Mayer, Bierig, and Ehrmann families papers
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Overview
- Description
- The Mayer, Bierig, and Ehrmann families papers consist of biographical materials and correspondence documenting the family’s lives in Nazi Germany, emigration to England, deportation to France, and immigration to the United States.
Biographical materials include identification papers; birth, registration, marriage, and death certificates; education, training, and employment records; emigration and immigration records; ration books; and a family tree documenting the lives of the Bierig, Ehrmann, and Mayer families in Germany and their departures for England and the United States. They also include printed materials documenting the cultural activities of youth in British enemy alien internment camps.
Correspondence includes letters and postcards among family members and friends in Leimen, Nussloch, Gurs, Noé, Manchester, the Isle of Man, Toms River, and Brooklyn. The correspondence describes daily life in Germany, the United States, and England; deportation to France and life in French concentration camps; and efforts to emigrate. Letters also share family recipes as well as news of the deaths of family members and friends. This series also includes postwar correspondence from Kätchen Brandner, who had worked for the Mayer family in Leimen, and Paula Gluck, who was in Noé with the Mayers, providing news about the fates of family members and friends and about postwar life in Germany. - Date
-
inclusive:
1928-2012
bulk: 1928-1969
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Linda Ziskind
- Collection Creator
- Mayer, Bierig, and Ehrmann families
- Biography
-
Hugo Mayer (1864-1942) and his wife Karoline Bierig Mayer (1879-1944) lived in Leimen, Germany, with their three children, Friedel (1909-2003), Gustav (1910-1969), and Kurt (1921-2007). Friedel and Gustav immigrated to the United States in 1937 with Friedel’s husband, Oskar Ehrmann (1893-1940) and settled in Toms River, NJ. Kurt Mayer (1921-2007) emigrated to England in 1939, was interned on the Isle of Man during the war, and immigrated to the United States in 1947. Hugo and Karoline Mayer were deported to Gurs in 1940 and transferred in 1941 to Noé, where Hugo died of illness on New Year’s Day 1942. Karoline was transferred to le Vernet in 1943 and deported in 1944 to Auschwitz where she perished. Karoline Mayer’s stepmother, Karoline Bierig (1878-), was the second wife of Karl Bierig (d. 1936). The Bierigs’ three daughters were Selma (1908-1942), Gertud (1915-1942), and Toni. Toni Bierig immigrated to New York in 1938, and Gertrud Bierig emigrated to England in 1939. Selma remained in Nussloch with Karoline Bierig, and the two were deported to Gurs in 1940 with Hugo and Karoline Mayer. In 1941 the Bierigs were transferred to Recebedou, and in 1942 to Auschwitz where they perished. Gertrud committed suicide in England upon learning her mother and sister had been sent east.
Physical Details
- Extent
-
1 box
- System of Arrangement
- The Mayer, Bierig, and Ehrmann families papers are arranged as two series: I. Biographical materials, 1928-2012 (bulk 1928-1969), II. Correspondence, 1934-1960.
Rights & Restrictions
- 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.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jews--Germany--Nussloch. Jews--Germany--Leimen--(Baden-Württemberg). Jewish refugees--England. Jewish refugees--New Jersey. Concentration camp inmates--France--Correspondence. Holocaust victims.
- Geographic Name
- Leimen (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) Nussloch (Germany) Toms River (N.J.) Onchan (Isle of Man)
- Corporate Name
- Gurs (Concentration camp) Noé (Concentration camp)
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Linda Ziskind donated the Mayer, Bierig, and Ehrmann families papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 and 2014.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-02-24 13:40:44
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn59318
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-
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Also in Mayer, Bierig, and Ehrmann families collection
The collection consists of a medal, correspondence, and documents relating to the Mayer, Bierig, and Ehrmann families before, during, and after the Holocaust in Germany, and the United States where several family members emigrated to escape persecution.
Date: 1928-2012
WW I Baden Cross for Volunteer War Aid awarded to a German Jewish veteran
Object
Kreuz für freiwillige Kriegshilfe [Volunteer War Aid Cross] 1914-1916, belonging to Oskar Ehrmann. The Cross was awarded to men and women who provided outstanding service in caring for the sick and wounded, outside the war zone, or for other voluntary service in support of the war. Ehrmann was awarded a Cross of Honor for service on the front line during the First World War (1914-1918), issued in 1934. Oskar's two brothers were also German Army officers in WWI. In 1933, the Nazi regime came to power in Germany and enacted policies to persecute the Jewish population. Oskar decided to leave Germany with his family. In June 1937, Oskar, his wife Friedel, their children, Hans, 14, and Rolf, 12, and Friedel's brother Gustav sailed to America. They were later joined that by several family members, but many were unable to leave and perished.
