Maerker and Behr families papers
Extent and Medium
boxes
book enclosure
2
1
Creator(s)
- Maerker family
Biographical History
William Maerker (Willy, 1889-1981) was born on 8 April 1889 in Bernburg, Germany to Louis (1858-1922) and Hedwig (née Weil, 1867-1940) Maerker. He had two brothers, Otto (1891-1942) and Kurt (1890-1955), and one sister, Grete (later Grete Simon, 1893-1960. His father was a businessman. Else Behr (1893-1983) was born on 2 September 1893 in Duisburg, Germany to Bernhard (1861-1942) and Johanna (née Benedict, 1866-1942) Behr. She had two brothers, Bruno (1892-1942?) and Arthur (1894-1948), and one sister, Hertha (b. 1897). Both of her brothers served in World War I. Bernhard and Johanna operated a portrait studio in Mainz, Germany. They were also friends of Louis and Hedwig Maerker, whom they saw around once a year. Willy and Else met through their parents, and corresponded during World War I. They married on 19 November 1919 in Mainz. They both worked for Willy’s father’s store, taking it over after he died in 1922. They were forced to sell the store in the 1930s due to increased Jewish persecution. Willy and Else had two children, Ingeborg (Inge, b. 1920) and Lutz Gerhard (Gerhard, b. 1923). The family moved from Bernburg to Mainz in 1937 to live with Else’s parents and begin the process of trying to obtain visas to emigrate from Germany. Before they left, Else’s parents moved to a Jewish retirement home in Frankfurt am Main. On 11 May 1938, the family sailed out of Hamburg on the SS President Roosevelt to the United States. They settled in Philadelphia, PA. Gerhard was drafted in 1943 and was discharged in 1946. He later became a chemist and married Roselle Kosack. Inge married Richard Oppenheimer in 1942. Else’s brother Arthur and her sister Hertha both immigrated to the United States. Both her parents died in a Jewish hospital in 1942. Willy’s brother Otto died in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942. His brother Kurt and sister Grete both survived by emigrating from Germany.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Wendy Maerker Harris
The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Wendy Maerker Harris in 2017.
Scope and Content
The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of Willy and Else (née Behr) Maerker, originally of Bernburg, Germany, and their children Gerhard and Inge, including their emigration from Germany in 1938. Included are identification and immigration papers, documents regarding Willy’s service in World War I, correspondence, photographs, writings, and born-digital material. The collection also documents the pre-war and wartime experiences of the Behr family, primarily of Mainz, Germany. Many documents in the collection contain translations by Gerhard. The biographical material includes identification papers such as birth and death certificates, immigration documents including German passports, marriage certificates, and papers related to Willy’s service in World War I. The correspondence includes a letter sent from Louis Maerker to Bernhard and Johanna Behr regarding Willy and Else’s upcoming marriage, wartime letters to Else from her mother Johanna in Frankfurt, a letter to Willy and Else from Hilda Meyerwitz telling them of the deaths of Else’s mother and father, and letters from Willy to his parents. The writings consist of a typescript translation of Gerhard Maerker’s diary from 1938 discussing the family’s immigration, and photocopies of writings by Else Maerker on a variety of family history topics. The photographs depict pre-war and wartime lives of the Maerker and Behr families, including wartime photographs of Gerhard Maerker after he was drafted into the United States Army. The born-digital material consists of family history, anecdotes, and typescript copies of many of Else’s writings that appear in series 3.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 5 series: Series 1: Biographical materials, 1888-1983; Series 2: Correspondence, 1897-1961; Series 3: Writings, 1938 and undated; Series 4: Photographs, circa 1873-circa 1980; Series 5: Born-digital family history
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Wendy M. Harris
People
- Behr, Bernhard, 1861-1942.
- Maerker, Louis, 1858-1922.
- Behr, Johanna, 1894-1948.
- Maerker, Else, 1893-1983.
- Maerker, Gerhard, 1923-
- Maerker, Inge, 1920-
- Maerker family
- Maerker, Hedwig, 1867-1940.
- Maerker, Willy, 1899-1981.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army
Subjects
- Jews--Germany--Bernburg--History.
- United States--Emigration and immigration.
- World War, 1939-1945--Veterans--United States.
- Bernburg (Germany)
- Duisburg (Germany)
- Jews--Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
- Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
- World War, 1914-1918--Veterans--Germany.
Genre
- Photograph albums.
- Photographs.
- Document
- Personal narratives.