Berg and Hermanns families collection

Identifier: irn521434
Language of Description: English
Level of Description: Collection
Source: EHRI Partner

Web Source

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn521434

Acquisition

The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2016 by Inge and Werner Katzenstein and Jill and Kurt Pauly.

Scope and Content

The collection includes a cake server, cooking pot, Kenyan statues, silver spoon, steamer trunk, prayer book, biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, and publications relating to the experiences of Clara and Max Berg and their extended family in Germany before their escape to Kenya and their life in Kenya during the Holocaust, and their postwar immigration to the United States and the Hermanns family and Julius Hermanns’ journey aboard the MS St. Louis, return to Europe, and internment in France. An accretion of five WWI medals was received in 2016.

Genre

Collection

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.

Child Items

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Displaying items 1 to 17 of 17

Burlap covered steamer trunk used by a German Jewish family
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn34996
- English
- 1938
- overall: Height: 17.500 inches (44.45 cm) | Width: 41.000 inches (104.14 cm) | Depth: 21.500 inches (54.61 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Steamer trunk labelled Mombasa used by Max and Clara Davids Berg and their extended family when they fled Cologne, Germany, in May/June 1939. The family was warned by neighbors to leave their home in Lechenich prior to the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938. Their homes were vandalized and the family decided to leave Germany. Max's sons, Josef and George, and cousin Ernest fled to the Netherlands. They were arrested, but their uncle, Herman Meyer, hired a lawyer and the men were detained but not deported. This gave the family time to find a country where they could emigrate legally...
Silver vermeil cake server received as a wedding gift by a Jewish woman in prewar Germany
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn514312
- English
- overall: Height: 10.375 inches (26.353 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Silver vermeil serving knife received as a wedding gift by Selma Herz upon her marriage to Hugo Pauly, circa 1927, in Eilendorf, near Aachen, Germany. It was a gift from Abraham Hollander, Anne Frank's maternal grandfather, who was a first cousin of Selma's mother, Caroline Menken Herz. The knife may have been a family heirloom that originally belonged to Rosa'a mother. Soon after the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in 1933, the Herz family businesses were boycotted because they were Jewish. In early 1936, Selma and Hugo emigrated to Palestine with their 5 year old son, Kurt. They th...
Silver teaspoon engraved Hilde given to a Jewish girl in prewar Germany
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn514662
- English
- overall: Height: 5.750 inches (14.605 cm) | Width: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Depth: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Child's spoon engraved with her name and given to Hilde Hermanns circa 1930, when she was a 7 year old child in Monchengladbach, Germany. When Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, Hilde and her parents, Julius and Margarete (Grete), lived comfortably in Monchengladbach where her father ran a dry goods store with his siblings. The Nazi regime increasingly persecuted Jews, boycotting and taking away their businesses. Julius was arrested in September 1938 and sent to Dachau, and then Buchenwald concentration camp. He was released in April 1939, with the condition that he leave the country....
Prayer book
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn521436
- English
- overall: Height: 7.500 inches (19.05 cm) | Width: 5.000 inches (12.7 cm) | Depth: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Siddur inscribed and owned by George Berg in prewar Germany. The front cover and pages are defaced with dung as a result of the vandalization of the Berg home during Kristallnacht 9-10, 1938, in Lechenich, Germany.
Berg and Hermanns families photographs
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn561915
- English
- folder 1
- Updated 1 year ago
Contains photographs documenting the experiences of Clara and Max Berg and their extended family in Germany before their escape to Kenya, and their life in Kenya during the Holocaust.
Medal with ribbon
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn562338
- English
- overall: Height: 8.250 inches (20.955 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Iron Cross medal with the date 1914 and the letter "W" on one side and the initials "FW" and the date of 1813 on the other side. The medals belonged to Hugo Pauly.
Medal with ribbon
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn562340
- English
- overall: Height: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm) | Width: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Copper colored medal with ribbon. The medal has the word "Merenti" on one side and the date "1866" on the other. The medal depicts crossed swords as well as a lion. The medals belonged to Hugo Pauly.
Medal with ribbon
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn562341
- English
- overall: Height: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) | Width: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Iron Cross medal with the date 1914 and the letter "W" on one side and the initials "FW" and the date of 1813 on the other side. The medals belonged to Hugo Pauly.
