Holub, Glaser, and Ornstein families papers

The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of the Holub, Glaser, and Ornstein families, all originally of Prague, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic), including Eva Glaser (née Holub), her parents Josef and Marie Holub, and her brother Hanus; Eva’s first husband Arno Erban and their sons Peter and Tomas; Eva’s aunt Erna Popper (later Erna Lichtenstern and Erna Berkowitz) and her husband Richard and son Kurt; Eva’s second husband Herbert Glaser; and her cousin Walter Ornstein. The collection consists of biographical material, immigration paperwork, correspondence, writings including diaries, and photographs documenting the Holub and Glaser families’ deportations to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz, post-war immigration to Venezuela and the United States, and Walter Ornstein’s emigration from Prague in 1939.

Series 1. Biographical material consists of identification papers, employment and education documentation, marriage and divorce papers, restitution claims, and family trees and genealogy research. Included is material related to Herbert Glaser and his sister Anna Glaser; Marie Holub’s sister Erna Popper, her son Kurt Lichtenstern, and her second husband Solomon Berkowitz; Eva’s first husband Arno Erban and their son Peter; and Walter Ornstein, his family, and his future wife Evelyn Hillkowitz. Holub family papers include Eva’s identification, education, and employment papers; her marriage and divorce paperwork with Arno and her marriage certificate with Herbert; identification papers and report cards of her brother Hanus; identification and military papers of Eva’s father Josef; and restitution claims regarding Josef’s life insurance with Assicurazioni Generali and paperwork with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, Inc.

Series 2. Immigration papers include paperwork related to Arno Erban and Herbert Glaser’s post-war immigration to Venezuela in 1947, Herbert’s attempt to immigrate to the Unites States in 1947, Eva becoming an naturalized citizen in the United States in 1987, and Walter’s emigration from Prague to Panama en route to Ecuador in 1939.

Series 3. Correspondence contains two subseries: 3.1 contains correspondence of the Holub and Glaser families; 3.2 contains correspondence of Walter Ornstein. Correspondence of the Holub and Glaser families includes letters regarding Eva’s son Peter’s death in 1951; a letter from Josef to his mother Vilemina Holub; post-war letters to Herbert; and thank you letters to Eva regarding her speaking engagements as a Holocaust survivor. Correspondence of Walter Ornstein includes letters from friends; his future wife Evelyn Hilkowitz; Josef, Marie, Eva, and Hanus Holub; and his parents and brother. There are also letters Walter wrote to his family in Prague in 1941 after he immigrated to the United States that were marked “return to sender.”

Series 4. Writings includes wartime diaries, post-war personal narratives and articles, and an oral history transcript. The diaries consist of a diary authored by Eva’s brother Hanus in Prague, 1941, and a diary kept from 1938-1941 by Eva’s cousin Walter Ornstein that documents his experiences in Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, and the United States. Other writings include Eva’s personal narratives and essays regarding her Holocaust experiences, as well as a fictionalized account based on her experiences; a typed transcription of an oral history interview conducted with Herbert by Eva and their daughter in 1985, shortly before his death; Walter’s medical notebook; Eva’s aunt Erna’s handwritten recipes; Arno Erban’s articles on Theresienstadt; and essays by Eva’s granddaughters Rebecca Erban and Michelle Bernstein.

Series 5. Photographs includes pre-war, wartime, and post-war depictions of Eva, the Holub family, Arno Erban, and the Ornstein family. The photograph album includes depictions of the Holub, Popper, Lichtenstern, and Glaser families, and documents the families in Czechoslovakia, Venezuela, and the United States. It also includes a photograph of Kurt Lichtenstern as a child in a performance of Brundibar in Theresienstadt, 1944. There are additional photocopies of the performance that include depictions of Kurt and Eva’s brother Hanus.

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Pencil portrait

Object

Leo Haas drawing of Richard Lichtenstern.

Oral history interview with Herbert Glaser

Oral History