Overview
- Description
- The Stripounsky family papers consist of identification, education, immigration, and military papers, correspondence, photographs, printed materials, and writings documenting the flight of Menachem (Nathan) and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel from Nazi-occupied Belgium to France in 1940 and from France to the United States in 1941 and Joseph Strip’s military service in 1945 and 1946.
Biographical materials consist of identification papers, student records, ration cards, military records, employment records, citizenship records, and immigration records documenting the Stripounsky family, Menachem Stripounsky’s years in England and immigration to Belgium, the birth of his son Joseph, the family’s refuge in France, and their immigration to the United States. This series also contains correspondence documenting Joseph’s work for military intelligence and war crimes trials after the war and his efforts to redress his Belgian court martial.
Correspondence files document Menachem Stripounsky’s efforts in 1940 and 1941 to find employment in France and to enable his family to immigrate to the United States with the help of his previous employer, and they include Menachem’s hand-copied correspondence entries into notebooks that appear to have also been used by Joseph for his studies. This series also documents the Stripounskys’ unsuccessful efforts to help the Kaminsky family immigrate to the United States, poems by Morris Polaskoff, and Joseph Strip’s return visit to the French city of Grantentour where his family found refuge after leaving Belgium before immigrating to the United States.
Photographic materials include two photo albums and loose photographs documenting Joseph Stripounsky’s military service in Europe from 1944-1946 as well as Menachem Stripounsky, his family, and his coworkers.
Printed materials include the July 21, 1947 edition of the daily newspaper of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, a map of Belgium, a program for a Mendele Folk Shul event, and a few clippings.
Writings include Joseph’s 1939 geometry notebook, his 1940 algebra notebook which he also used as a diary, and his 1941 diary. Joseph’s diaries describe the 1940 invasion of Belgium, his family’s flight to France, the invasion of France, his life as a refugee in Gratentour (near Toulouse) and Nimes, his family’s immigration to the United States via Spain and Portugal, and their new life in the United States. Throughout the diaries he notes his activities, impressions, living conditions, rations, and news about the progress of the war. His writings also include his memoirs written between 1978 and 2014 describing his family escape to France and the United States in 1940 and 1941. His memoirs comment and expand on his diary entries and his father’s correspondence from the time and describe in detail their flight from Belgium, his father’s efforts to secure the family’s immigration to America, his education in the United States, and his work as translator and interpreter for the US Army. This series also includes drafts of a short composition Regina wrote for an English class about an American couple escaping war-torn France as well as the memoirs of Marcel Braitstein, a nephew of Regina Stripounsky’s relative Rachel Gunzig, about his survival as a hidden child in Belgium. - Date
-
inclusive:
1912-2014
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the family of Joseph Strip
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Eliane P. Strip - Collection Creator
- Stripounsky family
- Biography
-
Joseph Strip (1923-2014) was born Joseph Stripounsky in Antwerp to Menachem (Nathan, b. 1893 in Podbrodzie, now Pabradė, Lithuania) and Rosa Ester Mac (b. 1894). His stepmother was Regina Stripounsky (b. Regina Gunzig in 1898 in Krakow) and his younger brother was named Asriel (Ace, b. 1936). His family fled to France when Germany invaded Belgium in 1940. They lived in Nîmes and Gratentour and then immigrated to the United States with the help of Menachem’s former employer in 1941. The family settled in Newark, and Joseph graduated from Newark College of Engineering and changed his name to Joseph Strip. He joined the U.S. Army, was sent to Germany in 1944, served as an interpreter with the War Crimes Investigation Team, and translated documents for the Nuremberg Trials. He married Eliane Poser in 1948, had three children, and worked as an engineer for IT&T, the Signal Corps of Engineers, and RCA.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Diaries. Photographs.
