Wallenfels family papers
Extent and Medium
boxes
oversize folders
2
2
Creator(s)
- Wallenfels family
Biographical History
György Wallenfels (1910-1945) was born on 2 June 1910 in Budapest, Hungary to Simon Wallenfels (1860-1911) and Janka Traub (b. 1877). He had two brothers, Simon (d. 1945), and Samuel (d. 1945). György sold textile fabric in Budapest, and married Illona Waldmann (1913-1946) who was in the poultry business. Their son Miklos was born on 14 July 1934, and their daughter Eva was born on 9 March 1937. In 1939, György was conscripted into the Hungarian army, and was later sent to a forced labor camp. He died of typhus in 1945. Illona, Miklos, and Eva were sent to the ghetto in Budapest in November 1944. In December 1944, Illona was deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and then to the Buchenwald concentration camp in early 1945. Both of György’s brothers perished during the Holocaust. After the end of the war, they were reunited, and lived with Miklos’s grandmother in Budapest. Illona died in 1946 from cardiovascular problems. Miklos studied engineering. He and Manya Stauner (b. 1936), also a Holocaust survivor, emigrated from Hungary in 1956 to the United States. In order to leave Hungary, they had to walk approximately 15 miles through a guarded Hungarian forest to reach the Austrian border. They settled in Buffalo, New York and married in 1957. They had two children, Esther (b. 1962) and George (b. 1971) Manó Stern (1882-1960) was a relative of the Wallenfels. He was born on 26 Feburary 1882 in Szkulya, Temes, Hungary to Rozalia Wallenfels and Lipot Stern. He had one brother, Hugo, and two sisters, Irma, and Berta (b. 1892). He was a lawyer in Budapest and a veteran of World War I. He was disbarred from practicing law in 1944 because he was Jewish.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Miklos Wallenfels
Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by Miklos Wallenfels.
Scope and Content
The collection documents the experiences of György Wallenfels, his wife Illona, and their children Miklos and Eva of Budapest, Hungary during the Holocaust. Included are identification papers, death certificates, correspondence, genealogy research, and a small amount of photographs that document the György’s conscription into the Hungarian army and his death from typhus in 1945; Illona’s deportation to the Ravensbrück and Buchenwald concentration camps in 1944; and Miklos and Eva’s deportation to the ghetto in Budapest; as well as pre-war family history. Also documented is the experiences of relative Manó Stern, a doctor in Budapest. Additionally, there is a family album assembled by Miklos’s son George that includes photographs and wartime documents, including a document from the Swiss embassy declaring that Manos Stern and his sister Berta have valid passports for emigration. The collection also contains several Hungarian newspapers from 1943. Many documents include translations.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged as one series.
People
- Stern, Berta, 1892-
- Wallenfels, Illona, 1943-1946.
- Stern, Manó, 1882-1960.
- Wallenfels, Miklos, 1934-
- Wallenfels, Eva, 1937-
- Wallenfels, György, 1910-1945.
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
- Jewish ghettos--Hungary--Budapest.
- Genealogy.
- Holocaust Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary--History.
- Jewish families--Hungary--Budapest.
- Budapest (Hungary)
- Jewish physicians--Hungary.
Genre
- Newspapers.
- Document
- Photographs.