Otto Herskovic memoir and papers

Diary, handwritten, composed by Otto Herskovic, at the age of 15, immediately following the end of World War II. In it, he recounts his family's experiences during the German invasion of Belgium, his family's flight to southern France, and the experiences of him and his sister while at an O.S.E.-administered children's home, and later, as part of a convoy of children who were sent to the United States via North Africa in July 1942 with the help of the United States Committee for the Care of European Children (USCOM). Included are hand-drawn maps of places referenced in the diary, photographs, news clippings, and identification documents for Herskovic and his mother, Emma Herskovic. Also included are documents relating to Otto Herskovic's service in the U.S. Army (circa 1950-1955). The “Biographical” series of documents includes Herskovic’s birth certificate, a copy of a Red Cross letter he and his sister received from their parents after the liberation of France in late 1944, identification cards from the period that Herskovic served in the U.S. Army, including a driver’s license, his Selective Service registration card, and a letter of reference, as well as a much later document from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in which Herskovic began to write down information about his wartime experiences. The “Photograph” series consists of five photographic prints, including one showing a group of children in France, among which were Otto and Hilde, two prints of passengers on a ship, presumably including Otto, and two photos from camps in France, which may have been the ones where Emile and Emma Herskovic were held. The “Writings” series consists of the original memoir written by Herskovic in English, in 1946, as well as a photocopy of the same and a later typescript version of it. The original diary includes hand-colored maps and drawings of the locations in France that his family fled to, as well as a map depicting the stops on Otto’s journey to the United States, and various news clippings from the era as well.

The collection is arranged in three series: I. Biographical, II. Photographs, III. Writings, and in rough chronological order within each series.