Robert and Louise Brunner papers
Extent and Medium
box
oversize folder
1
1
Creator(s)
- Louise Brunner
- Robert Brunner
Biographical History
Robert Brunner (1901-1969) was born in Vienna to Richard and Hermine Brunner. He attended trade school and started his own business selling books. At the beginning of the war Robert was questioned by the Gestapo and went into hiding at a beekeeping school while arrangements were made to flee with his fiancée, Louise Koblitz. Some of his family stayed in Vienna while other fled to various countries. His father passed away in 1934 and his mother was deported to Kielce in 1941. Robert’s cousins, Leo Lederer and Fritz Fink, survived the war by fleeing to the United States and Argentina.
Louise Brunner (1909-1992) was born in Vienna to Julius Koblitz and Agatha Delicat. Louise fled to France with her fiancée, Robert Brunner, in 1938 where they worked until they were able to obtain visas to the United States in 1939. They settled in New York, were married, and had a son, Thomas Brunner, in 1945. Many of Louise’s family members stayed in Vienna. Her father passed away in 1922 and her mother, bother Rudolf, niece Erika, nephews Heinz and Felix, and Uncles Oskar and Arthur were deported to Wlodawa in 1942
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received these papers from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Art and Artifacts branch in March 2002. The Art and Artifacts branch received the papers from Tom Brunner on February 27, 2002.
Scope and Content
The Robert and Louise Brunner papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, emigration and immigration files, and printed materials documenting Robert Brunner and Louise Koblitz’s efforts to flee to France, immigrate to the United States, and establish their life in America. The collection also includes correspondence between immediate family members and photographs of the Brunner and Koblitz families. Biographical materials include a birth certificate for Robert, Louise, and Leopold (Leo, Robert’s cousin), identification card for Robert, and marriage certificate for Julius and Agatha. Brunner family correspondence includes wartime letters among Robert, Louise, Hermine, and other immediate family members discussing life in Vienna, France, and the United States, and growing concerns for their family. Koblitz family correspondence includes wartime and postwar letters from Agathe and Rudolf (Louise’s brother) regarding life in Vienna and increasing concerns over the war. Included is a postcard from Agathe stating that the SS is down the street from her house. Emigration and immigration materials include affidavits, visa applications, education and work papers, and letters documenting Robert and Louise’s escape to France, immigration to the United States, and efforts to establish careers and a life in America. This series also includes affidavits and documents attempting to bring family member to the United States. Printed materials include newspapers and clippings from Aufbau and Arbeiter=Zeitung, a report on German and Austrian refugees in France, a directory for immigrants in business, and advertisements and invitations for various activities in New York City. Photographic materials consist of prewar and wartime photographs of the Brunner and Koblitz families.
System of Arrangement
The Brunner and Koblitz family papers are arranged as six series: Series 1: Biographical materials, approximately 1901-1939 Series 2: Brunner family correspondence, approximately 1938-1956 Series 3: Koblitz family correspondence, approximately 1938-1956 Series 4: Emigration and immigration materials, approximately 1938-1946 Series 5: Printed materials, approximately 1940-1945 Series 6: Photographic materials, approximately 1932-1943
People
- Brunner, Alice.
- Delicat, Leopold.
- Brunner, Peter.
- Koblitz, Rudolf.
- Lederer, Leopold.
- Brunner, Hermine.
- Brunner, Louise.
- Koblitz, Agathe.
- Brunner, Robert.
Subjects
- Jewish refugees--New York (State)--New York.
- Chicago (Ill.)
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- New York (N.Y)
- Austria--Emigration and immigration--History--1933-1945.
- Vienna (Austria)
- Paris (France)
- Jewish refugees--France.
Genre
- Document
- Correspondence.
- Photographs.