Robert I. Kaplan papers

Document | Accession Number: 2016.457.1

The collection contains letters written by Captain Robert I. Kaplan, a medic in Company D of the 110th Medical Battalion attached to the 35th Infantry Division, to his wife Beatrice in Camden, New Jersey along with a small amount of photographs and issues of Stars & Stripes newspaper. His letters span May 1944 through September 1945 and describe daily army life, first in England, then France, Holland, and Germany. He describes his visit to the Dachau concentration camp in a letter dated 17 August 1945. Many letters also include enclosures primarily of clippings and pamphlets, and newsletters. He also enclosed copies of Stars & Stripes newspaper. Included is a non-sequential run from July 1944-March 1945. The photographs include depictions of Dachau; the barn massacre of prisoners at Gardelegen, Germany in April 1945; and Hitler’s bunker in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

Date: inclusive: 1944-1945
Language: English
German
Polish
Russian
French
Genre/Form: Photographs.
Correspondence.
Newspapers.
Extent: 2 boxes
1 oversize box
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Deborah Kaplan

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Document Creator: Robert I. Kaplan
Biography: Robert I. Kaplan’s parents were born in Lithuania, and he grew up in Camden, New Jersey. He was a medic and dentist who volunteered to join the United States Army in 1941. Robert married Beatrice Slutsky in January 1942, and their first daughter, Judy, was born in 1944. He was a medic in Company D of the 110th Medical Battalion attached to the 35th Infantry Division when he was sent to Europe in May 1944. They arrived in England, and by July his division was sent to Normandy, France. They remained in France until February 1945 when they went to Holland, The Netherlands and then on to Germany. After the war was over, he was transferred to Company D, 331st Medial Battalion attached to the 106th Division. He returned to the United States in September 1945.
System of Arrangement: The collection is arranged as three series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1944-1945; Series 2: Photographs, 1944-1945; Series 3: Printed material, 1944-1945
Topical Term: Dachau (Concentration camp)--Photographs.
Gardelegen Massacre, Gardelegen, Germany, 1945.
Jewish soldiers--United States.
Geographic Name: Normandy (France)
Nancy (France)
Berchtesgaden (Germany)
Gardelegen (Germany)
Personal Name: Kaplan, Robert I.
Corporate Name: United States. Army. Infantry Division, 35th
United States. Army. Infantry Division, 106th
Holder of Originals: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by Deborah Kaplan, daughter of Robert Kaplan.
Conditions on Access: This material can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing station. There are no additional access restrictions to this material.
Conditions on Use: The donor, source institution, or a third party has asserted copyright over some or all of the material(s) in this collection. 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.
Copyright Holder: Ms. Deborah Kaplan
: Record last modified: 2023-10-12 15:59:37
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn556067

Also in Robert I. Kaplan collection

The collection consists of an armband, currency, flags, insignia, ration stamps, silhouette, correspondence, clippings, documents, fliers and ration cards relating to the experiences of Robert I. Kaplan, a captain and medic in the United States Army, Company D, 110th Medical Battalion, who served overseas during World War II.

Date: 1944-1945