Frank Liebermann family papers

The Frank Liebermann family papers contain biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, printed materials, and restitution files documenting the lives of the Liebermann and Orgler families in Upper Silesia before and during the Holocaust; Frank Liebermann’s family’s immigration to the United States and their lives during and after the war in Dayton, OH; and their efforts to obtain restitution for losses and damages suffered under the Nazi regime. Biographical materials include records documenting the lives of Hans, Lotte, and Frank Liebermann; Fritz Liebrecht; and Alfred, Helmut, and Walter Orgler and the Orgler family. They also include materials documenting J. J. Orgler, the Orgler family’s leather business. Files include birth and marriage certificates, identification papers, education and military records, menus and programs from the ship that brought Lotte and Frank Liebermann to America, ration coupons, awards, and genealogical materials. Correspondence files includes letters and postcards among family members and friends documenting emigration plans; Alfred Orgler’s internment at Theresienstadt; Frank Liebermann’s summer camp, high school, and college experiences; Hans Liebermann’s receipt of the 75th Anniversary Award of United HIAS Service; and other family news. Photographs include two photograph albums and loose prints depicting Liebermann and Orgler family members and friends. The first album includes prewar photographs of the Liebermann and Orgler families as well as biographical materials such as invitations, certificates, and programs from family events. The second album includes pre‐war vacation photographs in Europe and visits to Hans Liebermann’s brother in Rhodesia along with photographs of friends in Dayton. Loose photographs depict the Liebermann and Orgler families in Europe and the United States. Subjects include baby pictures; camp, school, and university life; vacations; and family events. Printed materials include booklets, brochures, clippings, pamphlets, posters, and programs documenting the lives of Frank, Hans, and Lotte Liebermann and Marianne Sorter. Subjects include the 1921 plebiscite in Upper Silesia; Dayton, Ohio; Frank Liebermann’s summer camp, high school, and college experiences; Hans Liebermann’s receipt of the 75th Anniversary Award of United HIAS Service; and his and his wife’s involvement in Jewish organizations in Ohio. This series also includes partial copies of Ekstra Bladet Jüdisches Gemeindeblatt, My Weekly Reader: The Junior Newspaper, and Der Stürmer as well as emergency German currency from the 1910s and 1920s. Restitution files include correspondence, forms, and 1930s supporting documentation related to the Liebermann family’s efforts to obtain restitution from the German government in connection with losses and damages suffered under the Nazi regime. Claims include damages to Hans Liebermann’s medical career, the Liebermann’s loss of property (including estate jewelry and silver) and assets when they immigrated to the United States, the forced sale of the Orgler family leather business and apartment building in 1938, punitive taxes, insurance claims, and the transportation, imprisonment, and death of Lotte Liebermann’s family and Hans Liebermann’s father. Correspondents include lawyers Walter Lange and Manek Riegelhaupt, German authorities, the United Restitution Organization, U. S. Consulates, surviving members of the family living in Israel, friends, possible witnesses, and Friedrich (Fritz) Knoblich, who had been the accountant for the J. J. Orgler leather business.

The Frank Liebermann family papers are arranged as five series: I. Biographical materials, 1901-1968 (bulk 1911-1950), II. Correspondence, 1908-1961, III. Photographs, approximately 1890-1950, IV. Printed materials, 1912-1980, V. Restitution files, 1933-1997 (bulk 1933-1978)