Charles and Ruth Terner papers
Extent and Medium
box
oversize folder
1
1
Creator(s)
- Charles Terner
- Ruth Terner
Biographical History
Ruth Terner was born Ruth Cohn in 1923 in Berlin to Werner Cohn (1887-approximately 1942) and Frieda Deutschkron Cohn (1894-approximately 1942). Ruth left Germany in 1939 on a Kindertransport to England, where she met Charles Terner (1916-1998). Charles Terner was born Karl Terner in Lublin to Isidore (Israel) Terner and Fanny (Feiga) Schächter Terner. The family moved to Vienna when Charles was very young. Charles Terner studied medicine in Vienna before arriving in England via Switzerland. The couple married in Birmingham in 1945 and immigrated to the United States in 1955. Terner's parents survived the war in Switzerland, but his grandparents in Vienna, his aunt in Witten, and most other extended family members perished. Ruth's parents were transported to Trawniki in March 1942. Her uncle, aunt, and cousin Alfred, Rosette, and Gerda Cohn were transported to Auschwitz in February 1943 and did not survive. Her grandmother Olga Cohn was transported to Theresienstadt in July 1942 then to Treblinka two months later and did not survive.
Ruth Terner was born Ruth Cohn in 1923 in Berlin to Werner Cohn (1887-approximately 1942) and Frieda Deutschkron Cohn (1894-approximately 1942). Ruth left Germany in 1939 on a Kindertransport to England, where she met Charles Terner (1916-1998). Charles Terner was born Karl Terner in Lublin to Isidore (Israel) Terner and Fanny (Feiga) Schächter Terner. The family moved to Vienna when Charles was very young. Charles Terner studied medicine in Vienna before arriving in England via Switzerland. The couple married in Birmingham in 1945 and immigrated to the United States in 1955. Terner's parents survived the war in Switzerland, but his grandparents in Vienna, his aunt in Witten, and most other extended family members perished. Ruth's parents were transported to Trawniki in March 1942. Her uncle, aunt, and cousin Alfred, Rosette, and Gerda Cohn were transported to Auschwitz in February 1943 and did not survive. Her grandmother Olga Cohn was transported to Theresienstadt in July 1942 then to Treblinka two months later and did not survive.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Ruth Terner donated this collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in 2002.
Scope and Content
The Charles and Ruth Terner papers include biographical materials, correspondence, a drawing of Ruth Terner’s middle school, four photographs of the Terners, and several newspaper pages and clippings. The papers document Ruther Terner’s arrival in England on a Kindertransport, Charles Terner’s arrival in England via Switzerland and the establishment of his career, and the emigration efforts of family members remaining in Germany. Biographical materials include documents regarding Ruth Terner’s departure from Berlin on a Kindertransport; Charles Terner’s identity papers, membership cards, military and political status, immigration records, and student records; a poem written by Alfred and Rosette Cohn commemorating Werner and Frieda Cohn’s marriage; and a statement that Israel and Feiga Terner were residing in Switzerland. Some of these records are photocopies. Charles Terner’s correspondence documents his efforts to immigrate to the United States or to find work in England, his internment on the Isle of Man, his continued education in chemistry and biochemistry, his British naturalization, his work with Sir Hans Adolf Krebs at the University of Sheffield, the completion of his PhD, and the establishment of his career. Ruth Terner’s correspondence primarily consists of letters among Ruth, her sister Steffi and her brother‐in‐law, their parents, and Bruno Colm. Additional letters come from other family members and friends. These letters describe the correspondents’ lives in England, Germany, and the United States, news of family and friends, emigration efforts, and the deportations of several family members. The newspapers include articles about the punitive tax placed on German Jews following Kristallnacht, atrocities in Poland, VE Day; Terner’s reply to a letter to the editor about refugees; and a notice that Charles Terner was applying for British naturalization.
System of Arrangement
The Charles and Ruth Terner papers are arranged as five series: I. Biographical materials, 1920- approximately 1995, II. Correspondence, 1938-1953, III. Original artwork, approximately 1937-1939, IV. Photographs, 1940- approximately 1995, and V. Newspapers, 1938-1946
Subjects
- Kindertransports (Rescue operations)--England.
- Holocaust victims' families.
- Birmingham (England)
- Holocaust survivors.
- Holocaust victims.
- Germans--Great Britain--Evacuation and relocation, 1940-1945.
- Austria--Emigration and immigration--Government policy--20th century.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Children.
- Jewish refugees--Germany.
- Basel (Switzerland)
- Sheffield (England)
- Vienna (Austria)
- Jewish refugees--Austria.
- Berlin (Germany)
- Jewish students--Vienna.
- Jewish refugees--Great Britain.
- Germany--Emigration and immigration--Government policy--20th century.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Buxted (England)
- Jews--Germany--History--1933-1945.
Genre
- Photographs.
- Document