Rosenwald and Stahl families papers
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Overview
- Description
- The Rosenwald and Stahl families papers consists of correspondence, identification and travel documents, postcards, photographs, an autograph album, financial documents and restitution files, and other similar materials related to the emigration of the family of Otto and Elfriede Rosenwald, and their daughter, Helen, from Germany in 1936, to escape Nazi persecution, as well as the later emigration of Otto’s father, Simon. Includes selected photographs and documents related to the family of Helen Rosenwald Stahl's husband, Gerhard (Gerald) Stahl, documenting their own lives in pre-war Germany and Gerhard's immigration to Great Britain in 1939. The collection is divided into two series: Biographical and Financial.
In the Biographical series, documents that help identify various biographical data about family members are included, such as birth certificates, passports, identification cards, military records, driver’s licenses, and similar materials. Also included are printed programs and clippings of reviews from musical performances that featured Otto Rosenwald from 1919 to 1936, and records from organizations that Otto Rosenwald belonged to in Germany, including some from which he had to leave, due to anti-Semitic policies after 1933 (such as the local fire brigade). Also included is a file regarding the Luise Ochs, the widow of Otto Rosenwald’s cousin, Fritz, who sought to prove in the post-war years that she had converted to Judaism during the Nazi era, so that she would be eligible to receive benefits (which Rosenwald family members affirmed). Also included in the Biographical series are materials related to the family of the husband of Helen Rosenwald Stahl, Gerald (Gerhard) Stahl, documenting both his immigration to Great Britain in 1939, as well as photographs and other documents from his family, including an autograph book kept by his mother, Sophie, in the early 1900s, and documents related to his parents’ attempt to leave Germany in 1940, including their passports and an unused affidavit.
The Financial series largely consists of records from Otto’s father, Simon, related to bank accounts, debts owed to him, and mortgages held by him, which were frozen after his emigration. Such records include correspondence with banks, and date mostly from late 1938 onward (after Kristallnacht), showing efforts to consolidate assets, sell securities, provide for indigent relatives, and recover debts and outstanding mortgage payments, prior to his departure from Germany. After arriving in New York, Simon Rosenwald continued to pursue these matters up until the time when the United States entered World War II. Following the war, he resumed efforts to recover frozen bank accounts, and to press claims against those who he had given mortgages to, and who had not made payments or from which he had not received any interest since the late 1930s. In addition to the financial matters of Simon Rosenwald, this series also contains some restitution-related records, in which the Rosenwald family sought to receive compensation during the 1950s for their lost business and real estate; as well as a file of correspondence from Max Perlman, who distributed assistance to the family from the William Rosenwald Family Association. - Date
-
inclusive:
1885-1980
bulk: 1920-1955
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Helen Rosenwald Stahl
- Collection Creator
- Otto Rosenwald
Gerald Stahl
Simon Rosenwald - Biography
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Otto Rosenwald (1895-1979) was born on 29 July 1895 in Bünde (Westfalen), the son of Simon and Helene (née Isaac, 1869-1915) Rosenwald. He served in the German Army during World War I (First Division, Field Artillery, Regiment 58), seeing action in France, including at Verdun, the Vosges, and other locations in Alsace and Lorraine. He was an accomplished singer (a tenor), and after returning from the war, studied at a conservatory in Osnabrück, and regularly performed in concerts around the region. He belonged to a number of organizations, including the volunteer firefighters in Bünde, from which he was asked to step down from his post as secretary due to anti-Semitic regulations in 1933, and as a veteran he also belonged to the Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten (Herford chapter). In 1929, he married Elfriede Rose (born 8 June 1908 in Nienburg/Weser), and with their daughter, Helene (later Helen), immigrated to the United States in 1936, with assistance from their distant American relatives, through the William Rosenwald Family Association. He died in New York on 22 December 1979.
Gerhard (later Gerald) Stahl was born on 3 May 1922, to Martin and Sofie (née Bauer) Stahl, in Nuremberg, Germany. He left for Britain (on a Kindertransport), arriving in England on 23 August 1939, and subsequently worked as a dyer’s apprentice, and later an agricultural laborer. He immigrated to the United States in April 1946.
Simon Rosenwald (1862-1955) was born on 26 March 1862, in Bünde (Westfalen). He married Helene Isaac in 1895, and worked in the family-owned cigar making business until its expropriation during the Nazi era. The Rosenwalds had three children: Otto (1895-1979), Ernst (1898-1990) and Charlotte (1903-2003). Although his son and daughter-in-law, Otto and Elfriede, left Germany in 1936, Simon stayed until 1938, and then joined his son in New York. Simon Rosenwald died in New York at the age of 93, on 29 September 1955.
Physical Details
- Extent
-
2 boxes
- System of Arrangement
- The Rosenwald and Stahl families papers are arranged in two series, and then in alphabetic order within each series: I. Biographical `1885-1980, II. Financial 1906-1960.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Copyright to unpublished documents created by Otto Rosenwald, Elfriede Rosenwald, Simon Rosenwald, and Gerald Stahl, remains with the donor or her heirs for the duration of copyright term. Other material 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
- Gift of Helen Rosenwald Stahl, 2017, and delivered in two increments by Vivian Stahl, 2016-2017.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-07-12 08:03:56
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn554022
Additional Resources
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-
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Also in Rosenwald and Stahl families collection
The collection consists of correspondence, documents, postcards, photographs, and a book related to the experiences of Otto and Elfriede Rosenwald, and their daughter, Helene, who emigrated from Nazi Germany in 1936, as well as papers relating to members of their extended family.
Date: 1885-1980
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