Erika Lewin Weinblum papers
Extent and Medium
folders
13
Creator(s)
- Erika Lewin Weinblum
Biographical History
Erika Lewin Weinblum (1917-2002) was born in Korjanke, Germany. After Kristallnacht, her family fled the country to China, where she lived in the Shanghai ghetto (Hongkew) until 1947. She was able to immigrate into the United States, but was forced to leave her father behind. Living in New York, she traveled to Washington D.C. several times to meet with members of Congress in order to persuade them to pass legislation that would allow stateless Jews living in Shanghai to immigrate to the United States. Deciding that she could accomplish more with the help of others, she joined forces with Jacob Weinblum (who she later married), along with several other Jews who had family still living in Shanghai, to create the Emergency Committee of Parents and Children of European DPs in Shanghai. She served as the committee’s secretary, and continued to write to members of Congress. She was finally allowed to speak at the Senate Judiciary Sub-Committee in a special hearing on August 5th, 1949, where she implored the sub-committee to push forward amendments to the Displaced Persons Act that allow Jews living in Shanghai to immigrate the United States. The amendments were eventually added to this bill, and her father emigrated from China in 1950.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
Anni Weinblum Rodin donated her sister-in-law's collection at the Tribute to Survivors at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Nov 3, 2003.
Scope and Content
The Erika Lewin Weinblum papers document the efforts of Erika Lewin Weinblum in her role as the secretary of the Emergency Committee for Parents and Children of European DPs in Shanghai. The Emergency Committee series contains mainly correspondence to members of Congress and various political bodies including the White House, Department of State, and the United Nations. The correspondence concerns amendments to legislation that would permit Jewish displaced persons in China to immigrate to the United States. The personal items series contains various documents for Erika Lewin Weinblum that are unrelated to the Emergency Committee. These include a letter from a family friend urging her to come to the United States, a photograph of Erika with her husband Jacob, a news clipping and a Chinese vaccination certificate for her father. The Erika Lewin Weinblum papers document the efforts spent by Ms. Lewin and others as they struggled to push the U.S. government to include Jews displaced in Shanghai China, to be allowed into the United States under the Displaced Persons Act. The Emergency Committee series, contains mostly correspondence made by the Emergency Committee of Parents and Children of European DPs in Shanghai. Much of the correspondence is to members of Congress, but some are also sent to other potentially influential political bodies, such as the United Nations, Department of State, and the White House. The topic discussed is amending the Displaced Persons Act to include allowing Jews displaced in Shanghai, China to immigrate into the United States. The personal items series contains various documents relating more to Erika Lewin Weinblum personally, rather than the Emergency Committee. These include a letter from a family friend urging her to come to the United States, a news clipping concerning Jews in China, a photograph of Erika with her husband Jacob Weinblum, and a Chinese vaccination card for her father, Heimann Lewin.
System of Arrangement
The Erika Lewin Weinblum collection is arranged into two series: •Series 1: Emergency Committee, 1948-1950 •Series 2: Personal items, 1947-1950
People
- Javits, Jacob K. (Jacob Koppel), 1904-1986.
- Kilgore, Harley Martin, 1893-1956.
- Lewin, Heimann.
- Dulles, John Foster, 1888-1959.
- Celler, Emanuel, 1888-1981.
- McCarran, Pat, 1876-1954.
- Weinblum, Jacob, 1921-1977.
- Lucas, Scott Wike, 1892-1968.
- Magnuson, Warren G. (Warren Grant), 1905-1989.
- Lehman, Herbert H. (Herbert Henry), 1878-1963.
- Ferguson, Homer, 1888-1982.
- Neely, Matthew Mansfield, 1874-1958.
- Weinblum, Erika Lewin, 1917-2002.
- Niles, David K., 1888-1952.
Subjects
- Jewish refugees--China.
- Hongkou Qu (Shanghai, China)
- Shanghai (China)
- Jewish refugees--China--Shanghai.
- United States--Emigration and immigration.
- Shanghai (China)--Emigration and immigration--History.
- Jewish refugees--Government policy--United States.
Genre
- Correspondence.
- Photographs.
- Document
- News clippings.