Robert I. Kaplan papers

Identifier
irn556067
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2016.457.1
Dates
1 Jan 1944 - 31 Dec 1945
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
  • German
  • Polish
  • Russian
  • French
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

boxes

oversize box

2

1

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Robert I. Kaplan’s parents were born in Lithuania, and he grew up in Camden, New Jersey. He was a medic and dentist who volunteered to join the United States Army in 1941. Robert married Beatrice Slutsky in January 1942, and their first daughter, Judy, was born in 1944. He was a medic in Company D of the 110th Medical Battalion attached to the 35th Infantry Division when he was sent to Europe in May 1944. They arrived in England, and by July his division was sent to Normandy, France. They remained in France until February 1945 when they went to Holland, The Netherlands and then on to Germany. After the war was over, he was transferred to Company D, 331st Medial Battalion attached to the 106th Division. He returned to the United States in September 1945.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Deborah Kaplan

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by Deborah Kaplan, daughter of Robert Kaplan.

Scope and Content

The collection contains letters written by Captain Robert I. Kaplan, a medic in Company D of the 110th Medical Battalion attached to the 35th Infantry Division, to his wife Beatrice in Camden, New Jersey along with a small amount of photographs and issues of Stars & Stripes newspaper. His letters span May 1944 through September 1945 and describe daily army life, first in England, then France, Holland, and Germany. He describes his visit to the Dachau concentration camp in a letter dated 17 August 1945. Many letters also include enclosures primarily of clippings and pamphlets, and newsletters. He also enclosed copies of Stars & Stripes newspaper. Included is a non-sequential run from July 1944-March 1945. The photographs include depictions of Dachau; the barn massacre of prisoners at Gardelegen, Germany in April 1945; and Hitler’s bunker in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

System of Arrangement

The collection is arranged as three series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1944-1945; Series 2: Photographs, 1944-1945; Series 3: Printed material, 1944-1945

People

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

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.