Herman Löwenberg family papers

The Herman Löwenberg family papers include correspondence files, property exchange files, KKL debenture files, and restitution files documenting the family’s exchange of their property in Görlitz for property in Portland, Oregon, their immigration to the United States, the efforts of their family members to emigrate from Germany as well, and their efforts to recover or receive compensation for assets expropriated from them, particularly debentures in Palestine that the German government blocked when the family abandoned its Palestinian emigration plans in favor of the United States. Correspondence files include letters and postcards between and among the Löwenbergs and their family members and friends. The correspondence documents family members’ efforts to emigrate, including Harry and Hilde Nathanson’s experiences on the MS St. Louis and the Abrahamowsky’s plans for Shanghai. The correspondence files also include a photograph of the Nathansons and a photograph of three unidentified Löwenbergs family members or friends. The property exchange files include correspondence and draft agreements documenting the Löwenbergs’ ultimately canceled efforts to exchange their Görlitz properties for properties in Oregon belonging to Friedrich and Pauline Kruse and their successful efforts to exchange their properties for Oregon properties belonging to Carl and Anna Hummel. The files also document the Löwenbergs’ use of those properties, their payment of back taxes owed on the properties, additional friends’ and relatives’ property searches, and federal and state income taxes paid in 1943. These records include materials from the files of Hy Samuels, a lawyer who helped the Löwenbergs find property in Portland and negotiate the exchange. The KKL (Keren Kayemeth Leisrael) debentures files include correspondence and bank records documenting bonds purchased by Herman Löwenberg in 1934 in preparation for emigration to Palestine that were blocked by the German government when the Löwenbergs moved to the United States instead and the Löwenbergs’ immediate and ongoing efforts to recover them. Correspondents include lawyers, banks, and other financial institutions. Restitution files include official German documents from the National Socialist era, correspondence, forms, newspaper clippings, and banking records documenting the Löwenbergs’ efforts to recover or receive compensation for lost assets. Claims include residual matters related to the KKL debentures; unfavorable bank transfer rates; the loss they took in exchanging their Görlitz property for the Portland property; the loss of goodwill in Wilhelm Ziemer, the liqueur factory inherited from Herman Löwenberg’s father; the cost of their emigration and lost household goods; damage to Herman Löwenberg’s profession and loss of income; insurance policies; and the “Reichs Flight Tax.” Many of these claims overlap in individual folders as they were researched and prepared simultaneously in response to the German Restitution Laws of the 1950s. Correspondents include lawyers, banks, and financial and governmental institutions.

The Herman Löwenberg family papers are arranged as four series: I. Correspondence, 1938-1946, II. Property exchange, 1928-1952, III. KKL (Keren Kayemeth Leisrael) debentures, 1937-1964, IV. Restitution, 1926-1965