Wald and Breuer families papers
Extent and Medium
folders
11
Creator(s)
- Julius Wald
- Ernst Breuer
Biographical History
Julius Wald was born on 1 February 1930 in Vienna, Austria to Helene (Henie, née Hasenfratz, 1895-1970) and Markus (Mordko) Wald. He had two sisters, Leonore (1925-2006) and Mimi (b. 1927). After the German annexation of Austria in March 1938, Markus was arrested and imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp. The family was also forced out of their apartment and went to live briefly with Helene’s sister Mina. Markus was transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp, and Helene secured his release with the promise to leave the country. Helene’s brother-in-law Max Rosenberg sponsored Mimi and Leonore, and they immigrated to the United States on the SS Nieuw Amsterdam in May 1939. They lived with Markus’s sister Fanny and her husband Jack Laufer in Hartford, CT. Helene secured a visa for herself, but Markus could not due to being on the Romanian quota. She arrived in the United States on 9 February 1940 on the SS Saturnia. Markus fled Vienna, and became a partisan fighter. He was killed in the village of Bubanj near Niš, Serbia. Julius was selected as one of the "50 children" to go with Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus to the United States. The children arrived in New York on 3 June 1939 via the SS President Harding. The children were first sent to the Brith Sholom camp in Allentown, PA. Julius was then sent to live with Joseph and Rose Leonard, Romania Jewish immigrants originally from Iași, Romania. On 11 September 1944 Julius enlisted in the New York Guard at age 14 by lying about his age. He worked at a German prisoner of war camp in the United States, and was discharged on 26 June 1945 to join the United States Army.
Ernst Breuer (1910-1983) was born on 17 June 1910 in Kapfenberg, Austria to Rudolf and Gisela (née Weiss) Breuer. In June 1938 he was evicted from his apartment for being Jewish, and was arrested and imprisoned in Dachau. In July 1939 he received a visa and immigrated to the United States on the SS Scythia. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 and served with the 652nd Engineer Topographic Battalion. His unit visited Dachau after liberation. He was discharged from the Army in November 1945 and married Leonore Wald on 16 December 1945.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Julius Wald
Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015 by Julius Wald.
Scope and Content
The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of the Wald family from Vienna, Austria. Julius Wald, son of Markus and Helene Wald, was one of the 50 children in Vienna rescued by Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus in spring 1939. Included are identification documents of Julius and his sister Leonore, photographs of Julius with the other 50 children arriving in New York, and family correspondence. Also included are identification papers and United States Army documents of Ernst Breuer, Leonore Wald’s husband, and photographs from the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. The Wald family papers include birth certificates, German passports, naturalization certificates, correspondence, and photographs. Correspondence includes letters from Julius and his sisters Leonore and Mimi in the United States to their parents Helene and Markus Wald in Vienna; and letters from Markus to Helene, including one written from Dachau in 1938. Photographs include Julius with the other 50 children arriving in New York, Leonore Wald, and relatives including Julius’ grandparents and his uncle Judah Mayer. The material related to Ernst Breuer includes a copy of his birth certificate, a letter describing his eviction from his apartment in Kapfenberg, Austria because he was Jewish, a letter written by Ernst while he was a prisoner in Dachau in 1938, his German passport, immigration documents, United States Army documents, and photographs of Dachau after liberation.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged as two series: Series 1: Wald family, 1927-1946 and undated. Series 2: Breuer family, 1924-1945.
People
- Wald, Julius, 1930-
- Wald, Leonore, 1925-2006.
- Kraus, Eleanor, 1903-1989.
- Kraus, Gilbert, 1897-1975.
- Ernst Breuer
- Julius Wald
- Breuer, Ernst, 1910-1983.
- Wald, Markus.
- Wald, Mimi, 1927-
- Wald, Helene, 1895-1970.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army
Subjects
- Refugee children--Austria.
- Kapfenberg (Austria)
- United States--Emigration and immigration.
- Vienna (Austria)
- World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue--Austria.
- Concentration camps--Germany--Dachau.
- Jewish families--Austria--Vienna.
Genre
- Document
- Correspondence.
- Photographs.