Medal with ribbon
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn562342
- English
- overall: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Iron Cross medal with the dates 1914-1918 surrounded by a laurel wreath on one side, and the words "R.V. Pforzheim" and the number 85 on the other side. The medals belonged to Hugo Pauly.
Medal with ribbon
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn562343
- English
- overall: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Iron Cross medal with the dates 1914-1918 surrounded by a laurel wreath on one side, and the words "R.V. Pforzheim" on the other side. The medals belonged to Hugo Pauly.
Book
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn562345
- English
- Updated 1 year ago
German and Hebrew language book, published in Frankfurt am Main by J. Kauffmann Derlag.
Cookbook
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn562349
- English
- Updated 1 year ago
German cookbook by Henriette Davidis, published in Berlin.
Enameled cooking pot with lid used by a German Jewish family forced to emigrate
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn601646
- English
- a: Height: 6.000 inches (15.24 cm) | Width: 13.875 inches (35.243 cm) | Depth: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) b: Height: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Depth: 10.000 inches (25.4 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Cooking pot and lid brought with Gisela Berg and her family to Kenya where they lived after fleeing Cologne, Germany, in May/June 1939. They used this pot when preparing for Passover. The family was warned by neighbors to leave their home in Lechenich prior to the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938. Their homes were vandalized and the family decided to leave Germany. Jill's father Josef, his brother George, and cousin Ernest fled to the Netherlands. They were arrested, but their uncle, Herman Meyer, hired a lawyer and the men were detained but not deported. This gave the family tim...
Kenyan wood sculpture of two gazelles owned by a German Jewish refugee family
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn607845
- English
- overall: Height: 5.625 inches (14.288 cm) | Width: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Depth: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Carved wooded sculpture of an adult gazelle with one young offspring acquired by Gisela Berg and her family in Kenya where they lived after fleeing Cologne, Germany, in May/June 1939. The family was warned by neighbors to leave their home in Lechenich prior to the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938. Their homes were vandalized and the family decided to leave Germany. Jill's father Josef, his brother George, and cousin Ernest fled to the Netherlands. They were arrested, but their uncle, Herman Meyer, hired a lawyer and the men were detained but not deported. This gave the family tim...
Kenyan wood bust of an African youth owned by a German Jewish refugee family
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn607846
- English
- overall: Height: 8.375 inches (21.273 cm) | Width: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Depth: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Carved wooden bust of an African male in profile, with the hair and stretched earlobes of a Maasai warrior, acquired by Gisela Berg and her family in Kenya where they lived after fleeing Cologne, Germany, in May/June 1939. The family was warned by neighbors to leave their home in Lechenich prior to the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938. Their homes were vandalized and the family decided to leave Germany. Jill's father Josef, his brother George, and cousin Ernest fled to the Netherlands. They were arrested, but their uncle, Herman Meyer, hired a lawyer and the men were detained but...
Aluminum pitcher used by a German Jewish family forced to emigrate
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn607847
- English
- overall: Height: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm) | Width: 4.750 inches (12.065 cm) | Depth: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm)
- Updated 1 year ago
Aluminum pitcher used by Gisela Berg and her extended family when they fled Cologne, Germany, in May/June 1939. The family was warned by neighbors to leave their home in Lechenich prior to the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10, 1938. Their homes were vandalized and the family decided to leave Germany. Jill's father Josef, his brother George, and cousin Ernest fled to the Netherlands. They were arrested, but their uncle, Herman Meyer, hired a lawyer and the men were detained but not deported. This gave the family time to find a country where they could emigrate legally. A family friend g...
Berg and Hermanns families papers
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- irn84351
- English
- boxes oversize folders 5 3
- Updated 1 year ago
The Berg and Hermanns families papers consist of biographical materials, correspondence, and photographs documenting the Berg family and their escape to Kenya and the Hermanns family and Julius Hermanns’ journey aboard the MS St. Louis, return to Europe, and internment. The Berg family papers consist primarily of biographical materials, correspondence, and photographs documenting the Berg family from Germany and their escape to Kenya. Biographical materials include birth certificates, a military passbook, a marriage certificate, two family registers, certificates of good conduct, a letter o...