- Extent
-
2 boxes
2 oversize boxes
5 oversize folders
1 book enclosure
- System of Arrangement
- The Stripounsky family papers are arranged as five series:
I: Biographical materials, 1912-1959
II: Correspondence, 1940-2013 (bulk 1940-1943)
III: Photographs, approximately 1920-1953
IV: Printed materials, approximately 1930-1950, V: Writings, 1939-2014
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
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Eliane and David Strip donated the Stripounsky family papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 and an accretion in 2018 on behalf of the family of Joseph Strip. The accessions formerly cataloged as 2016.322.1 and 2018.190.1 have been incorporated into this collection.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
The accessibility of this collection was made possible by the generous donors to our crowdfunded Save Their Stories campaign. - Special Collection
-
Save Their Stories
- Primary Number
- 2016.322.18
- Record last modified:
- 2024-04-11 13:18:54
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn613038
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-
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Also in Joseph Strip family collection
The collection consists of an armband, currency, flier, patches, correspondence, diaries, documents, memoirs, and photographs relating to the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the Holocaust when they fled Antwerp, Belgium, in May 1940 for France, and, after a year, for the United States, as well as for Joseph's US Army service in Germany beginning in 1944.
British military armband acquired by a Jewish emigre serving in the US Army
Object
Military uniform armband issued by the Army Council owned by Joseph Strip (originally Striponsky) who was sent to Germany by the United States Army in 1944. Joseph and his parents Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky, and brother Astriel fled Antwerp, Belgium, in May 1940 for France. A year later, they received American visas, and traveling via Spain and Portugal, left for New York in May 1941.
Green patch with a paintbrush and palette acquired by a Jewish emigre serving in the US Army
Object
Badge with a painter's palette and brush owned Joseph Strip (originally Striponsky) who was sent to Germany by the United States Army in 1944. Joseph and his parents Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky, and brother Astriel fled Antwerp, Belgium, in May 1940 for France. A year later, they received American visas, and traveling via Spain and Portugal, left for New York in May 1941.
Green patch with a red tent acquired by a Jewish emigre in US Army
Object
Badge with an embroidered red tent owned by Joseph Strip (originally Striponsky) who was sent to Germany by the United States Army in 1944. Joseph and his parents Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky, and brother Astriel fled Antwerp, Belgium, in May 1940 for France. A year later, they received American visas, and traveling via Spain and Portugal, left for New York in May 1941.
Set of ration stamps
Object
Set of ration stamps, one of a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
French ration stamps
Object
Set of ration stamps for use between November 18 and 31 December 1940 for the purchase of bread or flour. The ration coupons are among a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
Austrian two schilling scrip
Object
Austrian two schilling scrip printed in 1944 by the Alliierte Militarbehorde. One of a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
Austrian ten schilling scrip
Object
Austrian ten schilling scrip issued by the Austrian Nationalbank in Vienna on 20 May 1945, one of a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
Austrian fifty groschen scrip
Object
Austrian fifty groschen scrip printed by the Alliierte Militarbehorde in 1944. The scrip is one of a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
Austrian one schilling scrip
Object
Austrian one schilling scrip issued in 1944 by the Alliierte Militarbehorde, one of a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
German one-half mark scrip
Object
German one-half mark scrip, one of a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
German one mark scrip
Object
German one mark scrip issued in 1944, one of a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
Chinese scrip
Object
Chinese piece of scrip, dated 1953, one of a number of materials documenting the experiences of the Stripounsky (later Strip) family: Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky and their sons Joseph and Asriel during the time period surrounding the Holocaust. The Stripounskys fled Antwerp, Belgium in May 1940 to France. After a year, they got American visas, traveling via Spain and Portugal, arriving in New York in May 1941. Joseph was sent by the US Army to Germany in 1944.
Pro-Vichy propaganda handbill acquired by a Jewish emigre in US Army
Object
Pro-Vichy government handbill acquired by Joseph Strip (originally Striponsky) who was sent to Germany by the United States Army in 1944. Joseph and his parents Menachem Nathan and Regina Stripounsky, and brother Astriel fled Antwerp, Belgium, in May 1940 for France. A year later, they received American visas, and traveling via Spain and Portugal, left for New York in May 1941.
Book
Object
40 franc stamp
Object
5 franc stamp
Object
