Henry and Grete Salomon collection
Extent and Medium
folders
30
Creator(s)
- Henry Salomon
- Grete Salomon
Biographical History
Heinz “Henry” Salomon (1908-1992) was born in Werne, Germany to Siegmund and Rosa Salomon. His family owned and operated a butcher store, until the Kristallnacht occurred and the town began to slowly turn against them. During a raid in 1939, Henry was rounded up along with other Jews in the town, to be sent away. He resisted, however, and was beaten and left for dead in the town square. An ambulance rescued him, and he recovered in a Catholic hospital. Once his health improved, he was sent to a Catholic monastery, which assisted Henry in gathering the necessary papers to leave Germany. He acquired a visa to Australia, but traveled to England instead, to join with Grete Nathan, who he had met before being arrested. In mid-1939, Henry arrived in England, where he was arrested under suspicions of being a spy and set to the Lord Kitchener camp. Rather than wait in the camp, Henry decided to enlist in the British Army, and also married Grete Nathan. He served with the army from 1939-1944, often on the front lines. He was discharged after becoming wounded from a grenade explosion. After leaving the military, Henry moved to Oxford with Grete and worked as a manager for a meat market. In 1948, the family moved to the United States.
Grete Nathan Salomon (1908-1981) was born in Kamen, Germany to Phillip and Josephine Nathan. She had two sisters, both of whom fled the country when Hitler came to power. Grete worked as a seamstress, and decided to stay with her parents. She stayed until 1939, when it became impossible for her to find work. She decided to leave for England, where she worked doing odd jobs and attempted to get her parents out of Germany. While in England, she married Henry Salomon, who immigrated there to be with her, and their son Ronald was born in 1941, while Henry fought in the war. In the meantime, her father was sent to a concentration camp and killed, while her mother died of illness. In 1948, the family moved to the United States.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
The Henry and Grete Salomon collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by their son, Ronald Salomon.
Scope and Content
The Henry and Grete Salomon collection contains primarily identification documents for both Henry Salomon and Grete Nathan Salomon. Both escaped Germany in 1939, and later married in England. Grete worked odd jobs while Henry enlisted in the British Army. Documents include identification papers such as certificates concerning parents, travel documents, certificate of good conduct, household goods directory, registration identity cards, and various other items. Other documents include newspaper clippings, correspondence, and reparations information. The Henry and Grete Salomon collection contains primarily identification material used by both Grete and Henry to immigrate to England and later to the United States. Henry’s papers include birth, death, and marriage certificates for his parents, a health certificate, papers from when he served with the British Army, certificate of registration, and other identification materials. Other items include correspondence and a photograph of Henry. Many of Grete’s identification documents are similar as Henry’s. Other papers include a certificate to become a seamstress, a work book, and correspondence concerning reparations. Various other documents included in this collection are a newspapers clipping concerning the Kristallnacht and a dedication booklet for a synagogue in Düsseldorf.
System of Arrangement
The Henry and Grete Salomon collection is arranged into three series: •Series 1: Henry Salomon, 1938-1948 •Series 2: Grete Salomon, 1928 -1961 •Series 3: Various, 1939-1958
People
- Salomon, Siegmund.
- Nathan, Phillip.
- Salomon, Grete.
- Nathan, Josephine.
- Salomon, Henry.
- Salomon, Rosa.
- Salomon, Ronald.
Corporate Bodies
- Great Britain. Army
Subjects
- Kamen (Germany)
- World War, 1939-1945--Great Britain.
- Kristallnacht, 1938--Germany.
- England--Emigration and immigration--History.
- Werne an der Lippe (Germany)
- Jews--Germany--History--1933-1945.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Reparations.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--History.
- Jewish refugees--Great Britain.
Genre
- News clippings.
- Identity cards.
- Document
- Correspondence.
- Certificates.