Schifferes family papers

Identifier
irn520885
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2003.134
Dates
1 Jan 1930 - 31 Dec 1939
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
  • English
  • Italian
  • French
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

boxes

oversize boxes

document rolls

2

2

1

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Liese Strauss Schifferes (1916-1956) was born in Vienna to Dr. Hugo Strauss and Sophie Kurz Strauss. She immigrated to the United States in November 1938. Stephan Schifferes (1909-2004) was born in Vienna to Julius Schifferes (1878-1913) and Bertha Schifferes (nee Schifferes, 1885-1964). He lived and worked in Stuttgart in 1938, spent several weeks in Dachau following Kristallnacht, moved to England in 1939 on a training permit, and immigrated to the United States that August. Liese and Stephan were married immediately, changed their name to Shiffers and had two daughters, Eva and Judy. Stephan Schifferes’ grandmother, Ottilie Siebenschein, belonged to a longstanding and property-owning family in Vienna.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Judy Shiffers

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Judy Shiffers

Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Judy Shiffers donated the Schifferes family papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003.

Scope and Content

The Schifferes family papers consist of correspondence, emigration and immigration records, and subject files documenting the lives of Bertha, Liese, and Stephan Schifferes in Austria, Germany, England, and the United States and property belonging to Stephan Schifferes’ relatives, the Siebenschein family, in Vienna. Bertha Schifferes materials consist of correspondence with relatives, friends, and her son’s family; employment records; and identification papers documenting her departure from Vienna, stay in England, and immigration to the United States. Liese Schifferes materials consist of correspondence with her husband and other family members and friends as well as education, training, and employment records documenting her education in Austria and Italy and her immigration to the United States. Stephan Schifferes materials include an account book; correspondence with his wife, mother, daughter, and other family members and friends; education, training, and employment records; and identification and membership papers documenting his emigration from Austria, stay in England, immigration to the United States, and efforts to find work. This series also includes Schifferes’ personal narratives about his Holocaust‐era experiences and records documenting his participation in and leadership of athletic activities in Vienna and his time in Stuttgart in 1938 and 1939. Emigration and immigration records include correspondence documenting the Schifferes’ interactions with government offices, aid organizations, and transportation and shipping companies as they prepared for emigration from Austria and immigrated to the United States. These files include documents from the Geheime Staatspolizei describing Stephan Schifferes’ release from so‐called “protective custody” in Dachau on the condition that he emigrate immediately. Subject files include general correspondence, notes, poetry, an unidentified photograph, printed materials, and receipts further illustrating the Schifferes’ experiences in Austria, England, and the United States. This series also includes files documenting two relatives of the Schifferes family, Alfred and Stefanie Kurz, and research into Bloomsbury House in London. Siebenschein family property records consist of photocopies of original records dating from 1939‐1962 documenting the Nazi‐era expropriation of the Siebenschein’s Vienna property and the family’s efforts to reclaim it and rebuild after the war. The property was referred to as parcels 36, 37, and 38 and corresponded to four addresses: Schwendergasse 25, Dadlergasse 20, Dadlergasse 22, and Schwendergasse 27. The property had been evenly shared between Raphael and Siegmund Siebenschein until Siegmund Siebenschein’s half was divided among his heirs: Irma Siebenschein, Robert Siebenschein, and Rosalia Siebenschein Schneck. Records include photocopies of correspondence, court records, land registries, and forms.

System of Arrangement

The Schifferes family papers are arranged as six series: I. Bertha Schifferes materials, 1927-1957, II. Liese Schifferes materials, 1936-1955, III. Stephan Schifferes materials, 1909-1997, IV. Emigration and immigration materials, 1938-1945, V. Subject files, 1920-2001, VI. Siebenschein family property records, approximately 2003

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.