Riesenfeld family papers

The collection documents the experiences of Bruno and Frieda Riesenfeld and their children Ernst and James, originally from Würzburg, Germany, who fled to the Netherlands and immigrated to the United States in 1940. Included are identification papers, immigration documents, financial documents related to the forced sale of Bruno’s paint factory in 1938, wartime correspondence with Frieda’s mother, Dora Schwabacher in Würzburg, and photographs. Biographical materials include immigration documents, identification papers, education and employment papers, restitution documents, and a family book of genealogy. Also included are financial documents related to the forced sale of Bruno’s paint factory in 1938, a narrative statement by Frieda detailing their experiences in Germany and the Netherlands leading up to their immigration to the United States in 1940, and a Red Cross document describing the fate of Bruno’s sister, Margot Riesenfeld, who was deported and murdered in the Holocaust. Correspondence includes wartime letters from Bruno’s sister Betty Suessmann and Frieda’s mother, Dora Swabacher, and her uncle Anton Schwabacher. Also includes some post-war correspondence with friends and relatives. Photographs consist of depictions of the gravestone for Bruno’s parents, Alfred and Jenny Riesenfeld, and the Wenzel family. There is also a family photograph album depicting pre-war family life in Würzburg, the Riesenfelds aboard the Veendam on their way to the United States, and family life n New York.

The collection is arranged as three series: Series 1: Biographical, 1897-2001; Series 2: Correspondence, 1939-1974; Series 3: Photographs, 1901-1949