Arzt family papers

Document | Accession Number: 2006.510.1

The Arzt family papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, and photographs documenting the pre-war lives of Hans Arzt and his family in Berlin, Germany and their wartime and post-war experiences after they fled Germany for the Dominican Republic, Palestine, and Czechoslovakia. The collection also includes some correspondence, biographical material, and photographs of Lotte Hamburger, Hans’ wife, and her family.

Hamburger family biographical material includes birth records and a family history for Julius Hamburger and birth records, report cards, and marriage announcements, songs, toasts, and service material for Lotte Hamburger. Arzt family biographical material includes immigration documentation for the Dominican Republic, a marriage certificate, school report cards, letters of employment, and admissions letters for Susi Arzt as well as documentation of World War I service, membership cards, business cards, marriage certificate, correspondence relating to his business regarding the transfer of his assets because he was Jewish, and a last will for Hans Arzt. The series also includes Arzt and Hamburger family trees and an unpublished family history titled The Arzt Chronicles.

Correspondence includes letters sent from Hans to Lotte during WWI when he was a POW, original and photocopies of letters between Lotte, Lore, Susi, Kurt, and other family members after they were separated during the war and living in Germany, the Dominican Republic, and Palestine as well as illustrated letters from Wolfgang Hamburger, Susi and Lore’s cousin. The series also includes letters of congratulations to Lotte and Hans on their wedding.

Writings include a date book which lists dates of birth, a diary by an unknown diarist, a handmade encyclopedia made by Edith for her brother Hans, and a book of recipes, including the original recipe for liquor from the Heinz Arzt store. The series also includes poetry written by Lotte and Susi.

Photographs include mainly pre-war albums and loose photographs largely of the Arzt family in Berlin, at the Heinz Arzt factory, on vacations, and leaving Germany. Some pre-war photographs of the Hamburger family are included.

Date: inclusive: 1850-1989
undated:
Language: German
English
Spanish
Genre/Form: Correspondence.
Photographs.
Passports.
Extent: 2 boxes
1 oversize box
2 oversize folders
1 book enclosure
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Naomi Swyers

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Document Creator: Arzt family
Biography: Hans Artz (1894-1975) was born to Heinz (Hanz) Arzt (1866-1931) and Sophie Ehrenhause (1869-1939) and had five siblings: Grete (1895-1987), Trude (1989-1988), Edith (1900-?), Erich (1902-1979), and Ruth (1911-1988). Heinz owned a liquor store and married Sophie in 1892. Heinz died in 1931 and Sophia moved into a boarding house and then a nursing home before passing away in 1939.

Hans served in World War I and was a POW. After the war he took over his father’s business and married Lotte Hamburger (1891-1970, born to Julius (1856-1925) and Clara (1862-1939)) in 1924. They lived in Berlin and had two children, Susi (b. 1925) and Hannelore (Lore, b. 1928). After his business was taken from him because he was Jewish in 1938, Hans and his family decided to leave Germany. Hans, Lotte, and their daughters left for the Dominican Republic in October 1938. They immigrated to the United States in 1947.

In 1933 Trude, her husband Richard Bail (1899-1971), and their children Gerte (b. 1922), Heinz (1923-1982), and Lutz (b.1926-1976) left for Czechoslovakia where they opened a photography studio. After their residence permit expired in 1936 or 1937, they moved to Prague and attempted, unsuccessfully, to immigrate to France. In 1938 they moved to Italy and sent their sons to school in Palestine in 1939. Trude and Richard moved to Palestine in 1945 and eventually settled in the United States.

Ruth went to Paris around 1933 as a German-speaking governess. She briefly returned to Germany before leaving again for Sweden. When her visa renewal was denied she was sent back to Germany. In 1936 she was arrested and interned at Moringen concentration camp for nine months before she was released and left for Palestine. She married Heinz Warschauer (b. 1906) and had a son, Dan (b. 1945). They immigrated to the United States in 1950.

In February 1936 Grete, her husband Peter Philipsborn (1892-1972), and their son Fritz (b.1922) immigrated to the Dominican Republic where they opened a store. After the war they immigrated to the United States and settled in California.

Edith married Kurt Bail (1896-1985) and they had two daughters, Hilla (b.1922) and Evlein (Eva, b.1923). Edith and Kurt divorced in 1936 and Edith and her daughters were forced to leave Germany in 1939. They went to England where Edith found work and Kurt went to Bolivia.

Erich, his wife Hanni Dussek (b. 1905), and their daughter Ruth (Lütte, b. 1933) sailed for Chile in June 1939.
System of Arrangement: The collection is arranged in four series:
Series 1: Biographical material, circa 1885-1989 and undated
Series 2: Correspondence, 1850-1961
Series 3: Writings, 1928-1974 and undated
Series 4: Photographs, 1924-1975
Topical Term: Jewish families--Germany--Berlin.
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives.
Family histories.
Geographic Name: Berlin (Germany)
Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
United States--Emigration and immigration--History.
Personal Name: Arzt, Hans, 1894-1975.
Arzt, Lore, 1928-
Arzt, Susi, 1925-
Hamburger, Lotte, 1891-1970.
Holder of Originals: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The Arzt family papers were donated by Naomi Swyers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2006.
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.
: Record last modified: 2023-02-24 14:30:39
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn560385

Also in Arzt family collection

Collection of documents, correspondence, photograph albums, family histories and genealogies, notebooks, a wallet, textile-covered box, small bottle, and souvenirs relating to the experiences of the Arzt family who fled Berlin, Germany for the Dominican Republic.