner of Hamburg, Germany including his stay at a Jewish orphanage from 1937-1942; the deportation Rosner and his brother Joseph to the Buchenwald concentration camp; and his life as a post-war refugee in Stockholm, Sweden. The collection also includes a small amount of material related to the experiences of his wife Frieda Rosner and her parents Zelman and Judith Zeidshnur of Wilno, Poland (modern day Vilnius, Lithuania). Included are biographical materials such as passports, naturalization certificates, birth certificates, and wedding certificates; wartime correspondence of Jacob Ettlinger, a German Jew living in Stockholm who worked with several aid organizations and assisted Jewish refugees, including Carl and his mother Rachel Rosner; and photographs that depict pre-war lives of the Rosner and Zeidshnur families, Carl and his brother Joseph’s time at the orphanage, and post-war life in Haifa, Israel. Also included is Frieda Rosner’s autograph book from post-war Łódź, Poland. The correspondence of Jacob Ettlinger contains letters sent and received in 1944. The correspondents include family members, refugees, Jews in concentration camps, and aid organizations. There is correspondence with Carl Rosner prior to his deportation to Buchenwald. There is also correspondence with the Seinfeld family regarding Carl and his brother’s deportation to Buchenwald, and whether or not to inform their mother Rachel Rosner because of her mental health at the time. The letters are arranged alphabetically. A: Abel, Isidore; Aktiebolagst Aerotransport; American Legation in Stockholm; Anderson, Ludwig; Anderson, Alfred; Andersson, David; Auerbach, Marta, Auerbach, Philipp. B: Baer, J.F.; Bamberger, Rechy; Berlas, Chaim, Barth, Otto; Benzian, Silvia; Bergman, Dick; Bergstein, T.; Berlinger, E. [Rabbi]; Bindefeld, A.; Bodenheimer, E.L.; Bromma Judiska Försammling; Bulka, Paul; Buren, Irvin; Böyesen, Svein. C: Centrala Hjälpkomittén för Leningrads Barn; Centralpostkontoret; Cohn, Arnold; Cohn, Georg; Cohn, Paula. D: Danska Förläggningen; David, Albert; Diefenbronner, Elsa; Diefenbronner, Erich; Diefenbronner, Hermann. E: Emanuel, Jacob; Emigranternas Siälvhjälp; Ettlinger, Erna; Ettlinger, Helene; Ettlinger, Leo; Ettlinger, Maier. F: Feist, Edwin; Feist, Mrs. Philippe; Fischhoff, Franz; Fleischman, Paul; Fleischman, Rebecka; American Jewish Congress regarding Max Friediger; Fürth, Hildegard. G: Goldberger, Franz; Goldschmidt, Victor; Goldstein, Heimann; Gordon and Tankus; Gorgéns electrical company; Grünberg, A.; Grünstein, Mrs. S.; Grönblom, Berndt. H: Haitkin, Sam; HEROS Handels AB; Hirsch, Bernard; Hirsch, Frank; Hollander, Arthur; Hollander, Fritz; Horovitz, Leo; Hultsfora Sanatorium; Hüttner, Julius. I: Ischenhäuser, Elias; Ischenhäuser, Rachel; Igell, Nissen; International Red Cross. J: Jacobsson, A.J.; Jacobson, Wolf; Jacoby, Käthe; Jaffe, Moses; Josephson, Gunnar.

Black purse

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Łódź (Litzmannstadt) ghetto scrip, 1 mark note

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1 [eine] mark receipt issued in the Łódź ghetto in Poland beginning in May 1940 until the ghetto was liquidated in summer 1944. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and occupied Łódź one week later. Łódź was renamed Litzmannstadt and, by February 1940, the Germans forcibly relocated the large Jewish population of 160,000 into a small, sealed ghetto. All residents had to work and many were forced laborers in ghetto factories. Residents were forbidden to have German currency, and the Jewish Council was ordered to create a system of Quittungen [receipts] that could be used only in the ghetto. The scrip, sometimes referred to as rumkis, after the Elder of the Judenrat, Mordechai Rumkowski, was issued in 7 denominations: 50 pfenning, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 marks, as well as coins. It acted as a labor incentive and facilitated the confiscation of money and goods from internees. There was little to exchange it for in the ghetto. Living conditions were horrendous; the severe overcrowding and lack of food made disease and starvation common. In January 1942, mass deportations to Chelmno killing center began; half the residents were murdered by the end of the year. In summer 1944, Łódź, the last ghetto in Poland, was destroyed and the remaining Jews were sent to Chelmno and Auschwitz-Birkenau killing centers.

Buchenwald Standort-Kantine concentration camp scrip, 2 Reichsmark

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2 Reichsmark coupon issued at Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. Buchenwald opened on July 19, 1937, and issued undated notes in 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 mark denominations. The simply designed notes were printed on coarse paper. There were two types of coupons: canteen scrip and exchange scrip issued to members of outside labor brigades [Aussenkommandos.] In early April 1945, as US forces approached Buchenwald concentration camp, the German guards began to evacuate the camp. On April 11, the prisoners revolted and seized control of the camp. Later that day, soldiers from the Sixth Army Armored Division, part of the Third Army, arrived in camp and discovered more than 21,000 starved and ill inmates.