Koplowitz and Shlafer families papers

Identifier
irn612969
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2018.326.1
Dates
1 Jan 1948 - 31 Dec 1949
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Yiddish
  • Polish
  • English
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

folders

2

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Michael Koplowitz (born Michael Koplowicz, 1913-1996) was born in Łódź, Poland to Yakow and Hinda (née Paciorkowski) Koplowicz. He had five siblings: Sara Geitel, Hersz Mayer, Wowa, Rywka, and Abraham Joel. Michael worked as a house painter and also served in the Polish Army. He married Dina Shlafer in November 1939 in Łódź and shortly after that they fled to the Soviet Union. Dina Shlafer (1910-1985) was born in Łódź, to Jakow and Rachel (Ruchel) Shlafer. She had seven siblings: Mendel, Mojsze, Blima, Szlojme, Faige, Chana, and Ryfcia. Dina worked in Łódź in a silk factory. After fleeing Poland they lived in Siberia where they had two children, Jacob David and HInda, both of whom died in infancy. All of Michael's siblings perished during the Holocaust except Abraham Joel. All of Dina's sibling perished during the Holocaust. After the war, Michael and Dina went to Germany where they lived in the Hessisch Lichtenau DP camp. They remarried in the camp in 1948 and their daughter Rachelle was born the same year. The family immgrated to Israel in 1949 and the United States in 1957.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rachelle Koplowitz Nicoll

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Rachelle Koplowitz Nicoll.

Scope and Content

Consists of pre- and postwar photographs of Michael and Dina (née Schlafer) Koplowitz and relatives, formerly of Łódź, Poland, as well as documents relating to the couple's experiences while living as displaced persons in Germany and their later immigration to Israel. Included are IRO documents, a copy of Michael Koplowitz's birth certificate, Michael and Dina's marriage certificate, a statement of witnesses attesting to the identity of Dina Koplowitz, a letter in Yiddish, and an Israeli identity document issued to Michael Koplowitz. The collection also includes a photocopy of Dina's sister Chana Shlafter's employment card used in the Łódź Ghetto.

System of Arrangement

The Koplowitz and Schlafer families papers are arranged as a single series. Folder 1. Documents, 1948-1949, 1994; Folder 2. Photographs, circa 1921-1946

People

Subjects

Genre

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.