Hans Garfunkel collection

Identifier
irn514196
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2003.308
Dates
1 Jan 1932 - 31 Dec 1948
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
  • German
  • French
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

folders

3

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Hans (Peter) Garfunkel was born in Koenigsberg, East Prussia on Apr. 21, 1924, to Julius and Paula Lonky Garfunkel. On Jan. 30, 1939, he escaped to Brussels, Belgium on a Kindertransport, and lived in an orphanage there until May 14, 1940, when he escaped to France after the German invasion of Belgium. On Aug. 26, 1942, Hans was arrested by the Vichy police and taken to Le Vernet, where he was liberated due to the influence of Maurice Du Bois, the Quaker head of the Secours Suisse aux Enfants in Toulouse. Hans escaped to Switzerland on Dec. 25, 1942, and, after the war, emigrated first to Brazil in 1946, then to the United States in 1947. He met and married Ilse Garfunkel, and has one daughter and three grandsons. His father died in Berlin on Apr. 1, 1942, and his mother was deported to Auschwitz on Aug. 15, 1942, and was killed there.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

Hans Garfunkel donated this collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in June 2003.

Scope and Content

Consists of letters written to Bessie Silberman, in Chicago, IL, from Hans Garfunkel, as Hans was trying to obtain the visas and affidavits necessary to emigrate to the United States (in English and French); letters written to Hans Garfunkel from his parents in Germany (in German); report cards and other academic paperwork for Hans Garfunkel; and telegrams and consular correspondence regarding Hans Garfunkel's visa requests. Also consists of 12 pre-war and wartime photographs of the family and friends of Hans Garfunkel.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.