Overview
- Description
- The collection primarily consists of family correspondence between Berthold and Kathi Speier (née Sommer) in New York, and Kathi’s brother Ludwig Sommer in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Cape Town, South Africa during the Holocaust. There are also two letters confirming a visa has been issued for Kathi’s mother Johanna Sommer in 1944, and postwar letters from the International Red Cross confirming Johanna was deported from Kassel, Germany in May 1942 and presumed dead. Additional material includes prewar family photographs and a family album (Stammbuch) belonging to Berthold.
- Date
-
inclusive:
circa 1920-1984
bulk: 1938-1944
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Inge Roman
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Inge Roman - Collection Creator
- Kathi S. Speier
- Biography
-
Kathi Sommer Speier (1907-2004) was born Käthe Sommer on December 18, 1907 in Kassel, Germany to Jakob Sommer and Johanna Sommer (née Kanter, 1883-1942?). She had one brother, Ludwig Sommer. Kathi married Berthold Speier (1905-2000) in 1935, and the couple immigrated to the United States in July 1938. During the Holocaust, Kathi and Berthold corresponded with her brother Ludwig who was living in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Cape Town, South Africa. They also worked to help her mother Johanna secure a visa to immigrate to the United States from Kassel. They received a visa for her in 1944, but learned after the war that Johanna was deported from Kassel in May 1942 and was presumed dead. The couple also helped other relatives with assisting her cousin Isidor Rose and his family immigrate from Germany during the war.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Correspondence Photographs
- Extent
-
6 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as 6 folders.
1 of 6. Correspondence, 1938
2 of 6. Correspondence, 1939
3 of 6. Correspondence, 1940
4 of 6. Photographs, circa 1920-circa 1945
5 of 6. Sommer, Johanna: immigration and ITS documents, 1944-1984
6 of 6. Speier, Berthold: family album and clipping, 1935-1939
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access 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
- Mrs. Inge Roman
Keywords & Subjects
- Geographic Name
- Zimbabwe Kassel (Germany) United States--Emigration and immigration.
- Personal Name
- Speier, Berthold Sommer, Johanna Sommer, Ludwig
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Inge Roman donated the Kathi Sommer Speier family papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012, 2016, and 2019. The accessions numbered 2012.26.1, 2016.321.1, and 2019.638.2 have been incorporated into this collection.
- Primary Number
- 2012.26.2
- Record last modified:
- 2023-12-22 07:48:43
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn756449
Download & Licensing
- In Copyright - Use Permitted
- Terms of Use
- This record is not digitized and cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Not Available for Research: Out for Digitization
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
