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Sommer family papers

Document | Not Digitized | Accession Number: 2015.197.1

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    Overview

    Description
    Consists of pre-war, wartime, and post-war correspondence sent to and from Julius Sommer of Frankfurt, Germany, as well as Sommer's own wartime reflections of his own experiences. Includes letters written to his son Richard in the United States and son Alfred in London, his reflections on the British consular officer, Smallbones, who assisted Jews in Frankfurt in the wake of Kristallnacht, including Sommer, who immigrated to the United States in February 1939. Also includes correspondence between Alfred and Rosemary Sommer in London to Alfred's parents in the United States, 1938-1941, including information about life in London during the early years of the war, particularly witnessing German Jewish refugees arriving in England.
    Date
    inclusive:  1928-1963
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Jane, Julia, and Helen Sommer
    Collection Creator
    Julius Sommer
    Alfred Sommer
    Biography
    Julius Sommer was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on July 1st, 1876 to Loeser and Bertha Wohl Sommer. At age 14, he began to work a a Metallgesellschaft. He was a vice-president of the company before being forced to leave his job in the 1930s. Sommer and his wife, Paula (Wormser) had two sons, Richard and Alfred, both of whom had immigrated overseas (to the United States and London, respectively). After Kristallnacht, Sommer was able to leave Germany, immigrating to the United States in February 1939. He died on February 3, 1962.
    Alfred Sommer was born in 1909 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany to Julius and Paula Wormser Sommer. He earned his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Berlin in 1934. He immigrated to England, and, on July 16, 1938, married Rosemary Hulm, who was not Jewish. As Alfred was an enemy alien and not a British citizen, Rosemary lost her British citizenship upon their marriage. Though acquaintances were sent to Australia as enemy aliens, the couple remained in England since Alfred was employed doing scientific work for the war effort. They immigrated to the United States in 1953 and lived in Princeton, NJ, where Sommer worked at RCA Labs as a research chemist on photoemissive materials. The couple had three daughters. Alfred Sommer passed away on December 8, 2003.

    Physical Details

    Language
    German English
    Genre/Form
    Correspondence.
    Extent
    1 box

    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

    Geographic Name
    Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    Jane, Julia, and Helen Sommer donated their family's collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.
    Record last modified:
    2023-02-24 13:44:11
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn95743

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